A/N: in case anyone's forgotten, here's who I imagine as faceclaims for each of the characters (for ones I haven't listed, its because I see their film actor as them):
Amelia Potter: Sarah Bolger (when she was in The Tudor's)
Dorea Black: Anna Popplewell (from when she was in Narnia)
Theodore Nott: Joshua Whitehouse (when he was a bit younger)
Daphne Greengrass: Virginia Gardner
Astoria Greengrass: Katherine Langford
Megan Jones: Florence Pugh (specifically when she played Amy March)
Hannah Abbott: Ellie Bamber (especially when she played Cosette in BBC's version of Les Mis)
Susan Bones: Eliza Scanlen (particularly when she portrayed Beth March in Little Women)
Wayne Hopkins: Archie Madekwe
Justin Finch-Fletchey: Freddie Highmore
Anthony Goldstein: Tarjei Sandvik Moe
Terry Boot: Sean Delaney
Michael Corner: Edward Bluemel
Stephen Cornfoot: Ed Spleers
Sue Li: Lana Condor
Penny Haywood: Willa Fitzgerald
Tulip Karasu: Hoyeon Jung
Barnaby Lee: Froy Gutierezz
Jae Kim: Woo Do Hwan
Liz Tuttle: Amandla Stenberg
Badeea Ali: Selda Al Bayrak
Diego Caplan: Xolo Mariduena
Chiara Lobosca: Kiernan Shipka
Regulus Black felt like a father as he embraced his niece; finally meeting her after so long. His lips were even quivering and his eyes were watering. He drew back to look at her. "You have your father's look," he commented.
The girl smiled brightly. "You barely look a day over twenty - I seen photos of you back at Grimmauld Place."
"You've been to that wretched place?" He was surprised, though he figured the lass wouldn't have gone on her own; Sirius probably took her along.
"It's the Headquarters for the Order." The girl told him.
He nodded. He then gently walked her over to the couch, where they were soon sitting at. "I'm aware that all of this will be a bit of a shock to you, and that your dad and Lupin didn't really elaborate as to why you were being brought here, but I honestly won't be bothered if you hate me - I was a Death Eater, after all."
She shook her head. "It's fine, really. Added to the suspense."
He chuckled. "I'm aware this is all a bit of a shock, b-but I can answer any question you might have if you have any doubts at all."
So she did. She asked him all about his thought process behind his decision to join the Death Eater's, and also why he'd faked his death after so long in the first place. He told her everything earnestly, and even went off on his own tangents at times, yet she felt fulfilled with his responses nonetheless. By the end of his explanations, Dorea came to the conclusion that her grandparents were well and truly arseholes.
Dorea hadn't even realised that they'd been sat talking for almost half an hour, until they heard a knock at the door. It was instantly opened, and in the doorway was Amelia and Harry.
The two twins were frozen in place. They were looking solely at Regulus, who eyed them expectantly. Her father was looming behind them, and smiled when he saw his brother and daughter bonding. Reggie ushered the Potter twins inside the room, and though they looked very confused, sat down timidly. They listened to her uncle explain everything - absolutely everything, until their brains were almost jam-packed with information. They soon settled around him, and were talking more freely and comfortably.
"Are you going to come stay with us at Black Manor?" Amelia had put a question to Regulus.
Her uncle nodded. "In time, yes. I'll be moved in by the time your Easter holidays rolls around. I understand you have a few housemates there as well as yourselves?"
"Theodore Nott, my boyfriend, and his mother Ophelia." Amelia answered.
Regulus nodded. "Theodore's parents recently separated, correct?"
Harry answered. "Yes, and Mrs Nott filed for divorce. There's been no news if it's gone through yet or not."
Regulus looked down at his hands. "It's good of you to be housing them; Rohan Nott is a monster of a man. He would have forced his son to take the Dark Mark as soon as he turned sixteen if they'd stayed there any longer."
They shuddered at that - They really had dodged a bullet in that regard. The same couldn't be said for kids like Crabbe and Goyle, and Malfoy.
Sirius appeared in the doorway. "You really should be Flooing back to Proteus's house, Reggie, the one here only has eight minutes left on it before it closes off."
Dorea felt an overwhelming feeling then - she did not want her uncle to leave at all. She would have preferred it very much if he could stay a while longer. But she did suppose there were other times. She managed to go practically all of fourth year without seeing her father, so she would do the same regarding her uncle.
Dorea got up at the same time as Regulus. Amelia and Harry gave them their respective space - after all, they'd only just been united, and now after such a short space of time they had to say farewell again. She could feel her lip quiver slightly as she embraced her uncle - yet she wasn't overly upset. "It won't be long before we see one another again, dear girl," Reggie murmured to her, "we'll all have the Easter holidays to spend in one anothers company, and catch up." The man smiled at her as he pulled back, and even kissed the top of her head. She sighted her father observing them, and he smiled warmly at the sight.
