A cabinet across the room opened, revealing a beautifully carved workbench adorned with intricate patterns and faint magical glows—a clear sign it wasn't an ordinary table.
Leading Alex over, Lily explained, "This workbench is very versatile. You can store, visualize, combine, and test runes on it. It even lets us create three-dimensional runes, which is impossible on regular parchment. Watch this."
She spoke a command, and the rune for 'fly' appeared in the air above the table, shimmering faintly.
Alex watched, fascinated, as Lily continued her demonstration, bringing up several more runes and effortlessly combining them into a simple, flat formation. "This is the rune combination for the Levitation Charm." With a slight push of magic from her wand, the energy flowed through the runes and shot toward a quill resting on the table.
The quill lifted smoothly into the air, floating as if held by invisible threads. Alex was amazed; Lily hadn't used the Levitation Charm itself but had instead channeled her magic through the runes, achieving the same effect. It was far more exciting than simply reading about runes in a book.
Lily turned back to Alex. "Some spells and runes can be dangerous or too powerful to test directly on the workbench. So, what do we do?"
With a knowing smile, Lily picked up a small, crystal-clear sphere from the edge of the workbench. "These store runes safely. Watch." She held the ball close to the rune combination, and with a faint shimmer, the runes were drawn into the crystal.
Alex looked around and noticed two rows of these crystal spheres lined up beside the workbench. He had assumed they were merely decorations, but now he realized their purpose.
"In this way, we can store rune combinations and test them in other locations," Lily explained.
Alex's fascination deepened, and he couldn't hide his enthusiasm for learning more about rune magic.
Lily noticed his excitement and added, "While you're staying here, you're welcome to borrow this workbench. There are already many recorded rune scripts in here that you can study, and I'll show you some common combinations, including the protection and reinforcement runes I used in my amulet."
Alex was thrilled. "Really? Thank you so much, Lily!"
With a warm smile, Lily began explaining how to use the workbench, and Alex listened intently, absorbing every detail.
Over the next few days, Alex settled into his studies, but his concentration was pleasantly interrupted when his Christmas gifts finally arrived, albeit a bit late due to his temporary change of address.
Vivian's gift came first: a collection titled *Magic Symbols.* Though she playfully scolded Alex for saying it directly, she had clearly chosen something thoughtful and useful. Charles sent him a poster of his favorite Quidditch player, Ludo Bagman, along with a note expressing excitement about the poker set Alex had gifted him. Charles had already taught his family how to play over the holidays.
Professor McGonagall's gift was a scarf embroidered with silver arrows—a nod to her favorite Quidditch team, the Appleby Arrows. Alex chuckled, noting how dedicated the magical community was to Quidditch. Upon researching the team, he found their claim to fame was a 16-day match in 1932, a fact that left him in disbelief.
Professor Flitwick had sent him *The Fifth Element: An Exploration,* a sixth-year textbook with a note suggesting it was advanced but well within Alex's reach. Alex was pleased with this gift, finding it one of his favorites, second only to Vivian's book. When he opened Professor Slughorn's gift, he couldn't help but laugh—another bottle of Euphoria. He suspected his head of house must have a stash of the potion, giving it out freely.
Hagrid's gift was simple: a soft leather cushion made from magical creature fur, incredibly comfortable and warm. Alex immediately decided to use it while studying.
After checking each gift, Alex settled down on the fur cushion, ready to dive into his next project: Occlumency. He had read that Occlumency and Legilimency were complementary skills. By mastering the former, it would be easier to pick up the latter. His books, *Theory of Magical Defense* and *Mystery of Magical Defense,* detailed Occlumency as a technique to protect the mind from invasive spells like Legilimency.
Occlumency required a calm and focused mental state, merging one's thoughts with magical energy to form a mental shield. Unlike many spells, it involved no incantations or wand movements, which made it difficult for most wizards. The easiest way to practice, according to the texts, was to have a skilled user attack the learner's mind repeatedly, allowing them to build mental defenses.
But Alex dismissed this method immediately; he had no desire to expose his thoughts to anyone.
Instead, he reviewed the alternative techniques listed: the potion-assisted method, the passive practice method, and self-imagination. The potion-assisted method required a calming potion to ease mental focus, which Alex considered, as he had a bottle of tranquilizer. However, he was most intrigued by the self-imagination technique, which his book described as contemplation. This technique involved emptying the mind and creating a mental image of oneself, often as a creature or being that could defend the mind.
Alex decided to give it a try. He focused on calming his breath, then seated himself and assumed a basic meditation posture.
Once he settled into the stance, he emptied his mind, allowing only the flow of his magic to fill his awareness as he gently guided it toward his mind.
Alex's goal was to create a mental image, not of himself as some fantastical creature, but as a deep, endless black hole—void of light, drawing in and absorbing his magic. This visualization was difficult at first, yet, after several attempts, he felt a subtle shift. Gradually, he succeeded in merging his magic with his consciousness, and as the black hole pulled in his energy, it formed a protective barrier around his thoughts.
When he finished, Alex opened his eyes, surprised at how natural the process had felt. He had expected it to take many attempts to grasp even the basics of Occlumency, but his progress felt smooth, almost intuitive, as though all his prior training had prepared him precisely for this.
"Did I just… succeed?" he thought, recalling the descriptions he had read about Occlumency.