Recap:

Harry tried to hold onto Severus' sleeve but he was still shaking and his clumsy fingers had no grip. His useless legs gave him no support as tremors continued to rack through him.

"I give up. You hear me? I GIVE UP. It's over. It was always going to come to this. I should have known." Tears streamed down Harry's face.

"Finish this." He looked directly at Snape. "Look at me. Just finish this. I'm done."

And whatever curse came next seemed to do just that, as Harry felt a pain like he'd never imagined encompass his whole being and turn his world black as everything melted away.

A ragged gasp of oxygen delivered Harry back to consciousness as if he'd been saved from drowning. Gulping back air he was dimly aware of three forms leaning over him.

"He's alright!"

Harry sat up fully, kicking the knotted sheets away and shuffling back towards the wall. Breathing heavily, his eyes slowly adjusted to the faint lumos and his panic-stricken mind eventually recognised his roommates. His heart still pounding, Harry couldn't stop himself groping beside his bed for his wand, once it was in his hand he felt somewhat calmer.

He tried to speak but the words refused to come out.

"Harry?"

"I-I guess I screamed again," Harry stuttered, trying but failing to keep his voice steady. "Another nightmare- I'm sorry I woke you all."

His roommates looked back at him concern and worry etched upon their faces.

"Merlin; I've never seen a nightmare like that before." Even the normally unflappable Theo sounded somewhat shell-shocked.

"We couldn't wake you," Jasper said shakily, "it was like you were having a seizure and then you went all still and weren't breathing at all, not even a little bit..."

"And then you just opened your eyes really wide," Connor added, "and suddenly started to breathe again."

"What the hell were you dreaming?" Jasper whispered tremulously.

"I don't remember," Harry lied, scrambling to the end of his bed.

He escaped to the bathroom and splashed water on his face before leaning his head against his reflection in the mirror.

There was a persistent knock at the door.

"Harry?"

"I'm fine; go back to bed," he called wearily.

"Are you sure?"

Harry opened the door a small amount.

"Honestly, Connor. I'm fine. I'm probably just gonna take a shower, then read for a bit or something."

"You're not going to go and see Snape this time?"

"No," Harry answered shortly, starting to shut the door.

Connor held the door open for a moment longer. "You know, you can wake me, if you need to."

Harry nodded. Please just go. "Yeah. Goodnight."

"'Night."

Harry shut the door and leaned his back against it, pushing his unruly hair back from his face. Then he turned the shower on full pelt and stood under the steaming water for a long time, allowing the water to run over his face.

"So ...what are you saying; you think Snape's a traitor?" The three of them were sat in a deserted corner of the Owlery.

"Ron! For goodness sake! As if it's not enough that Snape's taught Harry to occlude, he's been training him in defence. Why on earth would he be doing all that if he wasn't fully on the Order's- on Harry's side? To say nothing of the fact he lived with him for weeks over the summer-"

"It's ok, Hermione, calm down. And no, Ron, I don't think that."

"But you said it was another dream, another strange dream."

Harry sighed and stood up, taking a moment to absentmindedly pet Hedwig, before turning back to his friends.

"Yeah. Well that's what it seemed like, but I was thinking about it all night and it can't have been. I mean, not a seer dream or anything. It wouldn't make sense." Harry shrugged and tried to keep his voice level. "Severus thinks my dreams are all to do with my greatest hopes and fears."

Hermione immediately pounced on this statement. "You've discussed this dream with him?"

"No, but that's what he said about the others."

Hermione began to look even more worried.

"Harry, your other dreams, the ones you said weren't important, were they bad as well?" she asked hesitantly.

"Kind of." Harry didn't meet her eyes as he turned back to Hedwig.

"Harry," Hermione leapt up and took his arm. "Snape doesn't realise there's any reason to assume the dreams could be real. If the dreams are warning you that you might get hurt don't you think you should tell him?"

"Oh yeah; Severus, when Voldemort captures me, would you mind not helping him?" Harry snorted humourlessly, "I'm sure that'll go down well."

"It might have been an act," Ron reasoned standing up to join them. "If the dream's true, Snape could have been playing a part; pretending."

"A bloody good act, seeing as he was standing by, helping Voldemort while I died!"

"Don't say that, Harry, if that was a premonition you probably fainted or something."

Harry shook his head slightly. "I've fainted before, Ron, this was different."

"So what were your other dreams about?" Hermione watched him looking very serious. "I know you don't want to talk about them Harry, but can't you see that we should try to work out what all this means?"

