"Ancient Runes" a Severus Snape ff - Snape x OC

Chapter 16

Excited and anxious to see what was to come, Lysanna stood in front of Severus' office at 10 sharp and knocked on his door just as the bell chimed.

The door opened without him having said anything and Lysanna entered, a little unsure.

"I hope you are prepared, Lysanna. We will start right away." He stated and gestured to a chair in front of him.

Slightly intimidated by his stern tone, Lysanna sat down and gazed intently into the dark eyes.

"Legilimens!" Severus' voice thundered without any warning and Lysanna didn't even get a chance to stop him from entering her thoughts. As if she were no longer the master of her senses, a wide variety of scraps of thought raced past her inner eye. There she was as a child, with her parents. At Hogwarts, the first day at the Ministry, Theodor. He could see everything. There was her flat in Edinburgh, Minerva...Lysanna was struggling to remember what she needed to do to get the upper hand.

"Fight back! Lysanna, you can do better than that." Severus' voice echoed in her head. A few more agonising seconds passed before he finally let go of her and Lysanna collapsed exhausted in the chair. She had suspected that it would not be pleasant, but she had not expected to be so powerless.

"If you cannot prevent me from entering your mind, then at least determine what I am allowed to see there," Severus instructed her. The dark eyes fixed her, there was no emotion in his face, but his tone was much softer than before.

Severus had held back, plunging into harmless memories so far. Sooner or later he'd have to show her how to hide her fears and emotions, but for now it was about her taking control. In those few seconds he had already learned a lot about her. He had seen the pretty young girl put into Gryffindor by the Sorting Hat, had seen her experience her first kiss at 15 and he had seen her with a man he assumed was Theodore. She had seemed unhappy in that memory.

"But how, Severus?" Lysanna asked, sitting back up in the chair. He knew she wasn't going to give up that easily. She had already proven her fighting spirit several times.

"Discipline your mind, control your emotions. I know it is not a pleasant feeling when I search your mind, but you should be aware of one thing. I have focused on the positive thoughts so far, someone who wants to harm you will immediately seize on your fears and weaknesses. You have to hide them.", he replied, without really answering her question. She had to find out for herself, had to find the right way that worked for her.

After three more unsuccessful attempts, Lysanna had actually managed to make Severus see only one memory at the fourth time. Why it was her arrival at Hogwarts of all things she didn't know. Anyway, that scene was playing out in her head just as she began to wonder what would happen when the memory was over.

"Good, Lysanna! Go on! Just let me see what I am allowed to see.", she heard his voice.

It took a lot of effort for Lysanna to focus on that one memory like that. However, as she strode through the great hall in her mind's eye, she didn't realise that she was quite distracted by the question of what would happen next. That small mistake however opened the door for Severus and she struggled to regain control. Startled by the sudden loss of control, her brain snapped to a memory where she had felt a similar loss of control. A memory she definitely didn't want Severus to see. But the more she concentrated on not showing him that memory, the more the images manifested in her mind, and eventually Lysanna felt entirely transported back to that evening, about eight years ago, when she had entered Malfoy manor with Theodore and two other colleagues.

Severus hadn't chosen any specific memory, it was Lysanna who had focused too much on those memories, fearing that he might see exactly that. She had not yet internalised the fact that she was still in control. She had already proven that she could do it, but right now she was driven by fear and panic. He had hoped it would not come to such a situation during their first lesson, but, sorry as he was, she had to go through it now. She had to end it.