https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-660-Hagrid-s-Doubts-What-is-Dumbledore-Up-To-/13012125/
Chapter 661: A Confrontation, The Role of an Assistant
Chapter 661: A Confrontation, The Role of an Assistant
After returning from Hagrid's, Kyle didn't do anything further.
Over the next few days, he stayed in an empty classroom on the sixth floor, working on his holiday assignments. From the window here, he had a clear view of Hagrid's cabin.
Today, as usual, Kyle arrived early and sat in his familiar spot by the window, working on his holiday assignments while occasionally glancing out the window.
Soon, he saw an owl fly towards Hagrid's cabin and drop off a letter before flying away.
Hagrid, holding the letter, first pretended to look around, then hurried into the cabin and closed the door tightly.
Everything was exactly the same as the previous few days.
But just as Kyle was about to continue with his Potions assignment, another person suddenly appeared near the Forbidden Forest.
It was Filch... he had been hiding behind a big tree the whole time, only coming out after Hagrid closed the door.
Kyle immediately tossed the quill in his hand to the side and watched as he sneaked around Hagrid's cabin, peering through the window.
However, the cabin was tightly sealed with curtains, and even the gaps in the cabin were blocked, making it impossible to see anything from the outside.
Filch circled around outside a couple of times but found nothing, so he left grumbling and cursing.
Seeing this, Kyle immediately gathered up his assignments from the table, planning to head back to the common room to send out that crucial letter.
However, on his way downstairs, he ran into Snape.
"I thought you were breaking school rules again and sneaking out of school. It's truly disappointing," Snape said coldly.
"Professor, I've been in school these past few days," Kyle said. "If you have no other business with me, I'll take my leave."
Kyle had no intention of wasting more time with Snape and started to walk past him.
But Snape blocked his path again.
"Wait a moment," he said. "It's been less than a week, and I believe you haven't forgotten what you promised the Headmaster, have you?"
Kyle looked up at Snape, "If you're referring to teaching Harry Legilimency... I certainly remember."
"Good." Snape glanced at him, "Follow me."
"Are we starting now?" Kyle didn't move.
The holiday wasn't over yet. Normally, shouldn't this kind of thing be discussed after the holiday is over? And shouldn't Harry still be at Number 12 Grimmauld Place at this time? Surely they wouldn't go there to teach in person... that's Sirius' territory.
"Yes, now..." Snape turned back, impatiently urging, "Hurry up and catch up! I won't say it a third time!"
Kyle had no choice but to temporarily put aside his plan to send the letter from the common room and followed Snape's footsteps.
When they reached the underground classroom, Kyle was surprised to find Harry, who should have been at Number 12 Grimmauld Place, standing right there.
However, judging from his tense expression and heavy breathing, he seemed quite unhappy. When he looked at Snape, his eyes were almost spitting fire.
Of course, Snape's expression was the same.
"Trust me, Harry," he said softly, "If it weren't for the Headmaster's request, I would never allow you to set foot in here."
"Should I thank you for your generosity?" Harry's face turned red, and he clenched his teeth.
He suspected that Snape was doing this on purpose.
There were still ten days left of the holiday, and Sirius had promised to take him to Diagon Alley to choose new furniture to decorate his own bedroom.
But now, he had to return to Hogwarts to learn Legilimency.
For a moment, Harry even considered arguing with Snape.
"There's no need for thanks," Snape said, as if not hearing the annoyance in Harry's tone, "As long as you can learn a little from the previous lesson and don't make me repeat myself."
"But why now?" Harry couldn't help but ask, "Can't it wait until school starts?"
"So you'd rather indulge in play and not give much thought to the safety of the Order of the Phoenix members."
Snape's tone turned cold, "I've made it clear before that the Dark Lord is now aware that you can sense his thoughts and has inferred that this situation can be reversed... in other words, the Dark Lord has realized that he can sense your thoughts as well.
"Or do you think the Dark Lord is ignorant and foolish like you?
Or perhaps, you view this as an exciting game... sensing the Dark Lord's thoughts is more interesting than playing Wizard's Chess, isn't it?"
"I didn't!" Harry shouted, "I've never thought that way."
"Hmm..." Snape scoffed, "If you didn't think that way, you should quickly learn Occlumency instead of complaining here that I'm ruining your holiday!"
