Disclaimer-Harry Potter is a franchise owned by J. . I do not, in any way, own the characters, places, movies, books, etc….. The Ocs, however, are my characters. There are families whose surname is Maurya, but I'm not using any of them as a character. So all Oc characters and NAMES would be my own creation. Any character resembling any person living or dead is entirely a coincidence.

***~~WIWATTD~~***

CHAPTER VI

The 'secret meetings' were a weekly thing, mostly. The teens were all shooed out of the room whenever there was to be a meeting. They had tried protesting, but Molly, along with their father, had sternly told them to just go out of the room. The teens tried listening in through the extendable ears which were made by the Weasley twins, but was unsuccessful, as Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, had taken the ear and ran away. Everyone groaned.

"Bad Crooks!" Hermione muttered sullenly.

"I hate your cat, Hermione!" Fred said, grumbling.

When this meeting was over, the twins, along with the teens were called down for dinner. Their father had been forced by Molly to have dinner with them. He looked at the crowd surrounding the table, looking every bit as though he didn't want to be there.

The twins snickered, not at all deterred by the glare that their father had shot them. But the glare itself held no malice.

He sat down, with the two girls on either side of him. They were listening to what Sirius was telling Harry about some prophecy. After some time, Molly snapped, "Enough, Sirius! He is given enough information for today. It isn't right, giving him too much information when he won't be able to do anything! He's just a boy!"

"But, I want to know! If Voldemort is building an army, I want to fight," Harry said, looking angry and frustrated.

Sirius had a smug expression on his face and he looked at Molly, who looked frustrated.

Sirius smiled at Harry, winked, and did a gesture that said, don't mind her. Harry smiled at his godfather's approval. Severus rolled his eyes, muttering something about "Stupid mutt."

The twins looked at him contemplatively, thinking about something.

"You want to fight, Harry?" Anya asked suddenly, giving him a piercing look. Harry blinked disbelievingly at her for a second, before his expression turned into one of anger.

"Of course I want to! HE killed my parents, Anya!" Harry said, his voice growing louder. They could feel a bit of power radiating from him as he grew angry.

"Okay. You want revenge. That's good. But do you have any spells in your arsenal that you can use against HIM?" Anya shot at him.

There was silence in the room as Harry looked down, growing angrier by the minute.

"I know you fought Voldemort more times than most of the people in this room, maybe even including Headmaster Dumbledore, but you had nothing but your bravery, the tendency to act like a hero and sheer dumb luck to be thankful for," Anya said gently, trying her best not to set him off. Harry looked up and opened his mouth, but Anusha cut him off.

"You want to fight, go on dude. No one can stop you. In the end, it is your decision and how you work towards getting to your goal that would decide the outcome," Anusha said, looking at Harry and crossing her arms.

For a while, no one spoke as the whole room looked at the three teens. Harry looked down again, slumping against the chair he was sitting on.

"I don't know anything about what is going on with Voldemort," Harry said, leaning against the chair. He looked up suddenly, his eyes a molten green, burning with rage. The table was shrouded in ominous silence, like the calm before the storm.

Suddenly, the table started rattling. The cutlery was shaking badly, making a sound that combined to become a loud noise. The glasses on the table started moving towards the edge through the shaking. It was like a mild earthquake, but everyone had their eyes focused on Harry, who stood up slowly. Some of them looked at him with wariness and mild fear. Severus and the twins, along with Albus, Remus and Moody looked at him, observing him carefully.

"I want to help! This is my war! HE wants to fight me! And yet, whenever I ask about the war, everyone just tries to shield me, like I'm some little child who doesn't know any better!"

"Technically, you are a child," Anusha said, calmly.

"I DON'T CARE! THIS IS MY WAR I WANT TO FIGHT! IT IS MY RIGHT!" Harry screamed, his voice turning a little deep. They could see a tinge of red seeping through his brilliant green eyes. Albus, Remus, and Moody narrowed their eyes sharply at the change in color.

Severus refrained from widening his eyes in shock.

Red… just like HIS eyes… Oh Merlin, what the hell is going on with your son, Lily?

"Then make yourself worthy of your right," Anusha said, looking at him coolly, her hand on her wand, ready to take it out.

Harry turned his head sharply to look at her, his eyes burning with rage, but Anusha stared back at him with cold eyes. She was confident enough that he wouldn't do anything to her. If he did, then she was confident enough to prevent him from doing so.

Anya and Severus looked at her and Harry concernedly.

"Anusha," Anya said softly, warning her.

"Be careful sweetie," Severus murmured softly, looking at Harry with suspicion. Some people turned to look at him, shocked. It wasn't every day that you heard Severus Snape utter 'sweetie', even when he was addressing one of his daughters.

Everyone stared at the two teenagers, completely silent.

After a while, Harry's rage suddenly deflated.

