Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Everything belongs
to J.K.R and WB and whoever is involved with the editing + publishing +
distributing of the books.
Pairings: Harry/Ginny, Draco/Hermione, Ron/OC
Rating: R (for future)
Setting: Story starts summer before 6th year.
A/N: Since it's after their O.W.L.S, I know that the 6th year students start picking the courses they want to take and they are all N.E.W.T level classes. So here are their courses (not necessarily in any special order).
Harry: N.E.W.T. Charms
N.E.W.T. Transfigurations
N.E.W.T. Defense Against the Dark Arts
N.E.W.T. Potions
Ron: N.E.W.T. Care of Magical Creatures
N.E.W.T. Charms
N.E.W.T. Defense Against the Dark Arts
N.E.W.T. Potions
Hermione: Occlumency taught by Snape
N.E.W.T. Arithmacy
N.E.W.T. Charms
N.E.W.T. Potions
N.E.W.T. Transfigurations
N.E.W.T. Defense Against the Dark Arts
Draco: Legilimency taught by Snape
Occlumency taught by Snape
N.E.W.T Charms
N.E.W.T. Potions
N.E.W.T. Defense Against the Dark Arts
N.E.W.T. Transfigurations
~*~*~*~
Charms
"Hey, Malfoy." Harry muttered as he passed Draco's desk. Ron and Hermione stared at Draco, waiting to see what will happen.
Harry found himself the victim of a Banishing Charm, which sent him across the room slamming him backwards into his chair.
"Harry! Are you okay?" Ron asked, quickly striding over.
"I'm okay. Nothing was hurt, 'cept my pride." Harry said, glaring at Malfoy.
Hermione pursed her lips in disapproval while Malfoy smirked.
~*~*~*~
Double Transfigurations
Harry had barely managed to scrape an 'Exceeds Expectations' on his Transfigurations O.W.L.s and got into Professor McGonagall's N.E.W.T. class. In order to stay in this course, he has to maintain this grade. Today they were only taking notes on Conjuring Spells. Ron was outside in Care of Magical Creatures with Hagrid.
{Lucky bloke.} Harry thought, stifling a yawn. Adjusting his glasses, Harry looked back down and concentrated on writing.
Hermione paused in her note taking to glance at Malfoy, who was sitting in the back of the room. Being the type of person who always chose seats in the front of the classroom, Hermione gave him a frown before turning back around to continue her work.
~*~*~*~
Defense Against the Dark Arts
"Harry, Ron, I'll talk to him. Don't interfere, no matter what, okay?" Harry and Ron nodded reluctantly.
"Malfoy." Hermione said, cautiously reaching out and tapping his shoulder. The students were waiting in the hall for Professor Lupin to arrive and were excited at the prospect of taking DADA at a N.E.W.T. level.
His shoulder jerked as if something burned him and Draco quickly turned around. "Granger." He acknowledged.
"Harry told Ron and I." She said in a low voice.
Draco looked exasperated with her and glanced around to see if anyone was looking at them.
"Look Granger, if I'm dead, I won't be of any use to your precious Order. So shut up."
Hermione was at a loss of words and gave him an equally exasperated expression.
Raising her voice, she said loudly. "Your insults are so old, Malfoy. Can't you think of something new over the summer?"
Draco didn't know whether he should curse her or throttle her. If the Dream Team was annoying before, they are doubly so now. Can't they just leave him alone?!
Raising his voice to be heard by anyone who was listening, he replied, "I don't want to waste my energy thinking up insult for a lowly Mudblood like you."
Hermione gasped and raised a hand to slap him but right before her hand made contact, his fingers had her wrist in a firm grip that guaranteed that she won't get away but didn't hurt her.
He dragged her closer to his body and leaned in to talk to her. To someone watching, it looked like he was threatening her up close.
What he really said was, "I cannot change how I act towards Potty, Weasel, and you around other people. I thought you were smart, Granger! Don't you understand it would arouse suspicions?"
Hermione felt her anger recede a little but she still glared up into his eyes. "I understand that, Malfoy. Dumbledore had already warned us about public appearances. But you can just be a bit more civil you know."
"Is there a problem here?" Hermione and Draco looked up to see a frowning Professor Lupin.
Letting go of Hermione's wrist, Draco smoothed out his robes and said casually. "Nothing, sir."
"Hermione?" Professor Lupin asked, looking worried for the girl.
Giving him a smile, Hermione shook her head. "It's nothing, Professor Lupin. Malfoy was just being a stupid prat."
