The Gifted Curse

Chapter 21 - Occlumency

It seemed only a minute since Geneva was standing in the office of Professor Dumbledore, but after last nights events, she had been subjected immediately by Professor Snape.

"I believe lessons in Occlumency are in order," Professor Dumbledore advised, lowering his gaze over his half moon spectacles. His blue eyes alternated between Geneva and Snape.

"Geneva," he addressed, interlinking his fingers at his desk. "As of now, it is not safe to return your abilities, however, once you have mastered the art of Occulmency, they shall be returned and only then will serve beneficial purposes. If returned now without proper shielding of the mind, you will only offer your mind up for further invasive episodes. Is that understood?"

"Yes Professor."

Dumbledore turned to Snape who was stood cloaked to his feet with his fingers clasped in front.

"Professor Snape, I think it's best we do not delay. Begin immediately. Tonight. These lessons must continue until Miss Azur has managed to protect her mind and has successfully produced a patronus charm."

Snape's eyes wavered as though he were anxious of the prospect of a patronus, but never-the-less inclined his head in respect of Dumbledore's wishes.

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Geneva noticed how Snape was exceptionally quiet as they left Dumbledore's office. His eyes seemed empty, almost numb to a degree. His unpredictability as ever put Geneva on edge.

"Professor..." she began.

"You must go," he informed her officially. "Library. Look up Occulmency. Take note, return to me at eight."

Geneva did just that and buried herself in a quiet corner of the library alone after dinner for two hours where she took every book off the shelves on occulmency she could find.

Occulmency – The magical defence of the mind against external penetration. An obscure branch of magic, but a highly useful one. Occlumency is the act of magically closing the mind against the art of legilimency. This art has been around since Medieval times and can prevent those who are legilimens from accessing their thoughts and feelings, thus enabling influence of the mind. A person who practises this art is known as an Occlemens.

"He's an occlemens," she whispered to herself, running her finger along the text for further digestion.

A tap on her shoulder immediately catapulted her heart into her throat, startling her. It was Hermione.

"Hello," she said, typically clutching an armful of books. "Are you okay?"

"Urr, yeah," Geneva answered, a little uneasy, unaware she was now covering her books with her elbows.

"What are you reading?" Hermione inquired, angling her head to sneak a glance. Her brows rose. "Occulmency."

Geneva took in a breath. "Oh, yeah, you know I always found it pretty interesting."

Hermione wasn't buying it, "You're an Occlumens, aren't you?"

"Um, well..."

"Snape's training you, isn't he?"

Hermione really didn't miss a trick, and Geneva couldn't think of a way to deflect it.

"My lessons begin tonight," she informed her.

Hermione sat down next to her, eyeing the vicinity for prying eyes before she spoke.

"Harry was left in an awful state of exhaustion after those lessons. Snape made him go at it for hours until he couldn't take it any more. He was brutal actually," Hermione fumed, pursing her lips.

Geneva felt her insides quiver, wondering what it entailed.


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Hermione's words only contributed to Geneva's apprehension as she made her way down the spiral staircase into the dungeons that night, just before the newly appointed curfew of 8PM. The smell of woody spices and cloves met her senses upon arrival, and so did he, rising from his desk immediately and walking into the room. Geneva placed her bag down on the lab desk, heavy with books she had taken out.

"I've been doing some reading, like you asked. I understand why I'm here."

He gestured to the lab stool, and compliantly she sat.

He assumed his usual teaching position with his fingers clasped, taking slow paces around her. "Then you would have found out that without shielding the mind by means of Occulmency, you are left open entirely to the Dark Lord."

"And he can enter my mind..." she finished off.

"Read it...control it...un-hinge it. In the past it was often the Dark Lord's pleasure to enter the mind creating visions designed to torture them into mad-ness. Only after extracting the last ex-qui-site ounce of agony, only when he had them literally begging for death, would he finally...kill them."

"H-how did he get in?" Geneva asked. It had been on her mind ever since.

"The Dark Lord works in mysterious ways that I even I am unaware," he explained. "As it so stands, without proper protection you are under susceptibility of such events happening again, which is why we must begin."

Geneva nodded in affirmation, still absorbing his words that left her in a perturbed state of fear.

"Here?" she questioned, rising to her feet.

"Yes."

Snape, who had already taken off his cloak, rose his arm and flicked his wrist to the right of his classroom sending the lab tables back against the stone walls of his dungeon, inaudibly. He did the same with the left, so that the classroom was now one big, empty space.

Non-verbal spells were one of the most difficult aspects of magic a wizard could master. Geneva took a moment to marvel at his greatness, though it was to be expected. Looking around made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end in worry what this would involve. The stone walls seemed to reverberate Snape's sonorous voice deeper than ever, as he took advantage of the space and walked in slow calculating circles around her, with his wand by his side.

"Used properly, the power of Occulemency will help shield you from access or influence. In these lessons I will attempt to penetrate your mind. You will attempt to resist."

"Accio wand." Geneva's wand shot into her hand upon command.

"You must learn to block your emotions," he affirmed, "Those who wear their hearts on their sleeves are...the most vulnerable to the Dark Lord."

His black furrowing eyes bore into her aqua ones, as he continued to walk around her in measured steps. His thoughts at this time were entirely unreadable, but nothing could hide the expression in his eyes.