"I don't want anyone getting hurt because of me," Harry breathed out, sitting down again and looking at his plate of food in frustration. The people in the room sighed, relieved by the change in the atmosphere.

"Oh, Harry!" Hermione said, looking at him.

"I just feel bad for all those times you all got hurt because of me. My presence is dangerous for you all," He continued.

"Harry! Don't say things like that!" Ginny exclaimed, looking at him.

"That's right, Harry! We're all here to help you!" Hermione said.

"Yeah, Mate! We knew what we were getting into! It's not your fault!" Ron said, nodding. It was clear that he would stay by his best friend's side no matter what.

Anusha looked down at her plate for a few moments, before looking at her father.

"I have an idea. How about all of us make a group and learn new spells? I mean, the adults in this room are some of the strongest wizards and witches of Wizarding Britain! They could help us with the spells! And if we have a problem, then they could help us with it!"

The teens looked at each other for a few seconds before turning and nodding enthusiastically. Anya turned to the Haggard man sitting on the far end of the table.

"Sirius, you were an Auror, right? You could help us with this!" Anya said, looking at him enthusiastically. Sirius blinked in surprise.

"M-Me?!"

"Not only you but everyone else! You all can assist us! If you guys are free!" Anusha said, looking around the table.

"Nope. Sorry, kiddo. We have late night shifts and on top of that, our seniors aren't leaving us so easily," Tonks said, as both she and Kingsley looked at them apologetically.

"Forgive me, but I have a lot of work on my plate right now, so…" Severus said, looking at his daughters.

After receiving similar responses from Albus and the elder Weasleys, Anya said, "Well, I guess it's you two now Sirius, Remus."

The former Marauders looked at each other, before looking back at the teens and nodding.

"Alright, I don't mind," Remus answered, shrugging and smirking.

"I'll teach you kids if you think you can put up with me!" Sirius said, winking at them all.

So, there's that done. Now, is there any place here where we can practice?" Anusha asked, looking at the man.

Sirius thought for a few moments, concentrating hard before his eyes lit up.

"Oh yes! The house's basement is basically a dueling ground. There are charms that are lined up in there that will keep the ministry from getting notified of your underage wand using. There are also dummies there for you to practice on!"

"Brilliant!"

"Bloody hell!" Ron muttered, smirking, as every teen shared a look with one another. The adults sighed exasperatedly and shook their heads as the teens all planned out what spells they can practice on and learn.

Albus looked on as all the teens murmured 'yeah' and 'of course!' with a bright smile. He always loved it when his students took the initiative. It showed that they were eager to help, no matter what the others said. His gaze shifted to the twins, who were discussing something with their father. His smile turned brighter. Everything was going according to plan.

And these girls are starting to get involved with the others… It won't be long before I can actually keep them here…

Thus, their training started. Sirius and Remus were great teachers. Remus had a calm and cool aura that was exactly opposite to Sirius' charming, outgoing and hyped up persona. But they worked in a sort of sync as though they were twins. It was amazing.

They had started with the simplest of spells, Expelliarmus. The first day of teaching taught the Weasley twins and Ron that no matter where you are, don't underestimate the person standing in front of you.

Hermione also thought it would be a good idea to revise some old spells and charms, for their 'O.W.L.S', she had argued. The others were amused, but they complied anyway.

The girls were slowly getting attached to the group of teens, but they knew that as soon as their holidays were over, they would have to go back to their life. That made them a bit somber, but it didn't deter them from learning new spells with the teens.

The teens felt the same thing, so they didn't talk to them about the end of the holidays at all. Instead, they spent as much time with the spells as possible.

There was a time when Harry got frustrated because of his inability to master the spell.

He shouted in frustration and swung his wand in the direction of the walls. A blue light shot out from his wand and hit the wall in front of him. It was so bright that they weren't able to keep their eyes open. It went and hit the wall. The magnitude of the resulting explosion was such that it almost threw them all to the ground and the force of the explosion shook the whole house badly.

"What is going on?!" Anusha muttered, snapping her eyes tightly shut as the light blinded everyone.

"I don't know, sis!" Anya shouted.

"HARRY!" Sirius and Remus shouted collectively.

Upstairs, Molly and Arthur looked around in alarm as the house started shaking.

"We're being attacked!" Arthur exclaimed, standing up.

"Where are the kids?!" Molly exclaimed.

Down in the basement, the shaking had finally stopped as the light dimmed. Anusha slowly opened her eyes and blinked. What she saw made her gape. The other teens exclaimed.

"Whoa," Ginny murmured, looking awed.

"Bloody Hell!" Ron muttered, his eyes wide with shock.

"But, it can't be!" Hermione muttered.

"This is absolutely unreal!" The Weasley twins exclaimed.

"You told us that nothing could harm these walls, Sirius!" Anusha said, her mouth still agape.

"Exactly; but apparently, Harry is an exception to that," Sirius muttered. Remus breathed in shakily, gulping to clear his dry throat.

