Warning: Bad grammar n tenses, so beware. Every mistake solely mine. Harry Potter not mines. Slash n m – preg. ;D
So sorry about the late up date. AGAIN. My fault really. I've been so busy and it's so hard to post my next up date without a wi – fi. So... bare with me.
Several days later
Hermione scrunches her nose in concentration as she tried to control her mind. She tried her best to clear her mind but really, it's definitely a hard thing to do just like what Severus said before. When he said the key to master it was concentration and control, she thought it would be so easy for her because control and concentration was her forte especially compared with two of her boys.
But in reality, her record in clearing her mind was 15 minutes top before her mind scrambles all over again. She gasps and snaps her eyes open when she heard a clap thundered before her face.
"You're mind scrambles all around. You're straying, Ms. Granger." Silky voice reprimanded her sternly. She gulps loudly to control her heartbeat as a headache begun to throb at her temple.
"I'm sorry, Sir." She said in disappointment, disappoint of her lack ability in controlling herself.
Severus exhales loudly as he saw a down girl in front of him. "It's alright. All you need is keep on trying and practicing." He says softly, "Why did you think there are so little witchs and wizards that could master this simple magic?" Severus quirk his eyebrow as he tilted his head slightly. "It's maybe a simple spell with a simple way to master it but it's the most simple was the most difficult spell to do." He scoffs loudly at the blank confusion on her face.
"Really Ms. Granger." Severus exhales loudly in exasperation as he shakes his head. "While other spell you learn focusing about how strong your magic are, this one little spell focusing into your whole being. Your magic and mind." Hermione frown deeply, thinking all the speech Severus told her.
"But we use concentration with our entire spell, Sir." Hermione says, "While we cast a spell on the class, we've being told to always cast it in concentration." She counters him, disagree with his words.
"You're right, Ms. Granger. All of us would always told you that when we teach a green wanna be witchs and wizards in class. Each spell you learn in class would be a new spell for you, so every pronunciation and your motion has to be done with a full concentration. It help you to built a muscle memory about how to cast it with reflect in perfection. It has to be done to prevent you a misspell in the future especially if you want to cast it in hurry or in the battle." Hermione stunned at the new revelation.
"I never know – " she gapped at the man before her.
"Of course we never told you that." Severus snorted at her stunned face. "All of you already thought that it was easy to cast a spell without thinking about the consequences you would facing if you miscast a spell, if we told you that we built a muscle memory of every spell that we taught at you, what did you think you would do, Ms. Granger?" Severus sneered at her as she grimaces.
"But, I would never do that." She pouted petulantly at the black haired man.
"Of course you won't." He rolls his eyes sarcastically, "now, you'll already in your fifth year and you're already done so many spell repeatedly, let me asks you this, Ms. Granger." Severus says as he pushes his body forward so he could nose to nose with the teenage girl in front of him.
"Please call me, Hermione, Sir." She asks politely. He tilts his head in agreement.
"Hermione, it is." He concedes. "Back to my question, when you cast a spell right now, did you do it in concentration or automatically?" he smirks at her. Hermione frown deeply as she's thinking about it.
"I guess you're right, Sir." She answered hesitantly, her mind swirls with every memory of her quest with Harry all this time. "I did it easily when I needed it and I never put any concentration to the spell or my wands movement anymore. I even could cast it absentmindedly now." She shakes her head as new revelation dawn onto her.
"Indeed, Hermione. All of spell that we do, all about power and habit, but not with Legimens and Occlumency. This two spells need your mind, will power and cunning." Hermione listening into his explanation with fascination in her face. "To master this two spells, you need to balancing every aspect equally. The more powerful one person, you need more concentration to maintain your mind wall to prevent anyone take a peek on your secret while with cunningness you could distract the intruder into every false information you wish to provide. So do with will power, without it the longer you try to maintain the spell the easier you'll crumbles beneath your opponent will power especially if they're more powerful than you and visa versa with Legimens."
Hermione nodded at him, her face hardens with new purpose and determination. "Thank you for explaining all of it for me, Sir. I'll try my best to do better in the future."
