Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Legilimency Professor
Strings of brightly colored lights glimmered in the Great Hall, casting pools of pinks and pale greens onto the dark tabletops. Snow drifted by the window, piling on the grounds below, creating a pristine, white Christmas outside of the dark halls of Alsemore. The students shifted uncomfortably in their seats. A chill had settled on the castle; Lottie pulled her sweater up to cover her numb, pink nose between bites of the feast.
It was not the merriest of Christmases. The Great Hall was unusually silent. An ominous mood had settled into the stomachs of the students, preventing anybody from feeling particularly chatty; admittedly it could have been because everybody’s mouths were too numb to talk.
Lottie nudged Andrea and pointed toward the staff table. “Who is that?”
A stranger sat, observing the students with a look of distaste. He talked to no one, and yet appeared to be the object of the professors’ undivided attention. Professor Dyer leaned over his plate and murmured something to Professor Seward, the Flying teacher, who shrugged and shot a quizzical glance at the intruder. His dark hair masked his face, but something about the man seemed oddly familiar to Lottie.
Andrea nibbled the crust of a piece of thinly buttered bread. “New professor?”
“In the middle of the year?” Lottie stabbed a chicken breast and lifted it precariously onto her plate. “Nobody’s left, have they?”
“Not that I heard.” Andrea’s wide eyes narrowed as she scanned the rows of teachers for a missing face.
The melancholy murmur of the students died down as Professor Palmyitor strode to the front of the hall. “This is an unusual circumstance,” she announced, “but please join me in welcoming a new professor.” Students turned to each other and whispered hushed questions to their friends. “Professor Breckenridge, due to duties in the war, can no longer commit to teaching full time.”
Of course. Now that Lottie looked at the row of teachers, Breckenridge’s massive frame was clearly the only one missing.
“Taking his place will be a very experienced and well trained wizard. Please welcome Professor Severus Snape.”
The applause was quiet”polite, as the students again turned to their neighbors and mumbled. Clearly, Lottie wasn’t the only one who had heard of Snape’s escapades as a Death Eater.
“Thank you,” Palmyitor went on, the sarcasm in her voice quivering on the verge of anger, “for that warm welcome. If you are all finished with your feast, you may return to your common rooms now.”
Lottie stood up immediately. The back of her neck tingled. She turned her head around slowly to see Snape, amongst the crowds of professors, staring directly at her. She snapped back to Andrea, her heart leaping to the base of her throat. “Let’s go to the dormitory,” she said.
Andrea furrowed her brow, but followed her down the stairs to the Palmyitor common room without question. “He gave me a funny feeling,” Lottie said. They sat down, exhausted, in front of the fire.
“Well of course he did”you’ve heard the stories of him being a Death Eater.”
“No, that’s not all though.” Lottie leaned in closer. “He was staring at me”weirdly. Do you think he knows? About”about my cousin, I mean.”
“Oh Lottie, don’t be stupid. Who would have told him? Especially with his reputation, Palmyitor wouldn’t””
“But she trusts him! That’s the problem. She might think she has to tell him or something.”
“Well”” Andrea spluttered for a moment, searching for words. “Well, he’s a Legilimens, right? Maybe he was reading your mind by accident”like he couldn’t help himself.”
“It doesn’t work like that,” Lottie snapped. “You don’t read minds in Legilimency. It’s more complicated than that. And you can’t just not help yourself.”
“Maybe you can’t,” Andrea said, rubbing her palms wearily over her face. The point of her nose stuck though her fingers momentarily. “He’s better”more experienced, I mean,” she added hastily after spotting Lottie’s expression of outrage. “Maybe he’s so powerful that he does it by mistake. He must be good.”
“Really good.” Lottie sat back in her armchair and stared into the dancing flames of the fire. “Otherwise he wouldn’t be able to trick Palmyitor for this long.”
When Christmas holiday ended, the Palmyitor fourth years waited expectantly outside of the Legilimency classroom for their first lesson. “I wonder what happened to Professor Breckenridge,” Julianne whispered for the tenth time since the announcement of his departure.
“He’s in a war,” Lottie answered. She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes in her best impression of Palmyitor. “Due to the circumstances, he is too busy saving the world and no longer has time to commit to teaching lowlifes such as us.”
