Chapter 4: A Change for the Better. Part 2

"Mr. Potter from here on, I forbid you to even attempt legilimency without my approval. Is that clear?" The Hat finished in a tone that indicated that Harry had no option but to agree with him.

Harry Potter quickly nodded, and he shuddered at the consequences of being lost in another's mind. The thought of being stuck in a foreign space for an indefinite period severely dampened any idea of attempting to navigate another mind.

The Hat tilted his pointed end towards Harry in recognition of acknowledgment. The Hat knew many a great witch or wizard who has lost themselves in the path of mind magics. He can only hope that the young Potter can master a few aspects of mind magic without losing himself. "Now, as I said previously, the first step in learning occlumency is to establish familiarity with your mind. We will be doing with a guided meditation. Instead of thought processes, you will be using your magic to guide you through your mind."

Harry tilted his head to the side in confusion; this seemed like mind navigation, the very action that The Hat warned him from trying without his approval. "Isn't this mind navigation, the one thing you very much spent the last several minutes warning me not to do?"

The Hat gave his customary chuckle. "Mr. Potter I warned you against navigating another person's mind. This is not ` 1really navigation in so far as developing a greater understanding of your mind. Unlike a foreign mind, your mind and magic will help you through the process. Why? Because quite simply, it is your mind. You cannot get lost in your mind. Although certain external factors can make you so, you trying to develop an understanding of your mind does not drive your mind to insanity.

"The meditation technique is pretty simple. Close your eyes and focus on a memory, the more recent the memory, the easier the process is. Now try focusing on your magic as you recall the memory, visualize yourself casting a spell inside your mind. Now, let the spell traverse through your mind. As you delve deeper into the memory, you would start to recall various sensations and thoughts you had at that moment. The greater degree of familiarity that you have with your mind, the greater the details that you would recall. You can then string the pieces of memories together and follow the magic. As you do, immerse yourself in the emotions and thoughts you felt then.

"Initially, you will lose track of time and you will break from your trance at a random time. I suggest having Dobby wake you up after a period when you meditate away from my presence. As you become more familiar, you can move in and out of that state freely and easily.

"The benefits of this exercise are quite numerous over the long run. You will have increased retention and processing capabilities. You will have greater control over your emotions. Your familiarity with your magic will increase over time, a topic for another time. Now, let us get started. First, pick a spell that would guide you through your memories."

Harry had the perfect spell to help him guide him through his memories, the Patronus Charm. What better spell to act as a guide than a guardian that wards off his worst fear? He took a minute to focus on the components of the spell and he sat down in an armchair nearby. He closed his eyes and recalled the events of last night. He called his magic and thought, Expecto Patronum.

A silver stag guided him through the confrontation he had with Ron, comforting Hermione, the dinner, the revelations, and until the moment he fell asleep. He felt a few emotions, but they felt dull. He heard a few thoughts, but they were whispers in the wind. He let the stag guide him further. He saw each event as he experienced them, the deeper he event, the less detail he could perceive.

He felt his magic reaching out and try to repair the blurred details, and certain details became clearer. He recalled the conversation with Death, confrontation with Voldemort, and the Battle of Hogwarts. He felt going deeper and deeper into his memories. The emotions and thoughts were less detailed, but his magic tried to unearth as much as he could. He went as far back as his eleventh birthday when he was snapped out his trance.

"Ah, Mr. Potter. Welcome back to the world of the living. How deep did you dive into your memories?"

He blinked owlishly for a few moments and it took a few moments to register that The Hat had questioned him. "Until my eleventh birthday. Though the deeper I dived, the less detail was able to gather. But my magic reached out to some of these memories and tried to clean the blurred memories. Certain memories became clearer, some remained obscured."

"Well Mr. Potter, you are progressing much faster than I initially thought. I assumed that you would just be able to dive into memories that were about 3 years back at most. I did not expect your magic to start refining your memories until another month or so into your meditation. You seem to have quite the aptitude to mind magics. This certainly pushes our timeline forward by quite a bit. Out of curiosity Mr. Potter, what spell did you use as your magical guide?"

Harry smiled, "The Patronus Charm. I could think of no other spell that could serve as the guide to my mind."

The Hat chuckled, "Wonderful selection Mr. Potter. A Patronus is a manifestation of all you hold dear. To use that spell to anchor your mind is truly innovative by your part."

Harry nodded and smiled at the ancient artifact. His foray into mind magics this time around has yielded much better results this time around. And I intend to make the best use of every possible opportunity thrown at me.

"Now Mr. Potter I advise you to at minimum practice that meditation once a day. I will be assessing your mind whenever we meet to garner when we can start constructing some occlumency shields. Is there anything else would you like to ask me?"

"I was wondering if you could teach a few of my friends some mind magic?"

"If you request me to do so, I am obliged to teach them. Is that all?"

"For now, yes."

"Well then Mr. Potter, until next time."

With that, Harry Potter left the Room of Requirement and had Dobby pop him over to the bathroom in his dorm. Would not want them to start wondering why I just disappeared out of their sight. Of course, he had Dobby check if there are any occupants. Would not want to appear inside a bathroom when Ron is dropping a deuce. No sir, hippogriff dung smells better than whatever Ron lets out.