When her uncle had said farewell to Amelia and Harry, did he shuffle over to the fireplace. Sirius was soon alongside him. She saw the two Black brothers talk for a few short seconds before they too embraced one another in a hug. Dorea couldn't hear what they were saying, but she knew that they were exchanging words of farewell. With one last wave to them, Regulus Black picked up a handful of Floo powder, said the address of Proteus Nott's house, and was gone in a whoosh of flame.
It had seriously felt like a dream, as if there had been nobody there the whole time and she'd just imagined her uncle was there. Perhaps it was longing for more family - maybe her brain was deceiving her and her uncle really was dead. At this point, her dad, Remus and her god siblings all could have been going along with it to let her live in her false reality, only to harshly bring her back to the present like the plotline of some award-winning psychological thriller muggle movie.
But they weren't, for that had really just happened. It was confirmed by Harry. "That was something else."
"How do you feel, Dorea?" Amelia had asked her quietly. "I can imagine that reveal shocked you the most."
She didn't answer straight away. Her eyes were still lodged in the vicinity of the fireplace that her uncle had just Floo'd away from. Gone in a flash, quite literally. "I feel a lot of things."
Amelia nodded, understanding, and didn't ask any more questions. For that, Dorea was grateful.
"Get back to your common room now, guys," Remus said, patting them each on the shoulders as they walked past him. "That was a lot to take in."
"Are… Are we to tell our friends about this?" Dorea asked, though she didn't remember willing herself to.
"Best not, not yet anyway." Her father answered, looking straight at her and giving her a look which screamed "Are you okay?"
She nodded, both at his answer and at his questioning look. With that, she slowly turned back around and walked with Harry and Amelia back to Gryffindor Tower, all three of them content with just being silent on their walk back.
It was fair to say that Dorea went to sleep that night with her uncle's handwritten note hanging out of her hand.
After showering, Theo walked back into the fifth year Slytherin boys dormitory. None of the others were in the room, thankfully, though he'd noticed that Blaise had been in the dormitory whilst he'd been in the adjacent bathroom - for his bag was on his bed, when it hadn't been before.
As Theo towel dried his hair and got redressed, he had just pulled one of his sleepwear t-shirts over his head when he noticed a piece of paper half-poking out under Blaise's bag. He eyed it curiously, and was tempted to glance over it, but decided not to at the last minute; it was none of his business. His father had drilled it into him all his life to act proper, for the Nott's were purebloods, and purebloods had expectations - he was not to concern himself with other peoples small business. He figured it was just a random note anyway - something from class or what not, that Blaise had taken out to remind himself. Moving back over to his own bed, Theo pulled on a light pair of joggers as he got ready for bed. He also got the muggle aftershave that Amelia had gotten him for Christmas out of his trunk and sprayed his neck and wrists with the cologne; his girlfriend had remarked how amazing it smelt on him, and because of that he wore it almost everyday. His mother had said at Christmas Dinner that the smell of the cologne itself was sure to get Theo some girls, and they'd all laughed at that. Little do you know, mother, I do have one already, He'd thought at the time.
As soon as he was dressed, he noticed Blaise walk back into the dorm, towel wrapped around his waist, clearly meaning he'd also been showering. Theo sat back on his pillows as he finished off his Herbology homework for Sprout, not really paying attention to Blaise as he was drying himself off. The sound of Blaise picking up the aforementioned piece of paper drew his eyes over to his friend though - he had no clue why the little piece of parchment was intriguing him so much. "What's that note?" Theo asked nonchalantly.
"From my dear mother, though the writing is only her hand; it's Richard's words." Blaise replied, saying the first few words sarcastically. Richard was the newest boyfriend of Blaise's mother, Francesca, and was apparently 'the one' for her - though she'd already been married to six other men. The thing with Richard, though, was that he was a Death Eater.
"Why would Richard be writing?" He asked.
"Because he's a twat." Was Blaise's answer.
Theo chuckled. But when he looked up, he noticed his friend looked somewhat uneased - as if there was something off about him. Blaise had noticed him looking. It wasn't often that Blaise held things back with Theo - they were comfortable talking to each other about mostly everything. "Alright, you don't have to tell me if you don't feel comfortable, but-"
"Nah, I'll tell you." Blaise cut in, and made to sit near the end of Theo's bed. As a precaution, he locked the door to the dorm, though it seemed unlikely that either Draco, Crabbe or Goyle were going to come up just yet, they could so easily eavesdrop. "Richard and my mum are sending me tonnes of abuse, almost weekly, since Christmas."
Theo let out a low whistle. That was certainly unexpected. "What on earth for?"
"I'll tell you. A day before school resumed, I went down into the kitchen to make myself some tea - it's one of the few times I ever leave my room, now that Richard's moved in. When I walk in, mum and Richard are sitting at the breakfast bar talking, and Richard starts taunting me the second he sees me. Mum was sat the whole time tracing the Dark Mark on his arm. I ignore him and just make my cup of tea as quickly as I can. When I go to leave the room, mum is all like "Oh Blaise, darling, Richard thinks that it's in our best interests if you take the Dark Mark when you turn sixteen.'"
