The news of the Azkaban breakout meant that the Defense Club meeting was feeling more tense, more urgent that ever. Artemis decided that now would not be a good time to teach the Patronus spell, the mood was not right. Especially since the Weasley's were still jittery over their fathers hospitalization last month. The healing spell Sarcirent would be better, this was the right mood for it.
He went over the basics of the spell, and then had them start using it on simple paper-cuts inflicted on themselves. Once they were able to heal it fully in a single second, they were instructed to start making deeper and larger cuts to practice on. This spell was one of the 'Light Magic' spells, and as such, required emotions to use properly. In this case, determination to fix something, to help, to mend.
Artemis hoped that he could go sleep now that it was over and the students were leaving, but no, Harry Potter was approaching him, with his usual two bookends hanging back a discrete distance.
"Uh, I was wondering if you had time for a few questions? And its been more than a week since the, uh, meeting, so I was wondering if you still wanted to visit the, uh, room?"
Potters attempt at being discrete was almost amusing, but Artemis was in no mood for it. In his sleep deprived state he decided, Bugger it all, and went ahead with a new, slightly modified plan. Whether he would look back upon this moment and decide that it was the root of all his problems, was another matter entirely.
"Ah yes, I vas going to be getting around to it, but this veekend there vas a slight... problem. If you are free now, we might as well go ahead and get this investigation done. I can answer your questions once ve are within the chamber. It is sure to be a secure location, given how it vas not found for centuries for any save two." He indicates Harry with a small gesture, as he was one of the two individuals.
Harry looks a bit taken aback at the abruptness, but then nods determinedly. "Ok, uh, I'll have to tell my friends...?"
"No matter, they might as vell accompany us, as you have already taken the trouble to spill some of the so called... beans..." Artemis sends a slight glare at the two.
"How did you...? Uh, sorry?"
Artemis takes a moment to bask in the poor teenagers confusion. "I do have my vays. Now let us go, it is late and ve have much to do. I understand it is in a girls vashroom, but it vould be best if you led the vay as I am still new here."
"Right, uh, this way then. Hermione, Ron, uh, were gonna go look at the Chamber of Secrets, you can come if you want to. We should probably not say anything till we are in there, just in-case anyone is listening, right?" He looks back at Artemis questioningly.
"Correct." Artemis responds curtly, and decides that one more pepper-up potion for the day will likely not harm his health. With his body-weight, 5 was the recommended maximum, but a 6th would not kill him, merely make him functional and have less impulse control. He was not at risk of heart attacks, so the other major side effect could be ignored for now.
As they walk towards the entrance to the chamber of secrets, Artemis fishes out his potion storage case, unfolds it, and selects the appropriate potion labeled 'P-U-39- Experimental Stimulant'. Downing it, and returning the used vial to his bottomless bag along with the re-folded case, Artemis examines the inside of the girls bathroom.
Seeing that Harry is no doubt about to open the passageway, Artemis stops him by calling out, "Hold on a moment. I vould like to try something."
Grabbing a recording instrument from the bag, one rated for highly magical environments, powered by a fairy made power-cell and with most of its circuitry cannibalized from other fey technology, he clicks it on. He holds it near the sink that Harry had been about to speak to, then nods. "Go ahead."
A serpentine rasp comes form the teenagers mouth, and the sink starts to move, uncoiling itself and revealing a dark opening. Clicking the recording device off, Artemis peers down, looking for the bottom. "Are there not stairs?" He asks disdainfully.
"Uh, last time we just jumped down. We had to get a ride on Fawkes to get back up."
"You know, I doubt that Voldemort went jumping down dark holes willy-nilly even when he was a student, plus he had to get up again somehow. Have you tried asking it for stairs? Hermione remarks.
Another hissing rasp comes from Harry Potters mouth, different in quality than the first. Again, Artemis is able to capture the sound on the recording device, getting questioning looks from the three friends. For now he ignores them, and watches fascinatingly as stairs seem to grow from the floor of the tunnel, and it seems to twist about to be less steeply angled, more suited for walking on.
This time Artemis leads the way, eager to see the fabled chambers for himself.
He is disappointed to reach the bottom, only to find piles of small skeletons, leftovers from years of decay. Further on, only a moldering skin of a large basilisk can be seen in the light from Artemis's wand. Too old, dry, and thin to be of any use at all.
