Chapter Sixty-One: Occlumency
Daphne woke up unsure of where she was for a moment. When she saw how red her surroundings were, though, she quickly remembered that she was in the Gryffindor common room, and still leaning against Harry, whose glasses were on a bit lopsided.
When Daphne sat up straight, Harry woke up as well.
"Feel a bit better?" he asked, putting his glasses back on straight again.
Daphne nodded slowly. "A bit…" she said.
She wanted nothing more than to tell Harry everything she'd learned the day before, but despite her feelings about Snape at that moment, she wasn't going to break her promise to him.
"So what happened yesterday?" Harry asked.
"I went to talk to Snape," she said.
Harry's expression darkened. "What did he do?" he asked.
Daphne shook her head. "Nothing that has anything to do with me. You remember that time in first year when I was sure he wasn't the one behind trying to steal the Stone, but couldn't tell you why? Well, this is something similar, but bigger. I know why Dumbledore trusts him, but I'm not allowed to tell it to anyone, especially you," she said.
"But not just because he hates you," she added when she saw Harry's expression. "It's also because of your scar, and while we're on that subject, Snape is going to be teaching us Occlumency."
Harry stared at her blankly. "Occlumency?" he repeated.
"It's a way to prevent someone from extracting secrets from your mind," Daphne said. "Dad and most of the people at the Ministry he works with have to be good at it. It's not called the Department of Mysteries for nothing, after all."
"And because my scar burns when Voldemort is…nearby, or extra murderous, or something…he might be able to read my mind?" Harry asked with a disgusted look.
"It's not that straightforward, but essentially, yes."
"I can't imagine Snape's happy to teach me, though," Harry said.
"I don't care. I may believe he's on our side, but he was a Death Eater. I'm not going to forgive him for that," Daphne said.
"A Death Eater? But he's definitely on our side now?" Harry asked incredulously.
"Yes," Daphne said shortly. "And I'm not going to tell you why. It's not my secret to share. I'm sure you'll find out at some point, though."
Harry shook his head in disbelief. "That must have been some conversation," he said.
Daphne smiled faintly. "You have no idea."
She hesitated for a moment. "Thanks…thanks for staying with me all night," she said softly.
"Of course," Harry said. "You were lucky, though. I check the Marauder's Map periodically to see if there's anyone in the school who shouldn't be — not that I've spotted anyone so far — so I could see you were at the portrait hole."
"Moody would be proud of you, I'm sure," Daphne said with a small grin.
Over breakfast she told the others about the Occlumency lessons as well — leaving out most of the rest of the conversation with Snape, which they thankfully didn't ask about, clearly having guessed that it was meant to be a secret — which had Hermione fascinated.
"Ooh, that's an uncommon branch of magic! I've read a little bit about it, of course, but it said that most witches and wizards never bother to learn it because it's so rarely needed."
"Well, it's not like we're all that normal, are we?" Ron pointed out.
"If you want to learn it as well, Harry and I can probably give you some pointers after our own lessons," Daphne said. "Provided, of course, Snape is actually willing to explain things here, unlike in his Potions classes…"
"I've got enough homework to be getting on with, thanks," Ron said. "Especially with trying to learn that Bubble-Head Charm as well."
Harry grinned gratefully. "I'm really glad you're all helping me practice it, though. Makes me feel like I'm not alone, even though I'll have to do the task by myself."
Since the second task seemed under control for the time being, the conversation turned back to Hagrid, whom they still hadn't seen since Skeeter's most recent article had come out. Hermione seemed angriest about this, and later that day, they decided to once again try and see Hagrid to make him come back.
"He can't hide himself forever," Hermione said as they made their way over to his hut. "No matter how vile Skeeter is. If he lets her get to him this much it means she's won, and I won't let her."
They reached Hagrid's hut and Hermione began to pound on his front door.
"Hagrid! Hagrid, that's enough!" she shouted. "We know you're in there! Nobody cares if your mum was a giantess, Hagrid! You can't let that foul Skeeter woman do this to you! Hagrid, get out here, you're just being–"
The door opened and Hermione began to say, "About t–" before realizing that it hadn't been Hagrid who opened the door, but Dumbledore.
"Good afternoon," he said pleasantly, smiling down at them.