Theo felt a bit startled, and instinctively looked at Blaise's arm, though he knew there was nothing there. His friend's story sounded eerily similar to what Theo's own father talked to him about the day before fifth year started…
Blaise continued: "The man looks at me as if he'll kill me if I don't, but I say no regardless. That sets them both off - they didn't physically hit me or anything, but damn, they threw every insult under the sun at me. I was hounded from my own house, by my own mother and her boyfriend. They were hammering at my bedroom door whilst I was packing my trunk, and I barged past them as I walked out of the door. I got the Knight Bus - which I do not recommend - to Diagon Alley, got a room at the Leaky Cauldron overnight, and in the morning I simply took the Floo to King's Cross Station."
Theo stared at his best mate cooly for a few moments as he processed all he'd just said. "Mate, why didn't you tell me?"
Blaise just shrugged. "I thought they weren't being serious about it. I thought they were just angry at that moment, y'know? When I got their first letter I was even hopeful that they were writing to apologise - but no. My mother ranted, saying how the Zabini family had always been neutral in terms of wars, and that siding with people like Harry Potter were going to ruin our family's reputation. She called me a blood-traitor. I just found it funny how Richard wasn't racist to my face, yet in writing he's suddenly able to hurl racial remarks at me."
"Blaise, mate, that's awful!" Theo near shrieked, "Richard's an utter prick if he thinks he can get away with that!"
Blaise shook off that concern. "I'll get back at him one day."
"You could have asked Siriu- Professor Black if you could also join me in moving to Black Manor, he would've understood!" Theo realised.
"Nah, mate, I didn't want to be a burden."
"But there's plenty of room at Black Manor!" Theo insisted quietly in case Draco, Crabbe or Goyle were outside, "And you would not have been a burden at all!"
Blaise clearly looked like he was thinking. Theo was now totally invested in the idea of Blaise coming to stay at Black Manor - though would Sirius be? After all, it was his house, and it was meant to be a top-secret location. "What do you plan to do for Easter holidays, then? Since you can't go back to your mum's."
Blaise pouted. "I forgot about Easter break, if I'm honest. I half-thought about just staying here for the two weeks, and maybe asking Professor Snape if I could brew in Dungeon Five over the break or something."
"Blaise, here's the thing about Black Manor: it has a whole room dedicated to brewing potions. We call it the Potions Lab. There's an apothecary room next door to it, which is always topped up, so its unlimited use." Theo explained. He smirked when he saw his best mate's face light up.
"Woah, seriously?"
"Yeah," Theo said, "there's tonnes of things to do there. There's a library as well, and some duelling chambers."
He saw a spark light within his friend's eye. "You know what? I think I fancy coming to stay after all."
Delighted that his best friend was no longer homeless (so to say), Theo pulled his mate into a one-armed hug. He felt relieved on his behalf; Blaise had a place to crash now, he wouldn't get roped into Death Eater madness by his mother's boyfriend, all was well in those regards. He was sure that Blaise would love Black Manor as much as Theo did. He knew that Sirius would agree.
They went over the Herbology homework together, finishing the last few sections off before gladly stowing it away. They begrudgingly agreed to start on the History of Magic essay regarding the Werewolf Code of Conduct of 1637 together, though they only worked on it for ten minutes before getting very bored. Since the essay wasn't due until Wednesday anyway, they figured they could come back to it later.
When Theo was tidying away his things and preparing his bag, did they hear a knock at the dormitory door. They looked to one another, thinking it was either Draco, Vincent or Gregory, and prepared themselves for another little scuffle before bed with the latter two in particular. When Theo opened the door, he was surprised to see that it wasn't their three other dormitory mates, but that it was in fact Adrian Pucey.
"Oh, hello Pucey," Theo said. He considered the Slytherin Chaser neither his friend nor his enemy. The boy came from a pure-blood family, yet the Pucey's seemed to be neutral; they didn't declare for Voldemort during the last war, but at the same time didn't fight for the Order nor the Ministry either.
"Evening," Adrian said, leaning against the doorframe, "I was wondering if I could speak to you two about something."
"Er, sure, come in." Theo said, gesturing. Pucey stepped forward instantly, and Theo closed the door behind him.
Blaise nodded at Pucey in welcome, yet he looked unsure as well regarding what the sixth year could be about to ask them. "I didn't quite know who else to turn to and ask, since half of our House seems to be against the group, but… Is Potter's Defence Association club any good?"
Pleasantly surprised, Theo almost smirked. Is Adrian going to join, truly? "It's brilliant, and really helpful. We've learned so much."
Pucey inclined his head. "That's good. I shan't be telling anyone else about this - much less Montague, he'll kick me off the Quidditch team, - but I'm thinking of joining."
"You'll be pretty far behind, but there's no harm in speaking to Harry about it." Blaise reckoned.
