The secret between the two girls

Mr. Warris was a bald old man with a thick gray mustache and a flat stomach. He was wearing a white cloak striped with green, and when Darcie's eyes met his, he smiled.

"Good morning, Mr. Jaxson," Darcie greeted, remembering her courtesy. "Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule and coming to see me."

Mr. Warris beamed, and behind him, her father nodded to himself. Daphne had tactfully retreated upon the Healer's arrival and Narcissa had to leave on his request as well. 'The less magical interruption, the best it would be,' the Healer had explained.

"What a good little witch, Mr. Malfoy!" Mr. Warris praised, sitting beside Darcie on a chair, as her father placed himself on the bed near her feet. "I've heard about you, Ms. Darcie, and I have to say, I am not disappointed. The magical fluctuations around you are quite extraordinary. Please tell me how you lost control before we proceed?"

Darcie gave a brief account to the Healer, looking unperturbed except with a slightly vivid nervousness.

"I see," Mr. Warris nodded to himself and looked at Lucius. "Professor Snape showed marvelous expertise in sucking out the chaotic magical force from within her before it could do irreparable damage to her mind. Just to be safe, I will check if any trace of it has been left in her mind."

Mr. Warris' right hand reached into his loose left sleeve and pulled out a black-colored wand whose tip looked worn out. "Don't be nervous," he smiled. "Do you know what I am going to do?"

Darcie nodded. "You will look into my mind," she said calmly, "and learn all my secrets."

Both men looked taken aback and then suddenly burst out in a fit of laughter. Mr. Warris affectionately pinched Darcie's cheek. "I will certainly glimpse into your mind, Ms. Darcie," he said amusingly, "but you don't have to worry about your secrets. A skilled Legilimens isn't the one who can grab out all the secrets from his target's mind. It's the one who has the control to not see all that there is to see and focus on a single task, like finding a needle in a haystack yet not touching the hay itself. And I think I am as good a Legilimens as anyone."

The Healer winked at her and shared a look with Lucius, who nodded, permitting him to proceed. "Now," Mr. Warris said, "I want you to think of the moments just before you lost control, OK? That shouldn't be too hard for an excellent witch like you, of course."

Darcie nodded, and her heart calmed down, letting her fate rest in the hands of Mr. Warris. Or luck, perhaps?

She didn't know when it happened, but only a second had passed and she already felt like a parasite had invaded her mind. She could feel this parasite, her Magic letting her know by playing unheard sirens. The realization came to her that if she wanted to, she could put up a resistance against this parasite.

But she didn't.

With a focus she scarcely thought she had possessed, Darcie concentrated all her thoughts on the moment of Daphne's fall and how things had played out.

It was over in an instant. "Hmm," Mr. Warris mumbled, leaning back into the chair. "There is no damage, Mr. Malfoy. But I could feel something odd. It must be related to the chaotic magical force taken out by Professor Snape. Anyway, I would recommend Ms. Darcie to not practice magic for a few days. I will also send a list of potions later. They will help calm down any stray thoughts and her headache, as ordinary magic won't work on them. For now, drink this."

The Healer flicked his wand, and a little vial of clear blue potion appeared in his hand. He gave it to Darcie. She looked at her father, and once he gave her permission with a nod, she emptied the vial's contents within her.

An odd, mysterious sensation ran up to her mind and the headache she had been feeling until now vanished.

"Feeling good, right?" Mr. Warris asked, smiling. "Not a permanent solution, but it will do for now."

The Healer then put the wand back into his sleeve, stood up, and motioned at Lucius to go out.

A thought welled up in Darcie's mind suddenly. "Mr. Warris," she said, looking at him expectantly. "Can you teach me Legilimency and… Occlumency?"