Onward the passage goes, past a crumpled in section filled with rocks that must be squeezed past, till it reaches a suitably impressive door, carved with a snake motif and embedded with gems. No doubt used to anchor the doors wards and protective spells, as well as make the eyes of the serpents look eerie in the light coming from the wand.
"Same passvord as the sink, or different?" He asks the trio who are coming up behind him.
"Yeah, its the same as before. He wasn't terribly original as far as I can tell."
A soft click sounds out after the recorder is fiddled with a bit. A playback of Harry's voice rasping out fills the small passageway, and the snake motif doorway slides open. Smugly, Artemis walks forward, anticipating this little recording will prove useful for finding other Slytherin created secret passages around the school.
Hermione rushes forward in excitement, "Wow, that worked. I can't believe that worked! I thought magical phenomena were unable to be recorded properly by muggle technology? Isn't that why muggles have no real video recordings of ghosts, dementors, and other purely magical phenomena? I thought that one wizard in India tried to record a known parseltounge's voice on a phonograph in 1910 and it failed to have any ability to record the magical speech, the parseltounge being on record saying that it was unintelligible to him upon playback?"
"This is not muggle technology, othervise it would be unable to record the magical undertones and properties of his voice. Incidentally, I thank you for giving me access to this chamber Harry. I shall be sure to tell you of anything of import that I discover in here in the next few weeks. Now, you had questions?"
After a few seconds go by with no reply, Artemis takes a break in studying the chamber, from the pools of water on the floor, to the great carved statue in the corner, and the tunnels leading off to the sides. He glances back at the trio, noticing the look of hesitation and frustration on Harry's face, as he soundlessly tries to talk but cannot.
Impatiently he adds, "If you are unable to talk to me in front of your companions, then it is clear that you vish to ask about something that is Oathbound. As you discovered, Oaths might be useful but they are easily gotten around when one party is clever and determined. You decided that you vould betray my confidence to your friends as far as possible, and it is only due to the fact that they vere discreet that my cover vas not blown. Why should I help you now, vhen you vish to reveal even more to them? They who are free to spread it to anyone they vish?"
"I trust them with my life." Is the only reply Harry can muster.
With a flash of anger Artemis snarls, "But can I trust them vith mine?"
"We'll take the Oath too, to not spread your secrets, if that's what you want. It must be important, since Harry was willing to take you here." Hermione shudders, looking right at the huge lurid green corpse of the basilisk.
Ron only looks determined as he nods, backing them up.
"Fine, he vill only be able to speak of my secrets vith others who know of them. If you take the same Oath as him, I vill be satisfied, and tell you the details."
Binding the two takes time, but is eventually done.
A basic summary of the fact that Artemis works for a foreign government and is seeking to put a stop to the Voldemort problem is quickly dispensed, along with the fact that Artemis was recently marked as a Death Eater and will be using this to get more intelligence on their organization.
Hermione is visibly holding back questions after Artemis tells her that this is all he will tell them for now. Finally he turns back to Harry, ad asks, "So vat did you vant to know, and is it something that requires us to go to the room of truth?"
"No, no. I just wanted to know what you knew about occulemecy, if as a spy they did anything to help you keep your secrets. Is there something I could buy to stop people from being able to read my mind? I'm being forced to go to occulemecy lessons given by Snape, and he's rubbish at it. Only seems to make my head feel worse, more open.
I figured that you had to have something that let you do it, and even if its just that you are a master at occulemecy, I figured that you might be able to give me lessons yourself, maybe actually explain it better than Snape. All he does is say 'clear your mind' then jumps right in, tearing my head bloody off.
Or should I just be making Oaths to keep my private thoughts secret? Does that kind of thing work? I noticed that Snape couldn't see the stuff I had talked to you about."
Artemis ponders for a second, then answers, "There are a few expensive items you could buy, but they are hard to get. People pay close attention to anyone who purchases one.
Oaths help slightly, pushing the information hidden by Oath to the depths of the mind, but it is only a slight precaution, not enough to help against a deep delving that seeks the Oathbound knowledge. Someone such as Severus would not discover the information causally, but if he had reason to suspect, to know what to look for, he vould be able to unearth the Oathbound secrets in time.
It is not a foolproof method, especially when the bound person wishes to share his knowledge. I had expected that you vould have this training already, being a celebrity and thus a target. Someone has not been teaching you properly at all.