"Is Potter truly accepting? Even of us Slytherin's?" Pucey asked.
"Yes. In fact, he particularly wanted Slytherin's to join the club due to our House's history of producing bad folk. Never once has he discriminated against anyone." Theo answered sincerely, determined to give his close friend a good name. Blaise was nodding avidly as well.
"Didn't he also save you two during an ambush? When that Selwyn boy attacked?" Pucey looked between the two of them.
"He didn't have to, but he pushed us down to save our skin all the same. We had only had our first conversation with him minutes prior as well, yet he acted selflessly." Blaise nodded.
Adrian Pucey definitely looked sold. "That's a really nice thing that he did. You know, when I think about it… I can't believe I ever believed the trollop that he was this arrogant, self-entitled Boy-Who-Lived mantra at all. He's the complete opposite."
Blaise and Theo smiled. "Before the DA we believed that lie too, don't worry. Especially with the fiasco last year of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. But this year… we were the ones wrong after all, with everything." Blaise said.
Adrian Pucey nodded. "Well, better late than never. I'll speak to him Monday… What time does he go down to breakfast, usually?"
"Anywhere from six to eight," Blaise replied.
"I'll go down earlier, and see if I can catch a word with him." Pucey decided. The two boys nodded, hopeful that he'd manage to join the DA.
On Sunday, Harry woke up at ten minutes past seven for some reason. He'd been dreaming of that corridor again, and it was like he was the snake again - he'd watched as it tried to get past the door, yet failed. He hadn't meant to see it at all; in fact, it was sprung on him, so he had no clue how to stop seeing the visions, especially when he was meant to be practising Occlumency. Snape was sure to go ballistic when he heard that Harry hadn't been practising once again.
Almost succumbing to the feeling that he was never going to master Occlumency, Harry got dressed and went down to breakfast. There were only about fifty or so people in the Great Hall when he arrived. Quickly scanning the room, he saw Susan sitting alone (for the moment) at the Hufflepuff table. He shrugged, and went over. "This seat taken?" He asked as he approached the seat directly across from her.
Susan grinned at him when she looked up from her bowl. "Go ahead!"
He plonked himself down gladly, and started buttering some toast for himself. "It feels like we haven't spent time together in ages," Harry remarked.
"Yeah, since that time I helped you with Arithmancy in the library." Susan replied. "How are you getting on with it now?"
"I was really struggling up until Thursday, but then me and Anthony went to the Room of Requirement before DA on Saturday and he showed me a brilliant exercise which really has solidified Personality Numbers into my head now." He explained.
Susan nodded. "Anthony is super smart, so it was wise of you to ask him for help. Even I am starting to get a bit desperate; it seems every lesson I'm asking Professor Vector for help. It's worse when you think it only gets harder at NEWT level."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. I'm the same - I don't really know if I'll even pass OWL Arithmancy with high enough marks to take it next year." Harry replied, "What's the minimum grade Vector wants for NEWT anyway?"
"She said in class at the start of the year that she takes nothing below Exceeds Expectations, but say if somebody got an A in the exam - if they were only a few marks off getting an E then she'll let them onto the NEWT course. She's pretty fair." Susan explained.
"Ah, I see. I'll sure have my work cut out to get even an A at OWL." He said, and Susan Bones giggled. "What subjects are you hoping to take at NEWT?"
Susan had a think. "Transfiguration, Herbology, Charms, Defence, Potions, Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures. I've not totally decided what I want to do yet job and career wise, which is annoying, but I'll keep every option open. Aunt Amelia always hints that she could find me temporary jobs in every department at the Ministry, but I don't know if doing government work all day every day is my kind of thing. If I pass Arithmancy, I'll make a decision over the holidays, likewise with other subjects such as Astronomy. You?"
"Mostly the ones that I'm taking now, but like you say a lot of them are obviously depending on our exam results. I've always thought that being an Auror sounded cool, but like you I'm keeping an open mind. The whole reason I chose to take up Runes and Arithmancy was to broaden my qualifications and to make me look more appealing in that regard, but I suppose having them in any job field is an added bonus." He said, pouring some tea for himself and adding a cube of sugar.
Susan made a noise of agreement. The two of them spoke some more regarding different subjects. Harry figured that since he could trust Susan, he quietly told her about his struggles with Occlumency. He was glad he did; for she said something surprising. "Ooh, you're learning Occlumency? I'm an Occlumens too!"
He raised his eyebrows. "What, like, a proper skilled one?"
"I was taught it over the summer, quite extensively. Aunty Amelia insisted; since half of my family was killed during the First Wizarding War, she figured that in order to prevent You-Know-Who from being able to locate us or read our thoughts, we should have the upper hand and learn how to block our minds. Prevent more tragedy, y'know."
Harry was mesmerised, in a way. He could see why the Bones family would want to learn the art - for their own safety mostly, and to stop Death Eaters from murdering their loved ones. He wondered what methods Susan had up her sleeve, as 'clearing your mind' was hard enough as it was without Snape parroting it every five minutes.
