Severus nodded. He had Gellert Grindelwald on the brain, and the Dark Lord, too. If he were going to be picking a side, he ought to ensure that he was picking the correct one. He had spent his entire life losing; to his father, to James bloody Potter, and everyone else who had gotten ahead of him. He was done with that. He was going out on a limb to assume that Irina could provide him with assistance, but he trusted in his gut. “Information, yes.” He shrugged his shoulders. “What can I say, I’m just curious.” He lifted his eyes to look at her, eyebrows raising. “I don’t mean that we have to talk about anything right now, of course.” His lips twitched into the slightest of smirks and he gestured towards the books in front of them. “After all, we still have work to do.”
He looked away, eyes settling on the contents of his notes and the words in their textbook. “You dabble, eh?” He asked, smirk widening. In his opinion, dabbling in Occlumency was starkly different from mastering Occlumency. He’d make the comparison to that of using a flimsy, muggle shield for protection rather than a Shield Charm. “I guess you could say I do too.” He’d been dabbling in it for years upon years. “I like to think that I’m pretty good at it.” Good enough that the Dark Lord had yet to realize that the teenage boy within his ranks was a master at keeping his thoughts hidden.
“Instructors in Occulmensy are incredibly rare.” He stated factually. Severus had taught himself with curiosity and sheer willpower, but it had taken him nearly six years of obsession. If there was anything he loved more than anything, it was secrecy. What was more valuable than a person’s thoughts? He wanted to ensure that his would always remain safe. “Were you ever formally taught? I mean, the theory of it all, and how that relates to actually performing?” He was beating about the bush, he knew that, but if Irina wasn’t smart enough to figure out where this was going, then maybe he had been wrong after all.
It seemed Severus Snape was familiar with the nuances of sharing information. The timeline was so much more flexible, the amount hardly defined in measurable terms. It was the most dangerous currency to trade in, indenturing one person to another indefinitely. Irina Draganova was no amateur in the art, but even she did not willingly resort to such trades unless absolutely necessary. “And just what is it that you’re curious about?” She asked, her eyes narrowing as she studied the boy across from her. “By all means, let’s talk about it now. Take a little study break.” Normally, Irina might have been satisfied with pushing the topic aside for another time, enjoying her free lessons while they lasted. There was something about Severus Snape’s smug confidence, however, that she wanted to dissect, knowing she would never concentrate on potions now while he smirked like that.
Irina’s fingers plucked a quill from where it rested atop her notes, running the soft feathers through her fingers as she studied Severus further. So, it seemed he felt superior in yet another field, as was evident by his not-so-subtle hints. Occlumency was indeed a rare and valuable skill to have, and certainly not one to brag about lightly as it was easily tested. Severus was far from a fool, but Irina doubted he was immune to the hubris that plagued mankind since the beginning of time. Of course he believed himself to be half-way decent at it, or he never would have mentioned Occlumency at all. The trick of it would be determining if that were true. Irina considered his words with skepticism, never one to place much valuable in a self-recommendation.
“Were you?” Irina asked, obviously deflecting his question back at him., skepticism dripping from each word. Perhaps he would assume that she hadn’t been formally trained, but assumptions were dangerous things. In truth, she hadn’t been formally trained at all, instead teaching herself when she could find the time to practice guarding her most precious secrets as best as she could. It wasn’t enough- it was far from enough but she could hardly entrust a tutor to her mind, giving them access to the very thoughts she wanted to hide in the first place.