His dormmates were still asleep when he entered the dorm. He quietly made his way to his bed and had Dobby wake him up once his dormmates were starting to wake up. He then resumed his meditation. This time he perceived a few more details from his mind than the last time. Dobby snapped him out of trance roughly an hour after he began. He went through his morning ablutions and got ready for breakfast. He went down to the common room, sat down on a loveseat next to the fireplace, and waited for his friends.

I might want to do something about Hermione's SPEW aspirations. She is right in that house-elves must be treated better but freeing them is a fate worse than death for them. I wonder if Neville can lend a hand. He was drawn out of his musings when the subject of his thoughts drifted down from the staircase. Harry smiled and patted the space next to him, "Morning Hermione. I was just waiting for you and Neville to head down for breakfast."

Hermione sat down next to him and they sat in companionable silence for a few moments. Hermione turned to Harry, and she spoke before her eyes betrayed her emotions. "I don't think I thanked you for what you did yesterday Harry. Thank you for being a great friend."

Harry placed his arm across her shoulders and drew her closer to him. Hermione leaned in closer. The one person who I was always comfortable with physical contact was Hermione. "That's what friends do Hermione; we stand up for each other. He was insulting your character and I can't just let him walk all over you. You are a great person and a witch and don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

Hermione sighed and smiled. That was so much like Harry, yet so much more. Everything about Harry yesterday was different. More confident, more eloquent, and more expressive than ever. They once again fell into silence, merely enjoying their moment early morning. Their moment was interrupted by a throat clear.

"Ah excuse me. I do apologize for interrupting your lovely moment there, but blimey I am hungry. You two do look comfy there. Mind snuggling with me next time Harry?"

Neville stood behind their loveseat sporting a cheeky grin. Hermione turned a light shade of red and Harry grimaced. Didn't even notice him coming down, the bugger has the gall to take the mickey out of me! I swear his newfound confidence is biting me in the arse!

"Sorry Neville, I only snuggle pretty, intelligent, brown, and curly-haired witches with chocolate brown eyes. Find your own cuddle buddy."

Before Neville could even respond, Hermione quipped back, "I head Malfoy might be needing one. Daddy took him away yesterday."

"Nah I rather eat hippogriff dung. Shall we go down already?"

With that, the three of them made their way down to the Great Hall. As they went down to the great hall, several gazes shifted towards them. Harry ignored the gazes and continued to walk down to the Great Hall. Hermione and Neville, less used to the looks of the masses, hesitated before they followed Harry. Neville looked slightly uncomfortable with all the attention. Hermione, being around Harry over the last two years, was somewhat used to the stares. Harry glanced back at his companions and sighed. Would not blame them for being uncomfortable, public attention can catch you off guard.

The trio made their way into the Great Hall and took their seats at the Gryffindor table. A few minutes into their breakfast, the youngest male of the Weasley family and Percy entered the Hall. The Gryffindor table quietened at their entrance, well aware of the events that transpired last night. The rest of the Great Hall were puzzled when the usually boisterous lions grew quiet. Harry drew his gaze to the head table and saw the inquisitive gazes of the professor's. McGonagall looked at him directly with narrowed eyes, and he shook his head in response.

Ron's face grew a startling shade of puce when he saw the individuals responsible for his plight. However, Percy jerked his arm and pulled him away from the entrance and seated him next to himself and the rest of the Gryffindor Prefects. The silence continued for a few minutes and the conversations slowly worked itself back to the table, except this time several students from other houses made their way to their Gryffindor friends to learn of the latest happenings.

Harry rolled his eyes and ignored everyone but his friends. Hermione occupied herself by going through the notes of the classes she missed, and Neville looked slightly troubled. Harry noticed the distracted look on Neville's face. "Ignore them. Being the center of attention means that people are going to talk about you until they decide otherwise. Worrying about what they think or say is not healthy for anyone."

Neville slowly nodded and went back to his meal. The three of them went about their breakfast and walked out of the Great Hall. Harry dragged the two of them to an empty classroom. "There is one other thing I forgot to mention yesterday. Dobby!"

With a snap, crackle, and pop, the eccentric shadow of Harry Potter made his entrance. Dressed in a navy-blue three-piece suit, midnight blue tie, a sky-blue fedora, and a pair of navy-blue dress shoes. Harry was amused by the look of confusion on Neville and Hermione and impressed by Dobby's Wardrobe. Beats the bright ensemble of socks he had last time. "Let me introduce to you, the one and only house-elf extraordinaire Dobby!"

With an elaborate bow, Dobby added, "Also elf to the Great Master Harry Potter sir!"

"Oi! How many times does it take me to get you to stop calling me that?"

"Great and Brave Master Harry Potter sir, you must have woken up from the wrong side of the bed today. Then again, you say this every time Dobby sees you, so you must be waking up from the wrong side every day. Poor Great and Durable Master Harry Potter sir! Dobby must make sure his master sleeps well. It would not be good for Master Harry Potter sir to be a Great and Grumpy Master Harry Potter sir, " with a sage-like nod of his head, he pulled a notepad and a fountain pen out of thin air and wrote a reminder for his new task. Harry's brow twitched at the ribbing he received from his elf.