A/N: Hi. Thanks for all the great reviews…I hope to hear more! No, Sophie is not a distant relative of Harry's, and, no, she is not a ghost. I will be revealing more about Sophie as she reveals more about herself to Harry. This chapter answers why Harry hasn't seen her and why Harry hasn't heard much about her. Sophie will also be teaching him Occlumency.

Look, I'm really sorry for the extremely short chapters. Please bear with me. I'm only thirteen and very, very prone to writer's block. I've been playing these scenes in my mind for some time, but I never realized how hard it is to put everything down in words.

Thanks again for all the reviews.

Kristie

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Chapter 5 – Occlumency and Intelligent People

Harry didn't know what to do or say. He knew why he Sophie had that hurt expression in her eyes. He now knew why Mrs. Weasley didn't bother making her work. She was an orphan just like him, but he knew that she was hurting even more. He knew the feeling of growing up without parents, but he didn't have enough moments with his parents to miss them. But Sophie had her parents for fifteen years and suddenly, they're gone. He now had to fight off the mad urge to embrace her.

"Where's your brother, Sophie?" asked her father.

"The Order's coming to get him a fortnight from now."

"Well, take care of him, alright?" said Sophie's mother.

"I will."

Harry noticed that Sophie talked to her parents as if they were not gone, as if she wasn't mourning. He felt so much for her. He was so overwhelmed with the emotions, and the look in her eyes intensified them. Her eyes didn't hold sadness or grief, neither were there tears in them, but she had this look of longing. Harry didn't know how, but he felt like she was telling him how much she wanted to embrace her parents, to touch them once again, to have them to hold.

"How are your O.W.L.s?" asked Sophie's mother.

"I got an O in everything except for History of magic. I got an E there."

"Alright, well…"

Harry didn't bother listening to their conversation. He saw a sheaf of parchment on Sophie's desk. It was from Hogwarts. They were her O.W.L. results. He realized that he had not received his yet. He looked at her results.

Transfiguration-O

Charms-O

Defense Against the Dark Arts-O

Potions-O

Arithmancy-O

Study of Ancient Runes-O

Herbology-O

Muggle Studies-O

Astronomy-O

History of Magic-E

This girl was good! She had grades to rival Hermione's. He wondered why he never heard of her before when she was so good. He suddenly wanted to receive his results. He looked at Sophie. She was bidding her parents goodnight.

"Come, Harry. Let's go back down," Sophie told him. They went back down to the living room. She lit the room and they both sat on the couch again, the musty smell filling their nostrils.

"Thanks for the portrait of Sirius, Sophie. It means a lot to me," Harry said.

"It's no problem. I wanted to do something for you."

"Er – Sophie?"

"Yes?"

"Why didn't you tell me about your parents earlier?"

Sophie smiled her little wry smile again. "So that you'd figure it out yourself. I want us to be friends, Harry. We can't be friends if we just feed information about each other. The information that I gave you a while ago was completely irrelevant. My parents' death was something that was somehow important for you to find out. I was just trying to teach you that there are boundaries when it comes to finding out about a person, especially if you've known that person for only a day." She gave him a big smile.

Harry didn't know what to say in response. Instead, he asked, "So, how come you've never recited in class?"

"I'll sound very conceited if I tell you that."

"I don't mind."

"Alright, then. It's because I don't need to answer those questions just to prove that I know what the teachers are asking me. I'm used to knowing all these. I don't have the need to prove myself. Unlike that Hermione Granger."

Harry felt a stab of annoyance. Hermione was the best student in their year. "Hermione's a very intelligent witch." When he said this, Sophie just laughed.

"Intelligent? Clever, yes. Witty, perhaps. But she's too normal to be intelligent."

"What do you mean she's too normal?"

"Well, look at Professor Dumbledore. He's very intelligent. Although he is perhaps the kindest soul you'll ever meet, he's not at all normal. Another good example is Voldemort. He's very, very intelligent. I mean, if you can go from extremely good-looking to frightening, manage to get a bunch of otherwise decent people to follow you around and have the ability to preserve yourself in a diary, you're damn intelligent. However, if you're calling him normal, the rest of us would look like gods."

"So you're saying that Hermione has to go nuts before she's intelligent?"

