Chapter Two: The Art of Manipulation

"What do you mean he is on his way here?" she yelped, panic overshadowing her confusion.

"What I mean, Miss Granger," he sneered, "is that Lucius Malfoy, Death Eater and elder follower of the Dark Lord, is on his way to this house. He has owled me a message stating that the Dark Lord has recently become aware of certain plans of the Order of the Phoenix, making your revitalization all the more important. He is coming here to see if there is anything he can do to... speed up the process."

Hermione looked at him through narrowed eyes before speaking. "What do you mean, 'speed up the process'?"

"What I mean, Miss Granger, is that Lucius believes any individual, comatose or not, will respond rapidly and successfully to certain... persuasions. To put it bluntly, the Unforgiveables."

Her nervousness was showing in her body language. She shifted uneasily in her bathwater, bubbles waving to and fro around her submerged shoulders. Gradually, her face contorted with anger.

"Unforgiveables? You're saying he means to torture me into waking? That's absolute madness!"

Snape glanced down at the floor for a moment before facing Hermione once more.

"Yes, Miss Granger, madness is quite an appropriate word for Lucius Malfoy and many of the other Death Eaters. Regardless, your being tortured would indeed work, seeing as you are awake. If it did not, Lucius would do it anyway, if only for fun. You must retreat to your quarters immediately in order to feign your condition and, well..." his voice trailed off.

He was right. Fearing for her safety, she rose instantly from the water to her feet, knees locking in place before she realized what she had just done. Snape's eyes opened wide in a stupefied glare as her exposed body appeared before him. It took all of about three seconds for the two of them to realize the only things covering her nude form were water and a (thankfully) large gathering of bubbles. She froze for a moment, noticing Snape's eyes on her, before she crouched back down, narrowly submerging her chest beneath the water. In one fluid crouching-and-reaching motion, she grabbed a towel from the floor to her left and placed it in front of her body. She lifted her head to notice Snape's body was about-face, eyes staring forcefully back at the door so as not to look at her. His head was twisted to face the sealed aperture, partially exposing the right side of his face. She could have sworn she could detect a hint of pink in his cheeks.

Smirking despite the grim circumstances surrounding her, she rose while she wrapped the towel around her entire body before tucking the corners in at the front.

"Ok, Professor," was all she needed to say. He did not look back at her. He opened the door to the bathroom and walked them swiftly across the hall into her bedroom. She made her way to the bed and was about to get in when he grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"Were you planning on entering your bed in a towel?" he asked in a mocking tone.

She flustered a bit, realizing the brainless mistake she had been about to make. He lifted his wand to her hair and grumbled the Drought Charm incantation, drying it instantly.

"You will need to dress in your clothing from earlier. I will delay Lucius for as long as possible. Accio," he stated loudly, pointing his wand in the direction of the bathroom.

Her crumpled clothing flew through the air and landed in a heap at the foot of the bed.

He reached beneath his robes with his left hand and extracted a clear vial of orange liquid. After unscrewing the cap, he handed the bottle over to her and motioned for her to drink it.

"What is it?" she questioned, apprehension creeping into her voice.

"It is a Dreamless Sleep potion, Miss Granger. Drink only half. I will wake you in the morning after you've had a full night's rest."

He turned to leave and paused, facing her once more. "Dress quickly," was all he said before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

She heard a massive groaning noise as the wood from the door forced itself against the doorframe. After a short creak and several small clicks, the door was sufficiently sealed.

She did as she was told. She searched the pile of soiled clothing located on the floor at the base of her bed. She dressed as quickly as she could while making as little noise as possible. Just as she pulled on her left sock, she heard a loud crack sound from the floor below her. Someone had just Apparated downstairs. She quickly downed half of the vial Snape had given her and slipped under her covers and into unconsciousness once more.

***

"Severus, how lovely to see you," Lucius drawled as he appeared in the living room of Snape's home. He glanced arrogantly around the room, sneering at the humble accommodations set before him.

"Really, Severus," he scoffed. "Could you not entice a house-elf into decorating for you? I suppose a woman's touch would be entirely out of the question."

