The Name in Red **COMPLETE**

Hello everyone! I'm back! I am SO sorry for making you wait so long for an update.

Would a nice lemon be a good treat for making you wait so long? I sure hope so! Warning: lemony ahead!


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The Name in Red.

Chapter 19: Secrets.
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It was later in the day when Professor McGonagall finally finished enough of her Headmistressly runnings-around to finally have a few moments to herself. After ascending the newly-passworded staircase, she stepped into her office and sighed deeply. It was exceedingly stressful taking on Headmistress duties while still teaching Transfiguration. In reality, she had barely had much time to ponder on the mystery that she was about to address with Albus. She had been so busy that it hadn't even occurred to her that perhaps he, as all-knowing and omniscient as he always seemed to be, might be able to offer some insight on the strange case.

"Busy day, Minerva?" Dumbledore asked kindly, smiling down at her from his large frame above the Headmaster's desk.

Startled from her thoughts, Professor McGonagall glanced up at him.

"They all are, as of late," she replied neutrally. "I came back here to discuss with you what you inquired about last night, Albus."

"The new witch that the school has taken on?" he asked casually, tilting his head in a gesture of interest. Secretly, he had been entertaining questions about the girl all day, but he did not wish to press or pester Minerva in her duties. He knew how much of a stretch it must be for her to fill two jobs at once.

"Yes, the new witch," McGonagall replied, clasping her hands behind her back as she continued to tilt her head upward at the silver-bearded wizard. "Though I'm afraid it's not as simple as that. When I say 'new witch', I mean, quite literally new witch."

Dumbledore narrowed his eyes in thought, urging her to continue.

"She came to here out of nowhere, practically," McGonagall continued, "One night, not long ago. She simply turned up on our doorstep, having bled half to death from being attacked by the Centaurs of the forest."

"The Centaurs attacked an innocent young girl? Unprovoked?" asked Dumbledore, looking deeply contemplative.

"Apparently they did not seem to think she was so innocent, Albus," answered McGonagall, "They set on her. The girl said that they may have spoken to her prior to their attack, but she was simply too terrified to remember what they said."

Dumbledore nodded slowly.

"Severus discovered her on the steps of the castle and brought her inside," she continued, "When she finally came around, she, strangely, hadn't the faintest idea that she was a witch."

"That is strange," said Dumbledore quietly, looking as though his thoughts were deepening by the second as he listened to Minerva's story. After a few moments of silence, he dared ask one of the burning questions swimming in his mind. "How old is the girl, Minerva?"

"Eighteen," came McGonagall's reply. "One year older than our normal seventh-years, and the same age as our returning ones."

Dumbledore nodded slowly. McGonagall directed her eyes away from him, beginning to slowly pace up and down the office, as he once did himself while pondering mysteries. She calmly described the girl's circumstances.

"She narrowly escaped the Centaurs, it seems, by performing some extraordinarily powerful, albeit unintentional, magic," she said. She then took a deep breath. "She seems to have slowed the passage of time for a few scant fractions of a second, and then burned one of them with her bare hands."

Dumbledore remained silent. McGonagall continued her slow pacing across the richly carpeted office floor.

"She was completely clueless as to what she was doing, and completely clueless to the fact that she was a witch," McGonagall finished and paused, hoping for some input from her avid listener.

"And she is from America," Dumbledore stated matter-of-factly.

"She is," McGonagall replied. "That much was obvious as soon as she opened her mouth and spoke to us."

Dumbledore nodded.

"Of course," he agreed. "Perhaps...," he began, pausing for thought as he reasoned out what surely must have been an easily-explicable avenue of reason which Minerva had probably already explored, and pushing its alternative out of his mind, "Perhaps she is a Muggleborn? A Muggleborn whose parents were either never contacted by any sort of Wizarding authority, or else who conscienciously chose to raise her as simply a Muggle?"

"That was our first explanation as well," said McGonagall, still pacing. "But apparently the girl has no parents. She told us that they were killed in car accident when she was very young. I do not even think she knew them. We thought then, perhaps, that the authorities in America must simply have lost track of her after her parents died as she moved through different homes, or that she was thought to be dead as well."

"A logical theory," said Dumbledore.

"Yes," McGonagall agreed grimly, "But it, unfortunately, became completely illogical when the girl told us more about her childhood. We asked her the standard questions that any Muggleborn witch or wizard is asked when they are approached by the magical community; if there had been any mysterious or inexplicable events that occurred in their past. Of course, there was."

"When the girl was young, she seems to have unintentionally animated a sizeable tree into attacking her schoolyard tormentors. The event was evidently witnessed by several, including at least one teacher, and a couple of the children were also physically hurt," she explained. "She was so frightened by what had happened that she ran away immediately. Upon returning to her school the next day, no one there had any memory whatsoever of the event, and the children who had been injured were unscathed."

Dumbledore looked troubled.

"Surely they were Obliviated," he surmised.

"Severus and I did not see any other explanation, either," she admitted. "But that only rose further questions for us. Was she being watched? Why was she not approached, if someone knew what she was? Why was she..."

McGonagall continued pacing up and down the office, rattling off mysterious questions about Sarah which seemed unable, unwilling, and unlikely to answer themselves. Dumbledore, however, was no longer listening. His mind was racing with thoughts of his own. He began absently twisting a bit of his beard between his fingers as he contemplated. All of the circumstances were strange. A little too strange for his liking. Even if he possibly might know some of the answers to the questions which Minerva was now straining over, he still possibly might not. Even if he were wrong, he still did not want to invite the kind of commotion that it might, and most certainly would, bring. Taking a deep breath, he resolved that he would just have to remain silent and see if the mysteries surrounding the girl would eventually unravel themselves.