"We, er, we wanted to see Hagrid," Hermione said in a rather small voice.
"Yes, I surmised as much," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling. "Why don't you come in?"
They followed Dumbledore into the cabin, where Hagrid was sitting at his table, and Daphne thought he'd been there all week, given how tangled his hair had become.
"Hi, Hagrid," Harry said as they approached.
Hagrid looked up. "'Lo", he said in a very hoarse voice.
"More tea, I think," Dumbledore said, closing the door behind them. He took out his wand and conjured up a tea tray and a plate of cakes, which he put down on the table.
Once everyone had sat down, Dumbledore said, "Did you by any chance hear what Miss Granger was shouting, Hagrid?"
Hermione went slightly pink, but Dumbledore smiled at her and continued, "Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Daphne still seem to want to know you, judging by the way they were attempting to break down the door."
"Of course we still want to know you!" Harry said, staring at Hagrid. "You don't think anything that Skeeter cow — sorry, Professor," he added quickly, looking at Dumbledore.
"I have gone temporarily deaf and haven't any idea what you said, Harry," Dumbledore said, twiddling his thumbs and staring at the ceiling.
"Er, right," Harry said sheepishly. "I just meant…Hagrid, how could you think we'd care what that…woman…wrote about you?"
Two fat tears leaked out of Hagrid's beetle-black eyes and fell slowly into his tangled beard.
"Living proof of what I've been telling you, Hagrid," Dumbledore said, still carefully looking up at the ceiling. "I have shown you the letters from the countless parents who remember you from their own days here, telling me in no uncertain terms that if I sacked you, they would have something to say about it…"
"Not all of 'em," Hagrid said hoarsely. "Not all of 'em wan' me ter stay."
"Really, Hagrid, if you are holding out for universal popularity, I'm afraid you will be in this cabin for a very long time," Dumbledore said, now peering sternly over his half-moon spectacles. "Not a week has passed since I became headmaster of this school when I haven't had at least one owl complaining about the way I run it. But what should I do? Barricade myself in my study and refuse to talk to anybody?"
"Yeh– yeh're not half-giant!" Hagrid said croakily.
"Hagrid, look what I've got for relatives!" Harry said furiously. "Look at the Dursleys!"
"An excellent point," Dumbledore said. "My own brother, Aberforth, was prosecuted for practicing inappropriate charms on a goat. It was all over the papers, but did Aberforth hide? No, he did not! He held his head high and went about his business as usual! Of course, I'm not entirely sure he can read, so that may not have been bravery…"
Perhaps it was Daphne's imagination, but there was an edge of bitterness to Dumbledore's voice in that last line, however light-hearted it might have been said.
"Come back and teach, Hagrid," Hermione said quietly. "Please come back, we really miss you."
Hagrid gulped. More tears leaked out down his cheeks and into his tangled beard.
Dumbledore stood up. "I refuse to accept your resignation, Hagrid, and I expect you back at work tomorrow. You will join me for breakfast at eight-thirty in the Great Hall. No excuses."
He looked at Daphne and Harry. "Harry, Daphne, if you would step outside with me for a moment…"
Daphne had a fairly good idea what it was about, and indeed, once they were outside, Dumbledore said, "I have heard of your…confrontation with Professor Snape yesterday. While it wouldn't have been the way I would have preferred anyone to find out this particular secret, I find it strangely heartening all the same that he shared it at all. I must, of course, once more impress upon you the import of keeping this secret, even to those you are closest to."
He looked at Harry specifically when he said that.
Daphne nodded. "I understand, sir. I have no intention of betraying anyone."
Dumbledore ignored her emphasis. "Good. Now, it would raise questions from certain parties if you were suddenly being taught Occlumency. It will therefore be portrayed as a remedial Potions class for you, Harry, where Daphne will serve as a partner. Your first lesson will take place tomorrow night at eight, in Professor Snape's office. Now, I believe Hagrid could use your support. Good day."
With a last nod, Dumbledore set off for the castle again.
"Tomorrow night," Daphne said softly. "He really isn't taking any chances…"
Harry nodded. "Probably a good thing…though it's just like him to make me out to be an idiot in the process…"
Daphne shrugged. "He's on the same side as we are, but he's definitely not nice," she said.