"You should rest now. I suppose your head killing you right now." Severus stand up and gone to his cupboard. He takes a murky vial and hand it to her. "Drink this, it will help to heal your headache."
"Thank you, Sir." She says gratefully. She uncorked the vial and gulped it in one go before she hand back the empty vial back to Severus.
"Go back to your commonroom and rest. Don't even try to learn Legimens and Occlumency again tonight or you'll fry your mind." Hermione nodded at him before she stands up to go back to her commonroom.
"Considering both of you eavesdropping the whole time Ms. Granger done her training, I supposed you both ready to cast it better than her especially after all of the explanation I've given for her before." He drawls flatly at the 2 boys whose pretending to sit at the other room. They gulp in fright as they smile sheepishly. Severus glares at them.
"I don't like it if someone eavesdropping when I'm talking with someone especially when I'm at the other room and I close the door. You both lucky it was about the lesson that I would teaches you or else I would tanned your butt with my broom."
"I'm sorry, Dad" Harry said in regret.
"I - I'm sorry, Sir." Ron stammered, he looks at his shoes guiltily. Severus sighs loudly.
"Get inside the training room, both of you." He says as he shakes his head exasperate. "Maintain your mind as I told you before as long as you could. Control your mind without straying around." Severus says as they sit down at their chair. They nodded lightly and begin to close their eyes. "Remember, concentration and will power for beginning."
Harry and Ron begin to concentrates their mind as they begin to focusing their mind on clearing their mind before they build their walls around their mind. They sit still for awhile before they're body begin to twitches as boredom and impatience begins to crept at the edge of their mind. Severus smile at their effort, he know they would last for the first time. To learn this spell they need practice and a lot of effort.
When 10 minutes pass, Severus smirk at their frowning face and the twitching more often than not. Severus claps his hands to brake their straying mind as their concentration begin to waver and their mind begin to swirls around at every passing thought.
Harry and Ron opens their eyes, they groans and slumps forward. Their forehead press into the cool surface of the dark wood desk.
"Merlin pants, it's so hard to control your mind as you wish." Ron groans tiredly.
"Yeah, mate. My body begins to felt itching and strange after 5 minutes stay still and tried to concentrate." Harry moan pitifully.
"Yeah, me too, Mate." Ron whines loudly.
"Is it normal, Dad?" Harry looked questioningly at Severus. Severus nodded at him.
"It's a normal reaction from your body. It's itches to moves because all this time you teaches your body to moves every minutes, so the moment you try to learns stay still, your body begin to struggle and refuse the new habit you're trying to enforce it. It needs time and practice. Now, sit properly and try again." Severus told the boys sternly. Harry and Ron groans but they says nothing. They sit straight but relax before they begin to concentrate on cleaning their mind before they begin to build walls inside their mind.
But, not even 5 minutes, their brow begin to scrunches in fail concentration but they still trying their best to done it. But when another 3 minutes gone, Ron screams angrily, startling Harry out of his mind.
"What was that for, Mr. Weasley?" Severus drawls flatly, not impressed with the boy sudden outburst.
"I'm sorry, Sir." He grins sheepishly. "I'm at the end of my patience. My heart felt strange, I felt its struggle with every effort I do to concentrate." Ron scratches the back of his head frustratingly.
"That's too a common problem. You're an active boy, Mr. Weasley and suddenly you've been force to stay still in quite a long time so it's a natural reaction from your consciousness to struggles from it. It's refused to accept the sudden change so your inner self rebel with your mind." Ron nodded slowly as he contemplates what Severus told him.
"What should I do then?" he asked, frustration fills his voice.
"Practicing with a small amount of time but frequently would help sooth it. Until you accustomed with that and your consciousness not struggling anymore, you should add the amount of time of your meditation." He says at the red head boy. "Did you have any question, Harry?" he turns his head to his son.
"Not any moment." He scratches his nose lightly. "I got the same problem with Ron and 'Mione. Like you said I should let myself adapted to the new pattern." He shrugged his thin shoulder. Severus nodded before he cast tempus and rose from his seat.
"The time is up. Both of you should go now." Severus strolls into his living room, expecting both of boys following him to the front door. "Keep on practicing in small amount of time and I expected the three of you tomorrow at the same time."
