For as long as anyone could remember, courage had been the trademark of Gryffindor House.
So as a member of Gryffindor, Harry felt that he wasn't lacking in that quality.
Especially after Link's encouragement, Harry felt as if his whole body was filled with strength.
It made him believe that he could definitely keep going. He even began to develop the feeling that he truly had talent when it came to Occlumency.
But when Link once again shouted that word at him, "Legilimency", Harry quickly understood.
All of those earlier feelings had been nothing but illusions.
The mental defenses he had built out of sheer courage were completely useless.
As a burst of white light flashed, scenes like a spinning lantern appeared before his eyes once more.
Green light slicing through the darkness like lightning…
Voldemort's sharp, manic laughter…
Cornelius Fudge standing on the high platform of the courtroom, roaring at him…
———
Harry crashed to the ground again.
He buried his face in his hands, his head throbbing as if someone were trying to rip it out of his skull.
This time, there was no laughter from John and the others.
Link didn't ask how he was doing, nor did he offer any encouragement.
Everyone simply watched him silently, waiting for him to choose whether to continue or give up.
Harry gasped for air again and again. After a long while, he struggled to his feet and said, "Continue."
Link nodded expressionlessly, then raised his wand once more.
"Legilimency."
Buzz!
———
Once, then again, then again…
After three more rounds in a row, Harry felt as though his mind had started to fall apart.
He collapsed face-first onto the floor of the Room of Requirement. His scar hurt like it was being stabbed with needles, yet his mouth kept letting out bursts of laughter.
He had realized it.
He actually had no talent for Occlumency at all.
Link's earlier praise and encouragement had already hinted at a simple way to achieve a crude, basic form of Occlumency.
That was to break through the effects of Legilimency using intense emotion.
If that worked, then it meant that as long as one's emotions were strong enough, those emotions could also be used as a shield to fend off Legilimency.
At first, Harry had felt a bit embarrassed about it.
Just recalling his fantasies about Cho Chang had already made him unbearably awkward.
Using emotions like that as the foundation for mental defenses?
That was basically flirting with social death.
So he changed his approach, thinking himself clever. He borrowed from the casting method of the Patronus Charm, recalling happy memories and using positive emotions to build his defenses.
The string of failures that followed proved mercilessly that whether it was positive emotions or the kind of mortifying, soul-crushing embarrassment that made him want to die, the defenses he built were still as fragile as a sheet of paper.
He couldn't even manage to break free midway like he had during his first attempt.
Because his outer mental defenses were utterly worthless.
That allowed Link to flip through his memories as easily as turning the pages of a book.
And once Link had complete control, the result was simple, as long as Link didn't deliberately dig into his deepest memories to provoke him, Harry would never be able to break free.
It was an extremely awful experience.
At this moment, Harry felt that he had lost control over most of his body.
All he could do was follow their earlier agreement, repeatedly shaking his index finger to signal that he could continue.
However, what greeted him was not another round of torment, but Link's warm, dry hands.
Link stepped forward and helped Harry onto the bed. He first fed Harry a bottle of the calming potion he personally used, and only after Harry's complexion improved a little did he speak.
"You've reached your limit, Harry. Let's stop for today."
Harry looked around and only then realized that everyone else had already left at some point.
In the huge Room of Requirement, only he and Link remained.
Sensing the confusion in Harry's gaze, Link naturally understood what he was thinking and lowered his voice as he explained, "You didn't look very good during the last few attempts. I figured you probably wouldn't want so many people seeing that, so I sent them back first."
Harry felt warmth spread through his chest and said gratefully,
"Thank you, Link."
"We're friends, and friends don't need to say thanks," Link said with a smile, nodding.
"And you don't need to feel too discouraged. How could a spell like Occlumency be mastered in a single night? Go back and try the empty-mind method I taught you earlier. Even if you accidentally fall asleep, that's fine. That method is actually pretty good for improving sleep quality too."
Harry nodded vigorously and, with some difficulty, climbed down from the bed.
Link stepped forward to support him and asked, "How about it? Do you need me to walk you back?"
"No, no, no, Link! I've already bothered you enough today!" Harry waved his hands hurriedly. "Just let me go back on my own. I'm feeling much better now."
Link didn't insist. He stopped and smiled as he watched Harry leave.
Harry left the Room of Requirement, glancing back every few steps. It wasn't until the cold air of the corridor poured into his open collar that he shivered.
But instead of buttoning his collar right away, he loosened it even more.
The heat inside the Room of Requirement had left his head feeling foggy. He needed the cold air to wake himself up.
As he tugged at his collar, Harry turned and smiled again at the doorway of the Room of Requirement, which had already returned to looking like an ordinary wall.
Before coming, he had originally planned to take the chance to ask Link about those evil black-and-white shadows from his dreams.
But now, he felt that his earlier suspicions had been nothing but groundless imagination.
If someone like Link were an evil Dark wizard, then this world really would be beyond saving.
After all, many people he knew behaved far worse than Link ever had.
How could he doubt Link based on just a fragment of a vision?
Maybe Link was simply using those powers to fight Voldemort.
There was nothing wrong with that.
After all, as Link himself had once said, a knife is indeed a tool that murderers choose to commit crimes, but the guilty one is the murderer, not the knife.
A knife can be used to kill, but it can also be used for cooking, clearing paths, chopping wood, or even subduing a murderer.
With gratitude, Harry bowed once more toward the wall, tightened his collar, and turned toward the Gryffindor common room.