She knocked on Hagrid's door. "But let's worry about that tomorrow…"
The next evening, Daphne and Harry made their way over to Snape's office. Daphne felt more uneasy than she'd ever done before going to the office, knowing what she did now, but she knew that learning Occlumency would be worth it regardless, especially since the alternative would be Obliviation.
She knocked on the door and heard Snape's usual, "Enter."
They stepped into the office and closed the door behind them.
Snape stood up from behind his desk and walked around to stand in front of it.
"Through…certain circumstances," he said, staring at Daphne, "it has become necessary to teach you both Occlumency. As you are no doubt aware, Occlumency is a skill meant to conceal sensitive information from prying eyes, be that through Legilimency or Veritaserum. It requires an acute, calm mind, which may prove rather…challenging, for some."
He sneered at Harry, who glared back angrily.
Daphne shook her head in annoyance. "So of course, making Harry angry at the start of the lesson is the best way to proceed," she said.
"In real life, people will rarely give you time to compose yourself," Snape said. "Moody will have taught you that, I'm sure."
"Yes, but even he initially cast the Imperius Curse on us with reduced strength to give us a chance," Daphne said. "Wouldn't it be more productive if we knew the basics before we try the more difficult exercises?"
"Miss Greengrass, my unfortunate leniency toward you up until now forces me to teach you and Potter Occlumency. I grow weary of contradiction, and any subsequent outbursts will cost points or result in a detention," Snape said.
"Wow, Harry, fairness. Never thought I'd see the day," Daphne whispered loud enough for Snape to hear it.
Harry gave her a small grin.
"Five points from Slytherin," Snape said, glowering at Daphne.
Daphne smirked. So Snape really was serious. Good. She didn't intend to go on a point-losing spree for Slytherin now, or anything of the sort, but it was nice to know she was at least being treated fairly now.
"Occlumency is a skill with many layers. In its most basic form, it is intended to take away any holds for a potential invader. This will make it obvious Occlumency is being used, but will also prevent the invader from finding any useful information. This form, however, is easily broken by a skilled Legilimens.
"In its more advanced form, it is capable of shielding only certain emotions and thoughts away, while presenting others. In this way, it becomes possible for the Occlumens to hide the very fact that he is hiding something at all.
"For the time being, we shall concentrate on the basic form of Occlumency. Even this form is exceedingly difficult for anyone your age to learn, as you are simply incapable of the emotional control required for the more advanced techniques. This is not," he said with a glare at Daphne, "a sneer at either of you, difficult though it might be to believe. Take out your wands, both of you. I shall attempt to break into your minds to see how you resist. From there, I shall attempt to instruct you on how to improve."
Daphne was surprised that Snape was actually explaining something. He usually simply copied the instructions from the book onto the board and let everyone struggle while he watched. Perhaps it was because they had no books this time.
Snape raised his wand and turned to Daphne. "Miss Greengrass, given your proclivity for diving in to save Potter, you shall go first."
Another surprise. She'd expected Snape to latch onto a possibility to sneer at Harry, but now he was giving him a chance to watch, first, no matter how mockingly it was phrased.
"You may use any spell or technique you know to defend yourself. Now, prepare…Legilimens!"
Daphne had no idea what to expect and wasn't ready at all when the spell hit her. Wild images from varying periods of her life shot through her mind. Birthdays, trips with her parents, classes at Hogwarts, picking up Harry from his relatives, learning how to duel with Harry, dancing with Harry and Ginny at the Yule Ball, the maze from her visions…the red-eyed, snakelike man in a graveyard…
Suddenly, Snape's presence withdrew and he looked at her, shocked. "You have seen the Dark Lord?" he asked.
Daphne looked around for a moment, now that the office was back in focus. "In the crystal ball in Divination, yes," Daphne said. "I…that was weird. It was nothing like the Imperius Curse…"
"So that image…was of a future event?" Snape asked.
Daphne cocked her head. She honestly couldn't remember at this point who did and didn't know about her visions. Snape, apparently, didn't.
"Yes, sir. I don't know when it will come to pass, though…"
Snape shook his head and rubbed his left arm. "Fine. We'll continue. You did not seem to resist much," he said.
Daphne shook her head. "I…had no idea what was happening. I just saw all of those memories, but I couldn't make anything of them…but the more recent ones all focused on Harry."
