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-Occlumency Class-
In an abandoned classroom Hermione, Harry and I were sitting on a large sofa that I had transfigured using some old chairs, and we were here for another of my Occlumency lessons for them.
I had already taught them basically all the theoretical part necessary for them to understand what Occlumency was, and in our most recent classes we went to the practical part.
The practical part involved meditating, testing the strength of their minds, and making them sensitive to mental attacks, and for that I needed to use Legilimency on them.
"Well, it looks like your training with Hermione is paying off. Your mental strength is better and stronger than before, and I'm sure that in a short time your mental barriers will start to form." I said, after casting a quick and light Legilimency on Harry, nothing too intrusive.
"Really?" he asked me, frowning at the discomfort of having someone in his head.
"Yes" I nodded, "As I said before, you are sensitive to mental magic, so it can be said that you have some talent in it, and because of that your barriers will form naturally"
"Oh, that's good... I guess" he commented, a little confused about it but still happy to have talent in something.
"That's really good Harry... Actually, this is amazing!" Hermione said excitedly, turning to her friend, "I read in a book that mental barriers forming naturally is a very rare thing to happen."
"She's right" I said when I saw Harry's confused look, "Probably less than 5% of wizards and witches have their mental barriers forming naturally, without the need to create them, and among these 5% the vast majority do not even train or study mental magic to actually fully develop their barriers."
"I had no idea about that" Harry said in surprise.
"Well, that's to be expected from someone who reads a book every three months," I said, and Harry looked at me indignantly.
"Hey, that's not true!" he said, "I read… Like, 2 books a month…"
"And those books wouldn't have anything to do with Quidditch, right?" Hermione asked, huffing as she glanced slightly at Harry, who looked away.
"Well, they're still books," he muttered, before shaking his head, "But back to the subject. Ethan, did your mental barriers also form naturally?"
And hearing this question, Hermione also looked at me, curious about my answer.
"Well... My case was a little different, but yes, you can say that they formed 'naturally'" I replied.
And in a way I didn't lie, as my barriers developed mainly because of my Beast Power abilities, which along with my training and increase in magical power helped me advance in the defensive part of the mental magic.
"Hmm, I see," Hermione murmured thoughtfully, with Harry nodding, obviously not understanding anything.
"But well, I think it's time to end our class for today." I said, getting up from my seat.
"Finally," Harry said with a relieved sigh, causing me to look at him with a raised eyebrow, "What?" he asked.
"Nothing, I'm just wondering if I should give you some homework" I said, putting a finger on my chin, and I smiled with satisfaction when I saw his panicked look.
"Relax, he's just joking," Hermione said, patting Harry on the shoulder, exasperated by her friend's exaggerated reaction, "And besides, this isn't even a real class, he can't make us do homework"
"Are you sure of this, Miss Granger?" I asked, smiling slightly at her, which made her wary.
"Err… Yes?" She replied, not really sure about her answer.
"Hmm" I muttered, looking at them while saying nothing, which made them uncomfortable.
"Well..." Harry started to say, trying to change the subject, "I think we're going now, Ron must be waiting for us."
And with that said he began to pack up his materials, standing up and turning to Hermione, only to see that she was still sitting.
"Mione?" he called.
"You can go without me Harry, I still have something to talk to Ethan about" she said, smiling at him.
"And what do you want to talk to him about?" Harry asked, with a curious look.
"Well..." she started to say, noticing Harry's suspicious look, "I want to talk to him about our Potions homework" she replied.
"Oh" and just as Hermione expected, upon hearing that it was about homework, and more specifically, Potions, Harry grimaced, losing interest in the subject.
"Well then I'll be waiting for you in the common room" he said, and with one last wave to me he left the room.
And now that it was just me and Hermione inside the abandoned classroom, I looked at her, wondering what she wanted my help with.
"So…" I started to say, "What do you want my help for?"
