Bailee Potter

Occulemancy

They got back on the train to go back to Hogwarts a couple days later. It had been extremely awkward for Bailee because almost everyone kept giving her side glances. She felt guilty for complaining, everyone had problems of their own.
Now Bailee was reading by a small section of the lake. She was laying on a fallen tree trunk that reached across the water from bank to bank. Bailee was sulking because just hours before she was informed by Dumbledore that she would have to do occlumency lessons with Professor Snape, her least favorite teacher. She was supposed to learn to close off her mind so that Voldemort couldn't invade it. She had no idea how she was going to do it. A sawn and it's ducklings floated past. Tiny dragonflies zoomed back and forth, landing on lily pads. Bailee closed her eyes. Daydreaming often improved her mood. She covered her face with her book to block out the sunlight.
"Boo!"
"Ahhhhh-!" Bailee cried.
She threw up her book and tumbled off the side of the tree trunk. She hit the water and sank under for a second before finding her footing and pushing back up to the surface.
She looked up to see a grinning Draco now perched on the tree trunk swinging his legs back and forth.
"I'm going to kill you." Bailee giggled.
"Oh yeah?" Draco said teasingly.
Bailee grabbed him by the ankles and pulled him in. He screamed before hitting the water too.
She giggled as he resurfaced. They were about chest deep in water.
"Now you've done it." he said laughing.
He grabbed her by the waist and twirled her around.
Then he planted a kiss on her lips...
"What was that for?" she asked, smiling
"For everything," he said "and for being the best person in the world."
Bailee blushed.
"You've got some algae in your hair." she said.
Draco swatted at his perfect (now soaking wet) blond hair,
"Thanks," he said.
"Anytime." she said.
Draco turned around and plucked a small whitish pink flower from one of the lily pads.
He turned back around and tucked it behind Bailee's ear.
It was a water lily.
Bailee smiled.
"We should probably go dry off." Draco said
"Yeah" Bailee giggled.
He scooped up Bailee bridesmaid style and carried her to the bank of the pond.
Once they were both sitting down they used a dying spell to dry their clothes and hair.
"I have to go meet with Professor Snape." Bailee said, frowning.
"How come?" asked Draco
"Occlumency lessons."
"Oh, well good luck, I heard that occlumency is really hard."
"Thanks." she said.
Draco kissed her on the forehead and she stood up to leave.
She started to walk back on the little trail that led her to the hidden tree. She exited the forest and walked through the grounds back up to the castle. Once inside she made her way to Snape's office. She really didn't want to go inside. She raised her hand and knocked on the door.
"Come in." Said the deep bored voice of professor Snape. Bailee opened the door and stepped inside. Professor Snape was sitting at his desk.
"Sit." Professor Snape gestured to a chair opposite of his desk. Bailee walked over and sat down.
"Occlumency is the art of the mind. You need to learn how to control your mind. You need to be able to block out Voldemort at all times. I will attempt to invade your mind, you must block your mind."
Bailee sat up straight.
"Ok" she said
"Legitimate." Snape said, pointing his wand at Bailee.
Her mind shifted inward and she was traveling through memories, happy and sad. Sirius, then riding a broom, then the snake attacking Mr. Weasley, then at her aunt and Uncles, alone at the playground by her house, the graveyard and voldemort rising from the cauldron, then seeing her parents in the mirror of Erised, then in the chamber of secrets, when the dementors attacked. No.. she thought. She couldn't let him see the pain. She wouldn't let anyone know. Her mind flickered to darkness but then she was shifting through memories again. At Grimwalds place in her room, dark blood on the bathroom sink, back at the burrow early that morning. Laying in bed covering her mouth so as to not be heard while she sobbed for hours. No... STOP... she tensed up and then released all her emotions. She let them flow out of her, she had done it many times before. Instead of a black emptiness she was now in a gray landscape, nothing but gray. She blinked. She opened her eyes and she was back in Snape's office. He was leaning on the side of his desk, looking at Bailee clearly startled. Bailee felt exhausted. No one spoke for a moment.
"We will continue tomorrow." Snape said
"Ok." Bailee said unsure if she was about to have a panic attack or not.
She got up quickly, the images still racing through her mind.
"Holy crappppp..." she whispered under her breath as she quickly walked along the corridors.
"What the heck just happenedddd!?"
She looked around. The corridor was dark and only lit by torches. Small puddles of water glistened on the floor by the open archway windows. Her mind was racing. She turned the corner to find a small bench by a little fountain. No, she thought...I have to find someone.
She turned another corner and looked up, Draco was sitting on a different bench just outside in the courtyard. Bailee rushed over to him. She abruptly sat down next to him and put her face in her hands.
"Bailee, what's wrong!" Draco asked, placing an arm around her.
"Oh-My-Goshhhhhhh... kill me."
"Never, also... what happened?"
Bailee looked up at him.
"Snape just saw like all of my worst memories, all of them. My life could not get worse I stgggg."
Bailee looked back down at the ground.
"I need to go mourn" she said as she got up to walk away.
Draco stood up too.
"Just know that it won't be that bad, ok?" he said
Bailee frowned.
"Ok." she mumbled
"Ok?" Draco asked again, tilting her chin upward to face him.
"Ok." Bailee said, smiling a little.
He kissed her softly.
"I love you," he said.
"I love you too." She said,
Bailee turned around and walked back through the archway. She turned her head to wave goodbye. Draco blew her a kiss. She blushed. As she walked through the hallways she had no desire to go to the common rooms at the moment. She decided she would go to the astronomy tower since it was almost nightfall. She climbed the stairs and finally approached the top. Bailee gazed across the landscape that consisted of the black lake and all the hills behind it. She took a deep breath of air. She saw the dim lights of Hagrid's hut in the distance. A couple stars were starting to form in the sky. The clouds turned from pink to grey and the moon peeked out behind them. Bailee climbed up onto the railing and sat down. She heard a small shuffling behind her. She turned around.
"Who's there?
"It's just me," said the quiet voice of Neville.
"Oh Neville, you scared me."
"Sorry." He said apologetically
"Don't worry about it. What are you doing up here?"
"I come up here to relax. You know... like you are." He said
"Yeah, I guess this is a pretty good spot." Bailee said.
"While you're here, I wanted to thank you for teaching us defense against the dark arts. It's really helped me and I just wanted to say you're a great teacher." Neville said
"Thanks Neville, that means a lot."
"No problem." he said
Bailee looked back out at the horizon. Neville sat next to her, gazing out across the hills as well. Neither spoke for a while so they would not disrupt the silence. In the distance Bailee could hear the mermaids singing. She clutched tightly to the railing. What would happen if she fell? She looked down at the base of the tower. It was a long drop. Probably a 100 feet.
"What are you looking at"? Neville asked
"Oh, nothing." she responded.
"We should get back to our dorms. It's getting late."
"Good idea." Bailee said, feeling slightly uneasy.
Neville slipped off the back of the railing and landed on the ground. He held out his hand and Bailee took it as she climbed back over the railing. They turned to walk back down the long staircase.