"Aunty is also a bit paranoid that since she is now Minister for Magic, that there could be Death Eaters lurking in the Ministry that are just waiting to put her under the Imperius Curse and have her do their bidding. Occlumency helps in that regard too." Susan went on some more.
"That's very sensible of her." He said in amazement. "So, I know this sounds a bit cheeky since all of us fifth years are swamped as it is, but, do you think you'd be able to teach me some of the stuff you learned? Professor Snape is just not cutting it."
Susan giggled. "It's no problem asking for help, Harry. And to answer your question - of course I could. I made some notes whilst learning; regarding Occlumency shields and memory stores and all that jazz."
He was confused. "Shields? Memory stores? All Snape has been doing is thrusting his wand in my face and saying 'Legilimens' until I push him out."
"Oh my word, is he that bad? It's like he's not doing it properly on purpose; there's far more to Occlumency than just pushing an invader out." Susan was surprised.
Just as they finished talking about Occlumency, did Hannah and Justin come and sit down near them, smiling. Megan, Wayne and Ernie weren't far behind in joining them. Quite surprisingly, Harry noticed that when Zacharias Smith walked in, the boy went over to the Slytherin table and started speaking with a few older students. He didn't quite know if that uneased him or not - the Slytherin students Smith was talking to were not DA members, which probably meant they were people that despised Harry. I swear, if he goes blabbing to them about my club… Harry felt himself flare with anger a bit. Then he remembered the sign-up parchment; it would reject anybody who developed Death Eater sympathies, or inside informers. He wanted to ask McGonagall exactly what happened to the person that betrayed the enchantments, for he hoped it was something embarrassing in Smith's case.
"So are you free at all today? We could go to the Room of Requirement and make a start on what I learned during Occlumency." Susan suggested.
"I'm free all day actually, we could go now?" He replied eagerly.
"Perfect, so am I! Let's go!" Susan smiled happily. They said farewell to their other Hufflepuff friends before exiting the Hall together. "Can we stop by the dungeons? I need to go to my dormitory and get my notebooks."
"Sure, I'll wait outside." Harry replied as they got to the staircase. They soon were down in the dank dungeons and he was waiting outside the entrance to Hufflepuff common room. As he leaned against the wall, a few students began filtering out. They eyed him at first, as if to wonder what he was doing outside there. One Prefect even demanded to know why Harry was so blatantly trying to sneak into their common room, and he had to explain he was only waiting on Susan. The Prefect grumbled and eyed him suspiciously before wandering off.
When Susan reemerged, she was talking to Zacharias Smith's younger sister, Sally. The girl was a second year, and a member of the Junior DA. Harry much preferred her to her older brother. She said hello shyly to Harry before walking away up the staircase.
"Right, shall we go then?" Susan said, clinging a few books to her chest.
When they had just reached the juncture between the fifth and sixth floors, they ran into Sirius and Remus. "Uh-huh, where do you two think you're going?" Sirius asked mischievously, wiggling his eyebrows at Harry. You would have thought they'd caught them snogging.
"Room of Requirement. Susan offered to help me with Occlumency." Harry said, gesturing to his Hufflepuff friend, who blushed a bit.
"You can do Occlumency, Miss Bones?" Remus near gasped. Sirius looked very impressed too.
"It's become something of a Bones family requirement, Professor Lupin." Susan replied, a bit cheekily.
"That's a very impressive feat to have it under your belt at your age, Miss Bones." Sirius remarked, "Are you proficient in it?"
"I was taught it over the summer. It was exhausting at first, but I soon got the hang of it after multiple practices." She said.
"Good on you, dear. Well, we best let you two get practising then. See that you teach him better than Snape - not that that's a particularly hard thing to achieve." Sirius said, the last bit causing the four of them to chuckle. Harry said farewell to the two of them before they continued their own ways.
Entering the Room, it was much the same as it was for DA meetings - plenty of space and what not. However, Harry only had to simply think of the word 'Occlumency' and a table with a record player appeared, with some vinyls on the table next to it. Susan went over to investigate. "There's one labelled 'Calming Music' and another titled 'Sereneness'. They'll definitely help."
"Do you know what exactly we're going to be doing?" Harry asked out of curiosity. He trusted Susan, he just wanted to know.
"I want to see where you're at with it, so I'll perform Legilimens a few times just to see how long it takes you to throw me out. After that, I'll have you do a few mind exercises. Obviously, being worn out is the worst possible thing for your mind, so we won't go too hard for today. We'll take it slowly." Susan explained, reading up on her notes and bookmarking a few pages.
After a few minutes, Susan was ready. "Right, Harry. You can either stand or sit, it doesn't matter." Thankful for that, he chose to sit. He'd probably fall out of the chair anyway. "Okay, I'm going to invade your mind, and you're going to get me out of it. Please don't be afraid to send spells out, I can take it. And do not feel embarrassed - I will not be snooping on your memories. They are not my business, I will be viewing them blankly and nothing more." She explained kindly, and Harry felt very reassured, and already knew that this Occlumency lesson was going to go much better with Susan than with Snape. He already felt like he was enjoying it more.