Snape glared at Lucius as though not at all offended by his comment. "Some of us are far too busy serving the Dark Lord to worry about such trivial matters, Lucius. Then again, I suppose some of us are not..."

Lucius' sneer was replaced by an indignant frown. "Yes, well, Severus, I suppose we should get on with this, should we not? Now, where is the girl?"

Snape replied, sporting an indifferent expression. "She is upstairs. May I ask what precisely you expect to accomplish this evening, Lucius? As we both know, an unconscious mind is hardly susceptible to the Imperius Curse."

A broad grin formed on Lucius' face. "Severus, I must say I am a bit surprised by your inability to recognize a good time when one is handed to you. The Imperius Curse may not help us much, as the Mudblood is currently unable process thought. She will, however, react quite amusingly to the Cruciatus Curse."

Snape raised his brow as he considered Lucius' statement. "There is no point in torturing her, Lucius. She will not wake, and therefore will not confide in us any information that she may be privy to."

A deep, barking laugh escaped Lucius' mouth. "This is not for information, Severus! This is for fun! What is the point of taking prisoners if you cannot have a little fun with them?"

Snape paused, inwardly at a loss for what to say. After choosing his words carefully, he spoke again. "Lucius, as much as I would like to help you torture the little brat, I must decline. I have quite a bit of work to do if I am going to revive the girl by the deadline that the Dark Lord has given me. The potions I will need, unfortunately, are not within my grasp at the moment. I was actually about to depart when I received your owl. Now, if you will excuse me..."

Snape waved an open palm towards the front door, motioning for Lucius to leave.

"I believe," Lucius grumbled, "that I am quite capable of doing this on my own, Severus."

Snape gave a shrill laugh before answering him. "I believe, Lucius, that this is my home. No one, present company included, is welcome when I am not here. I have already sealed her door in preparation for my absence. I have no intention of unsealing it for you before I leave."

Defeated, and clearly annoyed, Lucius made for the door. With a last aggravated glare in Snape's direction, he took his leave from Snape's house.

***

Hermione awoke the next morning to the sun blazing through the partially open window in her bedroom. She threw off the covers and remembered that she had gone to bed the previous night wearing the same clothes that she had been for months. What she wouldn't give for an unsoiled t-shirt and a clean pair of sweatpants...

She looked around the room for a dresser of some sort. The closest thing she could find was a half-open door to her right, which she assumed to be a closet. She made her way across the room, taking in her surroundings as she walked. The walls in this room were very much the same as the majority of the other rooms in Snape's home...deep, Slytherin green. The only difference in this particular room from the living room was the floor. The flooring was not the same rich mahogany she had seen when she had first awoken in Snape's house, but a plush, dark brown carpet, laid wall-to-wall within the room. There was but a single picture on the wall. The photograph was of a young girl staring off into the sunset. It was encased in an oversized gold frame with a rope-styled etching. Slytherin green and gold... what a surprise.

She reached the closet on the opposite side of the room to her bed, taking notice that it was quite large. A walk-in, it had one single laundry bar spanning the length of the inside, along with several shelves on the left and right walls. For a closet big enough to hold the wardrobe of a supermodel, it was surprisingly empty. There was only one shelf with anything on it, and even the contents of that shelf were sparse. She sorted through the six or seven items of clothing and selected a plain white t-shirt and an oversized pair of blue running shorts that she had to roll several times in order to get them to stay put on her hips.

Dressed in her newly acquired attire, she proceeded to make her way towards the staircase. She was somewhat surprised to find that the door to her bedroom was unlocked. Apparently, someone had opened it for her sometime during the night. Hoping that that person was not Lucius Malfoy, she proceeded out the door and down the stairwell.

When she reached the landing, she looked out into the living room for any signs of Snape. There were none. Cautiously, she crossed the room and entered the two-way swinging door that Snape had used to retrieve tea only hours before. The room she found on the other side was much more typical of the Snape that she remembered from Hogwarts...boring. The deep maroon floor tiles were cracked and uncared for. The kitchen cabinets were worn and tattered, and many of them were missing knobs or handles. The sink was plain, cold steel (well that sure seems a lot more like Snape...) and had a long, coiled faucet hanging over the basin. Upon closer inspection, she realized the faucet was actually a hollow metal sculpture of a serpent. The refrigerator mirrored the walls perfectly...a deep, Slytherin green.