“Yeah,” Devin Hackett said. “He’s more needed there. I just hope this Snape guy is any good.”
“I assure you, Mr. Hackett,” drawled a voice behind them, “that he is more than just good.”
Lottie turned around. Severus Snape stared impressively back at the class. “Well?” he asked. The door swung open. The students were silent as they filed inside. When Breckenridge had taught, the room was bare; now, seven dark, wooden chairs loomed in a straight line against the wall. Shelves of books covered almost every inch of stone. “Sit,” said Snape from the threshold.
Lottie sat in the chair closest to the door; she figured, if anything else, an easy escape would be the key to surviving the class.
“Good morning,” he snarled from the other side of the room, though clearly from his expression, he thought the morning was anything but. “I am here to teach you the useful and severely under-practiced arts of Occlumency and Legilimency. I have learned from your Head of House that you are the students here with the most natural ability.” Lottie felt Andrea shift uncomfortably next to her. “That is why you are in this class”that is your place in this war”to spy.”
He turned to Lottie and Andrea. Dark eyes glinting with recognition, he said, “I haven’t seen you two in several years.”
The class turned, eyes wide with surprise. A memory hit Lottie like a slap in the face”Snape had been the one who had rescued them from the Death Eater headquarters years ago. “Naesa was feeling kind that day,” he said, “judging by the fact that you two are still alive.”
Lottie smirked; Andrea just whimpered and sank in her chair. A low babble of murmurs chorused through the classroom, but Snape cut them off with a mere twitch of his eyebrow. “Now, let’s see if you’re as talented as Professor Breckenridge insinuated. He held out the word long enough to send what appeared to be an earthquake through Andrea’s spine. He pulled out a scroll from his pocket and scanned over a list of names. “Woolbright?”
Andrea stiffened in fear and slowly got to her feet.
“Let’s do a basic task to begin.” Snape pulled out his wand. “Use Occlumency. Protect yourself. Legilimens.”
Lottie raised her eyebrows and watched as Andrea struggled with the attack. For a moment, she seemed to have control, but the next, she fell to her knees against the stone ground. Snape did not stop; he did not relent. He towered over her, watching her fight in vain. Part of Lottie wanted to yell, to stop him from continuing”another part was too afraid.
“Pathetic,” Snape finally spat. “Three years of training and this is the best you can show me?”
Andrea did not look up. She sat on her knees, staring at the floor.
“Professor, that’s unfair,” said Edgar Payne, thrusting his hand in the air. “Andrea’s the worst in the class.”
The energy in the classroom shifted. Lottie felt it like a wave, overtaking her completely as heat rose to her cheeks. The students sat in silence, all knowing it was true, but all too uncomfortable to confirm it. The air weighed on Lottie’s shoulders. She leaned back in her chair and stared blankly at Edgar.
Snape arched an eyebrow. “Then who is the best?”
Andrea’s face burned red under the gaze of the class. She did not look up. “Lottie,” she whispered.
A silence permeated the room, interrupted only by the slight creak of wooden chairs as everyone turned their gaze toward Lottie. She felt nothing”no swell of pride or flush of embarrassment. Snape’s face, also, was unaffected, unsurprised. He waited, letting the quiet take on its own life. Lottie waited too, waiting for it to die.
“Well?” Snape finally said. “Are you going to show us your mastery?”
Lottie stood up. Snape was quick and observant”clearly, he was talented. Her heart did not flutter as she crossed to face him. Her Occlumency was already starting to take effect”feel nothing, think nothing. She barely heard him whisper an incantation, but as he raised his wand, she felt a small impact, like a little wave, crashing against her feet.
Her mental block absorbed the attack. The room was silent. All Lottie could see was Snape’s dark, beady eyes, trying to force their way into her mind. The impact was growing stronger”a weight pressing against her chest. Lottie couldn’t help but smirk”this was all Snape had to show them?