"I'm ready." He said.
"Okay. On three - one, two, three, Legilimens!"
A memory of Harry dancing very badly with Parvati Patil at the Yule Ball was at the forefront of his mind. The scene then changed to Professor Quirrell demanding him to say what he saw in the Mirror of Erised. The Basilisk was now poised right before him, leering so close to him that he could see a string of saliva connecting the tips of two teeth. Now he was in the maze with Cedric, running towards the Cup, having no idea what was awaiting them…
He was yanked out of it when he came back down to earth, so to speak, and his surroundings were the Room of Requirement. Susan looked impressed. "That wasn't very long at all," she praised.
"They weren't even bad memories… Sorry in advance if I scream." He said, panting a bit. Susan smiled knowingly.
"We'll go again, if you're ready?" She asked.
He felt himself adjust his glasses, though they had barely moved. Gulping, he nodded. "Ready."
After three, Susan was invading his mind yet again, and more memories whizzed before him. Flying in the Ford Anglia with Ron and Amelia… Crashing into the Whomping Willow… Saving Hermione from the Troll in the toilets… Finding Tom Riddle's diary... Speaking Parseltongue with the snake Draco had conjured…
He snapped out of it after what felt like years. He was still seated, yet he had been gripping the table quite a lot. Susan was healing a cut. "Oh my word, I'm sorry for that." He said, gesturing to her hand. He must've sent out a Stinging Jinx or something.
Susan tutted playfully. "It's really no bother, Harry! You're here to learn after all - pushing me out via magic is the whole part of the learning process. Besides, are you forgetting I attend Madam Pomfrey's Healing lessons?"
He smiled, knowing he was being a bit dramatic. Susan said they'd give it one more go before moving on to the mind-calming and though-erasing exercises she had lined up. The third attempt was one of the better ones - Susan had only seen three memories before Harry had thrown her out, though he didn't know how he'd done it.
"That was good! We'll leave the mind invasion at that, and do the exercises now. They really help your mind to heal, especially after penetration. They're also the ones I recommend you doing every night before sleeping." The girl gave him honest feedback.
Susan went over to the record player and got the calm music one out of its sleeve before placing it carefully on the player and lining it up correctly. Within ten seconds, the record was spinning, and playing. She adjusted the volume so that Harry would be able to hear her over the music. "Okay, so what you're going to do is a meditation of sorts. The aim of it is to relax your mind and clear it so much that an Occlumency shield starts to form. The shield will prevent anyone from accessing your thoughts, though be warned; it's not entirely impenetrable, it can be breached. If you're relaxed enough, you will be able to see the shield form. But do not get distracted - it can easily break if you lose relaxation for even a nanosecond."
Harry mentally noted that point down. Susan continued. "I will read out the exercise as you're doing so. Think of me as the voice inside your head, rather than another person standing talking to you. Do not rip your concentration just because you hear me."
Nodding avidly, Harry was eager to get going. "I'm ready."
The meditation began. The music really helped with the exercise, as it made him feel at extreme ease. That, and the fact he was timing his breathing, made him feel as light as a feather. After ten minutes, he was getting a bit bored, but then, spectacularly, the Occlumency mind shield started to form. He saw it happening - it was platinum in colour and moving outwards to form a circular shape. Harry didn't dare lose concentration now - he simply just sat and kept his focus, and watched as the shield now expanded to move shapeless around more of what looked like his brain. After five minutes, it was surrounding his whole mind.
"Now, in order to secure it in place, I'm going to cast a spell which you will also repeat so it will secure your end too. After three…" The almost distant-sounding voice of Susan Bones instructed. He didn't lose concentration. "Scutum secure,"
Harry repeated the spell. It had a near instant effect - it glowed bright white for a second before staying in place. "Now to test it has worked, I will perform Legilimency and see what happens. Do not lose focus now, Harry, you're doing brilliantly…. Legilimens!"
In his mind, he seen the spell moving very quickly towards the Occlumency shield. He even felt a slight impact as it hit off it. He figured he was sitting smirking as he watched the spell get maneuvered by Susan all around the shield's perimeter, looking for a weak spot. When it did find an area of weakness, Harry focused on pushing it out of the boundaries, and since he could see what was going on now it felt much easier to try and resist. He also tried to build that area of the shield back up as he was doing so; kind of the same as trying to slam a door in someone's face. Doing battle for about thirty seconds, Harry managed to push Susan out.
"Nice!" He heard her compliment loudly as he regained consciousness and came out of the meditative state. "That was very impressive, Harry, and it was only your first go! Trying to build the shield up took me five attempts alone!"
Rubbing his eyes and regaining his normal breathing, Harry grinned. "It was pretty draining, but so worth it. I just sat and relaxed for the most part, and it did all the work itself."