Ron and Harry nodded their head but before Harry walk away, he turn back at Severus. He begins to open his mouth to speak at him but Severus shakes his head. Harry gulps and averting his eyes to the floor. His heart hurt when his dad their bonding time after practicing, not like he usually does. It's already like their routine to stay together for awhile after night practice.
Severus sighs softly. He reach out to tilts Harrys' chin so he could look at him in the eyes. "I'm sorry we couldn't stay for awhile. I need to go to the headmaster, he asks my presence to discuss about the Dark Lord." He says softly. Harry smiles in relief as he heard about his dads' reason not wanting him to stay longer than usually.
"Okay." Harry nodded before he rush forward to hugs Severus' waist tightly. "Love you, Dad. Please be careful. I just got you and I can't lose you now." He whispers softly. He nuzzles Severus chest lightly as the man hug him back and kiss his head.
"I can't promise you anything, Harry. I can only do my best to come back for you when I could. Now, off you go." He forces himself to push Harry gently off of him. "You should practice and then rest, you got a long day tomorrow." Harry turns around and begins to walk out of the door, but at the door, he turns around to look at him one more time before he walks away.
Dumbledores' Office
"What did you need to discuss, headmaster?" Severus asks impatiently at him. He's drain, he need to rest especially after he supervise three students whose begin learn Legimens and Occlumency.
"Ah, Severus, my boy. Please come in." Headmaster smile at the dark hair man before him. "How're you, my boy? Lemondrop?" he asks as Severus sit down at the chair before the headmaster.
"No, thank you. Could you please to the point with what did you want to discuss? I need to get my rest for tomorrow lesson or maybe anticipating the Dark Lord calls which would ruin my beauty sleep anytime and anyday." He sneers sarcastically.
"Ahh, right. I'm sorry, Severus. Let me got to the point so you could get your rest as soon as you can." He smiles in understanding. "You know that I don't like it for you to spying the Dark Lord." His eyes sadden, despair clouding his usually cheerful face makes him olden 10 years more than he should be.
"Really? You want to speak about it right now? When you force me to done it for 17 years?" he scoff at him. The headmaster sighs tiredly.
"You know how much I regret my decision about it, Severus. But I'm on the edge. We're at war and then James presented you to me. A deatheater whose been bonded by white family with the oldest bond nonetheless. I'm so desperate and your bonding with James and the spell gave me another opportunity to win it, so I grasped it without thinking neither your fate nor your willingness. I don't ask about your opinion or your feeling." He shook his head with regret deeply etched on his old face.
"Of course I understand. Once a deatheater always a deatheater, you don't have to asked permission for a deatheater or their opinion. I know." He sneers. "If this is what you want to discuss, I supposed it's done now. If you excuse me, headmaster." Severus says coldly.
"Severus, please. Sit down." He ordered him. Severus girths his teethes tightly as he sit back to his chair. "I wish I could convince you how much I regret my harsh decision back then and asks for your forgiveness." He shakes his head again. "But I can't do anything to changes your mind about my sincerity." He swallowed tightly. "About the thing that I want to discuss with you, it's about the Dark Lord."
"What about the Dark Lord? I haven't been called for awhile. I don't know about new progress about their activities." He snorts loudly.
"I know, my boy. What did you know about hocruxes, Severus?" he asks pointy.
"I know enough about that, headmaster." Severus squint his eyes curiously at the man before him. "Did you say he made hocruxes?" he asks carefully.
"I'm afraid he is, Severus, but I'm not so sure how much and where he put his hocruxes. I need you to find out how to destroy it and any information its whereabouts. We can't really defeat him if his hocruxes scattered around for him to use."
"As you wish, headmaster. If that's all, I excuse myself." He stands up and walks away back to his dungeon. For such a long time Albus Dumbledore sighs and looked out of the window, reflecting every mistakes he ever made to the young man he now love and thought as a son he never had. 'It's been too late.' He thought. 'I've wrong him so many times and so many ways.' He thought bitterly, hating himself for his stupidity and selfishness.
A/N : I'm so sorry if this chapter a little bit boring. ;)