Lucius opened his mouth to say something, but the Healer lifted his hand. He didn't reject Darcie's request outrightly and smiled at her. "Both these fields are as ancient as magic itself, young lady," he said, not unkindly. "Without proper magical foundation, it is nigh impossible to even think of attempting them. I have found that an analogy from the muggle world explains it better (-Lucius scowled at the mention of muggle-). Practicing these fields of magic without experience and at a proper stage is like performing heart and brain surgeries without medical knowledge. Yes, there have been and are gifted wizards and witches to whom these magical arts come naturally. But, I am sad to say, you are not one of them. Why did you want to learn them, anyway?"

It wasn't in her nature to sulk over plain facts stated by such a great wizard, she thought. She felt conflicted about all this, though. "What if someone were to enter my mind like you?" she asked. "I want to learn how to protect my mind."

This time, both men smiled simultaneously. "It has never been that simple," Mr. Warris explained, his shoulders relaxing. "Only 1 in 10 Legilimens is proficient enough to enter one's mind without alerting the target. You must have felt my presence within your mind, right? A sign from your magical force? It was because I didn't hide my presence from you. You are perfectly safe at home, of course. If it happens outside, then you can let an adult know about it. Once you have become old enough and the ministry puts a trace on you, then they will get to know if someone were to use magic around you. The Ministry highly monitors any use of Legilimency and Occlumency around underage wizards and witches.

"Not to mention, there is a ban on the use of these arts inside schools itself. One needs many permissions to even think of attempting them without suffering the consequences if they get caught. So, you are perfectly fine, until you become old enough to learn the arts yourself. OK?"

Darcie had to nod reluctantly.

It was her father who saw the doubts written on her face. "I will arrange a tutor for you once you are older," he said. "You are too young for all this right now." To the Healer he said, "Mr. Warris, thank you for coming over. Malfoys remember their friends. Let's discuss the thing you mentioned to me earlier…"

Then they walked out, leaving behind Darcie whose eyes had an unknown gleam within them.

*

*

After having breakfast, Darcie penned down a letter to Professor Snape, thanking him for saving her life. Her father had laughed it off, saying Severus wouldn't care about such things. Nonetheless, Darcie had taken extra care to mention her interest in newly encountered Occlumency and Legilimency fields and an attraction to Potioneering as well.

Now Darcie and Daphne were walking onto a grassy lane lined with trees on both sides outside the manor.

In silence, they strolled, side by side, until the manor started to look like a dark, rocky patch behind them.

"I was pushed," Daphne declared.

Darcie raised an eyebrow, but by then she already knew what Daphne was trying to ask. Should they pursue the matter or not?

Now more thoughts sprang up in Darcie's mind that she ought not to have. Whether to report Pansy to the parents? Whether to shame her? Whether to harm her? Whether to… Whether to… Whether to…

Darcie caught herself, took a deep breath, and said, "We are alive, aren't we?" Her words meant there was no reason to hold on to the matter for now. Those words also meant that they would get the opportunity later, and then, they wouldn't need to be this forgiving.

Daphne smiled.

Darcie spotted a twig lying over the dry, fallen leaves. She picked it up and rolled it in her palm. "Wand," she murmured, as Daphne looked at her oddly. "If only I had it last night… It restricts but also lets one Control."

Darcie held out the twig as if she was holding the wand, and before Daphne could warn her, she let her magic flow through it. The twig exploded, splinters raining outwards with her hand at the center.

"Darcie!" Daphne cried shrilly. "What were you thinking? This is not how a wand works."

"I agree," Darcie said, her tone calm and reserved. "That's why I want to learn more about the wands. I want Control too, but not at the cost of this.."

Darcie outstretched her hands, closed her eyes, and her mind ran, thinking of her surroundings. Specific. The word exploded in her mind like the previously vanquished twig. The strewn leaves around her lifted and started to revolve around her. Suddenly, under the shocked gaze of Daphne, all the leaves transfigured to become butterflies of many colors in one fluid transition, their wings fluttering all over.

Darcie pointed up, and the butterflies flew towards the sky like a stroke of a brush on a blue-green canvas, before raining down as tiny water drops. Only then did she look at Daphne. "Will you help me with this? Our little secret…"

Daphne's blue, innocent eyes had widened, but she didn't look away. At last, she nodded, her expression awed and solemn.