She gave Harry an embarrassed look. "I guess I just think about you when I'm not focusing on anything in particular…That's what the centaurs said, too."
"You have spoken to the centaurs?" Snape asked.
"We were studying planetary movements in Divination and Trelawney wasn't going to help me interpret anything, so I hoped they could. I left with more questions than answers, but they did tell me that my 'focus in emptiness' determines what my visions are about, and that's been Harry for…a while."
Daphne felt her face heating up, even though they were more or less officially together now.
"Miss Greengrass, were you steering your thoughts at all?" Snape asked.
Daphne shook her head. "No, sir. I was just…watching them."
He frowned. "I see. It would appear, then, that your talent for Divination is getting in the way of your Occlumency. Divination requires one's mind to be open and accepting, while Occlumency calls for the exact opposite."
"So…I can't learn it?" Daphne asked uncertainly.
"Perhaps with some more difficulty, but it can still be done, of course. In fact, mastering Occlumency might even be beneficial to being able to set this 'focus in emptiness' at will," Snape said. "But first, let's try Potter…"
Harry steadied himself and took a deep breath.
"Legilimens!" Snape said, pointing his wand at Harry.
Harry stumbled and shouted, and Daphne wondered if it had looked the same when Snape had cast the spell on her.
Then, out of nowhere, Harry threw a Stinging Hex at Snape and fell to his knees.
"Did you mean to produce a Stinging Hex?" Snaped asked coolly.
"No," Harry panted as he got up from the floor.
"I thought not," Snape said contemptuously. "You let me get in too far. You lost control."
"Did you see everything I saw?" Harry asked.
"Flashes of it," Snape said. "To whom did the dog belong?"
"My Aunt Marge," Harry muttered.
"Well, for a first attempt that was not as poor as it might have been," Snape said. "You managed to stop me eventually, though you wasted time and energy shouting. You must remain focused. Repel me with your brain and you will not need to resort to your wand."
"And how would I do that, sir?" Harry asked bitterly.
"It is difficult to think of nothing at all," Snape acknowledged. "Therefore it would likely be best, for both of you, to focus on one single thing and maintain that focus. Having Legilimency used on you this openly, however, is somewhat akin to dreaming while awake, and you will find that your mind goes on tangents from the point you decided to focus on.
"In Miss Greengrass's case, she chose to let it. Potter, on the other hand, was attempting to shut out each thought as it came, yet failed to do so until he fought back physically. In short, Miss Greengrass is too relaxed, Potter too tense."
He turned to Daphne. "Miss Greengrass, I will be using the spell on you again. Try to keep your mind focused on any person who isn't Potter this time."
"Er, okay," Daphne said, trying to think of someone to focus on. Mum would probably be easiest…
Snape raised his wand. "Legilimens!"
Again, the office flickered and vanished and Daphne tried to focus on Mum, and it seemed to be working…She saw Mum helping her with her lessons as a child, teaching her to bake cookies, trying to teach her how to fly…Mum playing Quidditch, Mum training with Harry…Harry and her walking outside, after the Yule Ball…a clearing in the forest...
"NO!" Panting, she stood in the office again. "Not that one. Any memory but that one," she said.
Snape regarded her curiously. "You have simultaneously failed and fulfilled the objective," he said. "Your thoughts moved back to Potter, yet the moment that final memory began, you shut me out entirely."
"That's because I refuse to accept that one," Daphne said. "And that memory is a secret between Harry and me."
She saw Harry's eyes widening when he realized what she was talking about.
"Your rejection, however, was not done consciously, and that is a problem. In general, Legilimency is done subtly, not overtly like I'm doing now, and you appear for the most part fine with the memories being forced to the forefront of your mind.
"You must learn to focus intently, to the exclusion of everything else, on one single thing of your own choosing, something that is innocuous. Whether that is a pendant, the flame of a candle, or anything else is up to you, but no other thoughts are to be allowed in your mind while you are doing this. That single-mindedness is necessary for you to learn Occlumency."
Daphne nodded slowly. "So…does that mean…I'm easy to manipulate?" she asked. "Because I thought that resisting the Imperius Curse meant that I'd be able to resist this as well."