The wall that had taken the brunt of Harry's anger had been scorched completely. It was almost on the verge of breaking down. If it weren't for the wards on the walls, the whole room would've been demolished by that force.

Every teen looked at Harry warily. It was at times like these that anyone witnessed the raw power Harry had.

The adults were informed of this incident. They were totally shocked at what the teens had told them. But they didn't dare comment upon it. They were suddenly wary of how Harry would react. They had initially wanted to tell the Headmaster of this, but Harry begged them not to tell him. When asked why Harry replied that he didn't want the Headmaster to have more work than the usual and that he was fine.

"I don't need help! I feel fine! I'll do my best to control it!" Harry said, looking at the adults sitting in front of him with a begging look. The adults looked at each other for a few long moments. The teens all watched them struggle with their decision, but they finally nodded after a few moments.

The girls had enough of sitting around with this. They had spoken to their father about this, but he had strictly told them not to get involved too much. He told them that the Headmaster knew about this and he was working on the problem. But the problem was slowly going out of hand.

That evening, during dinner, Anya was lost in thought, her hand holding the fork loosely. Anusha looked over at her, frowning.

"Oi, Anya?"

Anya's attention snapped to her twin, but she kept looking down.

"What's up? You've not been eating anything."

"No, I was thinking that we should approach the Headmaster about the incident in the basement of the house. I know Papa told us to keep away from this, but this is getting out of hand. If this goes on, then Harry will be mad enough to blow the whole house one day and kill everyone in it, even himself! He is a powerful wizard! He needs to learn to control it!" Anya ranted, as she stabbed her chicken piece forcefully. The metal clattered against the plate, attracting the attention of others, who looked at her curiously.

"Everything alright, Anya?" Sirius asked, looking at the girl with a raised eyebrow. Both the girls snapped their heads to look at him for a second. The man flinched a little.

"Oh, sorry. Yes, I'm fine! Really!" Anya said, laughing nervously, before looking back to her plate.

"Well, if you're sure," Sirius mumbled, gulping a little.

"Smooth move, Anya," Anusha said, smirking inwardly.

"Shut up and get back to the topic!" Anya screeched. Anusha winced inwardly.

"Gods, you don't have to scream in my ear you know! Geez! Anyway, you're right. If he keeps this up, then this house will be gone by the time it's Christmas! He does need to control this. Approaching Headmaster Dumbledore would be good, but we have to involve Papa in this," Anusha explained.

"But-" Anya started.

"I know he'll grumble about us being involved, but come on! You know it's useless to not tell him of this! He'll come to know about this anyway! So, it is a much better option to just let him know!"

Anya sighed softly.

"Yeah, you're right. We'll tell them both tomorrow about this. They might be able to help with this."

In the end, it was quite easy to catch hold of him. There had been yet another meeting that day and it had just ended. The Headmaster and their father had stepped outside the room, speaking urgently amongst each other. The twins looked at each other and nodded and rushed down the stairs.

"Hey, where are you going?" Hermione hissed at them.

"We'll be right back!" Anya said, rushing with her twin down the stairs almost tripping down one of them.

"Careful!" Severus said, sternly. Soon enough, the girls stood in front of him.

"Papa, Headmaster," Anusha said, "We need to speak to you. Urgently."

"About?" Severus asked, looking at them suspiciously.

"We'll tell you when we are alone. We need to talk about this, now," Anya said, looking at them both seriously.

The adults looked at each other before nodding at them and leading to an empty living room down the hall.

Well, what is it you two wanted to tell us?" Albus asked, looking at them with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Professor," Anusha began, "Harry's behavior is going out of hand."

"He's being totally unstable!" Anya added.

"His temper is so volatile! It's like, someone says something to him, anything and he just blows up! Then suddenly, he realizes that he's being a bit unreasonable and stops but there's some sort of black cloud on his head! And then he starts acting like a borderline depressed person and then he tries isolating himself!" Anusha continued, looking at her Papa, who frowned thoughtfully as he remembered the red glint in the boy's eyes from a few days ago.

"And he is not able to control his magical energy at all! Being a powerful wizard, he should be able to, but he is not! In fact, I think he's just losing control deliberately! And that was clear when he lost his temper last evening and just shot a hole in one of the 'impenetrable' walls of the basement!" Anya said, crossing her arms and frowning harshly at the floor.

"At this rate, he will definitely destroy the house one day with all the inhabitants under it! Someone has to step in to help him out with this!" Anusha finished.

By the time they were finished, Albus and Severus were frowning too.

"I had suspected of it, yes. But I was never really sure of it." He muttered to himself. The three of them were barely able to catch what he had said. All three of them looked at the old man, narrowing his eyes for a bit.

Albus looked thoughtful for a few moments. He then looked at the Potions Master. Severus raised his eyebrows at him, dreading what he was going to be asked by the senile old man. After a few moments of thinking about what the problem is, Severus had realized what he wanted to ask and started shaking his head vehemently.