Harry nodded gripping onto the ledge of the owlery for a moment as if to steer himself to speak. "You're right," he admitted eventually. "Um, well. I don't know what to say. I've had dreams about Sirius obviously; him being here at Hogwarts and with an Irish man. Some of my dreams weren't anything really: just footsteps and feeling cold..." He hesitated for a moment. "But some of the dreams have been about me getting hurt, hence the greatest fears thing," he finished quietly.

"When you say getting hurt what do you mean?" Hermione prompted.

"The other day I dreamt that Severus was really mad at me, he shook me and knocked me down." Harry averted his eyes again, feeling embarrassed. "Before that I dreamt I was back with the Dursleys." Harry paused briefly as he decided he didn't really need to elaborate on that one. "Oh and then there's The Stabbing One."

"The Stabbing One?" Hermione repeated.

"I used to get that one quite a lot over the summer. Someone curses me, there's a silver flash and it hits my chest, feels like I've been stabbed." Harry shot a wry grin at Hermione. "A psychiatrist would have a field day with me right?"

"You mean like Vulnus Ictus?" Ron blurted out.

"You what?"

"You know, like what little kids say: you'd better run before the bad wizard knocks you down with the silver flash." Ron looked at them as if it was obvious. "Vulnus Ictus."

Harry and Hermione looked at each other.

"Ron," Hermione said slowly. "You do realise that's not a muggle saying."

"It's not a saying," Ron replied. "It's more like a game. One kid pretends to have been hit by the curse and has clutch their heart and beg the caster to revoke the spell so they won't die."

"That's horrible," Hermione sounded repulsed. "Surely children don't really play like that?"

"I don't know," Harry said, "think about muggle kids playing Ring-A-Ring-A-Roses. So... it's a real spell then, this stabbing curse, I mean I didn't just dream it up?"

"Well it was a real spell," Ron sounded uncertain, "years ago. Supposedly anyway. But no one would ever use it anymore."

"Because...?"

"It's a slow killer," Ron replied reluctantly. "It's supposed to take the caster quite a lot of power to sustain the spell, 'cause it lasts for months, gradually weakening the victim."

Hermione's eyes darted from him to Harry.

"But there is a counterspell, you said?"

"Yeah, but it can only be revoked by the caster, supposedly."

"Let's hope whoever casts it on me is just having a laugh then," Harry muttered.

"Harry! You don't think this is real?"

"I don't know what to think. I thought I'd just dreamt the curse up as part of a nightmare, but now I'm hearing that it's apparently real."

"You could easily have heard of it before. The fact you dreamt of it doesn't mean anything. It might have been mentioned in history of magic when Binn's was covering Dormant spells," Ron pointed out.

Harry turned to Hermione. "Do you remember hearing anything about it?"

Hermione shook her head wordlessly.

"You might not have even registered it when you did hear it mentioned," Ron reasoned. "You could have seen something about it in a book, or heard guys in the dorm joking about it. Just like you might have picked up on Connor being an animagus from some hint in something he said or did. Honestly mate, I wouldn't let it panic you."

"No. No. I won't. It's not. It's just... if it is nothing, if all my dreams don't come true,what does that mean for Sirius?"

Ron caught Hermione's eye for a brief moment.

"Harry," he said awkwardly with all the tact he could muster, "you know we'll be here for you whatever happens, right?"

Hermione couldn't bear to see her friend looking so utterly miserable.

"Harry," she pulled him towards her to hug him.

"He might still be ok," he mumbled into her hair.

Hermione met Ron's doubtful eyes beside Harry's head.

Harry seemed to sense her circumspection and pulled himself out of her grasp; his green eyes were glistening and his jaw was set in a determined stance. "I won't believe it," he said simply, "I don't think I'll ever believe he's actually dead until they find his body."

"Oh, Harry," she said again, her voice almost inaudible. She was becoming more and more certain that Harry was heading for disappointment, but at least he wouldn't be able to sneak outside and into danger anymore, now that Snape had taken his cloak.

He took a step backwards, unable to cope with any more sympathy. "I'd better go. I've got detention again in a minute and probably training later."

"Ok, we'll meet you afterwards. Room of requirement?"

Harry nodded. "I'm bringing Connor."

"See you later."

Detention that evening turned out to be more brewing, this time a universal antidote which would counteract most basic poisons.

Even though Harry knew that his latest dream couldn't possibly come true, he still found it a bit unnerving seeing Severus up close. It took every bit of his concentration to stay calm and focused on his brewing, particularly when Severus started lecturing about the properties of various poisons. All in all, Harry felt relieved when detention came to an end and it became obvious that there would be no opportunity for training as the heads of four houses had been summoned to a special meeting with Dumbledore.

Therefore it was still relatively early when Harry and Connor made their way to meet Ron and Hermione.