"You do look pretty worn out," Susan commented, putting her wand away. "I think we'll leave it at that for today. How often do you think we can meet to practise?"
He had a think, mentally scanning his schedule. "I think Sunday's will be the most likely day we can meet."
Susan agreed. "Yeah, so long as neither of us have any homework, we can meet every Sunday. If all else fails, we can meet every two weeks."
"Oh, and before you go, do you have any Occlumency books that you could recommend for me to read? Like, one with more exercises or something." He asked her.
"I do - My father gave me this one to read up on when we first started learning, and it's really helpful. I've bookmarked some pages of exercises you can do before sleeping every night to clear your mind." The girl responded, handing him her own copy.
"Are you sure?" He eyed her, "I can easily send off an order form for Flourish & Blotts to get my own copy."
"It's fine, Harry, take it - I've done the exercises that often I've practically learnt them off by heart anyway." Susan insisted, placing the book in his hands. Harry looked at the book, now his, and seen it was titled "Occlumency: Controlling Your Mind & Other Principles". He stored it away carefully in his bag and tidied up.
Leaving the Room of Requirement, they discovered the time was almost half past nine, which was quite surprising as they thought they'd been in there longer. It was still practically breakfast. Harry then remembered he hadn't told Ron, Hermione nor Amelia and Dorea where he was, and hoped they weren't worrying about him.
The two of them entered the Great Hall, which by now was almost full to the brim. Scanning his eyes, he saw his friends at Gryffindor table with a few other DA members. Susan said farewell to him as she was going to sit with Mandy Brocklehurst and Lisa, and he made a quick beeline for the seat open next to Ron.
"Bloody hell, where were you?" Ron asked.
"I went to the Room of Requirement with Susan - she's a skilled Occlumens, so she was teaching me some Occlumency methods." He answered, making himself a much-needed cup of tea.
"I didn't know Susan was an Occlumens." Dorea said, surprised.
"Neither did I - but she's very good. I managed to build up a massive shield right around my mind simply by meditating, and when she tried to get into it I pushed her out!" He said in praise, proud of himself.
"That sounds really cool, Harry, but it makes as much sense as Gobbledygook, and that's coming from me." Hermione said, a look of mischief.
"Oh, I know, it still kind of is weird to me as well, but at least I'm learning." He said.
The five of them went back up to Gryffindor common room and decided to finish off the last of their homeworks. Ron had to finish some work for Divination, whilst Harry and the girls had to finish off various others - mainly Arithmancy and Ancient Runes.
Just before Harry got to work on the translation for Ancient Runes, did Fred and George appear. "Morning Harry," George said,
"Have you got a few moments to spare?" Fred asked quietly.
He nodded, and was instantly gestured to follow the Weasley twins. They led him up the staircase and into their dormitory.
"Am I really allowed in here?" He wondered, standing awkwardly in the doorway.
"Of course!" Fred said, beckoning him inside. It took Harry a few moments to notice the other boy in the room - Kenneth Towler.
"Don't mind Kenny, Harry," George said, "he's not going to snitch on us."
Kenneth Towler said nothing except to give him a thumbs up.
"I'm assuming this is about new products?" Harry asked. He'd agreed to be their financial backer since he gave them his thousand-Galleon prize from the TriWizard Tournament at the end of June.
"It is," George nodded.
"And boy, have we been busy bees." Fred continued.
"First of all, we've perfected this little baby of a bomb right here." George said, reaching into a medium-sized sack to pull out a round sphere.
"A bomb?" Harry said, a bit mortified. Fred and George could be thrown into Azkaban as terrorists if they were caught with explosives. What if Harry got arrested too? He was funding them, after all..
"Not a destruction bomb, calm down," Fred reassured him, "it doesn't explode. What it does do is this."
George went to maneuver a few feet away, almost beside the dormitory door. Fred launched the bomb and Harry braced himself for either a loud noise or some sort of impact. Unclenching his eyes, he was surprised to see that a murky swamp was now occupying half of the carpeted floor, and that George had sunken at least four feet into it. Only the boy's chest and upwards were not consumed by the swamp.
"What on earth?" Harry said.
"It traps your enemy, and more importantly; their arms. Very effective, ain't it?" Fred pointed out.
"Now imagine that I'm a Death Eater you've just been duelling," George said, nonplussed despite being trapped in a makeshift swamp. "I now no longer can't use my arms, as they're trapped under… Which means I'm virtually useless now that I can't use my wand nor any secret wandless abilities."
It clicked. "Perfect opportunity to knock you out, hit you with an Incarcerous, and arrest you!" Harry exclaimed.
"Precisely." Fred clapped his hands together.
"How long does it last? And how on earth do we get you out of there?" Harry wanted to learn more.
"Once it traps a person, it lasts half an hour. One prototype lasted forty-five minutes, however. It can be recalled anytime and has about twenty uses before the swamp enchantment starts wearing off. A simple Finite Incantatum both untraps the person and returns the swamp to the capsule." George answered.