"Severus, I want you to teach Harry-"

"No way!" Severus interrupted him, turning away from Albus. The old man sighed.

"Severus, that boy needs to control his emotions!"

"Then get someone else to teach him! You can do that yourself!"

"You know I can't! I have enough work this year without adding on yet another one! And anyway, Harry would need someone strict enough to teach him properly! I would hold him back on this!"

"Teach him what?" Anusha asked curiously.

"Occlumency," Severus answered.

"Oh," Anya uttered, looking at both the adults, understanding almost immediately.

"But does he have the concentration to learn occlumency?" Anusha asked.

"Oh, of course, my dear! He just needs motivation!"

"And why don't you want to teach him, Papa?" Anya asked, frowning at her father confusedly.

"Because he doesn't trust me enough! And anyway, I get to see that brat's face enough times in the week! I don't want anything extra to induce a headache!"

The twins turn to each other, silently communicating with each other for a few minutes before Anusha looked forward.

"I'll teach him," Anusha said, shrugging.

"What?" Severus said, looking at his daughter with shock.

"Of course I'll teach him, Papa! You taught me and Anya after all! We'll be fine! He just has to concentrate a lot. His mood swings are worse than that of a girl having her monthly issues, but he'll be fine soon," Anusha said, rolling her eyes tiredly.

Anya chuckled, while Albus regained the twinkle in his eyes. Severus just looked as if he wanted to say no, but he held back anyway. The brat Potter needed this after all.

"Do you think you can do it? Will you be able to handle it?" Albus asked sincerely.

"He'll be fine, Headmaster. You can trust me on that," Anusha said determinedly.

"Anusha, you have my full permission to hex him if he gives you any trouble!"

"Now now Severus! That is unfair! I'm sure Harry will be as good as possible for Anusha!" Albus said.

"He better be," Severus said, crossing his arms. Albus turned to the girls, who looked on at the exchange with exasperated smirks.

"Now, I mustn't waste any more of your time, my dears! Go on then, chop-chop."

The girls chuckled and nodded and went out of the room. Albus sighed and sat on the sofa. He took off his glasses and rubbed his face tiredly. Severus stood there, looking at his employer. It was at these moments that Severus saw the 116-year-old man, not the jovial, eccentric, headache-inducing man.

"He'll be fine, Albus. No need to worry about the brat. You can instead worry about what the ministry worker would do! She is being totally insubordinate! And she had the audacity to come to my Potions stores and tell me that it was illegal for me to have so many potions ingredients to myself! And the staff meeting was totally horrendous! She doesn't know what to do!"

"Don't you always find the staff meetings horrendous, Severus?" Albus asked, looking at his Potions Master mischievously.

Severus scowled at him.

"Well, n-not like this! This was on the top spot!"

"We'll see about the woman, my boy. In time."

"Hiya, people!" Anusha greeted the teens, as they entered Harry and Ron's room. Ginny and Hermione were talking amongst themselves about the portion for the fourth year, the Weasley twins were talking and snickering quietly to themselves and Harry and Ron were sitting on the bed, playing exploding snap. It was quite a normal site, but they could feel the tension in the room. Harry was gripping his cards too hard, his face had a sullen expression and he looked tired like he hadn't had a whole night's sleep.

All the teens had agreed to sit there to discuss their matters. It was rather fun, actually, passing jokes, getting to know about the British Wizarding World and sharing their own stories with the others. But right now, it was really serious and they wanted to tell them all about what had occurred in the living room.

"Hey there, Ladies!" Fred said, smirking at them cheekily.

"We're so glad you decided to grace us with your presence!" George continued.

"Guys, not now. This is serious," Anusha said, effectively silencing them all. Every teen turned to them, their work quite forgotten.

"Guys, we told Dumbledore about the incident in the basement," Anusha said, looking at everyone.

Their eyes widened and they turned their heads at Harry, who looked at the girls with rage.

"Why?! Don't you two have anything better to do than snooping around in my business-" Harry started angrily, looking at them with a bit of rage that was strangely reminiscent of the temper that he had during that dinner.

Anusha sighed exasperatedly.

"BECAUSE IF WE DIDN'T THEN YOU'D BLOW THE HOUSE ONE DAY!" Anusha screamed at him, finally losing her temper. Everyone stared at her, shocked at her outburst. Harry looked at her like someone slapped him on his face.

"What do you mean by that?" Harry said, his voice suddenly low.

"Harry, you're a powerful wizard," Anya said.

When Harry started shaking his head, Anusha snapped at him, "Look, dude, you can deny that, but you are! And shut your mouth and listen to what we have to say!"

Harry snapped his mouth shut at that. Everyone else looked at Anusha and Harry with wide eyes.

"Wow," Fred muttered.

"She sure has a temper," George responded back, smirking cheekily.