She had been in the room for several minutes before she remembered that she was still yet to find Snape. She looked around and noticed a single oak door at the far end of the kitchen. She crossed the room and attempted to turn the door knob, only to find that it was locked. Eager to find where Snape had gotten to, she pulled her wand from her waistband and muttered "alohomora" in the direction of the door.

Instantly, the door flew open in the opposite direction. The room before her eyes was dark... too dark, in fact, to see the room's contents. Once again, she drew her wand and, whispering this time, said "Lumos Maximus." The room sprang to life as she gazed at walls upon walls of various works of literature. She stepped in from the doorway and turned to her right, raising her fingers to the first book on the shelf in front of her, A Potion Master's Guide to Cauldrons. Amazed at the vast library of knowledge sitting in front of her, she ran a tempted hand over the books as she went.

The collection before her was mesmerizing. There were not only books relating to potions, but books on what she believed to be just about every magical subject ever explored. She moved slowly around the room, gasping every time she found a book that seemed overly stimulating. When she had circled the entire room and arrived back at her starting point, she stopped to take in the rest of the room's contents.

There was a long, black couch against the far wall opposite the door. The couch sat upon a deep green rug marked with gold and silver circles. She found the picture in the center of the rug especially intriguing. It was a miniature imprint of the constellation Orion... far too philosophical for a typical Slytherin. Beside the long leather couch stood a small end table, wrought iron base with a plain glass on top. All things considered, the room seemed quite comfortable. Seeing as there was still no sign of Snape, she decided to partake in his enticing collection of tomes. She chose a piece entitled 101 Major Medical Maladies and How to Cure Them and took a seat on the plush leather sofa. Three pages into the selection, a deep, smooth voice interrupted her reading.

"I suppose manners would be too much to ask for," Snape sneered from the doorway. "I should have expected as much from a Gryffindor."

Hermione frowned at the affront on her House. "I apologize, sir, but I was unable to find you. I thought that maybe you had gone in h..."

Her face quickly morphed into a sharp scowl as she was, yet again, interrupted by Snape.

"You thought that maybe you would intrude upon the private rooms of my home. As I said before, how very Gryffindor of you..."

"I apologize, sir, but I was only..."

"Enough, Miss Granger," he droned smoothly. "Seeing as you have made it your business to explore my home uninvited, you may as well make yourself comfortable. I have something to discuss with you."

Hermione sat still, waiting for Snape to continue. He glided across the room and chose a seat beside her on the couch. He smoothed his robes across his thighs before turning his head toward her and continuing their conversation.

"Miss Granger. The time has come for you to learn a skill that few wizards and witches have been able to master. The Dark Lord will be attempting to break into your mind using the honed tool of Legilimency. Our wisest course of action, therefore, would be to have you learn the only known safeguard against it. That is to say, Occulmency."

She looked up at him with doubtful eyes. "Professor, as much as I would like to learn Occlumency, I'm not sure that it is entirely possible for me to do so. I'm not like Harry, sir."

Snape scoffed at the comment. "Indeed, Miss Granger, you are not like Mr. Potter. Therefore, it should not take you all of two years to be able to block out a simple memory. You will do fine."

Was that a compliment?

She smiled at the words that had just escaped her former Potions professor's mouth. If Snape thought her capable of such a task, perhaps she had a chance.

Snape must have noticed her dreamy look, as he felt it imprudent to interrupt her lulled gaze. "We will begin your training immediately. It will not be easy, nor will it be enjoyable. Occlumency is a skill learned only through fervor and determination. Hopefully, you have enough sense to be able to exhibit at least a small amount of these attributes."

That was much less of a compliment.

"Are you ready to begin, Miss Granger?" he asked, rising to his feet and glancing down at her.

She faltered a bit, attempting to find the courage to spout the words that had been on her mind since the previous evening. "Er... Professor, I... I don't mean to be facetious, but, well, I was just wondering..."

Snape sighed in an irritated manner. "Yes, Miss Granger, spit it out. You were just wondering, what?"