When McGonagall finally fell silent, Dumbledore spoke up again.

"Extremely strange," he supplied.

"And not only that, Albus," she continued to press, "But the magic she performed while her life was in danger seems to have had a physical effect on her. Her eyes should be brown, but they are now bright red."

Dumbledore's expression darkened.

"They did not appear that way when the girl was brought here last night," he argued, but then immediately corrected himself. "A glamour?"

"Yes. Severus keeps applying a glamour to her eyes to make them appear normal. I don't need to tell you what would happen if someone with red eyes went prancing about the castle," she said.

"Does the girl know?"

"She does," said McGonagall. "Quite by accident, but she knows. And she has also been informed of the certain stigma attached to having that particular eye color," she added, her tone grim.

The room fell silent again as Dumbledore's mind once again raced. This could complicate things. He immediately voiced the next question that formed in his mind.

"Has she a wand?"

"She does," said McGonagall, nodding, and still pacing. Dumbledore looked relieved at this. "I made it a high priority that she get her hands on one as soon as possible and that she begin learning how to control her magic. In the meantime, she seems to be doing quite well, actually. She is taking lessons with Severus every weeknight, and from what he tells me, she seems to be excelling marvelously."

"I am glad to hear that," said Dumbledore, sounding extremely sincere.

"She has also made friends of some of the Gryffindor students," McGonagall continued, "Including Mister Potter, Miss Granger, and the Weasley children. She seems to be adjusting well to the school, with their help, I am sure. She is currently staying within the Room of Requirement, which was Mister Potter's idea. I also gave my permission for her to have the password into Gryffindor tower, as to be with her new friends."

Dumbledore smiled inwardly to himself. If Harry was now her friend, he was certain that mysteries would begin unraveling themselves by the kilometer. Of course, he left this sentiment silent. Minerva had enough to worry about already.

Professor McGonagall sighed again, becoming aware of the time.

"I am afraid I have to get to my afternoon Transfiguration class, Albus," she said. It was evident how stressed and exhausted she was.

"Very well, Minerva. Thank you for telling me all of this," Dumbledore replied.

Professor McGonagall gave a nod of acknowledgement. She then turned to once again leave the office, making her way back down the spiral staircase. Before she was completely out of earshot, she shouted back,

"Let me know if you think of anything about it, won't you?"

Unfortunately, she did not witness Dumbledore's lack of a response to her request. He may, perhaps, already know some things about it. He was just hoping that he would end up being wrong.


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After several hours of solitary reading in her room, Sarah became listless. She felt that she was indeed learning a lot, and that there was so much more that she could learn on her own. At the same time, she was thirsty for more knowledge. The bookcases which her room had created for her were far from modest, containing many detailed volumes on almost anything she could want to know about. Still, she wanted to know more. Closing her book noisily and setting it aside, she quickly rose out of bed. With her friends still in class and nothing better to do, she decided that now was as good a time as any for a visit to the place which Hermione frequently raved about.

Leaving her room in the seventh floor corridor, Sarah wasn't exactly sure where the library was, but she was determined to find it. Whenever Hermione mentioned it, she always gestured in a general direction. Based on this, Sarah thought that she would be able to find the library on her own. She did not know the entire layout of the castle extremely well yet, but she did know her usual routes well enough to feel confident about straying off the beaten path. After all, if she were to get lost, it wasn't as if she would never be found or find her way back... she hoped. She still had the feeling of not entirely knowing what to expect from this magical place.

Fortunately, after only a short while of venturing through the corridors in the direction which Hermione always gestured, Sarah was able to find the library. It was almost as big and easy-to-notice for her as the Great Hall was. Pleased that she had managed to lead herself someplace new without any help, she ventured inside.

She was simply awed by the library of Hogwarts. She had never seen so many books in one place before. In fact, she highly doubted that there were so many books together in one place anywhere in the entire world than there were here. Not knowing where to begin, Sarah began aimlessly wandering the many-tiered aisles of books, reading the titles on the spines of the ancient tomes. Several times, she had to dodge out of the way of stacks of flying books which had apparently been charmed to replace themselves in their proper spots after use.

After what might have been hours of exploring, Sarah emerged from the towers of books carrying an armful of them. They were a fairly random assortment of books whose topics ranged from extinct magical creatures to precision spell control, and even one on alchemy. She had only grabbed a few books which interested her; she doubted that anyone would be able to read every single book in this library even in a thousand lifetimes... even as she thought this, she decided that she would ask Hermione just how many of them she had read.

The librarian, it turned out, was a most unpleasant woman who seemed to think that Sarah was going to do terrible things to her books. She also greatly resembled an underfed vulture. After assuring the woman that the books would be returned in a timely manner, and in pristine condition, Sarah was allowed to leave the library with them.

She confidently set out on the trek back to her room, certain that she would easily be able to find her way back. Unfortunately, along the way, she became sidetracked with inspecting one of her books and soon found herself in extremely unfamiliar corridors. Frustrated, she sighed as she continued to wind her way through unknown reaches of the school, hopeful to bump into someone that might be able to assist her. After a short while, she heard loud footsteps echoing from the end of the corridor she was in. Someone must be walking along the adjacent corridor. Good, she thought to herself, They'll be able to point me in the right direction.

As she hurried down toward the end of the corridor, the loud footsteps grew even louder and more echoing, taking on an odd quality to them.

Clip, clop, clip, clop, clip, clop...

"They must be wearing some serious shoes...," Sarah whispered to herself as she neared the end of the corridor.