"You're either on the wrong side of your teenage life or you are just getting your knickers in a twist because of the lack of information you are being given. And frankly, I know it's frustrating, but to act like this over lack of information? Seriously?" Anusha commented, raising her eyebrows as she looked into Harry's Green orbs directly.

Harry looked away, feeling a little bit embarrassed suddenly.

"Don't worry; you are going to have to learn a technique to counter your anger and keep it in check. It's called 'Occlumency'," Anya explained.

"It's a type of mind magic which helps you to keep a hold on your emotions and control yourself in every possible situation. At first, Papa was going to teach you, but then I offered to teach you myself. I apologize; this type of magic requires some amount of trust between the teacher and the learner and he's not really a fan of yours," Anusha said, looking at him apologetically.

"That comes from both ways," Harry said bluntly. Anusha blinked at his answer.

"O-kay. So, I'll be teaching you this mind art so that you can finally stop acting like a hormonal girl."

"Hey!" Harry exclaimed, but no anger coated his tone.

It's true!" Anusha defended.

"Now, about your training. It's going to be easy, maybe a tad bit boring at first. It's the books part which would be boring for you. But you have to complete reading the material that I give you as soon as possible, and after that, we'll be coming to the fun part- the application part. Understood?"

"Yes, of course," Harry replied.

"Any questions?"

"How long is it going to take for me to learn?"

"Depends on you. If you like to laze around with it, then it may take a long time. But, if you want to learn this technique and control your anger and your emotions too, then it can be a piece of cake. The choice is yours," Anusha said, shrugging.

Harry looked at her for a long while, before nodding.

"Good, then I'll get the books for you. Start with them now."

Thus, Harry's occlumency lessons began with Anusha as his instructor.

Harry was extremely embarrassed at his failure to control his emotions and not get angry at everything. He didn't know what was going on with him. All he knew that it all started on when he and Cedric arrived at the Graveyard. Everything went downhill from there- Cedric's death, the duel with Voldemort, the incident in the hospital wing, his summer, the dementors and then coming back home to find that he was being accused of lying and creating mass panic. Oh, and also, not being told anything about what is going on. And to put a cherry on top of the cake, he had to attend a trial.

He wouldn't admit it, but he was secretly glad that the twins had told Dumbledore of his outburst in the basement. Now he had to lean this Occlumency with Anusha as his teacher. Frankly, he was glad that it was the younger Snape who was teaching him, not the Potions Master. He didn't trust that man, and he seriously didn't understand how the hell the girls could be his daughters. It was almost… nonsensical. But after watching them interact with him, he felt a bit of jealousy and envied the girls somewhat for having a sort of family that was intact, even though Snape had participated in the first war and their mother died.

Back to the topic, he wanted to prove to himself and to the others that he could actually control himself and his emotions.

But who said that it was going to be easy, huh?

It had taken Harry almost a week to complete the books that Anusha had given him.

"Those books were given to me and Anya by Papa. They contain the best theories for occlumency. Read them very carefully. If you have anything to ask, then you can ask me," She had said, placing the books on the bed of the room he and Ron were sharing. They weren't huge, giant tomes with countless pages, but they were quite big. But Harry had been determined to complete the books.

So, therefore, he and Anusha went on to occupy a separate room which was secluded from the major part of the house, for less noise and to make him concentrate more.

The room was pretty much empty, just two old armchairs in there that were coated with a thick layer of dust. But she flicked her wand at them both to get them clear of the dust and make them look cleaner. She gestured him to sit down, while she went and leaned against the wall, looking at him closely.

He felt a bit uncomfortable in her presence. He didn't know why he did, but there was just something about her that made him feel… weird. He just didn't understand.

What is it about her that makes me feel weird about her?

Sadly, he didn't get an answer. He sighed.

I should've expected that…

He snapped out of his daze and observed her way of dressing. It was completely minimalistic, completely opposite to Ginny and Hermione's way of dressing. They wore something colorful, typically girlish sort of clothes. Well, Hermione wore less of them as compared to Ginny, but still. Anusha was wearing a deep blue full shirt with black tight ankle length jeans and a light blue jacket thrown on top of it. She wore black shoes which looked suitable for running anytime.

"Okay Harry, welcome to your first class of Occlumency," Anusha said, smirking little at him. He smiled a bit unsurely.

"Thank you."

"Now, I'll repeat what Papa had told me and Anya when we had taken these lessons. He had said, 'It's going to be easy for you both if you make it easy and difficult if you make it difficult'," Anusha said, as she stood on her spot, staring at him continuously.

Then she straightened suddenly, pushing herself against the wall and coming to stand in front of him.

"Harry, you've completed the theory aspect of Occlumency. So, the thing that remains to teach you is the application part. Now, I assume you must have read of the spell that is used to cast to enter your mind, right?" Anusha said softly, coming to stand in front of him. He nodded.