Hermione's cheeks flushed. "I was just wondering if we were going to have some breakfast."

She let her eyes drop to her feet that were now shuffling back and forth on the floor. She didn't know why she felt so guilty for asking such a simple and logical question, but she did nonetheless. She chanced a look up at Snape and noticed him staring intently down at her.

"Of course we can have breakfast. What would you like?" he asked plainly.

Unsure of whether he was being genuinely nice or simply mocking her, she hesitated before answering him. "Anything would be fine with me, sir. I suppose that I haven't really eaten anything of substance for a while."

As if he were just now realizing this particular piece of information, a sympathetic look faceted itself on his face. He held out an open hand, palm up, to Hermione, gesturing for her to take it. She did just that, and he helped her up from the couch in a very gentlemanly fashion. Once she had risen, Snape released her hand and turned towards the doorway, motioning for her to follow.

Once in the kitchen, Hermione stopped, assuming that Snape was going to extract some food for them from the cabinets or the refrigerator. She was slightly confused when he continued to walk through the two-way door and back into the living room. Perplexed, she followed after him, wondering where exactly their breakfast was going to come from.

As Snape reached the couch, he motioned for Hermione to stand aside. He extracted his wand from the inside of his robes and pointed it at the floor in the center of the living room.

"Inanimus Conjurus," he stated boldly, holding his wand steadily in front of him.

Instead of the coffee table that had appeared the last time he used the spell, there was now a large, green and gold checkered blanket in front of them. On the blanket were seated two plush pillows, one in deep green and one in maroon.

Snape raised his wand once more and pointed it at the center of the checkered blanket.

"Picnis Edib," he incanted.

No sooner did he finish his last spell than a large picnic basket appeared in the middle of the blanket, centered between the two pillows. Hermione's face glowed with amazement at the incredible display of magic that she had just witnessed. Conjuring spells were difficult enough to master in the first place, but performing them with enough skill to choose the colors of the pillows at will? Now that was talent.

"Sir," she exclaimed. "This is incredible!"

"No, Miss Granger," he droned. "This," he waved his arm broadly, "is breakfast. Shall we?" The sarcasm in his voice went well with the twinkle she thought she saw in his eye as he spoke.

Hermione made her way to the maroon pillow and seated herself, cross-legged, on top of it. Snape walked around her and seated himself on the green pillow, but in an entirely more distinguished manner than his former pupil had just done. His legs were strewn neatly to his right side, his robes somehow settling themselves perfectly on top of them without a single crease. He looked over at her and motioned smoothly for her to indulge in the contents of the basket before him.

"After you, Miss Granger."

Hermione reached for the basket and pulled it towards her. She opened the top and found the contents to be quite well organized. She took out two large, white plates and handed one to Snape before placing the other one in front of herself. She reached back into the basked and extracted three large, silver bowls, each covered with a thin layer of plastic wrap. After placing the bowls between Snape and herself, she reached back into the basket and extracted a fork and knife for herself, as well as a set for her host.

She uncovered the bowls slowly, savoring the warm smells emitting from each of them as she went. The first was filled with scrambled eggs, cooked to perfection, neither too runny nor too dry. The second was filled with piles upon piles of bacon, a crisp scent emitting from the lot. The third was filled with what appeared to be French toast, dripping in what she could definitely smell was a rich maple syrup. Her stomach growled at the intoxicating scents engrossing her senses through her nostrils.

She immediately took advantage of the smorgasbord that lay in front of her, heaping forkfuls of eggs, bacon and French toast on to her plate. She raised her fork in a motion to begin consuming her meal, when she noticed that Snape had not helped himself to any of the food.

"Aren't you eating, Professor?" she questioned him.

Snape smirked at her and reached for one of the bowls in front of him. "Perhaps a Gryffindor is capable of common table manners."

Hermione smiled at the comment and began shoveling food into her waiting mouth, happily appeasing her aching stomach. It was, in a word, fabulous. Her senses came to life while she enjoyed the food that she hadn't known she had been missing for the last thirteen months. Halfway through the meal, her eyes searched the floor for something to quench her growing thirst. When she realized Snape had failed to conjure them any drinks, she turned back to her rations and continued eating.

