Mind Games

Beads of sweat dripped from my forehead, but I remained focused on the task at hand. Step by step, brick by brick...unwavering

I steadily laid the foundations of my defense, laboring for hours on end, now drenched in sweat from head to toe. My exhaustion was liberating, a sanctuary lasting merely a few seconds.

Once I felt lethargic. my mind grew dizzy. But this didn't garner sympathy from Ivan. Instead, I got a few potions dumped around and a slap on the wrist.

Building my foundation was intensive, and I would often catch myself lost in day dreams. To keep myself working longer, I chugged a potion, enabling me to concentrate for an additional hour or two.

It wasn't a pleasant feeling, stretching my mentality to endure grueling hours of vivid imagination and action. Akin to scraping butter over too much bread.

This wasn't a rare occasion either. In fact, I had now worked on my defenses for about a week, yielding acceptable results.

Unfortunately, I failed on the last stretch home. No matter what variety of wall I constructed..... They would undoubtedly crumble facing a single push from Ivan.

I was starting to think he was pushing me too hard. But it was a futile complaint.

I was the one who asked for his guidance, and the only requirement for "passing" his shielding lecture, was to last a single blow. As long as I could power through one attack. I would succeed.

A deep sigh escaped my lips, as I lamented about my own supposed incompetence. I expected myself to power through all these basic lessons, and then get to the interesting part.

Yet here I was, moping around. It was the first time....I felt like I really wasn't suited for this type of magic. My self-doubt was at an all time high.

No matter the effort, or hardship. Every single creation would crumble away facing a simple attack. Hours upon hours, and quite literally days of work. simply washed down the drain. It was fair to assume I hated myself completely.

Imagine for a second. Being stuck on a problem so disgustingly rudimentary, that it forced you to challenge your very self confidence.

Talented? Me?

I scoffed at my own arrogance I was burdened by my own hubris, being stuck in a rut had surely made me reevaluate myself. I was severely deluded to think everything would work with a snap of my fingers.

I could barely stop myself from ripping my hairs out. Frustrations and anger had built up over the week, and today I was finally past my breaking point. Slamming my arms on the chair, I threw a slight tantrum to let out my bitterness.

Throughout these dramatic series of failures, Ivan had stayed quite the same. Calm, collected and smug. I could practically picture him relishing in joy as I vexed myself to no end. Yet that bastard played the solemn card, and leisurely sat across me, blissfully indulging in a warm cup of tea.

His unbothered demeanor had just served to exaggerate my frustrations. The fact that I had taken a week and failed to accomplish something he described as "basic and simple"..... I really felt like choking him to death.

Seemingly lost in my sorrow. I hung my head in defeat.

I had crossed out all the possible options, and now only one thing was left. Acceptance.

Glancing towards Ivan in defeat, my eyes were pained by fatigue.

"Are you alright?" He asked, despite knowing my struggle.

"I can't do it." I replied, in a meek whisper. Nearly inaudible to him.

He stared at me with a clueless gaze.

"I said, I can't do it".....

Admitting to my failures wasn't easy, but I knew it had to be done.

"Congratulations, you've learned to accept your shortcomings. Though I might add, your perseverance and dedication are remarkable. For a week, I've witnessed you give it your all. Numerous futile attempts couldn't bring your morale down. That is an achievement to be celebrated." Ivan remarked.

I mean he didn't have to add the futile part.....

"So what now?" I asked with helpless curiosity.

"Understanding your failures is monumental towards learning. However, it doesn't change the fact that you were unable to conjure basic defenses. It seems that we may have to reconsider your learning methods." He replied.

"Reconsider?" I questioned.

"You don't need to worry. For our session this evening, we'll be trying out a personal recommendation of mine." He stated with a sly smile.

Ivan flashed a devious glance for a second, but then he stood up, indicating the end of our lecture this morning.

As we both got to leave the practice room, I spotted Ivan discussing in a hushed voice with Ephyl. After which, the gaunt vampire gave a few understanding nods, and warped away.

Ignoring the two cryptic bastards, I rushed to my room, feeling blessed with a few hours of solace. Today's practice had ended earlier, so I was quite pleased to rest for a while longer.

Unfortunately, the peace didn't last long. I took a small nap, and was then abruptly woken up for lunch. The rest of the afternoon was quite typical, after eating together, Sophie would spend some time with me.