"I'll explain it for you just for my own satisfaction. The incantation is 'Legilimens' and you simply point your wand at the person to invade his or her mind. It's actually a spell that is used in practice of Occlumency. You'll be seeing a lot of this spell for the next few weeks, okay?"

Harry nodded, his face totally serious, as he felt tensed and a bit anxious.

"Hey, calm down. It's alright if you don't get it right on the first try, okay?" Anusha said gently, looking at him with a calming smile. Harry took in a deep breath and nodded. Anusha's smile faded as her mask of seriousness placed itself back on her face. She took a few steps back and took out her wand from her holster which was on her right forearm and pointed it at him with steady hands. He flinched but stopped and readied himself.

"Harry, just think of something that you don't want me or anyone else to know," Anusha began. Harry nodded and concentrated for a while.

"Ready?" Anusha asked after a few moments.

Harry nodded, opening his eyes.

"Now, just imagine a wall around that, and try your hardest to block me, okay?"

Harry nodded and concentrated hard.

"Harry, are you ready?" Anusha asked.

Harry nodded shakily.

"Hey, it's alright. Like I said, it would not be the end of the world if you are not able to block me the first time, okay?"

Harry nodded, the knot in his stomach twisting and turning.

"Alright, then. On the count of three, okay? One…two…three… Legilimens!"

Harry felt a weird sensation of being poked in his brain. Like someone was moving through his mind, reading him, reading his secrets and invading his privacy.

"Harry, focus!" Anusha snapped as she shot him a glare. Harry blinked and concentrated hard to block her out of the shields. Soon, she broke through the shields and saw his thoughts about Cho. She smirked, pulling back and canceling her spell. Harry looked at her grumpily as she laughed quietly.

"Aw, Harry! It seems you have a huge crush on… Cho Chang," Anusha said, her laughter growing louder as Harry leveled a glare at her.

"Shut up," He mumbled. Anusha chuckled.

"You're so adorable! But for what it's worth, she's very cute! And an Asian too! Wow! That's your preference, huh?"

Harry put his head in his hands and groaned in defeat. Anusha laughed on.

"Hey, I told you, it's okay. Just concentrate, alright? Try it again. Focus on an information and build your walls around it, okay?"

He nodded, closing his eyes.

"I am ready," He said.

"Well then, let's try it again. One, two, three… Legilimens!"

Like this, the Occlumency lessons went on for a few days. He was showing little improvement than before, but it wasn't enough. Both their patience was waning. Harry's confidence was slowly waning along as well. But Anusha kept him motivated somehow.

Anusha leveled her wand at him again and said, "Harry, remember, please. All you have to do is focus on all those things about your life that are private to you and you only, okay? Three, two, one… Legilimens!"

He tried his hardest again but failed again when she broke his defenses and entered his mind again. Anusha pulled back suddenly, canceling the spell. She had a thoughtful look in her eyes as she stared at the wall for some time.

"One second. I'll be right back," Anusha said, running out of the room. Harry looked after her in shock, before he went after her, catching up with her quickly.

"What's wrong?" He asked as they descended the stairs to the ground floor and towards the basement.

"I need to ask something to Sirius! It's about your occlumency!"

They reached the basement, where they could hear Sirius' voice ringing out, saying, "Come now, Ronald! You know you can do better than that!"

They entered the room to find Sirius and Ron standing across from each other, with the others at a side. Sirius was pointing his wand at Ron, smirking while Ron was breathing heavily, looking frustrated. Harry raised his eyebrows at that.

Well, it seems as though they're having fun…

All eyes turned to them as both of them put their hand down.

"Sirius, I need to ask you something. Which element do the Potters have the most affinity to?"

"Like which element can they control?"

"Yeah. Do you know?"

Sirius looked at Anusha thoughtfully for a while. After what felt like an eternity, he said, "They have the most affinity to water."

"So they're water mages, huh?" Anusha said, nodding to herself. Harry and everyone else except Remus and Anya looked at her confusedly. They had no idea what Anusha was talking about.

"Well, thanks! I'll be seeing you at dinner!" Anusha said, walking out of the room. Harry looked at everyone, before sighing and walking behind her.

"What was that about, Anusha?" Harry asked curiously as they ascended the stairs again. Anusha looked at him in surprise, before she took a deep breath.

"Well, Harry, all families have a certain affinity towards one of the few elements of nature. But only a few of them are able to control that element. This branch of magic is mage magic and there are only a few people in every family who are actually able to respond to the magic. Like, for suppose, I and Anya, as well as our Grandparents and late mother are able to control the element fire," Anusha said, as they entered the upper floors again.

Harry nodded in understanding.

"So, it's like, I have this ability to be able to control water and respond to its magic?"

Anusha turned her head to look at him, a smirk on her face.