But just as he turned around, he unexpectedly noticed a shadow slowly approaching him in the pitch-black corridor ahead.
Harry's days of D.A. training hadn't been for nothing.
Almost instinctively, he pulled out his wand, raised it in front of him, and shouted sharply, "Who's there?!"
Perhaps because he was startled, his voice came out loud and shrill, startling even the troll in the nearby tapestry that was busy clubbing Barnabas the Barmy.
But the figure in the distance seemed not to hear him at all and kept moving forward.
The tip of Harry's wand slowly lit up red. He warned the figure several more times, but nothing changed.
In the end, Harry clenched his teeth and swung his wand.
"Expelliarmus!"
A red beam pierced through the darkness, flying straight ahead.
But to Harry's shock, the distant figure merely gave a light flick of their wand, and the dazzling red light instantly vanished into nothingness.
Harry could hardly believe his eyes.
Still, days of training kicked in, and he instinctively began gathering power for another attack.
At that moment, a disgustingly familiar voice came from the darkness, "Harry Po~tter! Attacking a professor with a spell for no reason, twenty points from Gryffindor!"
"Snape!"
Harry practically ground out the name through clenched teeth.
"You will address me as Professor," Snape finally emerged from the darkness and rapped Harry hard on the head.
"Harry Potter, being disrespectful to a professor. Five more points from Gryffindor!"
Harry's anger flared even hotter, and he jumped in place as he shouted, "That's not fair! You were deliberately hiding to scare me! I was defending myself, you can't take points for that!"
"Not fair?" Snape leaned in close and repeated softly.
"Indeed, it is rather unfair. I actually overlooked the biggest mistake you made tonight, wandering the halls after curfew."
"Mr. Potter, how many points do you think should be deducted for unjustified nighttime roaming?"
"Or perhaps expulsion would be more appropriate?"
"I believe Professor Umbridge would strongly support that decision."
The fury on Harry's face froze. Panic surged in his chest, then quickly faded.
Forcing down the pounding in his heart, he stubbornly lifted his chin and said, "I wasn't wandering for no reason. I was studying Occlumency!"
"Oh? Yes, of course, Dumbledore's orders. What a noble excuse," Snape said, swaying his head.
"But if I remember correctly, Dumbledore's order was for you to learn Occlumency from me. And unless my memory has been tampered with tonight, you never came to report to me at all. So… who exactly have you been learning Occlumency from?"
"Link!" Harry said firmly. "I've been learning from Link."
"Is that so? Mr. Flamel does indeed have talent in Occlumency, after all, I was the one who taught him. But why would you choose him? Do you think his skill in this area surpasses mine?"
Snape spoke in a mocking, sarcastic tone. His face showed little expression, but his eyes had already turned icy cold.
This was an extremely obvious danger signal.
In a video game, there would probably have been a flashing 'Danger' sign above Harry's head.
Unfortunately, his mind was already clouded by anger. He sneered and answered without hesitation, "Isn't it obvious? In my opinion, he's far more suited to be a professor than you are!"
For a rare moment, Snape froze. Then, as he pulled out his wand, he laughed in fury.
"Very good, very good. Then let me see the results of Professor Link Flamel's teaching! Legilimency!"
Snape's shameless sneak attack gave Harry no time to react at all.
Harry felt something explode beside his ears, and then his entire vision went black.
This was completely different from what he had experienced during Link's training.
If he had to describe it, Link's Legilimency was like countless thin threads, penetrating the mind slowly, evenly, and at a steady pace.
There was no doubt it was painful.
But it was still within what Harry could endure.
Snape's Legilimency, on the other hand, was like someone jamming an iron skewer into his brain with all their strength.
Sometimes, when it hit resistance, it would even pull back a bit and stab in again even harder.
The intensity of the pain instantly shattered Harry's limits.
Only then did Harry finally understand.
During training, Link had been carefully holding back the entire time, doing his best to lessen the pain.
That realization only strengthened Harry's belief that Link was far more suitable to be a professor than Snape.
But Harry forgot one thing.
At this very moment, Snape had already invaded his mind, and Snape could clearly sense all of these thoughts.
Sure enough, not long after that idea surfaced, the near-unconscious pain surged to an even higher level.
Under wave after wave of agony, a cluster of green flames suddenly appeared before Harry's eyes.
The fire burned quietly inside a fireplace.
Harry could even hear the crackling of the flames and feel the warmth they gave off.
Everything felt so comfortable.
But suddenly, a gaunt figure entered the scene.
She added a few logs to the fire, then cautiously gave "Harry" a flattering smile.
It was a face that could barely be called charming, yet the moment Harry saw it, he felt his soul tremble.
Because he had seen that face just this morning.
"Bellatrix…"
Harry whispered her name, trembling.
Then the scene before his eyes began to spin.
One sinister, terrifying face after another, faces Harry knew all too well, appeared before him.
These Death Eaters gathered around a pitch-black long table. On the table lay an iron plaque engraved with a twisted, distorted letter M.
By coincidence, or perhaps not, Harry recognized that strange letter M as well.
He had seen it before when he was taken to the Ministry of Magic for his trial.
Back then, that symbol had marked the entrance to the Department of Mysteries.
The vision was gradually collapsing, but inside Harry's heart, a tidal wave was crashing.
A group of Death Eaters who had escaped from prison just yesterday were now gathered together, intensely studying a sand table related to the Department of Mysteries.
What exactly were they planning to do?
[🎉 Shoutout to Fanisa & Luck for joining p@treon. Thank you very much.🤗]