As she rushed around the corner to face her savior, she was met with a nightmare. A sudden jolt of terror shot through her. She yelled aloud and dropped her books, stumbling backward frantically, only to fall over painfully onto the hard stone.

Groaning, she mastered herself and opened her eyes, hoping that she had only been imagining things, or perhaps that the castle had been playing tricks on her. Unfortunately, she was wrong.

As she looked up from the floor, a pair of horse's legs were standing directly before her. Her eyes slowly trailed upward over the muscular front of the creature. Just as she had seen that dreadful night in the forest, a man's upper body joined the body of the horse where its neck and head should have been. Yet this one was somehow different; she was not being attacked or shouted at. She didn't feel as if she were in danger anymore.

Her eyes continued scanning upward, over the well-defined muscles of the man's torso and arms, and finally up to his face. His hair was long and blonde with protruding pointed ears, his face strikingly handsome, and his eyes astonishingly blue. He stood there calmly looking down at the girl on the floor, his head slightly tilted in curiosity, and his long, elegant tail swishing idly behind him.

"Are you alright, Sarah Garrend?" he asked her, his voice even, smooth, and melodic; almost like a song.

Realizing that she had been staring at him and his handsome non-equine features, she blinked herself back into reality.

"Oh," she said quickly. "Yes, I'm alright. I'm sorry. I was just a bit... startled... by you."

Being that he was so very tall, Firenze had to slowly bend himself down on one knee to offer Sarah a helping hand back to her feet. She gladly accepted it, and at once she was upright again. Firenze then went about politely collecting her books for her, kneeling gracefully to do so.

"It is fine," he assured her, straightening up and handing back her now neatly stacked books.

"Thank you," she said, giving him a small smile and taking her books from him. Her first and only encounter with Centaurs, so far, had been far less pleasant than this one, and she still found herself nervous. "Erm... how did you know my name?"

"All of the staff have been informed of your presence here by the Headmistress," he explained, "But, of course, I would have known your name even if this was not the case."

"How?" Sarah immediately inquired. Was this Centaur one of the ones that had attacked her, unprovoked?

"The stars told me you were coming," he smiled down at her pleasantly.

She blinked at him again. She knew absolutely nothing of Centaurs and their stargazing ways.

"And your name?" she asked politely, after several moments of silence.

"Ah, forgive me," he said, giving her a cordial bow. "I am Firenze. I teach Divination classes here."

"Nice to meet you, Firenze," said Sarah.

The Centaur nodded to her.

"Anyway, I'm sort of a bit lost, I just came from the library. Do you think you could point me in the direction of the Great Hall?" Sarah asked. If she were able to get back to the Great Hall, she could definitely find her way back to her room on her own.

"As I was actually headed in that direction myself, I shall walk you there. Come with me, Sarah Garrend," said Firenze, motioning back in the direction from which she had originally come.

Still curious about how the Centaur would have known her name, she was unfortunately too intimidated by him and alltogether too nervous to ask him any further questions. She walked beside him quietly, trying to resist the urge to glance at his otherworldly beauty once more. She could see that one of his flanks bore a deep-looking scar.

To Sarah's relief, he escorted her back to the Great Hall. When they arrived there, he turned to her.

"Thank you so much, Firenze," she said to him, smiling. With such a friendly and helpful Centaur around, it seemed, it probably wouldn't be difficult for her to overcome her fear of them.

Returning her smile, he bowed to her again.

"Proceed with caution, Sarah Garrend," he told her, before turning and continuing on his way.

Sarah stood there for a few moments, wondering what that could possibly mean. Soon after, however, she realized that it was almost supper time, and she would need to put her books up in her room before meeting her friends. Without giving it a second thought, she continued along the familiar path back up to her seventh floor corridor.


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Supper that evening was fairly uneventful. Sarah, who had spent much of her afternoon before her visit to the library perusing her copy of The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 7, took up the opportunity to ask Hermione several questions about spells which resulted in several fairly lengthy and difficult-to-understand answers. Still, she felt that she was learning a great deal, even if she couldn't comprehend everything that Hermione was saying. She could certainly see how great of an academic help Hermione had been to Harry and Ron over the years.

Hermione was extremely pleased to learn that Sarah had visited the library on her own, and suggested that she make another trip along with her for a thorough, guided tour.

Sarah also told her friends how she had met Firenze, and how he had helped her when she became lost. Sarah was amused, and could not help but laugh, when she heard how many of the female students of the school fancied him because of his good looks. Sarah too admitted that she had been caught staring when she first saw him.

Still engaged in a lengthy conversation about spells with Hermione, Sarah was gently nudged by Harry when it was nearing seven o'clock.

"Oh, right," she said, snapping back to reality. She then abruptly rose from the table. "Thanks for the help, Hermione, but I've got to run. I'll see you guys later."

Hermione smiled and nodded at her, pleased that she was taking up an initiative to learn more about magic on her own. Harry gave her a nod as well. He had been fairly quiet throughout the meal. In reality, he had been greatly wanting to further discuss their plan, but knew that he could not do so in the presence of their other friends. Ginny and Ron, who were absorbed in yet another argument about Quidditch, did not even notice her get up to leave.

As Sarah slipped out of the Great Hall, none of her friends at the Gryffindor table noticed a second figure slip out discreetly after her.

Only a few steps into the corridor outside, Sarah was startled by a voice right behind her.

"Hey!"

Surprised, Sarah wheeled about expecting to see Harry chasing her down the corridor, eager to continue discussing something about their plan. Instead, she was greeted by the same tall young man with white-blonde hair who had come to visit her in the hospital wing yesterday.