"Yup! That's right. Your family is attuned to water, so that makes you a water mage. But you haven't learned to control it yet," Anusha said, as they entered the room. She turned to him suddenly, her eyes gleaming with an idea. Harry raised his eyebrows at that look.

"If you are able to learn Occlumency, then you'll be able to learn how to control your family element, though that would require some training too. But that can be a huge weapon against Voldemort once you master it. So, are you ready to hear what my idea for quickening the process of Occlumency is?"

Harry nodded enthusiastically, determined to master Occlumency at any cost.

"You just have to make water as your barrier, Harry," Anusha said, smirking at him. Harry frowned, not getting the point.

"Don't you see? If you are able to create an illusion of this endless amount of quiet waters for an intruder who wants to get inside your mind, then you'd be able to keep them out. Also, the illusion of quiet waters can be quite calming, Harry," Anusha explained enthusiastically, waving her arms about. Harry smirked at her enthusiasm and nodded, finally understanding what she meant by that.

"So then, Potter. How about you concentrate on making an illusion of endless, quiet waters, huh?" Anusha asked, looking at him and raising her eyebrows.

Harry nodded and sat back in his armchair. He closed his eyes and started building up his wall of defenses.

He totally didn't see the look at Anusha was giving him, as she sat in her armchair.

Raman sighed, as he entered his house. It had been a long day for him. He ran a hand through his brownish black locks as he nodded to his housekeeper, an older lady, who simply bowed to him.

"Ramanji, aap aaj kaafi jaldi aa gaye! Kya mai aap ke liye aapke office mai Chai bhijavaoon?"

Raman shook his head.

"Nahi, nahi! Uski zaroorat nahi hai! Harsh kahan hai?"

"Chote sahib apne kamare mai hain. Jab se aap gaye ho, tabe se wahin hai. Woh bas khana khane ke liye niche aaye, aur uske baad phirse waapis chale gaye."

Raman sighed. Sometimes, it was tiring, caring for a sixteen-year-old who acted way too quiet and mature for his age.

Seriously, how did Severus and Amisha handle raising kids?

Raman snorted.

Well, I'd hardly count Anusha and Anya as the 'too quiet and too mature' type. Though they do have a certain maturity for their age, they still act like a pair of mischievous toerags! Harsh is a totally different case altogether...

Raman sighed.

"Ritu, aap Harsh ke kamare mai Chai bhijwa digiye. Mai us se baat karunga."

"Ji."

The woman bowed slightly and walked off. Raman went in the direction of Harsh's room, thinking about how his life changed.

It had just been during April when he had found out that one of his cousins and his wife, Harsh's parents, Abhimanyu and Trisha Acharya, had been killed during an attack by a radical group on a fair they were visiting. Harsh was gravely injured, but he got well.

Raman hadn't seen him a lot of times, but he had heard quite a lot about him from Abhimanyu. Quiet boy keeping to himself and really good in his studies and interacting with few people in his life, he seemed the classic case of an introvert. But Raman actually got a glimpse of what the teenager really was like during these weeks.

At first, the boy was unresponsive. He just went on sleeping, eating and studying. It was like a constant loop. He didn't want to play, he didn't want to walk out; hell, he didn't even want to leave his room!

He had handled Harsh with patience and care, knowing that these things took time to come out of. But Harsh wasn't even acknowledging it, not that it deterred Raman. He just continued doing what he had been doing.

And then, Harsh had finally responded. He had been having constant nightmares for a week, due to which he wasn't able to sleep much. But Raman wasn't able to know about them, as Harsh had cast silencing charms as he went to sleep. But he had slipped one night and had forgotten to put some silencing charms and as a result, Raman had heard his screams and had rushed to his room.

He still remembered that night when he had rushed to the boy's room after hearing his screams.

FLASHBACK-

Raman shot down the hallway in his pajamas, hearing his ward's screams. He reached Harsh's room and tore open the door to see the young boy trashing against the mattress, his face twisted in horror and agony.

"NO! NOO! Papa! Ma! Come back! Please! Don't do this!" The boy was screaming constantly. Raman went to his side and shook the boy frantically.

"Harsh! Wake up kiddo! It's alright! Come on! Wake up, Harsh! WAKE UP!"

Harsh slowly opened his eyes a bit. He sat up and leaned back against the headrest, blinking and groaning.

"Hey, calm down buddy. It was just a nightmare," Raman whispered, looking at the boy, who nodded. Raman just handed him a glass of water. Harsh drank it in one gulp. Raman raised his eyebrows.

"So, this must be quite a sudden nightmare that would warrant you to wake the whole neighborhood, huh?"

Harsh ran his hand through his hair and shook his head.

"No, nothing that I've not experienced for the first time," Harsh muttered, not realizing to whom he was saying that. Raman raised his eyebrows as he understood what the boy was saying.

Harsh's eyes went wide as if were realizing something.

"So," Raman began, looking at Harsh a bit sternly, "You were concealing this from me, right?"