And then everything fell apart. The pressure against her block exploded. Everything turned upside-down. Lottie may have been pushed off her feet”she couldn’t tell. All she could hear, all she could feel, was the graze of a spell across her cheek. She tried to see the classroom and remember where she was, but her vision was consumed by the corpse-littered London camp. Death Eaters were approaching. Her immersion was so complete that she could smell the burning corpses littering the alleyways. Her heart thumped against her ribcage. Colm Scrivener’s silhouette appeared against the darkening sky.
Lottie’s eyes snapped open. She was flat on her back on the ground. Her chest rose and fell rapidly; she could hear her own panting, but still felt like she wasn’t taking in any oxygen. The ceiling was spinning, swimming in and out of focus.
“This is the best you have to show me?” Snape asked, his tone wavering in a consistent vibrato. “This is all you have learned in three years?”
Lottie pushed herself off the ground and shuffled back to her chair, staring resolutely at the ground.
“The simplest of tasks,” Snape went on. “Guard your mind. In this twisted world, it is all you can rely on. Friendship means nothing. It is just a means of weakness that the Dark Lord uses to exploit the ignorant. If you constantly put your trust in others, there is no way you will survive.”
“But what is there to live for without friends?” Andrea asked, rising to her feet. Lottie could feel the entire class staring at her. She resisted the urge to smile back at Andrea; this was no time to show weakness.
“Sit down, Woolbright,” Snape spat. “You are a child. You do not understand this war.”
“I don’t understand?” Andrea stood up so suddenly that her chair swayed ominously. “I don’t understand the war? I’ve lived this war. It’s all I’ve ever known. I was born into a world where I was treated like dirt, where I could only live from day to day because I never knew if I would survive the night. I have had to suffer my whole life and the only chance of escape I was offered was to become a soldier”to give up my free will and possibly die for a cause that they won’t let us fully understand. And what have you done?” The tips of Andrea’s nostrils flared dangerously. “You’ve been hiding for fifty years. You’ve been a coward for fifty years while letting children die for you.”
“Don’t call me a coward.” Snape’s long, spindly fingers flexed, as though itching to draw his wand. “You have no idea what the adults in this world have had to do. I have been spying for over half a century”a job most difficult and dangerous”a job that you all are supposed to possess the talent for. But from what I’ve seen, none of you will ever be successful. None of you will survive long enough to be useful.”
“That’s not true.” Lottie got to her feet as well, so that she and Andrea stood shoulder to shoulder in front of the class.
“Ah, finally the master speaks,” Snape drawled, taking obvious pleasure from their outrage. “I am sure you have spent your years being told how special you are. Naesa’s little favorite, aren’t you? But you will never be a master spy.” He stood tall and swept a finger lazily to indicate the pair. “Neither of you. And do you know why?”
Nobody spoke. Nobody dared to take a breath. The air in the class was still.
“You cannot control your emotions. If you cannot control your mind, what do you have? You are useless.”
“That’s not true!” Andrea took another step forward.
Lottie on the other hand sat back down on the floor. Snape was right. Her breathing slowed as she stared at her shoelaces. That was the first thing Palmyitor had taught her and, somehow, she was still unable to execute it. The only reason she was at Alsemore, the only reason she was alive, was to spy. If she lost control of her mind, what did she have left?
“Life isn’t about fighting,” Andrea was saying. “Life isn’t about fulfilling your duty for some greater good. It’s about”about love”and friendship””
“Harry Potter believed that as well.” Snape crossed his arms, preparing for the final blow. “And look where he’s gotten us now.”
Andrea stood for a moment. Lottie could sense the tension from her seat. The class held its breath as Andrea slowly sat back down, cross-legged, on the ground next to Lottie. She did not take her eyes off of Snape, did not blink behind her thick glasses.
“You want to prove that you are worth something?” Snape asked, drawing his slender wand from his pocket. He addressed the class, but Lottie could feel his stare boring into her skull, and hers alone. “Try again.”
Lottie pushed herself to her feet and carefully avoided eye contact with Snape. She took a breath. She had to clear her mind. When she had control of her mind, she could succeed. Releasing her breath in one slow stream of air, she opened her eyes and nodded at the hook-nosed professor.
He didn’t even use an incantation. Lottie could feel his presence coming toward her, like a looming shadow. She couldn’t let her trepidation make her weak. She had to focus. Pressure formed in her forehead as he tried to break down her mental barricade. She breathed steadily and watched him.