She would normally just brew potions as a hobby, and I would tag along. Quite honestly, I had learned a lot through her random projects. Everyday would be a new potion, I think secretly she enjoyed brewing them and then sharing them with me. We had scrambled many potion recipes to learn about the side-effects and also tested out random concoctions.

Naturally, it wasn't really productive, but a bit of fun never hurt.

Oddly enough, Nosferat had been missing for a few days. But since Ephyl nor Sophie showed any concern, I guess he was out and about on his usual work. Possibly to France as he had rushed back home to receive Sophie.

The hours flew by as I worked along Sophie, and soon Ephyl informed me about a message from Ivan.

He had finally finished his preparations, and wanted to begin right away. Emphasizing that time was of the essence.

It was quite odd from him to fuss about the hours, so I complied, eager to see what he had conjured to warrant such haste.

Strangely, Ephyl offered to guide me to the lesson, and hence I excused myself from Sophie's potion workshop and went on my way.

Peculiar.... peculiar indeed. I paced along Ephyl but we had long crossed the usual practice room. Instead, Ephyl had led me far deeper into the castle. It's estranged nature reflected in the décor, the hallways flushed with an eerie presence, walls covered with dark marks and archaic art work.

I could feel my body pulled through a strange veil before entering this place. Precisely something I had experienced before. We had just walked through a barrier.

But why seal this place? Something felt out of place. I couldn't quite put finger on it.

However, the castle itself felt hostile to me. We trekked along the long winding hallways, gloomy and dimly lit. The floor had shifted to a bizarre obsidian tile, and every room was completely isolated.

The whole place seemed abandoned, I couldn't even believe we were still inside the fort. The spatial enchantments on this place were extensive, stretching the inside to a massive mansion.

Ephyl led me through the halls, but his foot steps halted before one lusterless door, poorly framed into the wall, surrounded by a few chains, embedded inside.

The door itself seemed obscured to prying eyes, a dull and feeble presence easily forgotten. I stared at it, and yet my brain couldn't recognize it as an entity. It seemed appropriate to call it a piece of the wall, strangely shaped.

He walked up to the door, and shimmed his nails alongside the hinges, sliding down to cross its entire length.

Several blood red engravings carved themselves on the door. Acting as a lock and key, the symbols moved about in unison, forming certain patterns, a slight click could be heard.

The door pushed itself outside the walls, flinging open to reveal a long chain of stairs, the room itself was completely dark and foggy.

Absolutely no light could penetrate this space, and the stairs led down to a basement similarly shrouded in darkness. The only reason I could navigate this place, was due to a small ember of a candle, emanating from within the basement, inviting me inside.

I knew instantly, that it was an indication from Ivan to step inside, however I was still doubtful. Completely clueless as to what was going on, this situation was sketchy.

To reassure me, Ephyl grunted.

"Young master, your lessons today will be conducted in the dungeons. A request specifically made by your teacher, Please make your way down, worry not. No creature can harm you in this place." His eyes contained a steadfast gaze.

I merely nodded my head, and stepped towards the stairs.

Each step echoed throughout the dungeons, I reached the end of the stairs, then the candle ember buzzed around the door, ushering me inside.

I cautiously sneaked in to the room behind the door.

A spacious and foggy dungeon greeted me. The ember next to me whizzed itself to the center of the cellar. Faintly illuminating the figure of a man, stood next to a chair with a black cloak pulled over it.

I recognized the silhouette as Ivan, but the chair was completely covered, a black robe completely wrapping around it, a vague figure trapped underneath.

"Welcome, apologies about the discreet location, but the contents of our lesson today, required that we prepare and act away from prying eyes." Ivan's voice resonated within the darkness.

The prying eyes he mentioned were a subtle hint, but I could guess the person he was trying to avoid was Sophie.

However, even after the initial warning, he proceeded to caution me further.

Placing his hand on the chair, he spoke

"If you wish to back out, now is your only chance. Once I lift this veil, things will not end so simply." His voice seethed with mystery and he had an enigmatic smirk on his lips.

I took his warning seriously. Despite his nonchalant warning, I knew for him to caution me multiple times...this was would be convoluted mess if I wasn't devoted.

I signaled him with an affirmative, and he took a few seconds to wait for my final verdict. After confirming that I was ready, Ivan did his usual routine, and waved his wand.