"Draco," Sarah smiled. Draco was also smiling as he approached her, but Sarah could not help but liken his uncertain mannerisms to a frightened animal approaching something strange and unknown. He looked uneasy, as if he did not quite fully know what he was doing.

"I saw you leaving," Draco began, his hands thrust deep in his trouser pockets and his head slightly bowed. "I figured the Slytherin table would be glad to be rid of me a bit early, so I thought I would come and say hello. A good opportunity, you know." He left silent the part which included her not being followed by any of her Gryffindor friends, as well. As that thought crossed his mind, he nervously glanced back toward the doors of the Great Hall, just to be certain.

"That was nice of you," said Sarah, still smiling at him, and unable to help herself from feeling endeared by his obvious uncertainty at friendly social interaction. "I was actually just headed to my lesson with Professor Snape. You can walk there with me, if you like. I wouldn't be surprised at myself to get lost in here again."

Draco nodded silently and took a step forward, urging her to continue on her way. He walked beside her as she proceeded onward.

"Lesson with Professor Snape?" he asked curiously after a moment's pause.

"Yeah," replied Sarah, "I'm not really taking normal classes, to be honest. I've got lessons during the week with Professor Snape. He teaches me a bit of everything." At this, she could not help but blush slightly and bite the inside of her mouth.

Draco raised his eyebrows. It seemed strange that, after having been adopted into Gryffindor, Sarah would be taking lessons with the Slytherin Head of House.

"Why aren't you taking lessons with Professor McGonagall?" asked Draco.

"She doesn't have enough time, with being Headmistress and all. So she put Professor Snape up to it," said Sarah.

Draco snorted quietly to himself.

"I see now," he said amusedly. "I couldn't see Professor Snape volunteering to give private lessons to a student during his evening hours."

Sarah laughed a little.

"Yeah, he wasn't exactly happy about it from the get-go, but I think he's alright with it now." She said this as nonchalantly as possible while smirking to herself.

"He isn't really mean to you, then?" asked Draco, tilting his head to the side to glance at Sarah as they walked along.

"No, he's not," Sarah replied firmly. "What is it with everyone thinking he's a jerk all the time." This last statement, she said to herself more than to her companion.

"Well, he sort of is," Draco said timidly, glancing down at his feet so as to not misstep as they began winding their way down into the dungeons. "To most people, anyway. He tends to be a bit nicer to the Slytherin students if you can even call it being nice, but still, he's far from being a nice teacher, or a nice person."

"Alright, I guess I can admit that's true in most cases," Sarah ceded.

"You're looking all better, at any rate," said Draco, changing the subject. He also gave a nod in her direction. "All fixed up from the Bludger hit, then?"

Sarah nodded.

"It wasn't all that bad, really. Just a big bruise, and Madam Pomfrey fixed it all up," she replied. "Still, I won't be laying a hand on another broom if the Slytherin team is anywhere near me."

Draco laughed.

"That's how most people feel, actually, so you're not alone," he said. He looked up now that they were nearing the door which he knew to lead into Snape's office.

Sarah smiled and shared in his laughter. When they reached the door to Snape's office, she turned to face him. His head was still slightly bowed, and his hands were still thrust deeply into his pockets.

"Thanks for walking me here," she told him sincerely. She knew how much of a stretch it must be for him to risk befriending her, and she wanted to do her best to encourage it.

"No trouble at all, really," he assured her politely.

As the two continued to chat for a minute and then said their goodbyes, the door that they were standing in front of was suddenly and noisily wrenched open.

Snape, who was completely unaccustomed to hearing laughter and talking in the corridor outside of his office, had immediately come to investigate the source of the noise. He looked angry and intense as he glared out at the unknown occupants of the hallway. As his glare fell upon Sarah, however, his expression softened. Unfortunately, this was only momentary as his expression immediately intensified again as his eyes fell on the young man standing beside her. Both Draco and Sarah looked startled, but Draco looked extremely so.

A few silent moments passed in which Snape's eyes darted from Draco to Sarah and back. So she had been talking and laughing with Malfoy, who had evidently walked her here. For some reason, this unsettled him. He immediately felt territorial. He had been completely unaware that they knew each other, and even more completely unaware that they were apparently friendly as well.

"Mister Malfoy," Snape said at last, his tone heavy and flat. He then glanced over at Sarah again, eager to separate them. "We have a lesson to get on with. If you would be so kind."

Draco nodded once and muttered something incomprehensible, chancing a glance and a nod at Sarah before he turned and hurriedly left the dungeons. As soon as he was out of sight, Snape stepped aside to allow Sarah entrance to his office. Still slightly startled by his sudden appearance and the cold, harsh way in which he had seemed to dispatch Draco, she hurried inside. She thought to herself that she couldn't blame Draco for assuming that Snape was mean to her.

Closing the door softly behind Sarah, Snape strode past her around to his desk.

"A new friend?" he asked casually as he passed her, attempting to belie his sudden jealousy and suspicion.

So far, he had managed to control his suspicions about her apparent friendship with Potter because he had, on many occasions, observed Potter with the Weasley girl. He could manage to beat it into his head that Potter was probably not interested in the girl. Malfoy, however, he knew to be alone in every sense of the word. He could not help but let his old, deep-running insecurities come to the forefront. Sarah was, after all, a young, attractive witch; and Malfoy a young, attractive wizard. Himself by comparison was nothing but an old man.

Sarah's eyes widened slightly. She wasn't quite sure how she could tell, but something wasn't quite right with him. He seemed on edge, when he was usually quite the opposite around her lately. As he rounded his desk to look at her again, his expression was casual, but she could sense something more intense stirring in the depths of his black eyes.