Harry's face turned even redder. He wanted to argue, but he didn't know what to say... it was as if a voice in his head kept telling him that Snape was right.
"Okay, I understand," Harry said with difficulty, "I won't let Lord Voldemort sense my thoughts..."
"Don't speak the Dark Lord's name!" Snape commanded.
An awkward silence ensued, with both staring at each other, but ultimately, Harry's compromise brought it to an end.
"What are we going to do?"
"The same as last time," Snape said, drawing his wand from his robe. "Strive to protect your mind from invasion... or defeat me, using whatever magic you can!"
"Professor Snape..." At this moment, Kyle, who had been silent all along, stepped forward. "I believe that as a qualified teaching assistant, I should demonstrate to Harry how it's done."
Snape didn't understand what this meant until he saw the eager expression on Kyle's face, eager to try, and the wand in his hand.
"I obviously have a different opinion. A qualified teaching assistant doesn't take matters into their own hands," Snape said, his face darkening with anger.
He could say whatever he wanted to Harry, as the magic Harry knew couldn't possibly harm him.
But Kyle was different. Snape didn't have any plans to change offices just yet.
At this point, Harry finally noticed that there was another person here besides Snape.
"Kyle, what are you doing here?" Harry asked in surprise. "Are you learning Occlumency too?"
For a moment, Harry was excited to have a familiar face with him, much better than facing Snape alone.
Before Kyle could explain, Snape spoke first:
"If you realize you still have ears, you would have heard us mention the term 'teaching assistant' just now."
"Teaching assistant?"
"I'm glad you heard that this time. I shouldn't have to explain the meaning of 'teaching assistant' to you," Snape mocked, glancing at Kyle and then focusing on Harry again.
"If your Occlumency was half as good... no, even just a third of his level, we wouldn't be wasting time here."
Harry felt embarrassed again.
"Alright, enough chatter," Snape said, raising his wand.
He wasn't in a hurry to cast a spell on Harry. Instead, he took out the Meditation Basin from the cabinet, pressed his wand to his temple, and extracted a silver memory, allowing it to gently fall into the basin.
He repeated this action a total of three times.
Kyle squinted, finally understanding why Snape needed the Meditation Basin.
Snape's method of teaching Harry Occlumency was likely to use Legilimency to invade Harry's mind, forcing him to practice.
While this method yielded the best results, it also had a drawback. If, during the process of Legilimency, the subject suddenly learned Occlumency, even by accident, and it managed to repel the spell, the Legilimency could potentially be rebounded.
Kyle guessed that this situation had occurred the first time Snape taught Harry Occlumency.
No wonder Snape had been so angry a few days ago; it all made sense now.
Harry had accidentally rebounded Snape's Legilimency spell and, in the process, glimpsed some of the secrets hidden in Snape's mind.
If this were true, even a fleeting glance would be enough to infuriate Snape.
The solution to this problem was simple: just remove the memories you don't want others to see from your mind.
And the Meditation Basin served as a repository for these memories.
These three memories seemed important to Snape. What could they be?
Kyle was curious and couldn't help but glance at the Meditation Basin, which was now locked in the cabinet, leaving him no chance to open it.
"Now, get ready..." Snape aimed his wand at Harry. "Legilimency!"
Harry's wand only had time to emit a flash of white light before his body stiffened, and he fell uncontrollably to the ground.
"Pathetic!"
Kyle waved his wand, and the hard ground immediately softened like a cushion, supporting Harry's fall.
At the same time, Snape let out a muffled grunt and retracted his wand-holding hand.
There was a red, swollen mark on his wrist, resembling a brand.
"Incendio?" Kyle raised an eyebrow.
It had to be said that Harry's response was quite good.
Legilimency was a continuous spell, requiring the caster's magic to remain connected to the subject's...
When unsure how to counter this spell, disrupting the connection of magic was a viable strategy.
Besides Incendio, there were Stupefy, Expelliarmus, even the Patronus Charm.
As Snape lowered his wand, Harry gradually opened his eyes.
He was surprised that he didn't feel any pain from the fall and looked at Snape with caution.
"Is that all the cunning you can muster?" Snape asked coldly, rubbing his wrist.
"I..."
"Legilimency!"
Snape raised his wand again as Harry was about to speak.
Harry's body stiffened once more.
"No, stop..." Harry cried as he fell to the ground.
But this time, Snape prevented Kyle from softening the ground.