The pressure grew stronger. Lottie kept her mind blank; she closed her eyes and let nothingness sweep over her. But the tension did not relent. It grew more and more powerful. A small tingle of anxiety began in Lottie’s toes”no, panic would only make things worse. She kept breathing.
Her unease spread up her body and settled in her stomach. If Snape succeeded, she would be proven wrong”the class would be embarrassed; Andrea would be ashamed of her… Lottie’s eyes widened. And with that, with that minute show of expression, everything broke.
Emotions hit her like a wave; she drowned in her past thoughts as Snape uprooted each memory. Faces swam through her vision, blurring it. She felt removed from it all, a third party observer, and yet as poignant images rose in her mind’s eye, she was throttled into the thick details of her past.
A single moment stood out among the rest. Lottie held the diary”Harry’s diary. Hermione’s silent expression of shock, her quiet battle with nostalgia, played out before her. Lottie uttered, “So I”I’m Harry Potter’s””
“First cousin, twice removed, I believe.”
It stopped. The room fell back into focus. Lottie was on her back again. She pushed herself up, her stomach lurching, panic rising.
“Class dismissed,” Snape hissed.
“What?” Edgar Payne shouted. “We have to sit through this argument and then you just shove us out?”
Snape turned to him, angling his head slightly. “Class dismissed,” he repeated. Each syllable struck sharply and precisely. Andrea recoiled.
Dazed, the class stuffed their parchment into their bags and filed out of the door. Lottie stood in the center of the room, staring at the hem of Snape’s robes. “You too, Rowe,” he said. He swept to the desk and leaned against it, the thick strands of black hair falling in his face. He snapped his head around and, black eyes glimmering, shouted, “Leave!”
Lottie hopped with surprise. Swinging her bag over her shoulder, she ran out of her room.
“What was that about?” Andrea asked from the doorway.
“He knows,” Lottie said, beckoning Andrea to follow her to the common room.
“What?”
“About”about my family,” Lottie said under her breath. “About him being my you know what.”
“Oh. Well”that can’t be too bad.” Andrea set the time on the Palmyitor clock”four minutes past eleven. “He’s a teacher, after all. Palmyitor knows. I’d be more afraid of her, honestly.”
“But he’s a Death Eater!” Lottie followed Andrea into the common room and collapsed onto a stiff, wooden stool.
“Honestly, Lottie, if he can block Palmyitor’s Legilimency, nobody else is going to get the secret out of him,” Andrea said, perching herself on the edge of a graying sofa.
“That’s an understatement. He’s good.”
“Well of course he is.”
“No.” Lottie leaned in urgently. “He’s really good. He’s more powerful than anything I had imagined. He makes what Breckenridge was teaching us a joke. That was my strongest defense and he broke it in a matter of minutes.”
“Well, then it’s settled,” Andrea said, annoyance in her voice raising. “There’s no way we can beat him. That’s it. The end. We lose. Is that what you want?”
“No, but…” Lottie leaned her face against the palm of her hand, thinking. “There must be some way to beat him. He can’t be the best Legilimens ever.”
“And you’re proposing that you are?” Andrea asked, raising her eyebrows. “Listen, Lottie, just don’t worry about it. You did loads better than anyone else could do. For all intents and purposes, you’ve basically mastered Occlumency and Legilimency.”
“No I haven’t!” Lottie stood up in exasperation. “If Snape can beat me, I haven’t mastered it.”
Andrea pursed her lips.
“Well then, you’re just lucky he’s on our side, aren’t you?”
Halfway to Infinity by Eponine
Chapter Notes: You guys know the drill. Like always, so sorry for the long wait. My beta and I are doing our best with our crazy schedules, and if you guys can stick with us, this story will get posted!
On a side note, I finished writing the entire story. (So you know I'm definitely not abandoning it. It's all down!) I thought you all would be interested. It clocked in at seventy-eight chapters, though that is subject to change as I edit.
Thanks as always to TheBird for being amazing and helping me so much! This chapter is dedicated to my awesome barista. Thanks for always being friendly and making delicious Americanos!