A plethora of privacy wands combined around us, ensuring not even a speck of dust could leak through. I could hear the echoes of our voices, dim down around us. As sound could not escape the barriers.

His hand creeped towards the black cloak, covering the chair, but before he lifted it, he tapped the cover with his wand, and immediately the thing beneath the covers sprang up to life... Or that was what I thought.

This....thing, began twitching ever so slightly, making muffled noises.

"Whatever you see here today, is the difference between ideals and reality. There are certain sacrifices we must make to improve. I hope you understand that." Ivan whispered.

He charmed the veil to lift away, and so it did. Revealing the figure hidden underneath.

To my instant displeasure....it was not something I could ever expect. A man slumped on the chair, his mouth cruelly sewed shut with magic, every word he spoke muffled through certain hexes. His hands bound tightly to the sides of the chair, intertwined with unbreakable chains. His eyes had lost their luster, appearing lifeless, facing towards the ceiling.

His face was pale and sickly, he was incapacitated... or perhaps his mind had simply given up. He had a blank expression over his face, like nothing ever mattered.

His body was clearly in pain, every few seconds, a few jitters would spring forth. But he could only convulsing in pain and fear. His subconscious would react to Ivan's presence, causing his legs to quiver uncontrollably. His fingers jittered with horror.

I was quite confused on who this man was. My curiosity was sky high. But more than that, Ivan had noticed my reaction to this scene. Or rather... the lack thereof.

I had seen something, that even seasoned wizards would describe as horrific, and gory. Of course, I could also see the evident marks of torture still ingrained within this... shell of a man.

I questioned him, unable to contain it any further.

"This is?" I asked, my words tinged with intrigue.

"He is... or rather was. A loyal member of our society. Quite capable, and very talented in the mind arts. He rose our ranks quickly and took upon big responsibilities. But unfortunately... we found out that he was quite the opportunist. Allying himself with our current enemies in Britain, he aimed to privy them to important information." Ivan lamented mockingly, caressing the shoulders of the tortured soul.

"Luckily for us, a certain leak of information about a month ago, inspired our department to do a full search. It was then that I discovered his discrete attempts at selling our information, for quite the coin I might add. I must admit I almost sympathized with his greed. But.... everything for a price. To repay for his mistakes, he volunteered to serve as a human target for the mind arts." Ivan replied with a dry sarcastic laugh resounding in the dungeons. (A/N: Reread chapter 14 to recall when this search happened).

This did explain why his mind almost felt broken, I could see through his emotions, but everything was in disarray. His mind was completely disconnected with reality.

"Not to worry, we made sure to preserve his mind to fulfill his promises. Today I plan for you to try out your various methods of attack on his mind. Understanding the basics of attack, will allow you to understand how to counteract and setup your defenses. As a natural legilimens, you're more suited towards this approach." Ivan said in a sincere reply.

His logic was reasonable, and I too was quite impatient to try out legilimancy on an actual mind. Ivan guided me through the most basic procedure to begin. However, he was quite hands off throughout the entire attack. Citing that he had no intention of changing my perspective on legilimancy.

Something he made evident from his first day.

As for caring about this random man's wellbeing? I wasn't foolish. A spy for the death eaters, was an enemy through and through. I held no sympathy for my enemies, and I will not hesitate to use his mind to my advantage.

It was the start of a psychotic mind attack, as I began trying out a plethora of ways. Warming up to the practice and trying my best to break his mind. Ivan assured me that he would continue to restructure his mind if I managed to break it.

All I had to was to analyze the rudimentary defenses still left in his mind, and try my best to break through them. Akin to shattering a glass window, I broke through multiple times. Leaving nothing to chance.

Once I was done, the light in the mans eyes was quite close to fading. However, seeing this, Ivan simply brought out a potion on his person. He funneled the concoction down the mans throat, revitalizing his body enough to function for a few more days.

Essentially, it was akin to mindless torture for the man. A never ending hell. A life he could never escape, not even through death. He would continue to live on, merely a husk of his former self. A puppet to our desires.

A fate ill deserved for even the foulest beast. Yet this was the outcome of betraying the society. It sent a few shivers down my spine, but also showed me the reality of the wizarding world. A place often cut throat, and a moment of hesitation could decide the outcome between life and death.

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