The room that the two of them had evidently desired was a cosy little lounge. It was comfortably furnished with sofas, armchairs and beanbags. There was even a coffee table complete with pumpkin juice and biscuits and a warming fire in the grate.

"Harry!" Ron had been sat snugly propped up against Hermione on a huge, squashy sofa when the door had opened, but he immediately edged away, as if he were embarrassed to be seen sitting quite so close to her.

"So did you talk to-" Hermione immediately began to question him, but Harry cut her off with a slight shake of his head; after all, Connor wasn't supposed to know that Severus was training him.

"So was detention ok mate?" Ron reached for a couple biscuits before offering the plate around.

"About as good as it ever is," Harry said wryly, plonking his bag down next to the sofa.

"Hmph. I swear that git would be happier with a poison based curriculum!" Connor declared helping himself to a biscuit and throwing himself onto a beanbag.

"You were making poison?" Ron asked.

"Universal antidote," Harry replied before pointing out to Connor, "at least you didn't have to test anything today."

"He let you make that?" Hermione looked wistful. "We're not supposed to do that till seventh year."

"Which makes you wonder why he's got you doing all that Remedial Potions," Connor said thoughtfully looking at Harry. "He clearly doesn't think you actually need it..."

"Seriously, you never saw what Harry was like without the Remedial lessons," Ron was quick to joke.

"But Crabbe and Goyle don't get extra help..."

"Snape's always been a bit erratic," Hermione said a little nervously.

Harry cast a quick tempus before changing the subject. "Look we'd better get on, we haven't got that long till curfew."

"Do you really think you'll be able to teach us to occlude?" Ron asked excitedly. "And the Animagus transformation?"

"Well, it's not that easy, and may take a while, but I don't see any reason why not." Connor seemed amused by Ron's eagerness.

"Fantastic! None of them, not Bill, nor Charlie, Fred or George, not even Percy...none of them can do either one of those. I'll be the first one!"

"Shall I start with you then?" Connor asked edging his beanbag closer to Ron. "I'll cast Legilimens on you and you can get an inkling of what it feels like and then we're talk about shields."

Harry watched them carefully. "Be careful," he warned Connor, "we don't want him to end up with a splitting headache or anything."

Connor paused, wand in hand. "I don't understand, again you're telling me not to use legilimency to hurt anyone, but I've never known it to be used in such a manner. Did Dumbledore really hurt you when he was teaching you?"

Harry shrugged. "It was nothing, just a couple headaches."

"But didn't you tell him to tone it down a bit?"

"Yeah, well, I guess he thought going all out was better training."

"That doesn't make any sense though, it'd be like throwing things at someone on their first broom to train them to steer better!"

"Yeah, well." Harry didn't really know what to make of that. Why didn't Severus go easier on me? He'd used to think that Severus actually enjoyed tormenting him during their occlumency lessons. But over the summer he wanted me to succeed, didn't he? Harry shrugged his shoulders, It doesn't really matter now anyway, he decided, seeing as I learnt to occlude properly in the end.

Connor was still looking at him. "I wonder if that's why your shield is so weird."

"What's weird about Harry's shield?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Occlumens use a stationary wall or block, behind which they close up their thoughts and memories. Golden boy's shield ... well I don't really know how it works. Harry?"

"I just imagine flying."

"I can kind of see that," Connor said nodding. "It's all over the place, constantly moving. I guess it shows just how much flying is in your blood, but it's still pretty weird."

"Do you think his shield is stronger or weaker than conventional shields?" Hermione asked pulling out a quill and parchment ready to take notes.

"Well you can tell me what you think when you've learnt to legilimise," Connor grinned. "Compare the two of us."

"You're going to teach us legilimency as well as occlumency?"

"Well the two go kind of hand in hand. Legilimency is a brilliant defensive aid as well, well worth knowing for duelling alone and it's usually a piece of cake once you've learnt to occlude."

Hermione raised her eyebrows glancing towards Harry. "It seems that's another area that Dumbledore's training fell short in."

"So why do you think Snape didn't teach you legilimency?" Ron asked when he had the opportunity to speak to Harry alone as Hermione and Connor left the Room or Requirement engrossed in a conversation about occlumency texts.

"I dunno. I mean he must've known I'd be able to do it. I mean, I kind of legilimised him a bit by mistake last year during one of our occlumency lessons..." Harry shrugged.

"Huh," Ron sounded puzzled, "well at least we've got Connor to show us now. Legilimency's going to keep us one step ahead of all our enemies; we'll be able to know what hexes they're casting before they say them. And I can't wait till I see Malfoy's face in DADA when we kick his arse in duels!" Ron was clearly on a high after his first attempts at occlumency and Harry had to bite his tongue to restrain himself from dampening Ron's fervor by pointing out that none of them had actually learnt anything yet and it had taken him months to learn occlumency.