"Well, I wanted your help in finding out a secret that Professor McGonagall is hiding," she replied, and I stopped, blinking in surprise.
'Huh, I wasn't expecting that.' I thought, looking at her strangely.
"Do you want my help in finding out Professor McGonagall's secret?" I repeated, and she nodded, "Okay, ignoring how weird that is, why me?"
"Well, everyone knows that you're her favorite student, and she's more likely to reveal her secret to you if you're the one who asks," Hermione replied, a little jealous.
Two years ago she would have denied it, but nowadays she knew it was pointless to lie to herself about who had Professor McGonagall's affections.
"Hmm" I hummed, knowing this was true. But I was still curious about something, "Let's say I agree to help you, why are you so determined to find out this secret of hers?"
"Well, this secret is about the identity of someone I'm a big fan of," she replied.
"Someone you're a big fan of?" I asked confused.
"Yes, he is the writer of my favorite books, who I recently discovered is also a wizard... Or he is at least part of the wizarding world" she said, and that sparked my curiosity.
"Oh, and who is this writer?" I asked.
"I know you like reading, so you've probably heard of him or his works" she started to say, "The writer I'm talking about is Night, who wrote Inheritance Cycle and other books that are just as incredible"
And hearing her I froze, looking at her with a strange expression on my face.
"What?" I asked.
"Huh?" she tilted her head in confusion.
'This has to be a joke' I thought, but I could tell that she wasn't lying about wanting my help, and that made me realize that she really had no idea that I was the Night she was talking about.
'Dude, ignoring the weirdness of it all, did she just admit to me that I'm her favorite writer?' I thought, amused and confused by the situation.
'But seriously, what are the chances of her asking me for help in trying to discover my own identity as a writer?' I questioned myself, before looking at her and seeing her looking at me, probably waiting for my answer.
'Heh, the situation may be awkward, however I think I can have some fun with it' and smiling I turned to her.
"Well Hermione, I'll help you" I said, and that cheered her up.
"Really?! Thanks!" she said, with a big smile on her face.
"But you will owe me one" I continued, raising a finger.
And she didn't think much before shrugging, "Okay" she said, still smiling, and I raised an eyebrow.
"Serious? You don't even know what I'm going to ask of you and you're already accepting the deal?" I asked.
"Well, I trust you, and I know that you won't ask for anything too strange or extreme, or anything that would harm me," she replied, and her trust in me made a small smile appear on my face.
"Well, thanks," I said, and she nodded.
"Okay, since we have an agreement, how long do you think it will take for you to get Professor McGonagall to reveal Night's identity to you?" she asked me, and I pretended to be thinking.
"Hmm, I don't know. It might take a few weeks or even months, as she might get suspicious if I started questioning her too soon."
"True," Hermione said, not at all discouraged.
She's already spent years without knowing the identity of her favorite writer, waiting a few more months wouldn't be a big deal for her.
"But well, don't worry too much about it. I'm sure I can get Professor McGonagall to tell me this secret," I said, reassuring her.
'A secret that isn't such a secret' I thought, before reflecting, 'Actually, there is no reason for Professor McGonagall not to tell Hermione the truth.'
'But well, maybe like me she's finding this whole situation amusing' I snorted, looking at the girl in front of me.
But shaking my head and putting these thoughts aside I picked up my bag with my materials.
"Since everything is already resolved, I think it's better for us to go. Harry and Ron must be thinking you got lost on your way and ended up in the library" I joked.
"That only happened twice," Hermione muttered embarrassedly, and I stopped.
'Wait... Did that really happen already? And twice?!' I started looking at her strangely.
'You know, I used to think that Hermione was one of the only witches with common sense, but it looks like I was wrong' I thought, before shaking my head.
'I think this is one of the magics of the wizarding world, transforming anyone who enters this world into someone strange, crazy, or devoid of common sense.'
And unsurprisingly, most wizards and witches fit all three descriptions.
End.
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