Snape, apparently picking up on her glance, set down his fork and took up his wand. With a swish of his wrist and a silent incantation, two tall glasses of pumpkin juice appeared before them. Hermione smiled a full-mouthed grin as she took up her glass and drank from it graciously. When their meal was over, Snape took a handkerchief from inside of his robes and handed it to Hermione. She wiped her hands and made to pass it back to him, but he declined her gesture with an open-handed wave.

Snape rose to his feet, and Hermione followed his gesture, walking away from the blanket and back towards the couch. Once they were both off the coverlet, Snape raised his arm a fourth time and muttered "Evanesco." Instantly, the atmosphere that was their breakfast table disappeared. The floor shone brightly where the blanket and food had just been, making it appear as though the entire affair had never happened.

Full, and wholly satisfied, Hermione took a seat on the gray couch behind her. Snape took his place on the seat cushion to her left.

"Thank you for breakfast, sir. It was magnificent."

If she had been expecting a proper response, she would have been sorely disappointed. Snape merely nodded in acknowledgment of the compliment and promptly changed the subject.

"Occlumency, Miss Granger, is not a subject to be taken lightly. You will need to concentrate. You will need to clear your mind of all thoughts and emotions in order to keep the prying minds of others at bay. Come," he directed, standing and walking back towards the kitchen. They marched the same path that Hermione had taken earlier that morning, passing through the kitchen and into the room known to Hermione only as Snape's study.

When they entered the room, Snape motioned for her to take a seat on the leather sofa. She complied, choosing a spot in the middle of the couch and sitting up straight while awaiting Snape's next instructions.

"Are you ready to begin, Miss Granger?" he questioned, straightening himself up to his full height as he stood before her.

"Yes, sir," she responded.

Snape looked pleased with her quick response. "Very well, then. I want you to clear your mind of all thought and emotion. No sadness, no anger, no confusion. Very simply put: nothingness. Try to look directly into my eyes while I attempt to break into your mind using Legilimency. I will count to three."

"One..."

'Clear my mind...'

"Two..."

'Tranquility...'

"Three..."

'Empty thoughts... nothingness...'

"Legilimens!"

As the commanding incantation escaped Snape's lips, Hermione's mind went blank. For several drawn-out seconds there was nothing... open space... blank emotions... just herself and Snape's eyes.

As the seconds passed on, she felt a familiar minute pressure at the back of her retinas.

'Oh, no...' She struggled to fight it. 'No... it's ok. Tranquility... nothingness...' but the pressure ensued.

Suddenly a swarm of memories was crossing in front of her eyes: She as a baby, making her building blocks float in the air in front of her, not knowing why they were able to defy gravity like that... She, Harry and Ron in the Hogwarts bathroom as she cowered beneath a sink whilst Harry and Ron fought the unruly troll... She, in Potions class, staring up at Snape, admiring the skillful way he explained the proper procedure for brewing Amortentia... God, he's brilliant...

Her eyes snapped shut, all memories falling from her mind in an instant. Snape was staring intently at her with a look on his face that she could not quite figure out.

"Impressive, Miss Granger," he stated coolly. "May I ask how you managed to clear your mind to such an extent on your first attempt?"

"Yes, sir. My parents were avid anthropologists before my father opted to attend dental school. They studied many different cultural religions and were especially fond of Buddhism. I simply meditated to clear my mind of all conscious thought, just as the Buddhists do."

Snape arched a brow. "Interesting. Perhaps this will not be as unpleasant as I thought."

Hermione absolutely glowed at that particular comment. Maybe Snape was right. This wasn't going to be so bad after all...

***

Eleven hours of Occlumency practice later, Hermione's skills had not improved at all. If anything, they were worsening with the building stress of constant training. She found herself growing angry with Snape for not allowing her a break in between practice sessions. Her mind was growing thin and tired, and she had developed a pounding headache. Just as she was about to scream at Snape that she could not take any more lessons without a break, he put an end to it for her.

"That is enough, Miss Granger," he stated as he watched her catch her breath over the last influx of memories that had been brought to the surface of her mind. In this particular memory she had been in the Hogwarts kitchen, hiding hand-knitted hats and sweaters in between dirty dishes for the house-elves to accidentally find.

