Disclaimer: I own nothing
I know that this story is going kind of slow, but bear with me. Thanks to my reviewers again. I appreciate reviews as it helps me to know how I'm doing and how I should improve. I had writer's block on this story, so while I did, I wrote a short Song-fic. Please read it and tell me what you think. It's called "I Believe."
Chapter 12: Learning One Day at a Time
Harry was still sitting in his room the next morning, only having moved once since the previous night to go to the bathroom. He was hungry, but he chose to ignore the pain. He couldn't bring himself to move around much. Not only was he in physical pain, but he felt deep remorse for having run away, and for being a coward when it came to learning occlumency. He sat there until a knock came from the door of his room. He didn't have to give permission before the towering figure of Professor Snape entered. He was caring a tray of food with him, and a phial of some potions that he couldn't identify.
"You need to take this potion, and then eat something with it. You're too skinny," Professor Snape said. Harry did as he was told without arguing back. "Occlumency begins today at 1:00, so be ready." The Professor turned to leave, but suddenly turned around when he remembered something. "You're OWL results came back. I'll give them to you after you've eaten." And then he was gone.
Harry ate in a hurry, not giving his stomach time to get used to the food. He gulped down the potion and ran downstairs to get the results of his tests. "That was quick," Snape said simply, handing over the envelope.
Harry nodded and opened the letter, his heart pounding profusely as he looked over his results. He nearly fainted with relief when he saw his scores. He had passes Potions with an O. How that had happened, he had no idea, but he did. Transfiguration had been an E, and O in Defense Against the Dark arts. He had, in fact, passed all of his Owls with a remarkable grade, except for Divination, in which he had earned a T.
Harry felt an enormous amount of relief. As the relief hit, though, so did an uncontrollable wave of dizziness. He closed his eyes to try to make it go away, but to no avail. Harry collapsed onto the floor, oblivious to the world around him.
An hour later, Harry awoke in his room, with Snape hovering over him. It wasn't a pleasant experience, waking up and seeing Snape's long nose right away. "Too much excitement for poor Potter," Snape mocked. "And not to mention that you ate too fast."
"Oops," Harry said, not really meaning it. His head was hurting, and he was in no mood to do any type of socializing.
"Drink this," Snape commanded.
"Another one?" Harry asked in disbelief, but he took it anyway. His head began to clear and his head stopped aching.
"Occlumency at 1," Snape reminded, leaving the room. Harry wasn't surprised at the reminder in the least bit. At precisely 1 o'clock, Harry arrived in the Study, not really ready for Occlumency, but still feeling obligated to learn now.
"Are you ready?" Snape asked.
'Am I ever?' Harry wished to say. "Yes sir."
"Legilimens!" (A/n: how do you spell it?) Harry felt the rush of memories flood his mind. The first one was of Dudley's gang cornering him at the park when he was 10 years old. They had tied him to an oak tree and thrown mud at him, causing the rest of the children in the park to laugh also. The next memory is one in which he had nearly died in the Chamber of Secrets, after the Basilisk had bit him with his fang, with Tom Riddle standing above him and telling him he had little more than a minute to live. The memory faded, as one in which Uncle Vernon was cornering him took over. His uncle had a belt ready, and a malice in his eyes that craved bloodshed. 'No!' Harry thought. 'No one can ever see that.' With all of the determination that he had left, he tried to push the memory away. He tried to push Snape out of his mind with all of his might. He remembered the importance of his learning Occlumency, and how bad it could be if he didn't. As he fought to regain control of his memories, they began to fade, and the room in which he was standing became more visible. He could see Snape standing before him, and gave one last push of the mind before forcing Snape out. Snape gave him a look of surprise as Harry fell onto his knees in exhaustion.
It was the first time Harry had ever succeeded in clearing his mind. He was still recovering when Snape hit him again without warning. Memories of the graveyard returned, and Harry began to feel fear at the sight of it. He couldn't push Snape out this time, it was as if his mind had shut itself down. Snape released the spell.
"That was better," Snape admitted. "But you need to always be prepared."
"I wasn't ready!" Harry argued, standing up from the floor. "That was unfair!"
"The Dark Lord isn't fair. He won't give you any chances to recover, so you must almost be prepared. Clear your mind tonight before bed, and we will practice again tomorrow." With that, Snape turned and left the room. Harry couldn't help but feel angry that Snape had caught him off guard. But he felt proud that he had been able to free his mind this time.
A/n: Sorry it's short, but I've been busy. Please R/r.
