Chapter 319 — The Beginning of Occlumency Training
"Come with me. I need to ask you something," Hermione said seriously.
Harry followed Hermione to a wooden table in the corner, covered with a red-and-gold carpet. He sat down in a somewhat worn but soft and comfortable armchair.
Hermione sat opposite him, took a deep breath, and carefully looked around to make sure no one was nearby before speaking.
"Harry, tell me. Are you often able to communicate with Lord Voldemort through your mind?" Hermione asked in a low, serious voice.
Dumbledore had already given her the answer, but she still needed to hear it from Harry himself.
Harry was startled. He remained silent for a moment, seemingly hesitating, but eventually nodded heavily.
"It has been happening for quite a long time, hasn't it?" Hermione continued.
Harry lowered his head and searched through his memories. He remembered that shortly after he entered the Triwizard Tournament, the pain in his scar had become increasingly frequent and intense.
"He can observe others through your eyes, and perhaps you can also see things from his perspective. Clearly, this connection is far more harmful than beneficial. Lord Voldemort has no scruples, but you do," Hermione analyzed.
"Ideally, you should at least be capable of putting up a decent resistance when he tries to invade your mind and preventing him from doing whatever he wants," she continued.
"The Headmaster assigned this task to me," Hermione quickly added.
"Why are you teaching me?" Harry looked at Hermione suspiciously. It really was unusual. Having a fellow student teach him felt strange.
"Professor Dumbledore originally considered asking Professor Snape to teach you. If he were your teacher, do you think you'd learn very well?" Hermione asked casually.
A look of absolute disgust flashed across Harry's face.
Heaven knew how that man would teach him.
He would probably poke his wand against Harry's forehead while insulting him and venting all his hatred toward Harry's father's generation.
"Are all the people in Gryffindor as stupid as you? You should cut open your brain, stir it around, and poke it with your wand. Maybe that rigid brain of yours will finally become useful."
Harry could practically imagine Snape's harsh and vicious voice. The thought alone was painful.
"According to Professor Dumbledore, Snape's Legilimency is so advanced that he can even deceive Lord Voldemort's Legilimency," Hermione hesitated before revealing this fact.
"No matter how powerful he is, what does that have to do with me?" Harry said gruffly.
His emotions gradually became agitated.
"He anticipated that this situation might occur, so he had no choice but to ask me to help you. Even if the teacher is capable, the teaching won't be effective if the student refuses to cooperate. Just look at your Potions grades."
Hermione sighed.
"Actually, that subject isn't difficult." Hermione shrugged.
Clearly, Potions was hardly a challenge for her. Even though Snape hated Gryffindors and was extremely picky and demanding, that hadn't stopped her from achieving excellent grades.
Harry nodded deeply in agreement.
"We need to find somewhere else to practice." Hermione looked around.
Just then, the door to the Gryffindor common room opened, and someone entered.
This obviously wasn't a suitable place to practice. It was too crowded and noisy.
Now that things had come to this, she had no choice but to sacrifice her lunch break.
"I know a place," Harry said. "George and Fred used to go there to conduct their prank experiments. They discovered it last year."
"That's perfect." Hermione nodded.
The two left the common room and quickly made their way through the castle.
Harry walked ahead, with Hermione following behind.
Hermione suddenly froze when she saw someone approaching.
"Hello, Potter?" Cedric waved at Harry.
They had encountered Cedric in the corridor outside the room displaying the Triwizard Cup on the third floor.
Behind Cedric was his girlfriend, Cho Chang from Ravenclaw.
Her beautiful black hair fell smoothly over her shoulders, giving her an elegant, distinctly Eastern appearance. She had been standing close beside Cedric, but when she noticed Harry approaching, she immediately straightened her robes and withdrew her arm from Cedric's.
She still wasn't accustomed to displaying such affection toward her boyfriend in front of other people.
"Harry? Who is that?" Hermione called from behind him.
"Harry?"
Hermione deliberately emphasized his name.
Harry finally snapped out of his daze. He adjusted his glasses and looked as though he had just awakened from a dream.
"Sorry. I was a little distracted," he said apologetically.
"Oh? Granger too? Where are you two going...?" Cedric noticed Hermione behind Harry and was about to ask another question.
But Cho pulled him back.
"We have something to take care of, so we'll be going now," Cho said with a smile.
She then left with Cedric, leaning close to him and whispering something into his ear as they walked away.
Harry remained standing there, feeling lost and dejected.
He had really wanted to talk to that girl a little longer.
But she and her boyfriend seemed so affectionate.
Perhaps there's some misunderstanding?
"Let's go."
Hermione regarded their encounter as nothing more than a coincidence and hadn't noticed Harry's unusually stiff gait.
The two soon reached the eighth floor of the castle.
A tapestry hung on the wall depicting a troll brutally beating Barnabas the Barmy with an iron bar.
When they arrived, the worm-eaten troll stopped beating the ballet teacher and turned to look at them.
Harry walked past the wall three times, silently repeating the words in his mind.
A perfectly smooth door gradually appeared in the wall and opened.
The two entered one after another.
A huge room appeared before them.
Rows of wooden bookshelves lined the walls. There were no chairs, but large satin cushions were scattered across the floor.
At the far end of the room was a shelf filled with various instruments—spyglasses, magical detection devices, and other equipment.
However, they all looked like discarded junk.
Harry even recognized several objects that had been used by the fake Moody.
Normally, Hermione would have thoroughly explored the room, consulted books, and reviewed Hogwarts' history to determine the origins and functions of everything here.
But she didn't have time today.
"Alright, Harry. I'll get straight to the point. Our time is precious," Hermione said decisively.
She removed several books from an old bookshelf and stacked them together to make a makeshift chair.
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a blackboard appeared and floated steadily in front of Harry.
Hermione raised her wand and tapped against it like a pointer.
Tap. Tap.
The dull sound echoed through the room.
When she became serious, Hermione really did have the air of a teacher.
"Professor Dumbledore wants you to stop dreaming about Lord Voldemort."
"Lord Voldemort is extremely skilled in Legilimency."
"As the name suggests, Legilimency allows him to extract feelings and memories from your mind."
"In other words, he can read your mind."