"Yes," she replied, "He came to see me yesterday in the hospital wing after I'd been hit with the Bludger to see if I was alright. He even brought me flowers."

Snape's eyes must have darkened about ten shades from their usual darkest black.

A shot of fear-related adrenaline worked its way into Sarah's system.

"I see," he said, still trying his best to sound extremely casual. He straightened up. He could no longer resist the urge, and had just made a rapid change in lesson plan for this evening. "Well, for this evening's lesson I have something fairly advanced planned for you, but I am sure you will excel in learning it as you have your many other magical skills."

"More advanced than flying without a broom?" Sarah asked, slightly excited and slightly nervous at the same time. However, she was now successfully distracted from how menacing Snape had looked when she had mentioned Draco bringing her flowers.

Snape strode around to the front of his desk and leaned against it, still facing her where she stood in the middle of his office.

"In a different way," he said, after a moment of thought. "But it is a highly useful skill that all witches and wizards would do well to learn. For some, it is extremely difficult to master, and for others, simple. Your friend Potter, for instance, did not do well on this skill to say the least."

Sarah raised her eyebrows; Harry seemed like an extremely talented wizard, and she couldn't imagine something at which he might fail.

"What is it?" she asked at last, after Snape did not expound.

"Occlumency," he replied. "It is the ability to shield your mind against outside access by those who would seek to discern your thoughts, memories, or feelings."

Sarah suddenly looked stricken.

"People can do that?" she choked out nervously, now paranoid that every student in the school could be privy to her secret thoughts and feelings about this man at a whim, not to mention their certain extracurricular activities.

Snape smirked to himself, able to read her clearly even without the use of Legilimency.

"A Legilimens can," he explained. "And do not concern yourself; I do not believe any student in this school to be overly talented at Legilimency. It is not something normally taught. You would know if someone were seeking to penetrate your mind."

Sarah breathed a silent sigh of relief, but suddenly became stricken again, looking suspiciously at Snape.

"But wait, how did you just--? I didn't feel anyth--,"

Snape could not help but chuckle lowly to himself.

"I did not need Legilimency to know what you were thinking at that particular moment," he said.

"You can do it, then?" Sarah asked.

Snape nodded.

"Quite well," he admitted. "I am also a master Occlumens. I had to be for my frequent... occupational hazards."

Sarah did not need to guess twice as to what this truly meant.

"And in order to teach Occlumency to you, I will need to perform Legilimency on you, so that you may learn to shield yourself from it," he explained. The perfect excuse.

"Alright," said Sarah, sounding somewhat uneasy. She swallowed hard and wondered if he already knew that she had something to hide from him. "What do I do?" she asked, drawing her wand out from inside her robes.

"You will not need a wand for this," he instructed her patiently. He did not need her to reproduce any of the catastrophic side-effects that Potter had produced while attempting to learn Occlumency, such as an inadvertent stinging hex.

Sarah nodded, immediately replacing her wand inside her robes. Snape then strode forward a few paces, bringing himself closer to her. His arms were folded across his chest, and his black eyes were looking down into hers, already eager to probe their depths. He had to, of course, give the girl a chance to defend herself first, even though he was certain that she would not be able to shield herself perfectly on a first attempt. In fact, this is what he was counting on in order to find out what he wanted to know: how she was feeling about Malfoy, and maybe Potter too, while he was at it.

"You will have adequate warning when I am about to perform Legilimency on you," he assured her. "When I do, you will need to focus on closing your mind. Clear your mind of anything and everything. Any racing or panicked thought will be as obvious to me as if you were shouting it aloud. Your mind needs to be as blank as you can manage to make it."

Sarah nodded once, listening intently to his instructions.

"After you have focused on blanking your mind," he continued, "You will need to begin focusing on pushing me out of it. Being able to clear your mind successfully won't matter if I can remain there indefinitely and wait for you to slip up. Do you understand?"

"I think so," she said uneasily.

"It will take some getting used to," he said, nodding at her. He slowly reached inside his own robes, withdrawing his wand. "You probably will not have the faintest idea what I am talking about until you actually experience it for yourself. Are you ready?"

Sarah nodded, shifting uneasily on her feet.

"Very well then. Prepare yourself," he told her, raising his wand to her eye level.

Sarah took a deep breath, trying to relax and clear her mind as best she could.

"One, two, three... Legilimens."

It might have been one of the strangest sensations Sarah had yet felt in her entire life. There was suddenly a nameless, formless presence inside her, riffling through her thoughts. It felt as if there was another entity inside her mind, separate from her own consciousness, and yet part of it. Snape wasted no time in searching for the things he was after, and Sarah stood there, stunned, watching it all happening like some kind of bizarre, fast-forwarded movie reel.

She was standing in the corridor outside Snape's office with Draco before Snape had opened the door; she was walking down to Snape's office beside Draco, chatting with him; she was sitting on a bed in the hospital wing with Draco standing before her, looking extremely uncertain of himself, and handing her roses; she was standing on the Quidditch pitch watching the Gryffindor and Slytherin teams squaring each other up, and a young man in the Slytherin crowd smiled at her... Then, everything went black, and Sarah found herself staring up at the ceiling of Snape's office.

Having found no more memories involving Malfoy, and being sufficiently satisfied that he had discerned no feelings of romantic warmth or affection from the memories he had seen, he had ceased probing her mind to see how she had coped with the sensation.

Unfortunately, she had not coped with it very well. After he had drawn out of her mind, she had fallen over from the sheer shock of it, and was now lying on her back on the floor, unmoving, and her expression quite blank.

Slowly, he approached, her, peering down at her curiously. She stared back up at him and blinked. Without speaking, he extended his hand to her. Sitting up, she took his hand in hers and allowed him to help her to her feet.