"They seem really handy and effective, guys!" Harry was very impressed. "I'd like some once you start selling them."
"Your wish is our command, Harry," Fred said, "you're our financial backer, after all. We'll notify you once we start selling."
"Can't wait," Harry beamed, "what else have you two been developing?"
Fred and George showed him. They'd been in the process of producing many things before the mock exam period - among them what looked to be a packet of chewing gum at first glance; but in every packet there was always one piece of gum that was in fact vomit flavour. "You can always give that bit to the person you like least and watch them rush away to the toilets," George had remarked.
"Yeah, and watch everyone stay away from them when they smell their breath," Fred quipped. Harry laughed at that. He wanted nothing more than to give a piece to Draco and watch the boys ego deflate.
The twins were also developing another product with an identical idea, but with a perfume product. Similar concept - it looked like an innocent gift of cologne, as when it was sprayed it initially smelt sweet-smelling, but after an hour or so it developed a smell akin to rotten eggs.
"These really sound great, guys," Harry said once the round up was done.
"Cheers, Harry," the two of them said at the same time. Then Fred spoke on his own, "we'll figure out a plan to start selling the chewing gum and the perfume next week. We might leave the bomb for older and maturer students - y'know, in case an unsuspecting first year finds themselves trapped in a swamp and starts screaming bloody murder."
He nodded at that logic. Once that was done, he said farewell to them and went back down to the common room. Rejoining his friends, he got back to his Ancient Runes homework, though Hermione kept giving him a sharp look.
Monday soon arrived, and with it another week of work. Amelia was up and about at seven, and when she went down to breakfast there was barely anyone there. Sitting down at Gryffindor table, she began filling her plate with toast, crumpets and one sausage. Just as she was about to get tucked in, she seen someone approach her out of the corner of her eye.
"Amelia Potter," a voice said from next to her. Wondering who on earth it was, she turned, and saw that it was a Slytherin boy standing next to her.
She stared up at him a few moments. "Erm, do I know you?"
The boy smirked. "I'm Adrian Pucey, sixth year, and Slytherin Chaser."
She almost gaped at the realisation. "Oh, yeah, I've heard of you." She paused as she put her knife and fork down onto her plate, and turned to face the boy, "what can I do for you?"
"I know I'm very late in expressing this wish, but I'm sure I can catch up. I wish to join your twin brothers club." Pucey said, staring at her.
"Oh," she breathed, "well you are indeed very late in wanting to join, but if you can indeed catch up then I'm sure he'll let you join."
The boy nodded. He was quite handsome, she supposed, but there was something sleazy about him. He was looking at her oddly too, and didn't once break eye contact. "I would have spoken to your brother directly, but he's not here, and I cannot be seen talking to him by my fellow Quidditch team mates."
She blinked. "Oh really? How come?"
"Montague takes the team's reputation very seriously. We cannot be seen talking to who he calls 'enemies', else we get accused of fraternising. I came down here at half past six, but it's lucky you're here at least." Adrian Pucey said. "It sounds mad, I know, but Montague's very pretentious."
She chuckled. "I wouldn't expect anything less of a pure-blood like him, no offense." Amelia quite liked talking to this boy.
"None taken." Pucey replied. "There is another thing I'd like to ask…"
If you ask me out, you'll be getting a whole glass of pumpkin juice thrown in your face, boy, she thought, wondering what he was about to say. "Go on."
"Since you are so close with her… a friend of mine, Vaisey, really fancies your friend Ginny Weasley, as it happens. Could you maybe ask her if she'll let him take her out on a nice date during the next Hogsmeade weekend?" Pucey asked, leaning in a bit closer.
Amelia almost burst out laughing. She thought it very unlikely that Ginny would ever go on a date with a bloke she didn't know. Amelia hadn't even heard of this Vaisey… Pucey was looking at her expectantly though. "I'll put the question to her, but tell your friend not to expect a 'yes' for an answer."
Adrian Pucey burst out laughing. "That's what I was thinking. Anyway, thank you for your time, and I'll try and speak to your brother about the club. Farewell, Amelia Potter." The boy stood up, and walked back over to the Slytherin table, glancing back at her and waving. She awkwardly waved back and gave him a short smile.
Not quite knowing what to think, Amelia awaited her friends to come back down.
A/N: So, I hope the thing with the Bones family being proficient Occlumens isn't too far-fetched. I thought that because they were quite hard hit during the last war they would want an extra layer of protection, especially since Amelia Bones is Minister for Magic now and can easily be manipulated against her knowledge or will. I know it seems a bit weird for someone like Susan to have mastered it in just over two months, but I've always imagined Susan Bones to be pretty smart and academically brilliant.
Also, I'm very looking forward to including Adrian Pucey in this fic a bit more. I know in the books hes something of a background character and is only mentioned in the context of Quidditch, but he may just have an impact on a few characters plots. Who knows, he might be pining over a certain character ;)