"I care for you," Geneva thought back to words he had told her, and with them in mind tried to convince herself she could take on anything.

Snape stopped only when he was stood directly in front of her. Swiftly, without warning he assumed his duelling pose, wand placed overhead, his legs at a sideward stance.

"Prepare yourself! ... Legilimens!"

A bolt of blue light shot from the tip of his wand, hitting Geneva at full force. She fell immediately to her knees clutching her skull that felt it was splitting down the centre. Her eyes clamped shut as though she were blinded.

"Stop!" she cried, alarmingly. "Stop!"

But it continued. Her mind raced frantically as though someone was flicking at lightening speed through the archives of her life memories – the happy times, the sad times, the times she had wanted to harm herself for being different, the times she tried... Her body clenched, desperate for it to be over.

"Stop!"

And it did. So suddenly that she resorted to all fours, doubled over, shaking, her tears falling on the hard stone floor. Nothing but the sound of her breathing filled the entire room, until his voice broke the silence between them.

"There is a tre-men-dous weakness within you," came his low voice, in blunt judgement.

Geneva's bleary eyes looked up to him, bringing herself wearily to a sitting position, brushing away her tears.

"You read the counter jinx, yes?" he asked, as she slowly got to her feet.

"Protago," she quoted.

"Yet...you let me in as though there were a wel-come mat."

"You were too quick," she answered, knowing automatically it was a frail excuse. His expression alone told her that, as did the way he voice depend.

"Not...good enough."

Geneva rose to her feet. He had read all of her thoughts, right there in the open, all of her dreams, her wishes, her nightmares splayed before him like an open book.

Half an hour had passed and exhaustion washed over her in heavy waves, her head splitting with invasive fractures as if it were ready to shatter.

An hour...and Snape had turned into the intense teacher she had known for seven years, ridiculing her efforts with the utmost scrutiny. On another failed attempt to shield her mind, he clasped his fingers around her wrist and pulled her up from the stone floor with a firm yank.

"Up!"

Geneva rose, breathless, hand clutched to her head.

"Do you re-ally think that you would stand a chance against the Dark Lord. You must be strong! Focus! Control your emotions."

With anger searing through her veins, Geneva thrust out her wand at lightning speed.

"Legilimens!"

"Tobias STOP!" a woman yelled, throwing a defensive arm up which was caught by the fist of a dark haired man who threw her like dirt to the ground. The woman cowered helplessly with her arms protecting her face as the man put his boot to her hip and turned her over like she were a dead animal.

"You good for nothing...piece of...sh-"

A boy. There was a teenage boy in the corner. He too was doubled over, back towards a wall with his knees bent and his head on top of his knees who seemed to be shaking as though he were in tears.

"Severus!" The woman called out.

Severus looked up in response, his dark hair sticking to the tears on his pale face.

"Get out of here," she bawled. "Go!"

"Enough!!" Snape yelled. Geneva was suddenly back in the Potions lab, with Snape's piercing black eyes upon her, his head bowed, a mixture of shock, anger, and vulnerability, resembling a black cat with it's hackles up.

Geneva took a step backward, wand clutched firmly at her side, her chest rising and falling, knowing she had angered him, yet succeeded greatly.

Snape straightened himself and stood tall.

"You may have entered my mind, but you are yet to block...Legilimens!!"

Simultaneously Geneva yelled, "Protego!"

Two bolts of light collided in the air, illuminating the Potions Lab. Geneva took a stance in fierce concentration, fighting against the force of his spell with such intensity her teeth grit in determination.

"Hold it!" he yelled over the fizzling collision.

Geneva felt a fire in her belly, bubbling, rising, growing until it exploded like burning lava releasing a guttural growl, and sent Snape flying backwards against his desk. He landed with an almighty crash, sending several of the books on top flying backwards.

Her breathing fast, and rapid, she stood there with her mouth agape amazed at the power in her abilities, before she went rushing to his side.

"I'm so sorry," she soothed.

Snape flicked his hair out of his face and rose to his feet, brushing down his dress-robes, raising his head in affirmation at her efforts, attempting to conceal the embarrassment of his defeat when he had previously belittled her attempts.

"Your efforts have been...commendable," he spoke with difficulty as if it were almost too soon to give her praise. Geneva went around the desk and picked up the books that had fallen. He watched her in admiration, but did not let her see.

"I really am sorry about that," she continued, noticing several pieces of parchment had also fallen along side them. She picked them up and arranged them neatly on his desk just how he liked them. "There."

Geneva came to his side with a sudden adrenaline rush running through her veins, despite suffering in exhaustion for the last hour.

"So, what now?" her bright eyes glittered.

So did his, furrowing in a look of curiosity and fascination that ultimately fell to her open lips. Her face was dewy from her efforts, her dark curls tumbling about her cheekbones, which had fallen loose from her pony tail as the night went on. There they experienced a mutual moment of legilimency, of admiration and respect. Snape opened his lips slight to talk, gazing at hers in the silence of his classroom, and pressed his thumb to her bottom lip, peering down at her. Geneva's heart jumped.

"You really are...rather exceptional," he gushed, running his thumb over her bottom lip.