That next Thursday, Sirius was just sitting at breakfast, talking to James about perhaps trying out for the Quidditch team, when an owl flew towards him. He recognized the handwriting. He read the letter from his grandfather.
Sirius,
We will begin your Occlumency lessons tonight in my office. Please arrive at 18:30 sharp. Do not be late. We have much to do.
Grandfather
Sirius grinned. His lessons would be starting tonight. He showed the letter to the others. They all knew that Sirius was going to have Occlumency lessons.
"That's so exciting!" Capella exclaimed.
"My father taught me," James informed them. "It was rough. It can be painful when someone tries entering your mind. It also depends on who is doing it and how forceful they're trying to be." He then leaned forward. "Sirius, just so you know, at first, your grandfather will teach you meditation, I would think. Then, he will probably enter your mind, gently. Then, he will enter more forcefully, in order to make you work harder at throwing him out. At least, that's what my father did with me. But in the end, it's worth it."
Sirius nodded. He had read through almost half the book Arcturus had given him. It had said things along the same lines, about how most teachers would start easy, and make it harder later on.
"My mother taught me Occlumency before I started my first year," Severus spoke up. "I didn't know you're supposed to learn meditation first. She just started attacking my mind over and over again until I was able to keep her out."
All of the Marauders looked at him in horror. "What?!" James exclaimed. "Wha… who would do that?! How are you supposed to learn if you're not taught how to meditate?"
Severus sh%rugged. "I did it," he answered.
"That doesn't make it right," James argued. "She should have taught you properly."
"Well, I know Occlumency, so that's what matters," Severus snapped.
"Cut it out, you two!" Capella jumped in. "Come on. Just because you two learned different ways of doing something doesn't mean you need to start an argument."
James and Severus nodded.
The day of classes went by quickly. Finally, it was dinnertime, and James was giving him last minute advice.
"Be sure to not get frustrated," James warned. "Meditation is hard. You probably won't master it overnight."
"Of course not," Sirius said with a grin. "Even I kind of gathered that."
James smirked. "Oh yeah, and it's alright if you fall asleep while meditating," he said quietly. "No one will notice."
"Did you seriously fall asleep while meditating?" Sirius asked.
James shrugged. "Yeah, but it's fine. My father didn't even realize it for maybe ten minutes."
Sirius, Regulus, and Capella burst out laughing, Regulus and Capella laughing so hard, that there were tears rolling down their faces.
"I… I don't think Grandfather would like that," Regulus said, still laughing.
"No, probably not," Sirius agreed, still laughing as well.
"What are we laughing about here?" Arcturus' voice cut in to their conversation. The laughter died down immediately.
"Nothing, Headmaster," James said quickly, a little too quickly.
Arcturus narrowed his eyes, but instead of asking about it any further, he instead turned to Sirius.
"Sirius, if you are done eating, we shall go to my office to get started," he stated. Sirius nodded.
"Good luck!" his friends called after him as he left the Great Hall.
Sirius sat in a comfortable armchair next to the fireplace in the headmaster's quarters. Arcturus had decided to do this particular lesson in a more comfortable environment.
"How much of the book have you read?" Arcturus asked, sitting across from him.
"About half of it," Sirius replied.
Arcturus was surprised. "I never knew you to be the type of person to read that much within just a few days," he stated.
"Usually not, but I know how important this is, so I wanted to be prepared," Sirius confessed.
Arcturus nodded. "I am glad you see the importance in learning Occlumency."
"Grandfather, is the way you're going to teach this is to start with meditation?" Sirius asked.
"Yes," Arcturus confirmed. "Meditation will help you clear your mind. It is very important to learn how to clear your mind first."
Sirius decided to tell Arcturus what Severus had told him. After all, Severus was a Black now, and he felt that Arcturus should know how Lady Prince had taught him.
"Severus told me that Lady Prince taught him Occlumency before he started his first year here," Sirius explained. "But he said that she didn't teach him meditation or anything. From day one, she forcefully invaded his mind, and she would do it like that until he finally learned to keep her out."
Arcturus looked shocked, which was an unusual expression for him. He finally spoke, his voice sounding angry. "How dare she?" he growled. "She could have severely damaged his brain that way. While there is a point in the lessons where the teacher invades the student's mind, that is only after they have learned how to clear their minds and other strategies in order to assist with blocking someone from their mind. Also, the teacher is supposed to start out invading in a gentle manner, to give the student a feeling of what it's like. But the teacher is NOT supposed to immediately forcefully invade the student's mind repeatedly. Severus is lucky that his brain was not severely damaged." Arcturus was silent for a few moments after that, deep in thought. He would have to get Madam Pomfrey to do a test on Severus to make sure that his brain really wasn't damaged.
"But Severus thinks it's just another way to learn it. He doesn't realize it's wrong," Sirius added. "James tried to get him to see that, but, well, Capella had to break up their argument."
Arcturus sighed. "I will talk to him about this. But for now, let's start with your lesson," he said.
Sirius nodded. They started with Arcturus leading him through a meditation exercise aimed at calming the mind. Sirius quickly found that James was right. It was not easy. Each time Sirius tried to focus on his breathing, he kept thinking of different things, like Quidditch tryouts, classes, and which game they would play on Saturday morning.
The lesson was short that day, due to Sirius getting too frustrated. Arcturus told him that he shouldn't worry, that it would take time to get the hang of it.
"I want you to practice this meditation exercise each night before you go to bed," Arcturus told him. "We will keep working on it next week."
"Alright," Sirius agreed before leaving. He headed back to Gryffindor Tower, hoping that meditation would come easier over time.