Muggle Studies

Mind Games

Crap! I'm so sorry! I thought I had published the last chapter. I came back today to find it had been left a draft.

Anyway, continuing our explorations of Nayme's... gifts. Fasten your seatbelts, for we are about to get psychedelic!

🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

"Come on, seriously. You will find this interesting. And I want to see what happens."

He was dismayed. "What are you talking about? I... I can't do that... to you... and you were... tortured that way, I..."

"It's different now. And it's probably going to be very different from what you are expecting. Let's go to our quarters!" she was thrilled; he was looking at her as if she were an alien.

Had she lost her mind? Perhaps they weren't talking about the same thing... he hadn't dared to attempt legilimency on her even when he thought she was out to get him. Yes, at the time it was mostly because he would have had to cast verbally, with a wand, to get results he could depend on, not just forefront images. But there had been a sense of it being deeply and unforgivably wrong - even more invasive than veritaserum. She was not a child he had to protect, she was not a mark, there was no war. There was no excuse.

"Severus, I know this sounds strange, but this actually seems... healing for me somehow. I feel like I have company to look into this, to talk about this in a way that hasn't been possible with anyone else. Maybe you can help me understand what this is . Can you perform legilimency?"

"Naturally." He rolled his eyes. Conceited. She loved him so much. "That's not the point."

"Come on, Severus. You're a scientist, I know you are. Where's your curiosity?"

"I could... hurt you, Nay. It's... not right. It's your mind . That's too invasive."

Nay looked at him, filled with love.

"Such care and respect from you, always. I love you." She stroked his hair and kissed him briefly, sweetly. "And yes, it would be wrong and invasive - if I weren't aware of what could happen, or weren't giving you my express permission."

He was following her to their bedroom. As they got in, she sat on the bed determinedly.

"Ok, go!"

He still looked dumbfounded. "Nay... they could have just been incompetent. It's a very complex spell. Few people have the skill for it, even with a wand."

"Are you really not willing? I don't want to push you to do something you are not ok with. But I sense there's curiosity in you. As in me." Nay said. "So I'm telling you - if you're refusing to do this out of care for me , then you can drop it because I'm saying that doesn't care for me at all. I'm a grown woman, Severus."

He sighed.

"What if... you hate me afterwards or become terrified of me... forever?" He seemed really worried.

"That's impossible, my love. Rest your heart." She got up and took his hands. "I, Nayme Adams, being of sound mind and free will hereby grant my beloved Severus Snape temporary access to my mind so I can show him that which I cannot explain with words..." he looked to the side and rolled his eyes, twisting his mouth a bit pissed. She pulled his face. "May he penetrate my mind as he does my body - with respect, love, care... and hunger." She smiled, enunciating the words enticingly.

"Very well." He said quietly, sighing irritably, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Let's get this over with."

"Yay!" She said , cheerfully, sitting back down on the bed. He looked at her disapprovingly.