Chapter 647: The End of the Holidays (Edited)

During the rest of the day, Fish spent time with Harry and Hermione practicing Occlumency.

The twins had given up early on, spending their days in their rooms working on new products, and Ginny and Ron had given up after trying the Confundus charm.

Neville was interested, but his parents had been improving lately, and the healer at St. Mungo's had said that having him around would help with their recovery, so he spent most of his time at St. Mungo's and didn't have time to learn Occlumency.

"Harry, why do you always worry about that door? You can't achieve the desired effect by practicing like this."

(?ω?)

Fish lowered the wand in his hand and unsatisfiedly told the pale Harry.

After reading about Harry's emotional issues, the only thing Fish had seen more of during his time was the hallway of Harry's dream and the door that never opened...

Fish was tired of seeing it!

If that's the case, then that was it. The point was that, after so many days of practice, Harry hadn't improved at all, and it's not that he hadn't improved after trying, it's that he hadn't put any effort into it... or he had done it in the wrong direction.

Compared to Hermione, Fish, even though he hadn't actively studied Occlumency, was able to see through Harry's reaction that he wasn't very proactive in resisting his Legilimency and instead took the opportunity to keep recalling the dream of the mysterious hallway.

"I... just... want to know what Voldemort is pursuing," Harry defended himself, "And knowing what he's pursuing will have an effect on the Order of the Phoenix, right?"

"That's none of your concern, Potter!" Professor McGonagall snapped from the side, "And we already knew that goal of You-Know-Who! Otherwise, how do you think Arthur got injured?"

"Uh..." Harry froze for a moment, unable to resist asking again, "What's behind the door? Is it a 'weapon'?"

"I've already told you, it's none of your business, Potter." Professor McGonagall furrowed her brow. "Your job now is to learn Occlumency, and don't forget that Voldemort has sensed the connection between you."

"Yes, Harry," Fish repeated, clasping his hands dissatisfiedly in front of his chest, "Isn't it possible that Voldemort sees your thoughts? Now tell me, wouldn't it be bad if he sees them again?"

(??ˇ?ˇ??)

"Sorry for that..."

Harry agreed that he had been really out of his mind before, why did he somehow want to know what was behind that door?

Well... he must have been under the influence of Voldemort!

He wouldn't admit that he just wanted to participate in the cause of the Order of the Phoenix against Voldemort, in that case, it would be the same as admitting what Snape said before, that he was an arrogant guy who just wanted to show off.

Harry somehow understood Sirius in that moment, it was easy to get agitated when you were left alone, not needed, or not even told anything...

This was especially true for Gryffindors, who had always been restless and adventurous.

Although Harry had corrected his attitude after that, he still hadn't made much progress with his Occlumency, even Hermione was more or less the same.

Now they could only resist Fish's Legilimency briefly before being invaded, even if they could get rid of it later, their memories would still be searched, so it made no sense.

This is just a case where Fish didn't use all his power, he hasn't used words to guide it, and he hasn't even changed his wand.

"How difficult is this spell?"

(?ω?)

Fish scratched his head, puzzled, and suspiciously said, "It's obvious that Severus failed the first time he used Legilimency on Fish... Fish didn't feel anything at that moment, nya."

Harry, who was sitting in his chair recovering, gave Fish an exasperated look, while Hermione pinched Fish's waist, making him grimace in pain.

Fish hugged Hermione and rubbed her cheek to make her feel better.

"Oh, that's right, nya!"

∑(ΦДΦ)

After calming Hermione down, Fish suddenly slapped his thigh and said, "Severus said it was probably because Fish was in cat form that he couldn't read deeper memories, so why don't you also try transforming into an animal?"

"Why didn't you say something like that before?!" Hermione pulled on Fish's cat ears in disgust.

"Fish forgot, nya!" Fish replied nonchalantly.

"But that doesn't make much sense, does it?..." Harry shrugged, "I can't go to Hogwarts as a stag all the time."

Hermione, however, had a different idea.

"If it works, we can mimic the feeling of being an animal, and it could have an unexpected effect!" She said with a serious analysis.

Hermione, who had always been a quick learner, was deeply frustrated by her inability to learn Occlumency and was unwilling to let go of any hope.

"We could try it. If it doesn't work, we have nothing to lose." Professor McGonagall nodded. "And in Animagus form, emotions will become simpler."

Although she knew Fish's situation had little to do with the Animagus form, considering the nature of Animagi itself and the fact that Sirius had used it to escape Azkaban, Professor McGonagall thought there was some truth in Hermione's argument.

So Harry and Hermione transformed into their respective Animagi, and then Fish raised his wand.

"Legilimency, nya!"

(ΦωΦ)つ━━☆*.

"It's really working!"

Exclaimed Hermione, who had returned to her human form, and on the other hand, Harry also showed an excited expression...

After being stuck for so long, there was finally hope for a breakthrough!

Although they couldn't resist Fish's spell, they could clearly feel that in animal form, it was easier to resist and last longer.

Of course, fully mimicking the emotional state of an animal wasn't easy, and Harry still hadn't been able to learn Occlumency by the end of the Christmas holidays.

Hermione had barely managed to learn it, but depending on her mental state, she was able to resist... the most rudimentary Legilimency techniques about three or four times out of ten.

And if Fish distracted her with a few words, her defenses would soon be vulnerable, and Fish would take the opportunity to invade.

On the last day of the Christmas holidays, Snape arrived.

"As I'm sure you know from Professor McGonagall, when we return to school, I will teach you Occlumency... unless you have already learned it during the holidays..."

He looked at Harry, who was frowning, and smirked.

"But from the looks of it, it's obvious that you haven't."

"Why couldn't Dumbledore teach him?" Sirius couldn't help but interrupt. "Why you?"

"Isn't it normal, nya?" Without waiting for Snape to say anything, Fish spoke up on his behalf. "That lazy Albus likes to leave the work to others... Minerva has done so much work for him, nya!"

(〃｀3〃)

Fish grumbled and pouted.

"I promise you, this is not what I intended." Snape pursed his lips disdainfully and said with a disgusted look, "I'll see you in my office on Monday at six in the evening, Potter. If anyone asks, tell them it's a Potions Remedial class; no one who has seen you in my class will deny the need for it."

With that, he stood up to leave.

"Wait a moment." Sirius stopped him.

Snape turned to look at him with a sneer.

"I'm busy, Black... unlike you. I don't have unlimited free time."

"Then let me be direct." Sirius also stood up, warning him, "If I find out that you're trying to bother Harry by teaching him Occlumency, I'll come find you to settle the score."

"Je."

Snape let out a contemptuous sneer and was about to retort when he heard Professor McGonagall slam her hand on the table.

"Alright then! Sirius, I've told you before, Dumbledore and Fish trust Severus. You must stop being irrational! And Severus, I know you don't like Harry, but I hope you won't betray everyone's trust."

"Of course," Snape nodded, sarcastically adding, "I won't be as reckless as an idiot who sneaked into the use of the Floo Network, almost exposing the Order of the Phoenix."

Sirius blushed but couldn't retort because he was in the wrong.

"Severus!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed helplessly.

Snape fell silent, looked at Sirius and Harry with disdain, and turned around to leave.

Fish, who hadn't said a word, blinked and suddenly left his seat, following him.

(?ω?)