"A little injury will help him master this magic faster."
"What else can I do?" Kyle asked.
"Nothing," Snape glanced at him, "Just watch from the side."
Kyle shrugged, not saying a word.
At the same time, Harry also woke up in pain from hitting his knee on the table.
"That's a sneak attack," he glared at Snape and shouted, "I wasn't ready."
"Your enemies won't give you time to prepare," Snape scolded, "I find it hard to believe that you're really taking this seriously. After so many days, there's not a single bit of progress."
Harry glared at him with anger.
But Snape showed no concern and continued, "Clear your mind, Potter. I've reminded you to let go of all emotions. That's the key to mastering Occlumency..."
Kyle nodded from the side.
Snape's words were not wrong. The most important thing about Occlumency is focus, excluding all distractions, especially in Harry's current situation. Although he looked formidable in his shouting, it had no effect on his learning of Occlumency.
"Again, get ready... Legilimency!"
Harry fell again, his knee hitting the ground hard.
"You didn't do it, Potter... You need to control yourself, focus your thoughts... Again!"
For the next period, Harry seemed to be in a wrestling match with the floor of Snape's office, each time landing in a different way.
Sometimes it was his knees, sometimes his elbows... Someone who didn't know might think this was some kind of wrestling training.
Kyle was probably the most relaxed person in the room. Under Snape's instructions, he only helped soften the ground when Harry's head was facing down.
"Get up, Potter. You didn't do it, you didn't try. I told you to let go of your emotions!"
"I tried!" Harry said through gritted teeth.
"Tried?" Snape said sternly, "I just showed you a memory from before you were ten years old, and you gave up all resistance, shouting and screaming for me to get out! A weak person like you is completely defenseless in front of the Dark Lord, Potter."
"I'm not weak," Harry clenched his fists, as if he might rush over and punch Snape at any moment.
"Then prove it... Legilimency!"
As expected, Harry fell to the ground again.
"I told you to let go of your emotions!"
"I can't!"
"Control your anger!"
"..."
Snape's scolding and Harry's falling sounds continuously filled the office.
After two hours, Harry finally... passed out.
He lay on the ground, his eyebrows furrowed, one hand covering the scar on his forehead, the other waving unconsciously.
Kyle walked over and said thoughtfully, "Professor Snape, he didn't enter the Dark Lord's mind again, did he?"
Snape didn't speak, but his face turned extremely gloomy.
A large bundle of clear water appeared out of thin air and splashed onto Harry's face.
Harry woke up, kneeling on the ground and panting heavily.
"You saw it, didn't you," Snape stared at Harry and asked, "You entered the Dark Lord's mind."
"I... I didn't..." Harry's eyes shifted.
"Liar!" Snape shouted.
Harry didn't speak, and the two stood in a stalemate.
"Let's let Harry go back for now," Kyle stepped in to mediate. "Two hours is enough. If we use Legilimency again, he might not be able to take it.
Harry's eyes flashed with hope, and he couldn't wait to leave this place.
Snape stared into Harry's eyes for a long time before speaking, "Tomorrow at the same time, we'll continue practicing.
"Remember what I said before. Before you sleep, clear your mind of all emotions, making your mind empty and calm."
"Okay," Harry said, not turning back as he left.
"I think he didn't listen."
Looking at the door that was closed again, Kyle couldn't help but say... Harry's thoughts were almost written on his face, visible at a glance.
He had just been so focused on Snape's demonstration that he didn't pay attention to what Snape said.
"Arrogant, emotional fool," Snape took a deep breath.
"Then I'll be going too, Professor," Kyle said.
"Wait," Snape turned to look at him, his face darkening, "As an assistant, it's time for you to play your part. Go and make a plan for Harry to learn Occlumency, including points to note and what to do... At least three feet long, and give it to me by this time tomorrow."
"But I have other things to do," Kyle wanted to refuse.
Three feet long... If he agreed, he wouldn't be able to do anything else today.
"That's not my concern," Snape said, "Since you agreed with the headmaster, you must fulfill your duty as an assistant, unless you can reject this job.
"But I must remind you, the headmaster isn't at school now. No matter what you think, you'll have to wait until he returns."
Kyle's mouth twitched... So he had to write this plan? If he had known this would happen, he should have insisted on demonstrating to Harry how to resist Legilimency.
(End of Chapter)
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