It is clear to me that if I am to expect you to keep my secrets, I shall have to teach all three of you how to guard your mind. In exchange, you Harry vill come with me on a small mission, once you have mastered enough that I am satisfied."
"All three of us have to learn?" Ron asks skeptically.
"Da, unless you wish to be excluded from this secret and memory wiped, you will listen and learn. In exchange, I vill help Harry retrieve a prophecy about himself, one that vill have clues about how the Dark Lord is to be defeated."
"A prophecy?" Hermione gasps. "How do you know there is one? What does it say? Why does Harry have to come with you to get it? And how hard will it be to learn occulemecy? Do many people know how to read minds? Are you an expert in occulemecy then, is that why you are a spy? And-"
"Enough." Artemis cuts her off before she can give him a headache. "I have information that indicates there is a prophecy, and that the Dark Lord vants it himself. It can only be retrieved by Harry or the Dark Lord himself, so I vill get him inside, but he vill be the one to actually pick up the orb. I am vell versed in occulemecy theory, and vill be a much more capable instructor than Severus." Artemis snorts in derision.
Ve start now. And Harry, you vill cancel all lessons with Severus. It is clear that he is using the Othello method, and that one might be mildly effective at building thick defenses, but it also makes you completely open and useless until your defenses grow. No, you vill learn perhaps the Tengusaka method, or even the Amherst defense. I'm sure Hermione will be able to do research and tell you more about the theory and history, but for now, sit down and focus, this is your first lesson."
In saying that, Artemis takes a seat on a fallen pillar. Waiting till the walking security holes sit down and shut up, he begins. "Imagine a flame, burning bright and pure in your minds eye. There is nothing but the flame, and the void around it. Darkness, soothing and tranquil. You have many thoughts, concerns, distractions. Feed them all to the flame, help it burn bright. The discomfort of being down here, sitting on a basilisk or bit of stone rubble. The bad memories of this place. The confusion I bring. The endless questions that spring from your questing mind. Burn them all in the flame, it purifies your thoughts..."
Artemis's voice drones on for a solid half-hour, leading them through the exercise, taking note of who seems to get it and who seems to have trouble.
After a period of silence at the end, he tells them all, "Awaken, open your eyes, and see the world with your mind clear.
Good job. That was the Tengusaka method. If your thoughts and emotions are burned off, then vhen a mind reader tries to read it, they only get the void.
Hermione, you vill have to learn the Amherst method, as I suspected. You simply have too many thoughts constantly generating, the void and the flame vill be useless to you. I shall go over it tomorrow, as ve have run out of time tonight. You two..."
Artemis nods at Ron and Harry, "You vill practice this void and flame every night before bed, and every day in the morning. If you cannot manage it in the morning, try to do it during a lunch break, or during history class. Ven you get good, you vill be able to feed your emotions and stray thoughts to the flame, even vith eyes open, and vile doing other tasks."
Artemis gets up with a slight sway, and tiredly tells them, "Enough, I am tired. For now, do not look any adults in the eye, as they may be able to read your mind. Harry, I know I promised to tell you my conclusions about your past interactions with the Dark Lord, but I have no more time tonight, I need sleep. I vill tell you tomorrow, in the room of truths."
Harry nods sympathetically. "Ok, I can wait a day. I'd rather it be in that room anyways, no offense. Then I can trust what I hear.
And uh, thank-you. I can already feel my head is better, less raw. You look pretty bad, and I'm guessing it had something to do with that Death Eater breakout... probably not nice having to pretend to be one of them. So if you need another day, we can meet later instead?"
Artemis winces at the thought that Harry of all people notices how bad he looks, "No, it is fine. Must make sure you and your friends cannot lose valuable information. Better tired than dead. If you vant to help, perhaps let me record more parsletounge vords tomorrow?"
"Yeah, sure, why not?" Harry yawns.
Up the stairs they go, Artemis making his way back to his rooms, trusting that the trio won't get caught out of bed after curfew.
As he enters, he notices that Filius has actually gone ahead and marked the stack of papers that Artemis was supposed to finish. A wave of gratitude carries him into bed. Barely pausing to strip off his clothes, Artemis finally sinks into sleep gratefully, having completely forgotten to take his dreamless sleep potion.