12 C12 Occlumency

(A/N: Want to read ahead of what I've posted so far? Go to my patreòn and get early access chapters.

As of this chapter, the patreòn is 2 chapters ahead at chapter 17. I'll probably be writing and posting at least 2 more chapters tonight.

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Thanks for the Power Stones. I'm too lazy for anything today. Enjoy the chapter!)

When Mimsy left the orphanage, it was already late so Tom wasn't very hopeful. With how late it had gotten, he wasn't sure that many stores would be open anymore. After waiting for a while, she returned with a pop holding a single book.

"Mimsy had to go to the bad evil alley to find this. The nice stores don't be sellin' books on brains, I guess." She says and holds out the book as if it were a treasure.

"Thanks, Mimsy. How much was it?" Tom asks as he takes the book for her hands.

"300 Gallons." Mimsy says as she holds up three fingers.

Tom could buy other books as well, but he wants to wait until he's searched his properties for any libraries. Also, his number one focus is on Occlumency right now. He needs to get his mind on lockdown as soon as possible. The information he has is extremely valuable, and can't be allowed to fall into the wrong hands. That could easily ruin Tom's future plans, while simultaneously putting a target on his back. He'll have time for book shopping later.

Before going to bed, Tom read the first chapter of the book as quickly as possible. He didn't want to try anything yet, as practicing something without fully understanding it could cause problems. As he read, Mimsy brought him tea and some snacks to munch on. When he finished the chapter, he went straight to bed in order to get as much sleep as possible. The second his body sank into the sheets, the weight of everything that happened today hit him and he fell asleep instantly.

The next morning, Mimsy woke him up an hour before sunrise. Tom asked her too, as he needs to optimize his time as much as possible. The second he woke up, Tom went straight to the book again, hoping to finish it as quickly as possible. When the sun rose and the day began, Tom had speed-read his way through every chapter of the book. He learned everything and remembered it fairly well.

Occlumency is the protection of the mind from Legilimency, which is essentially mind reading, but it's also so much more. You have to first meditate to find your mindscape, and then start to build the defenses. The sky is the limit when it comes to what you can make to defend your mind. Whether the defenses are strong depends completely on the user's imagination.

Since Tom finished the book earlier than expected, he started meditating as explained in the book. It explained a form of meditation called 'Mind Palace Meditation'. With a few breathing exercises, the right positioning, and some tips and tricks, Tom is supposed to find his inner world.

Once he started meditating, Tom got lost in it and blocked out everything else. Time passed around him and Tom didn't even realize it. Suddenly, the Matron walks into the room, as Tom didn't show up to breakfast. Mimsy was already hiding out of sight as to not spook the muggle. The matron thought that he may not be feeling well, so she came to check on him and bring his food straight to his room. When she saw Tom sitting on the bed unmoving, legs crossed, and eyes closed, she didn't understand what he was doing.

'Could this be brought on by some sort of brain damage?' She thought as she has no idea why he would just sit there like that.

"Thomas are you awake?" She asks and Tom breaks from his trance, returning to the world around him.

"Yes, I was just trying to calm my mind. I must have fallen asleep." Tom says, making the best excuse that he can think of.

"I brought your breakfast, as you didn't show up." She says and hands a tray of unappetizing food to him. "Are you feeling well?"

"I'm feeling better than yesterday, but my head is a bit sore and I'm kind of tired." Tom lies to get more time in his room.

If he suddenly feels perfectly fine, he will be expected to leave his room for mealtimes and other events. Right now Toms in a perfect position to meditate. He can spend all of his time meditating, as it will be seen as an injured person resting to heal. Tom plans to milk his non-existent injuries more than any soccer player ever has.

After a short conversation, the Matron leaves Tom to rest and recuperate. Tom looks at the disgusting slop that was brought to him and sneers. The food somehow had the effect of scaring away his hunger. There's no way he's eating this cr*p anymore, not when he has Mimsy to get him some edible food. No, not just edible, but delicious food. He then sends Mimsy to a nearby restaurant to steal him some food. The food the Matron brought was swiftly zapped into nothingness by elf magic.

Once Tom filled his stomach, he went straight back to meditation. No time can be wasted when Dumbledore will arrive within the week. Tom spends the rest of the day meditating, but he doesn't find his inner world. He feels as if he were close, but he's no expert on the matter.

The next day was also spent meditating. The Matron would come to check on him and Tom would keep playing up his injury. Right when he was about to give up for the day and call it a night, Tom's consciousness appeared in an open plain of grass. The blue sky above him has clouds scattered here and there. What caught his eye immediately, was the floating orbs everywhere. They were hovering in random positions all around him.

'This must be my inner world.' Tom thought as he looks around in wonder.

Based on what the book said, the first step is to collect and organize the memories. Tom could tell that the orbs are his memories, so he knows what has to be collected. The question is how should he go about collecting them? He could just walk around and pluck every memory out of the air one by one, but that would take far too much time for his time frame. The book said that the only limit is your imagination, so what if he were to imagine something to help him speed things up?

An idea forms in Tom's mind and he imagines a tool that will assist greatly in collecting his memories. Suddenly, a red vacuum backpack appears on Tom's back. This is the poltergeist 5000 from Luigi's Mansion, except it's been modified to collect memories instead of ghosts. Tom admires his handy work for a moment and turns on the vacuum.

'Let's get this done quickly so I can move on to the next step.' Tom thought as he gets to work.