And with that, Hermione 'accidentally' shoved Malfoy in the shoulder as she stepped around him to enter the classroom.
~~~
Walking through the hall after dinner, Draco was relieved he didn't have to deal with Potter and his sidekicks until tomorrow. Right now, he is going to Professor Snape's office to have his first Occlumency and Legilimency lesson.
In order to be able to spy for the Order and lie to Voldemort, Draco needed to be able to shut out his emotions and memories that contradict whatever lie he would be telling Voldemort and utter falsehoods in Voldemort's presence without being detected (Occlumency). Draco would also need to be able to tell if people were concealing information from him, or lying to him (Legilimency).
Voldemort is highly skilled in Legilimency, almost always knows when somebody is lying to him. If Draco goes on being untrained, he would be dead the moment he appears before Voldemort.
Professor Dumbledore assured Draco that Professor Snape is one of the best Occlumens there is in the wizarding world, which is why Voldemort has never detected Professor Snape's unfaithfulness.
(Occlumency and Legilimency will be properly explained at the end of the chapter, within the Author's Notes.)
Entering Professor Snape's office, Draco was surprised to see Hermione sitting in there already.
"Granger?"
Hermione turned to look at him and gave a small smile.
"Hey. I had asked Professor Dumbledore if there were any extra courses that I could take that would benefit me. He recommended for me to take Occlumency with you. Honestly, I was surprised Professor Snape finally gave in and agreed to teach me Occlumency. From what I read, this is a very difficult course and rarely taught."
"What about Legilimency?" Draco asked curiously.
Hermione looked disappointed. "Oh. Professor Snape told Professor Dumbledore that he was already being generous, agreeing to teach me Occlumency. I guess Professor Snape won that argument. And so, I'm only here for the first half of the lesson. It's still a great opportunity though. This subject is fascinating, don't you think?"
Sitting down in another chair, Draco shrugged.
Professor Snape came in at that moment and glared at Hermione, dislike plain on his face.
"I will let you know right now that I will not tolerate any of your know-it-all business here, do you understand that Miss. Granger? I am here to teach Draco something that will save his life when the time comes and since the Headmaster asked, I am generously allowing you to learn Occlumency with us." Snape said softly, his dark eyes glittering at her.
The prospect of learning something new and difficult prevented Hermione's mood from being dampened and she nodded.
…45 mins later…
"Miss. Granger, the Occlumency portion of the lesson is over. I'll see you back here next Tuesday. You are to practice clearing your mind of all emotion every night before going to sleep, do you understand?"
Hermione pulled herself off the floor, heart pounding.
"Y-yes, Professor."
It was embarrassing that Professor Snape was able to see so much of her memories but she did try to clear her mind. Once, she even managed through her confusion to throw a weak, albeit successful Disarming Spell at Professor Snape. The world was a mix of memories and reality, slowing down her thought process and logic.
Giving the exhausted Draco a small wave, she picked up her schoolbag and left the office.
As she closed the door, she heard "Now, that the Granger girl's gone, we will start on Legilimency."
Draco's groan following that statement made Hermione smile in amusement.
~~~~
The words in the textbook kept blurring and a Ginny felt the beginnings of a migraine. Rubbing her temple, she sighed as she looked up to glance around the Common Room. She sat in a deserted corner of the room, for that way, no one intrudes on her studying or thinking time. Sometimes, she would change her seat and sit with Harry, Ron, and Hermione in front of the fireplace but now after she snapped at Harry the other day…
The headache increased and she closed her eyes to rest a little. It was O.W.L. year for her and even though school had just started, her homework load was enormous. Her brothers were not exaggerating when they told her about 5th year.
"Ginny?"
Opening her eyes, she saw Harry standing in front of her. Rubbing her temple again, she gestured for him to sit in the chair next to her.
"What do you want, Harry?"
Harry looked nervous and he kept avoiding her eyes.
"Er…you see, well- that is, Ginny, I'm sorry about the other day. You were right," He gave a little smile, "I always hated how people judge me by my last name or my scar. I shouldn't have been so against Vera Pettigrew when I did not even know the girl."
Heart clenching at the sight of Harry, Ginny felt a rush of relief as he apologized. She had regretted her outburst the other day but didn't know how to approach Harry.
"Oh Harry, don't be sorry. I should be the one apologizing for my unreasonable outburst."
"No, no, you were right, I am sorry."
"No, I'm sorry."