"Being sensitive to Divination implies a certain level of…indifference when it comes to external manipulations of thoughts and perceptions. The Imperius Curse wipes away one's thoughts entirely, leaving only the desire to obey the caster. Anyone asserting themselves with sufficient force can learn to resist it.
"Legilimency, on the other hand, calls up your own memories in order to extract information. It is possible to plant false memories using it, but that is such an involved process under normal circumstances that it almost never happens. Your divinatory indifference to being manipulated externally in this way leaves you more open to a Legilimens. Practice focusing on one single thing, and you will improve."
He turned to Harry next. "Potter, you will try something similar, yet subtly different. Your problem, like I said before, is that you are too tense, too eager to push the attacker away. This results in random memories being called up, until eventually you lash out physically. Since in your case, the attacker will likely not be in the same location as you, a physical defense will not be good enough.
"The kind of concentration necessary for Occlumency is rather similar to that required to produce a corporeal Patronus. Instead of focusing on something extremely happy, however, it would likely be best to focus on the Patronus itself. As it often represents something highly personal to the caster, its image can easily be called up with the mind's eye and kept there, while not providing an attacker with anything to grasp. Now, focus on your Patronus, and on nothing else. Attune all your senses to it."
Harry briefly glanced at Daphne, who smiled encouragingly, and then closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths.
"Okay," he said after a few seconds.
Snape aimed his wand. "Legilimens!"
Harry jerked when the spell hit him and his brow furrowed as he fought to maintain his concentration. His breathing became heavier until he suddenly jerked his head to the side, and Snape pulled back his wand.
"That…was good, Potter," he said, though it sounded like it caused him physical pain to admit it. "I was able to gain only the barest glimpse of your thoughts and emotions behind the Patronus, and the moment I did you pushed me out, without your wand. All the thoughts and feelings connected to your Patronus can also help further down the line to misdirect an attacker, but we will move onto that once you have mastered this initial step."
Snape fell silent and looked from Harry, who seemed amazed that Snape had actually told him he'd done something well, to Daphne, who was amazed that Snape was making a genuine effort to explain things, and was doing a decent job at it.
"I will plan another session for Friday night. For each of you, you are to spend time before bed practicing your focus. Potter, keep using your Patronus. Miss Greengrass, you must use something that isn't emotionally charged, so that it will take a conscious effort to maintain concentration. Dismissed."
Daphne and Harry left the office together. "Y'know, that might be the first time one of Snape's lessons made sense to me," Harry said disbelievingly.
"What did you see when he attacked you last time?" Daphne asked.
"I focused on what my Patronus looked like the night Sirius was cleared. The bright glow, the curve of the antlers, its movements…and when Snape attacked I imagined my Patronus taking it head on, pushing my own thoughts away like they were Dementors. He kept getting more forceful and it was like…I could see him even with my eyes closed and I imagined my Patronus charging him down."
He grinned. "Since my Patronus is my Dad it probably helped that he and Snape never got along in the first place…it wasn't hard to imagine… So what about you? You saw…?"
Daphne shook her head. "Only the clearing, that's when I pushed him out. Before that I just…went with the flow. Sort of in a, 'yeah, these memories are fine', kind of way. I don't know, it doesn't bother me nearly as much as the Imperius Curse does because it's still my own thoughts. It's hard to stay focused…stupid Divination," she said in an annoyed voice.
Harry chuckled. "You'll get the hang of it, I'm sure."
For a moment, they were silent, just enjoying each other's company in the quiet hallway. Then, Harry said, "Well, I'd better get to Gryffindor Tower…see you tomorrow at breakfast. Good night!"
Daphne smiled. "Yeah, good night…"
They shared a quick kiss and then Daphne turned around, heading to the Slytherin common room, and not too much later, she lay in her bed, staring up at the canopy. What could she focus on that didn't have an emotional charge? All kinds of thoughts went through her head, but in the end, they returned to Harry once again and, still thinking of him, she fell asleep.
I know Harry in the book is confused over the nature of his scar and asks Dumbledore about it. I found that a bit odd, though, since Chamber of Secrets already established that the backfiring curse formed some kind of connection between Harry and Voldemort, giving him the ability to speak Parseltongue. So while Harry obviously doesn't know it's specifically a Horcrux, he does know there is more to his scar than just a scar.