Having said that, the grimly determined expression on Hermione's face had made it clear that she had found a new project worthy of her spare time. Connor's repeated bouts of legilimising her while she was unable to shield herself hadn't seemed to put her off in the slightest. Now that she had the bit between her teeth Harry was sure she would become an occlumens in an impressively quick period of time.

"Anyway, how come you didn't try legilimency yourself tonight?" Ron asked.

Both Hermione and Ron had attempted to legilimise Connor, without any success that evening, although he'd assured them it would probably be easier after they had mastered occlumency.

"I was busy thinking about the tips Connor'd given me about becoming an animagus."

"This is going be fantastic," Ron said happily. "What with Snape's training, which you can show us, and Connor's stuff, we're all going to be miles ahead of the rest of our year!"

Ron's enthusiasm had slightly more grounds for justification the next morning during their free period.

"Come on Golden-boy!" Connor had called out urging Harry to join them.

"I want to keep trying at the animagus stuff for a bit longer," he'd replied from the opposite end of the cramped room.

"Harry you can do that later, when you're on your own even. You may as well join us for legilimency seeing as you can't practise that without other people!" Hermione pointed out logically.

"Yeah come on Harry!"

Harry reluctantly stood up and walked over to them.

"Don't you want to sit down?" Connor asked.

Harry shrugged. "I'm ok standing."

"Ok then," Connor had told Ron and Hermione. "I'll legilimise him and he'll occlude. Then in a minute we'll talk you through what we were thinking at every step."

Connor trained his wand on Harry. "Just let me know whenever you're ready."

Harry chuckled slightly to himself. Connor and Severus' techniques couldn't be more different. Harry was utterly used to occluding constantly so he didn't need a warning, but he supposed it was polite of Connor to prepare him.

"Go ahead," he said casually.

"Legilimens."

Harry felt a faint pressure on his shield momentarily which he shifted effortlessly.

"Are you OK?" he asked Connor who looked a bit perturbed.

"Yeah sure, it's just... seriously you have no idea how strange that shield is. Really it's quite a shock, Declan could always chuck me out eventually but with you, it leaves me feeling kind of giddy."

"Try again?"

"Yeah. That didn't hurt right?"

"Nah; you can go much harder."

But no matter how much power Connor put behind his legilimency the attempts always seemed weak to Harry and he was always able to jolt him out immediately with ease.

"This isn't too good for my ego you know," Connor joked after he almost fell off his beanbag when Harry threw out another attempt. "Tell you what, you can have a go at legilimising me next if you like?"

Harry nodded drawing out his wand.

"So I just say Legilimens and look you in the eyes?"

"Make sure your occlumency shield is at its peak, obviously I'm not going to try and counter- legilimise you, but Declan always said it was a good practise to get into because the mental connection will create weaknesses in the shields of even the strongest occlumens."

Which would explain the snapshot I saw of Severus' memories last year.

"OK." Harry concentrated until he felt confident that his shield was impenetrable.

"And when you look into my eyes you need to try to sense the outline of my shield," Connor explained.

Harry stared deeply into Connor's hazel eyes.

"I don't get it... how?"

"It's a fort," Connor said patiently. "I'm visualising myself looking down at you from a great height, you're the other side of the moat..."

"Uh..." Harry screwed up his forehead into a frown as he concentrated.

"Come on golden-boy, you can do this. There's loads of water just by your feet..."

"I see it, I think..."

"That's it, I can feel you! Easy now."

Harry immediately tempered his efforts. After everything I've said I don't want to be the one to cause any pain during legilimency!

The water in front of him wouldn't stop much the way it was drying up...

"Easy does it," murmured Connor a bead of sweat appearing on his face. "Can you see the bricks?"

Harry could. There was a thin wall in front of him. It didn't look that strong, in fact he was pretty sure he could dismantle it if..."

A slight gasp from Connor, made him hesitate and almost lose sight of the wall completely.

"Sorry...?"

"No it's ok. Just go slowly ok?"

"Ok."

Very slowly Harry began to visualise the wall crumbling. The bricks were old and brittle, he had to concentrate hard to stop them all collapsing immediately. Carefully, a hole began to appear in the wall and through that he could sense the outer surface of Connor's mind..."

Harry pulled back, blinking.

That was so weird!

Connor leaned back on his beanbag, exhaling sharply. "How did you know how to do that? I didn't expect you to be able to break through my shield on your first attempt. Do you realise you used about a dozen legilimency techniques on me there!"

