Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling. I own nothing but the original characters I create.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 274: Lyra's Reward
"A grimoire? Isn't that the book that contains all the family magic?" She recalled a conversation she had with her friends about that topic. Ginny had told her that her mother's family, the Prewetts, used to have one but it was lost when they were attacked by dark wizards.
Astoria mentioned that her family still had their own grimoire, but she was not allowed to read it until she was older.
Luna's family also had theirs, and she had actually read it but apparently didn't understand anything because it was written in Old Gaelic.
"That is correct." Harry stood up from his desk and went to the small coffee table to eat his dinner.
"Our house used to have one, but it was lost a long time ago. There is nothing recorded about what happened so it remains a mystery..."
"Ah…" Lyra sat next to him on the couch before realizing something. "But wait, why are you the one writing it? Shouldn't it be Dad the one who does that?"
Harry smiled. "Both of our parents have already written a few pages of the book, but it's up to me to fill the rest… I have yet so much to write in there."
"Is that what you have been doing all week?" Lyra had barely seen her brother since they came back from school. He always seemed to be busy with something.
"Yes, you could say that this is going to be my summer project." Harry took another bite of his sandwich.
"This is really good. What sauce did they put on the turkey?"
Lyra gave Harry a look of suspicion. "Are you writing those weird spells that you use sometimes? Like that giant fireball that killed the basilisk?"
"I will write down every bit of magic I know. That's why… it will take a while." He was telling mostly the truth with that statement. He wanted to make sure that all the knowledge he had accumulated during his lifetime did not go to waste.
This wasn't just his personal knowledge, but that of many others who had contributed… without their help, Harry would not be the wizard he was today. He did not want all of that work to be wasted.
The only exception he was making… was his knowledge about Demonology. That was not a branch of magic he was willing to let anyone learn. It was just too dangerous.
That knowledge… he would take with him to the grave.
"What's the hurry? You just finished your third year." Lyra could not understand why he was writing this now, instead of doing it after graduating at least.
"This time is as good as any other. It's not like I'm going to learn much more with a few years at Hogwarts." Harry told her.
Lyra did not miss the implication of what he was saying.
"Is this like one of those things you promised you would tell me? You know… about yourself…" She had not forgotten about that promise.
"Have you been keeping up with your Occlumency training?"
"Of course! Go ahead and look for yourself." She said with confidence.
Harry would rather not do that… he had not forgotten what happened the last time he went inside her mind.
But he did make a promise to his sister, and he was not going to break it.
Once he was done with his dinner, he pulled out his wand and glanced at her.
"Okay, lay down… get comfortable, and look into my eyes."
As soon as she did, he pointed the wand at her forehead.
"Legilimency."
Lyra had not been lying when she said she had been practicing. He could read her surface thoughts, but her memories were no longer moving around in plain sight.
She had locked them behind protections with the use of Occlumency.
Of course, if he really tried, he could certainly break down those defenses. But for a second-year student who had just begun to practice… this was a really good result.
"I'm impressed…" He really was. Unless the attacker put in quite a bit of effort, they would not be able to steal her secrets.
"You are?!" Lyra snapped back to reality and heard his words.
Harry chuckled. "I really am. You have clearly put a lot of effort into learning Occlumency."
"I did!" She smiled with joy. All those hours she spent meditating seemed to have paid off.
"But don't get overconfident. You have just begun to learn that discipline and are still a long way from becoming a master at it. Promise me that you will continue your training."
"Of course I will." For a moment, Lyra had a strange feeling. Her brother's words sounded like he was planning on going away.
"Hmm… Harry?"
"Ah… yes, your reward." He said.
"Yes! Then… will you answer anything I ask?" Lyra's face became more serious. She had been thinking a lot about this, and the questions had been piling up.
"Instead of just sitting here and answering stuff, let's do something better."
"Like what?..." Lyra gave him a dubious look. "You are not backing down now, right?"
Harry pressed his wand towards his own temple. "Why don't you take a look into my mind and see for yourself?"
"What?!" Lyra exclaimed.
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