"That was... strange," she said quietly, shaking her head back and forth as if to clear it of the strange presence that had just been inside. "And... you saw all those things? Me talking with Draco, and how I met him?"

"Yes," he admitted, "I saw all of the things that you saw me seeing, as it were. Now that you have a better idea of what to expect, you can begin trying to protect yourself against it. Shall we try again?" Snape asked, eager to start reviewing all of her memories about Potter.

"Alright," said Sarah, steadying herself. Again, she took a deep breath, trying to clear her mind.

Snape raised his wand back to her eye level, and said slowly again,

"One, two, three... Legilimens."

The sensation was just as strange as it had been the first time, but the shock of it was lessened as she felt the presence invade her mind and begin sifting through her thoughts. She was once again watching everything speeding by extremely quickly. Her own thought process, a dim underlying presence that she could vaguely hear, seemed extremely slow, foggy, and sluggish by comparison. These memories that she watched speed by, however, were all out-of-order compared to the ones involving Draco.

She watched, in succession, several instances in which she was alone with Harry, talking with him; there were also several times that she was with all of her Gryffindor friends, Harry included; she was dining with them in the Great Hall; she was with Harry the first time that he had taken her to meet Hagrid; she saw her ordeal on the Quidditch pitch, and also her first Quidditch game; she saw herself colliding with an invisible Harry in the corridor outside the hospital wing the first time they had met; then, she was strolling with Harry into Diagon Alley...

As she saw this last memory fly by, a sudden, terrifying thought lifted itself in her mind. Fortunately, Snape was too busy scrupulously examining her Potter-related memories to notice. What if he sees what they were up to? What if he sees them breaking into the Ministry, with his stolen Polyjuice Potion? The thought sent a shock of terror through Sarah's body, and suddenly her slow, foggy, and sluggish thought process became clear and sharp. She knew she had to put a stop to this, or he would see something that she didn't want him to.

Without knowing what else to do, or how to successfully blank her thoughts and push Snape out of them, Sarah shut her eyes as tightly as she could, focusing every ounce of her energy on her mind. Before Snape could see anything else, her thoughts sped up to the point where they were indistinguishable and unreadable, hectic, chaotic, and panicked. Sensing her discomfort, he immediately put a stop to his probing and withdrew. As soon as he did, Sarah once again lost her balance and fell to the floor, but managed to remain sitting up instead of falling over completely.

When he looked down at her, she was breathing slightly heavily and looking a little scared as she looked back up at him, her brown eyes wide.

"Are you well?" he asked, stepping forward and offering her his hand again. He was eager to begin again; the last memory that he had seen intrigued him greatly.

She nodded and took his hand, and was lifted to her feet.

"I was unaware that you and Mr. Potter visited Diagon Alley together," he said casually as he stepped away from her again, his wand still in his hand.

"Oh," she said, remembering the memory which had spurred her to push him out of her mind. "Yeah, I liked it so much that I wanted to go back and do some more shopping, so Harry asked for Professor McGonagall's permission, and we went. That was the night when I...," she cleared her throat and continued more quietly, "...got a little drunk."

"More than a little, I would say," he said amusedly. His wand itched in his hand; he wanted to search for more memories of Potter that he was not aware of. Even so, he was thus far relieved that none of her memories had contained and kind of romantic airs or feelings. "Are you ready to try again?"

"Give me a second," said Sarah, and Snape nodded to her in reply.

Now she was scared. She didn't seem to be able to clear her mind or force him out very well, and there were definitely things that she did not want him seeing. She could get herself, and Harry, in loads of trouble, not only with Snape, but perhaps the Wizarding authorities, too. If she were to ask him to stop, it might look suspicious. She would just have to focus extra hard and try to keep her mind blank, and to force him out as quickly as possible, even though she had not yet managed to do so on her own.

After several moments of composing herself, she nodded at Snape.

"Alright," she told him.

Raising his wand again, Snape repeated,

"One, two, three... Legilimens."

This, on Sarah's part, was a much more successful attempt at Occlumency. Initially her mind was a blank, hazy, and foggy space. She could only hold this stasis for a few moments, however, before her mind, and her heart, started racing again. She was in Snape's storeroom, kissing him passionately, having been backed up against the ladder by him. Sarah, knowing what was really happening in this memory, tensed up again. She did not manage to push him out immediately, but fortunately for her, Snape was transfixed in watching this memory replay itself, and her mind did not continue to race. Mostly because Snape had lost his focus upon seeing them together in such a manner, she was able to gently push him out of her mind. Still standing, she blinked at him.

He looked back at her, slightly confused. He could not ignore that he had been distracted and aroused by seeing this memory, but his intent had been to search for memories that Potter was in, and Potter was clearly not a part of this memory. Was he that easily distracted by the girl that he lost his focus so quickly?

"Very good," he told her. "At first, it was perfect, but then you lost focus and... chose to bring that particular memory to the forefront of your mind?"

Sarah swallowed hard.

"Yes," she said quickly, "It just... sort of... came to mind when I was trying to keep it clear. I couldn't help it." She also couldn't help the fact that she was now blushing for several reasons, her lying to him being the least of them.

"I see," he said. "Well, while you did not manage to keep your mind perfectly clear, by pushing one clear thought to the forefront of your mind you did manage to stop me from probing any further and successfully push me out, though I must admit that I too was... distracted," he purred.

Sarah blushed even deeper.

"Shall we try again?" he asked, but his tone was silky and seductive, almost telling her that he was anxious to find out what he might see in her mind next.