Harry couldn't think what to say.

"I just concentrated on bits which looked old," he said at last. "I didn't hurt you did I?"

"Noooo, but the pressure...well." Connor sounded impressed. "You're clearly very different to Declan. His legilimency seemed weaker, but then given that your occlumency's different perhaps that's to be expected. Maybe that's what comes of training under the most powerful wizard of the age. See if you can legilimise Ron now."

That evening Harry trained with Severus after his detention. They were still concentrating upon shields and although Harry was now able to perform a wordless Protego consistently, casting it wandlessly seemed near on impossible.

After numerous failed attempts, during which Severus didn't seem at all pleased, they stopped for a break. Sweaty and aching from being hexed so many times, albeit it by fairly childish spells, Harry still felt fairly content with his progress. His wordless Protegos were becoming instinctive and he'd found himself beginning to use wordless magic for some other spells outside of training over the past few days. In any case, he knew that Severus was often overly critical and was determined not to let it put him off; after all he couldn't afford to become disheartened.

Lots of wizards don't ever manage to cast wordless or wandless magic anyway, especially at fifteen!

"I don't know what you're looking so pleased about, that was a fairly abysmal display," Severus griped, helping Harry to his feet.

"Well, my wordless magic's alright now, isn't it, even if I'm still rubbish at wandless stuff?"

"You need to practise more; I want to start using some more advanced hexes and curses but you need to be accomplished at shielding first."

Well at least he didn't contradict me.

"Let me show you something else I've learnt, ready?" Harry quickly raised his wand. "Legilimens," he said pushing gently at the older wizard's mind.

Severus recognised the slight pressure almost instantly and reacted fiercely. Harry barely had time to register a huge imposing brick wall, towering so high that it blocked out all sunlight, before he felt a mental nudge so forceful that he staggered backwards.

"How dare you!" Severus sounded shocked.

"I warned you," Harry protested, "I just wanted to show you what I can do! Connor's been teaching me legilimency."

Severus breathed deeply, seemingly uncertain about whether he felt impressed or angry.

"You need to be more explicit in your warnings," he said heavily and then after a moments silence, "very well, try again, then."

It was like the lessons with Connor and the others had never happened. This time, not only could Harry not access Severus' memories, he couldn't even find his mind. Harry gazed into Severus' obsidian eyes, but they seemed like bottomless pits.

"Could you try to occlude a bit less fiercely?" Harry suggested eventually, "So I at least have a chance?"

Severus sighed and nodded, this time Harry began to see his wall again, before being pushed out no less emphatically than the first time.

"Ah," Harry sounded disappointed, 'I was doing really well with Connor, Ron and Hermione."

"With three children who do not know how to occlude?" Severus raised an eyebrow, utterly unimpressed.

"Connor does. And he's teaching Ron and Hermione. I was wondering-" Harry hesitated, not wanting to offend Severus.

"What?"

"Why didn't you teach me legilimency? It's pretty easy, Connor says that's probably because I know how to occlude. So why didn't you show me? I mean, in a battle situation I'll be able to tell what someone's about to cast at me before they even speak..."

"You think I have been remiss in teaching you?" Severus sounded distinctly unamused.

"No! I just wondered that's all."

"Do you really presume that I would neglect to inform you of an important defensive technique, if it were that simplistic?"

Harry shook his head, although to be honest he didn't really know what he thought. It was clear that Severus really wasn't a perfect teacher; that much was obvious from all his lessons in previous years...

"Learn your legilimency. It can be a useful tool to have at your disposal and no doubt you will do very well in DADA classes by utilising it, but do not for one moment expect to rely upon it in a battle."

Harry drank in the serious expression on Severus' countenance in silence.

"Harry, tell me, if you are in conflict, your so-called 'battle situation,' who do you envision fighting against?"

"Well Voldemort obviously, Malfoy, Bellatrix, Crabbe, Goyle and all the rest."

"And do you really believe that your legilimency will help you against the Dark Lord and his allies? Do you really think that you'll be able to decipher their spells before they speak?"

Well, you clearly think that's ludicrous so...

"They can all occlude?" Harry guessed.

"Of course they can all occlude. Do you actually suppose that anyone could survive as a Death Eater without at least some basic ability in occlumency? This isn't a game, the skills I'm showing you are the ones which may very well save your life one day."

Harry looked away. First Hermione and now Severus! Why does everyone think I'm mucking about? I know how important all of this is.

Steering himself to keep his temper, Harry grabbed his glass of water and drained it quickly. He turned back to Severus, deliberately leaving his wand on the table next to his empty glass.

"Can we try again? I'm ready."