"No, I'M sorry."
There was a pause and then both of them started laughing.
"So, we're okay?" Harry said, making sure.
"Yes, Harry." Ginny said and then winced at the severity of her headache.
"Are you okay, Ginny?" Harry leaned in worriedly, feeling Ginny's forehead. "You don't have a fever… I think the pressure is already getting to you. Go rest."
Giving Harry a smile, Ginny nodded and picked up her books.
"G'night Harry."
"G'night Ginny."
Ginny couldn't stop smiling as she flopped back onto her bed. That was another encounter with Harry that she'll never forget! She fell asleep with a smile on her face.
"Noooo!!!" A voice echoed in her mind. Faintly in the distance, she saw somebody hanging from a wall, screaming and yanking against the chains. A dark-cloaked figure stood in front of the boy and was laughing. "It's done!"
Moaning, Ginny clutched her head and curled up in a fetal position as she woke up. The nightmares kept coming back. They won't go away! She never told anyone what she dreamt about, everyone just assumed that she was always having nightmares about Tom Riddle, but…over the years, she dreamt other horrible stuff. Things that she wasn't sure if was real or not. This dream has been occurring since July and just wouldn't go away. In her second year, she had dreams of wolves howling, dogs growling and a creature being beheaded. In her third year, she had nightmares about Tom Riddle of course, but there were other ones…ones with gravestones and big cauldrons. There were yells and someone with lifeless gray eyes staring into nothing. Maybe she's going crazy.~~~~
"It's done!" Voldemort laughed, a maniac gleam in his eyes.
Neville hung before him, eyes dull and empty. The memory charms that had been placed on him were broken one by one, leaving him with the onslaught of the memory that was once blocked in his mind.
~Flashback~
A baby's cries filled the air. A man placed him into a dark corner and a big couch was moved in front of the baby, hiding him from view. A Silencing Charm was placed in the corner and a woman tearfully looked down at the baby.
"Neville…my baby…" she sobbed, placing a kiss on his forehead.
"Be good. Be good, my baby. Keep it safe. I know you don't understand me…but keep it safe." With that, she quickly got up and disappeared from view.
A few minutes later, a deafening crash resounded through the house and for a moment, all was silent. Then the screams started. The screams continued into the night and it wasn't until the sky started to lighten when more crashes were heard and the screaming stopped. The house swarmed with people and finally, the couch was shoved aside by a frantic couple. A woman with flowing red hair and green eyes accompanied by a man with black messy hair looked down at the baby, who was exhausted from crying. The Silencing Charm was lifted and the woman picked up the baby, gently rocking him while tears ran down her face.
"Alice…Frank…" she cried, hugging the baby tightly in her arms.
~Flashback Ends~
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" Neville yelled, pulling weakly against his restraints.
Voldemort just laughed with triumph, knowing that he is now one step closer to finding the key to the death of the Boy-Who-Lived and the death of those who were destined to defeat him.
End of Chapter
~*~*~
A/N: Legilimency is the ability to extract emotions and memories from another person's mind. In the 5th book, to Harry, this seems exactly like 'mind-reading', to Professor Snape, a practitioner of Legilimency, there are fine distinctions between what Muggles call 'mind-reading' and Legilimency. Someone who practices Legilimency is known as a Legilimens.
Quote From the 5th book:
"Only Muggles talk of 'mind reading.' The mind is not a book, to be opened at will and examined at leisure. Thoughts are not etched on the inside of skulls, to be perused by any invader. The mind is a complex and many-layered thing, Potter…or at least, most minds are…"-Severus Snape
Legilimency is easier when the spell-caster is physically near the target and as Professor Snape says, "Eye contact is often essential to Legilimency."
Occlumency is the art of sealing
the mind "against magical intrusion and influence", making Occlumency the
defensive counter to Legilimency.
Occlumency is a necessary skill in order to get by a Legilimens' lie-detector
abilities without arousing suspicion.
"We are going to see how well you resist. I have been told that you have already shown aptitude at resisting the Imperius Curse…you will find that similar powers are needed for this."-Severus Snape
Professor Snape is revealed to be both a Legilimens and an Occlumens in the 5th book, and is in fact better at Occlumency than Voldemort is at Legilimency, which is how he has survived in his difficult role of spy among the Death Eaters for so long.
In the 5th book, it was Harry that received the Occlumency lessons, but in my story, that never happened. Draco and Hermione are the ones receiving the Occlumency lessons.