Sarah then realized that she might have a strategy. If she could push clear, vivid memories of their passionate moments together to the front of her mind, he would probably be contented with viewing them and not looking any further. Of course, she would still have to try and clear her mind first, but as soon as it failed, she would push up one of her more heated memories.

"Okay," she said, swallowing hard again, watching nervously as Snape raised his wand.

"One, two, three... Legilimens."

This attempt also started off well. Her mind was initially a blank fog, through which nothing was visible. Sarah managed to make this state last several seconds longer than she had the first time, but she quickly found her mind beginning to race again. Before she could betray herself with incriminating thoughts of Harry and their secret activities, she quickly forced another memory to the front of her mind. She was lying on her back in the cool grass on the Quidditch pitch at night, in the darkness, with Snape atop her, kissing her passionately; then she was in his bed the first time that they had made love, a heated tangle of bare limbs, moaning his name in bliss as he pushed into her again and again... each of these memories lasted several good, long moments, as if Snape was taking his time in viewing the goings-on.

She had been prepared to bring another memory to the forefront, but the presence in her mind was suddenly gone, and she found herself once again looking at Snape, and thankfully, she was still on her feet. He looked at her intensely, his eyes hungry. She took a deep, shaky breath; the memories had affected her the same way that they had affected him.

"Well," he said, after a few moments of heated silence, "I must say that after your first practice at it, you are infinitely more talented at this skill than Potter, and given more time, you might become very good Occlumens."

She nodded her thanks, pleased with herself that she had at least succeeded in some small way, even if it had been a slightly contrived one. She watched as he placed his wand down on the far corner of his desk.

"Now, however... what do you say to calling it an early lesson, and making some more memories for when next we practice?" he purred, stepping dangerously close to her.

In response, Sarah could do nothing but remain rooted to the spot, looking up at him. Such was his effect on her. She had been brought from fear and panic to warmth and arousal so quickly that her body barely knew what to do. Either way, her pulse, along with her mind, was once again racing. She felt her body flash hot when his hands slowly snaked their way to rest on her hips.

She opened her mouth slightly to form some kind of response. Ever the opportunist, Snape took complete advantage of this momentary lapse, and quickly leaned down, placing his own lips upon hers. A soft kiss gradually turned into a deep one, and he quickly switched their positions so that she was fast being backed up against the desk by him. All the while, one hand gently ran its way up her side, and the other entangled itself in her long, flowing hair.

This embrace he had her locked within pulsed of a hunger and possessiveness which she had never felt before. Even though she could barely hear her own thoughts again, as was the case when he was inside her mind, she was dimly able to register something. He held her so tightly and so passionately. So possessively. She vaguely recalled how his eyes had darkened when they fell upon Draco, how they had darkened even more when he mentioned her hospital wing visit from him, and how he had seemed off and on-edge when first entering the office with her. Then, their lesson immediately consisted of him sifting through her memories of Draco, and, since they were few as they had only just met, her memories of Harry as well.

Could it possibly be that he was... jealous?

Did he invent their lesson plan for the evening on the spot simply to probe her mind about her activities with other males in the castle?

At first, she did not quite know how to feel about this. She brought her hands up to rest on his chest with the primary intention of pushing him away, but once they met his smooth, lean muscle, they stayed there, splaying themselves out to feel him. She could no more resist his physical influence on her than she could his presence in her mind. She did not truly know how deeply his many insecurities ran, but she could sense that this newfound possessiveness was genuine and real. It was almost as if he was immensely relieved to have her safe in his arms again, like a drowning man gasping for air.

All anger forgotten, she moaned softly into his mouth when he finally pinned her against the desk, pressing his hips hard into hers so that she could feel his arousal. She was completely lost in him once again; his heat, his intoxicating scent, his dizzying caresses. Without warning, he took a tight hold of her hips and lifted her up onto his desk. Her legs spread apart almost automatically to allow him in between them. Before she knew it, he was pushing her outer robes off of her, revealing her Muggle t-shirt and jeans which she was so partial to wearing. She gasped at the feel of his skin on hers when his hands deftly found their way underneath her t-shirt, and he quickly broke their kiss in order to lavish attention on her neck. As he ravished her, caressing her upper body all over and cupping her breasts firmly, the hands resting on his chest began working away at his imposing row of black buttons.

"Want you...," he whispered softly in between kisses on her neck.

She gave a contented sigh at his words, pushing his outer robes open to reveal his white undershirt and largely tented trousers. Once she saw the evidence of his arousal, she could not help but let her hands go immediately to his belt area to begin tugging on it in an effort to find its clasp. When he felt this, he smiled against her neck, and for fair play, his hands immediately found the back of her bra, unfastening it. Once he began squeezing her bare breasts, she could barely focus on what she was doing anymore. She moaned aloud in pleasure, and out of frustration as she continued tugging at his belt.

"Is this what you want?" he purred into her ear, taking both of her hands by the wrists and placing them on his concealed erection.

All she could do was nod vigorously in response. In order to tease him back, she gave it a firm squeeze which resulted in a hiss of pleasure. His own hands moved back to her shirt, and he pulled it upward, along with her bra, while she raised up her arms and allowed him to take it off. He let both discarded articles of clothing fall to the floor, and immediately leaned forward to kiss and lick her breasts. Her hands moved back to his belt area where she tugged his white undershirt free of his trousers, quickly placing her hands on his bare skin and feeling his lean, smooth muscle underneath. Straightening up again, he tossed off his own shirt, letting it fall to the floor along with hers.