She glared at him through narrowed eyes and resumed her seated position on the large, black sofa. Her head was pounding, and the appetite that had been tugging at her earlier had subsided with the pain in her forehead. She had had enough for one day. All she wanted now was rest.

"As you wish, Miss Granger," Snape said out of nowhere, causing Hermione to snap out of her reverie and look up at him with questioning eyes. He sneered down at her and stated coolly, "You have not mastered the art of Occlumency yet."

Tired, and a little annoyed that he had felt within his rights to read her mind without her permission, she conceded defeat. She rose, looking for him to lead her out of the study. They walked single-file across the kitchen and stopped at the bottom of the stairwell.

"We will resume our efforts first thing in the morning," Snape told her matter-of-factly. "You may use the washroom before you retire. I will be up shortly to seal your door."

She nodded, happily ascending the staircase in hopes that sleep would find her quickly once she reached her heightened destination. At the juncture of her bedroom and the bathroom, she made to turn left to wash up before she turned in, but found she was too tired to do even that. Instead, she curved right and made for her bed. She removed her blue running shorts and slipped under the covers, willing sleep to take her quickly. She was, in spite of her fatigue, unable to sleep. The headache that had begun at the center of her forehead had crept slowly around to the base of her skull. She felt as if a hundred blast-ended skrewts were making a ruckus in her brain.

As she lay her head as still as possible on her pillow in an effort to stifle the pain, she heard footsteps approaching her doorway. She heard Snape begin to recite the incantation that would seal her door for the evening and called out to him.

"Professor?"

He stopped the recitation mid-sentence and opened her door a crack, just enough to see if she was decent or not. Satisfied that she was adequately covered, Snape entered the room and stood at her bedside.

"What is it, Miss Granger?"

"I was just wondering," she started, "if you had any headache potions lying around. I have a terrible migraine, and I don't think I will be able to sleep tonight without one..."

Snape arched his left brow at her before turning on the ball of his foot and leaving the room, robes billowing behind him.

Confused as to whether he had left out of irritation or to retrieve the requested medicines, she could only wait with her eyes shut tight as her headache grew increasingly worse with every passing minute.

Several moments later Snape reappeared, striding up to her bedside and handing her a small, silver bottle with a cloud etched into the side of it. Assuming it to be a headache potion, Hermione drank it gratefully and handed the bottle back to Snape.

"That should take care of the headache. How do you feel?" he asked her.

She sat very still, afraid to shift her head in case the movement caused the migraine to worsen. After several seconds of consideration and ever-so-slight head movements, she realized that her headache had disappeared completely.

She smiled up at the man before her and mouthed a small "thank you" in his direction. A minute, twisted smile met her gaze in return. That was good enough for her.

As Snape turned to leave the room once more, she called to him again.

"Professor?"

He stared at her blankly in response.

"How are we going to convince Lord...You-Know-Who...to allow me to return here once he is through with me?" The words sounded miserable, even to her ears.

Snape looked to his left for a moment before answering her. "I was hoping that I would not have to explain such things to you, Miss Granger. But, as I can see no way of avoiding it, I will tell you. Elder Death Eaters are often offered certain... concessions... after a particularly taxing assignment is completed. Though I have personally refused all offers in the past, I feel that that will only help to ensure the fact that the Dark Lord will find it suitable to grant me this particular request. With the understanding that I am to discard you once I am done with you, the Dark Lord should find it acceptable to allow me to... use you... as I see fit."

A horrified look appeared on her face at Snape's staggering words. "He means for you to have your way with me?" she nearly shouted, still looking intensely into Snape's dark eyes.

"Do not flatter yourself, Miss Granger," he snapped. "Yes, he means for me to have my way with you. I am sure he would find it quite amusing, in fact. I, however, have no desire to spend any more time in present company than is absolutely necessary. Goodnight!"

With that, he exited her bedroom and locked the door as he had done the previous night. Overwhelmed, and still very tired, Hermione shifted to her side on the feathery mattress, thinking about what Snape had just said for several moments before falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.