The Secret's In The Telling by Sakuri

chapter 23

Disclaimer: I own nothing and no one

Chapter 23: Twisted Things

xxx

The moon was growing closer. Remus could feel the wolf growling in the back of his mind as soon as Severus invaded. It fought furiously against its chains, snarling terribly, trying to frighten away the other, unfamiliar presence.

To his credit, Severus didn't retreat, though Remus clearly felt a frisson of fear tainting his thoughts. It was a surreal sensation, to be aware of emotions that weren't his own.

This time, he was determined not to submit his memories so easily. Not that the Legilimens was supposed to be looking at his memories, but he'd said that last time, and Remus had learned not to trust Severus Snape.

They'd chosen an hour early in the morning when neither had lessons to attend to. This was perhaps the third session since the first, disastrous 'introduction', and the werewolf was growing used to another invasive presence in his head. Still though, as ever, it unnerved him to feel the other man surging through his thoughts again, returning to the place he'd started the foundations of Occlumency.

Severus had wound the wisps of defensive mental magic like threads, tying and intertwining them with the golden chords which connected Remus's thoughts. It was a pioneering technique, but the man was already proving skilled at it, improvising when he had to and otherwise managing to follow the ambiguous instructions of those who had already tried it. Slowly, ever so slowly, Remus could feel the alien presence of barriers being built up in his mind, guarding all those thoughts which might give him away as a spy. Severus was thorough, he could say that much. The man had even begun to dream up false memories, which were twined into the mix.

They were the hardest to get his head around. The Potions Master had put his first attempt at this into a pensieve, and Remus had watched it, fascinated. How odd, to clearly see himself acting out scenes he knew had never happened. But there he was in his mind's eye, narrowing his eyes at an oblivious Harry, hating him, blaming him for Sirius's death, silently planning vengeance–

They scared him, those fake memories. But, rationally, he knew they were necessary, and supposed he should be grateful for Severus's talent in creating them.

He just hoped they were good enough…

xxx

"Draco, concentrate!"

Pansy's sharp elbow brought him back to attention, making him twitch in his seat. Slughorn's droning voice was still going on, probably the reason he was half-asleep in the first place. As much as he loved Potions, the subject had lost a great deal of its appeal when Severus transferred teaching positions. Slughorn's pompous lectures and anecdotes grated on him, now that the novelty of being the favourite of another teacher had worn off.

He let out a sigh and glanced around, noticing that for once he had the least notes. He'd have to copy up later. To be fair, though, the majority of the class seemed to share his disinterest. Only Granger was scribbling furiously, determined to save every bit of 'wisdom' that fell from their professor's mouth. He rolled his eyes at her.

"What's wrong with you?" Blaise asked quietly, idly doodling on the corner of his parchment. "Thought you'd be on top of the world, with yesterday's win."

Draco made some noncommittal noise. He had been happy, and had proven that at the Slytherin common room last night. They'd drunk and congratulated each other and stayed up until the wee hours, and now he was tired. And bored.

And a little worried.

He'd noticed that after the match, when the two captains had shaken hands again, Chang had stayed as far away from him as possible. God, she really had seen something when he'd flown close to her. With the moon so close, he should have known better than to lose his temper in close quarters and a volatile situation.