"Well, she doesn't have to go nuts, but think of it this way, do you reckon Hermione would get the same grades she does if she had my study habits? If her hand wasn't the first one in the air? If she never passed a single piece of homework, except for Potions, since the second year?"

"No."

"Well, then, Mr. Potter, what does this prove?"

"Er – "

"There is a big difference between a highly intelligent person and a diligent student who has to try to prove to the whole faculty that she knows every God damn thing they ask!"

"Look, Hermione's one of my best friends!" Harry said hotly. "She's the cleverest witch I've ever met! Even Lupin said so! Don't talk about her as if she was –"

"I did not say that she's a bad person. All I'm saying is that I'm sick of all the people thinking that she's the most intelligent being they've come face to face with, and I'm also sick of her walking around like a human encyclopedia, giving out information when we don't ask for it and forcing herself to prove to the entire world that she knows everything. If you're really intelligent, you wouldn't need to prove it, because you'd be so used to it."

Harry didn't say anything. He was trying to calm himself down.

"Look, Harry," Sophie said gently. "I don't loathe Hermione, and I don't mean to insult her. I just want you to see things how they really are. I know she's one of your closest friends, and I'm really sorry if what I said affected you. I'm just really frustrated. Imagine trying to do one of Snape's essays, not asking for her help. She then sits next to you, breathes down your neck and looks for things to correct over your shoulder. When she finds nothing wrong, she asks permission to read and correct your essay. When you refuse, she insists, saying it's for your own good. When you still say no, she storms off. I'm sick of the way she treats me like someone inferior."

"Is she really that bad?"

"Horrible. That's why I had a really good feeling when I heard she was horrible at Divination. It gave me something to smile about for weeks.

"Is that why you don't eat in the Great Hall?"

Sophie smiled. "No, she's got nothing to do with that?"

"Then why do you stay in your dorm the entire time?"

"I'm usually busy sketching," she said simply.

"How do you eat?" asked Harry, incredulous.

"I transfigure some of the stuff in the room into food. In fact, tomorrow's breakfast will be the first meal I didn't need to conjure or transfigure myself in six years."

There was a very pregnant pause.

"Harry, I can teach you Occlumency now. Do you want to learn?"

"Alright. I never got the grasp of it. Snape never really taught me how to do it," Harry said.

Sophie took one of his hands in hers. Harry looked at their hands. "I'm just warming your hand. You're very cold. Now, tell me, what is your favorite book?"

"Er – Quidditch Lovers." (A/N: I invented this, sorry if it sounds stupid)

"Favorite chapter?"

"Famous Seekers and Famous Seeker Techniques."

"Now hand me your wand." Harry reluctantly gave Sophie his wand with his free hand. "I want you to mentally recite the chapter over and over again." She squeezed his hand before letting it go. "I will attempt to break into your mind, but I will not tell you when. It won't matter as long as you concentrate on that chapter. Recite it over and over again. It's like you're meditating. Forget that I'm not here. Forget everything else in the world. Just remember the book."

Harry closed his eyes and recited the chapter over and over again. He was halfway through the third repetition of the chapter when Sophie said "Legilimens." Harry tried to fight it, but flashes of his memories were coming to him, though they weren't as vivid as when Snape did it. "That's it, Harry. Just remember the chapter," he heard Sophie's voice through all these flashes. Harry concentrated on the chapter and slowly, he felt his mind close. He opened his eyes. He felt triumphant, but very, very tired.

"That was really good, Harry. We'll have to try some more. Are you up to it?"

"Er, perhaps tomorrow. I'm really tired. Did you see anything?"

"Nothing much. I just saw you snog Cho Chang, but besides that, I didn't see anything." She smiled teasingly at Harry who reddened. "What happened to you guys anyway?"

"Nothing, really. She just got so emotional about Cedric's death and I got sick of her crying all the time," he muttered, embarrassed.

"Well, I'll get to you tomorrow, then. It's getting awfully late, and I think that you should get your rest." She accompanied him to his and Ron's room.

"Er, goodnight."

"Goodnight, Harry," she told him. She gave him an embrace. It seemed to calm his thoughts. "Thanks for your company."

Harry got into the room and took his glasses off. He laid on his bed and felt sleep slowly, but surely engulfing him. He closed his eyes and slept soundly.