Harsh sighed and looked at his lap.

"Yes," Harsh whispered, looking a bit ashamed.

"Why? You know you can tell me about it, right?"

"I, uh, I didn't want to trouble you any more than usual. You have taken up enough pains for me, allowing me to live with you. I just didn't want to be a burden to you any more than I already am," Harsh said quietly, frowning at his lap. Raman tipped the boy's head up and made him look into his eyes. The boy blinked at his expression.

"Harsh, it's not your fault, kiddo. I know it is hard for you to cope with your parents' passing and it's absolutely normal to have nightmares about that buddy. I'm here to help you in any way I can, okay?"

Harsh looked at him for a minute, before nodding. The sixteen-year-old snapped his eyes shut to stop the sudden tears from coming out. Raman breathed out and simply embraced the boy comfortingly, rubbing his back soothingly.

"And don't you dare say that you're a burden to me. I didn't allow you to live with me. You live with me because I wanted you to. And because your father trusted me the most to take care of you," Raman murmured, feeling a sudden urge to protect this child. He almost blinked in surprise but continued.

"I know you are almost a man now, but you need someone to look after you. And I will do my best to take up the responsibility that your father has given me. You were the most important person in your parents' life, kid, and now you are my ward. Kind of like my son. And I promise to take care of you, okay?"

Harsh pulled back to look at him, before he breathed in deeply and nodded, a small smile on his lips.

"Great! Now, would you like to tell me what the nightmare was about?"

Harsh hesitated, but cleared his throat and began.

"Well, umm, this was when I was at the fair..."

END FLASHBACK

He had started opening up to Raman. After all this time, the boy was finally starting to talk to him about how he felt, so he was much better than he had been when Raman had brought him back a few weeks earlier, at the end of April. But he still interacted with absolutely no one of his age. All he ever spoke to was him, the servants in the house and his personal tutor.

Raman knew that he had to think of something fast or else it can be problematic for Harsh in the future. Raman sighed.

It sure is a responsibility raising a boy, even one as old as Harsh...

Raman smiled as he opened the door to the boy's room. He wasn't surprised to find Harsh sitting at the desk studying. He had been doing nothing else for the past few days.

Raman cleared his throat. The boy turned suddenly, surprised at the interruption before he smiled a little at Raman. Raman returned his smile. He couldn't help but think how similar to Abhimanyu Harsh was. Tall, a bit lean, short, dark brown hair neatly combed, and a sharp, handsome face- he certainly was the spitting image of his father. On the other hand, he seemed to have inherited his slightly fairer skin color, his brown eyes and his elemental magic from his mother.

"Good evening," Raman murmured.

"Good evening, Raman," The boy murmured back demurely.

"So, what are you doing in here? The weather is great outside. You should take some break. You would feel fresh when you get back up."

"Yes, umm, of course. I'll go out in a bit. I just have to complete the homework that my tutor gave me."

"Okay, I 'll sit with you then," Raman declared, as he took the chair and sat beside Harsh.

"So, how's your day been, Raman?" Harsh asked quietly, as he went on writing down the assignment.

"Oh, very well. How about you? I've heard that you didn't get out of your room at all," Raman said, a tad bit sternly.

Harsh's face colored a bit as he opened his mouth, but Raman interrupted him.

"You had your food out in the dining room, but that's it. You didn't get out of the room otherwise. And you know that is against our rules, don't you Harsh?"

Harsh sighed but nodded.

"Yes. I just can't help it, Raman. I just want to succeed and studying is the only way."

"I know kiddo, but you need to give your brain some rest too. It isn't going to help if you go on studying all the bloody time!"

"Yes, yes, I'll try my hardest to go and spend some time out in the gardens."

"Just the gardens?"

"Yes. I've tried to adjust to those boys you introduced, but I couldn't stand their attitudes much. And it's clear that they think of me as a snob. So, yes, I am spending my time enjoying the gardens rather than playing with those riff-raffs!"

Raman sighed.

Well, he's at least trying to go out… that's an improvement…

"Alright, I'll take you up on that. Now let's have tea and we'll see how much you can keep your promise. I'll join you too."

Harsh turned his head to look at him with surprise before his face brightened a little.

"Alright!"

Raman smirked and ruffled the boy's hair, eliciting a half-hearted groan from him as he smoothed it down. Raman chuckled as Harsh shot him a grumpy look.

"Okay, I apologize. Now complete your work quickly or we'll not be able to go out! You know how Ritu is!"

Harsh chuckled and went back to complete his assignment. Raman frowned concernedly at the boy.

He is opening up slowly, but he's still not interacting with any kids his age… I've tried introducing him to the kids in the neighborhood, but it seems that he's not keeping in contact with them much… Hell, he's not getting out of the house, to begin with… If this goes on, then it's a bit harmful to him… He won't be able to interact with the youngsters in the future… I have to think of something quick…