Before he could lean into her again, her hands went to his belt, still trying to get it off of him. Smirking to himself, he gently pushed her hands away. He found that he enjoyed slowly revealing himself to her, and watching the way her pulse would race in anticipation, and how she would bite her lower lip. As she watched, he slowly unfastened his belt and opened it, undoing his trousers and pushing them down, along with his boxers, just enough to free his daunting arousal. He smirked as he drank in her reaction. He was pleasantly surprised when she reached out to grasp it, wrapping her fingers around it firmly, and experimentally stroking him. He closed his eyes, leaning forward to rest his palms against the surface of the desk on which she sat. He began to kiss her softly as she explored him. It felt hot and hard under her fingers, but the skin covering it was extremely smooth. As she stroked him, he quickly began dripping the same, pearlescent liquid which she had seen on him before.

Giving a soft groan of pleasure, he moved his hands off of the desk to the fly of her jeans, which he opened. She obliged him by slightly raising herself up off of the desk so he could pull them down, and he took the invitation quickly, pulling them down to the floor along with her panties. As she had been forced to let go of him, he took the opportunity to stand and push his own trousers down the rest of the way, stepping out of them, as well as his shoes. His socks, however, remained, a ward against the icy cold dungeon floor.

She reached for him again, eager to please him, but he moved away from her, still smirking.

"Stay," he commanded, his tone husky and deep with arousal.

She watched him as he disappeared into his adjoining quarters. Moments later, he re-emerged carrying another small bottle of the contraceptive potion which she had twice had the displeasure of tasting. When she saw it, she grimaced, and he did not miss it.

"I know," he said, "But it is highly preferable to its alternative, I am sure you would agree."

When he held out the small bottle to her, she took it and drank it down as quickly as she could in an effort to ignore the taste. She handed it back to him watched him as he moved behind his desk to arbitrarily place it on a shelf.

"You seem to be running me out of this particular potion quite quickly," he said smoothly. "I shall be needing to make some more."

Instead of moving back around to the front of the desk where she sat, however, she watched him as he pulled out his large chair, a seductive leer on his face. He sat down upon it, his legs spread wide, and his arousal jutting upward, impossibly large.

"Come," he instructed her.

Ever obedient and powerless to his wishes, she hopped off of the desk and moved around to where he sat. He placed his hands on her hips and guided her towards him.

"Spread your legs over me," he purred.

With his guiding hands on her hips, she positioned himself over him so that he was pressing against her tight entrance, now liberally wet with her desire for him. With one hand still on her hip, he grasped himself tight with the other hand and slowly began guiding her down onto him. She gasped at the intrusion as he first pushed inside, but she quickly found herself starving for more of him, eager to be once again filled and stretched. She slowly lowered herself down the rest of the way until he was fully sheathed within her. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight to him, and began kissing her neck while allowing her to adjust.

He groaned deeply when she began gently rocking against him, and he sat up more straightly to allow her a better angle to do so. He kissed her deeply, but neither could manage without breath for very long. They were both breathing heavily and gasping in pleasure at this position which was bringing them new sensations. He soon began pushing himself upward in time with her downward motions, and she moaned deeply and tilted her head back. Leaning forward into her again, he licked, sucked, and even bit her breasts gently, sending her to new heights as she rode him.

He pushed up harder into her, quickening their pace. She leaned forward into him, wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her head against his shoulder. He too wrapped his arms tightly about her, unable to feel enough of her at once. Her pace gradually became quickened and erratic, her breathing faster and more shallow, and he immediately knew that she was almost at the edge. With one arm around her to push her down more firmly into him as he pushed upward, he quickly reached between them to stimulate the center of her pleasure. The effect was almost instantaneous.

"Severus," it came out as a gasp as she arched her back.

He could feel her tightening, pushing him over the edge with her, and he pushed her down onto him as hard as he could. Her inner muscles contracted tightly and rapidly around him as he stilled, holding her tight against him as he forcefully shot upward into her, filling her with his seed. When their pulsing slowed, they were holding each other tightly, their bodies both slicked with sweat, and breathing heavily.

As they relaxed in each other's arms, she rested her head on his shoulder once again. Gradually they caught their collective breath, but none of their heat faded. After a period of silence, Sarah finally spoke.

"Just so you know," she whispered tentatively, "I'm not interested in Harry, or Draco."

He tightened his arms around her briefly in response. So the girl had deduced what he had really been up to tonight before their lesson had lead them here to this passionate embrace, even though he would not admit it aloud. The small squeeze was his way of thanking her for the reassurance, and also thanking her for not flying off the handle about having her thoughts invaded for his own jealous purposes. He sighed softly. He had once again let his insecurities take control of his actions. Thankfully, this time, no one had been hurt. Perhaps it had even brought them closer together. So much between them still remained, for the most part, unspoken. Despite this, they communicated astonishingly well for such a seemingly mismatched pair.

Giving her another gentle squeeze, he turned his head so his lips rested against her ear.

"I believe we still have some more memories to make tonight, yet," he whispered.

She smiled against his shoulder.

She wrapped her legs tight about him and he held her tight as he rose out of the chair, still holding her against him. He wrapped one arm tighter about her in order to grab his wand off of the corner of his desk. Before carrying her out of the room into his quarters, he flicked it at the door. There was a loud, metallic noise as the door locked itself securely. When he flicked his wand again, the door was now securely warded against any intruders.

It simply wouldn't do for anyone to come knocking on their lesson only to find the office full of discarded clothing and nothing else.


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A/N: There you have chapter 19! I really hope you enjoyed it.

I should definitely have more time to write over break. Once again, I apologize for making you all wait so long for an update. I hope that you were all eagerly anticipating it, as I hope you are also eagerly anticipating the next chapter!

Please review if you would be so kind :) Thank you for reading! More to come soon!