Chapter 692: Trial (Edited)

The three of them arrived at the intersection of Privet Drive, and Dumbledore glanced at Fish. "Fish?" he called.

Fish tilted his head slightly, sniffing around and flicking his ears before replying, "There's no one else around nya."

Dumbledore then tilted his head and said energetically, "What are you waiting for? Hold on to me!" He turned to Harry and continued, "I'm sure you haven't passed the Apparition test yet, so you'll need to hold on to my arm." He extended his left hand.

With a small leap, Fish transformed into a striped cat and jumped onto Dumbledore's shoulder, while Harry grasped his outstretched forearm.

"Very well," Dumbledore said. "Alright, let's go."

It wasn't the first time Harry had been taken through Apparition, but no matter how many times he had experienced it, the sensation of being squeezed into a rubber tube and then squeezed out again was always uncomfortable.

Among the three usual methods of fast travel for wizards – Floo Powder, Portkey, and Apparition – Apparition was the worst experience. Despite being the most convenient, it was still the least used by wizards.

Of course, that had something to do with the fact that the spell was difficult to learn.

"Well..." Harry took a moment to recover, looking around curiously. "Professor, where is this place?"

They were now in what seemed to be the grounds of an abandoned village, with an old war memorial in the center and a few benches scattered around.

"On that matter, let's set it aside for now," Dumbledore replied, evading the question. "There's something I'd like to talk to you about before we embark on our adventure today."

He pointed to a bench and said, "Let's sit down, and Fish, keep watch and let me know if anyone approaches."

"Nya~"

(=`=)

The little cat crouched on his shoulder responded, its triangular ears perked up and twitching from time to time.

As the two sat down on the bench, Dumbledore asked, "How is your Occlumency going? Are your scars still bothering you these days?"

Harry unconsciously raised his hand and touched the lightning-shaped scar on his forehead before replying, "No, my scar hasn't been hurting for a while. As for Occlumency, Professor Snape said I've already started, so I just need to keep practicing... I've been working on myself all this time."

"Then..." Dumbledore asked, drawing his wand, "do you mind if I test it?"

Harry noticed that the skin on Dumbledore's right hand looked slightly gray and appeared thinner than the left hand, especially the index finger of the right hand, which was dark and nearly invisible in the night. Harry even thought it was broken at first glance.

Before he could ask, Fish, perched on Dumbledore's shoulder, jumped down and transformed back into his human form as he saw what awaited him.

(?ω?)

"Albus, are you going to use Legilimency on Harry?"

"If Harry permits," Dumbledore chuckled lightly, looking at Harry.

Now Harry didn't have time to ask Dumbledore about his finger. He doubted whether his memories could be seen by Dumbledore.

However, he understood that Dumbledore was doing it to ensure that Voldemort wouldn't invade his mind and to convey something to him.

So Harry hesitated for a couple of seconds before firmly nodding and saying, "No problem!"

"Be careful," Dumbledore cautioned, then whispered the incantation, "Legilimens."

Probably because Snape had done it so many times, Harry initially sensed the difference between the two spells.

Probably because Snape had done it so many times before, Harry initially sensed the difference between the two spells.

If Snape's Legilimency was a hard cone drilling into his head, Dumbledore's Legilimency was like a stream of water slowly penetrating.

Harry couldn't be certain about the difference in Legilimency between them, but what was certain was that Dumbledore's Legilimency was much less noticeable, and if he hadn't spent the last year subjecting himself to the spell and Dumbledore hadn't warned him about it, he probably wouldn't have realized that Dumbledore was doing it.

"Dumbledore is probably testing to see if I can detect if Voldemort is secretly probing my memories..." Harry thought.

But the thought was fleeting as he had to concentrate and try to keep Dumbledore's Legilimency out of his mind.

He soon delved into his mind, pushing aside all distractions and excess emotions, and his face became composed with a vague hint of Snape.

Dumbledore hadn't been at full strength when he had tested Harry, so he had managed to deflect Dumbledore's Legilimency, albeit with some difficulty.

Just as Dumbledore was content to remove the spell, Fish suddenly chimed in, "Albus, Harry likes Ginny as much as Cho Chang, nya! Hermione says he's lascivious... What does lascivious mean?"

(?ω?)

Fish recalled the "distracting trick" Snape had taught him, and seeing that Harry had blocked Dumbledore's spell, he unconsciously used it.

Harry, who was already struggling to resist, was momentarily distracted by Fish's comment, and Dumbledore's spell immediately took advantage of this opening and successfully invaded his mind.

Just as Harry tried to resist the Legilimency, he heard Dumbledore say, "Harry, try to remember what you felt when you made contact with Voldemort."

At the same time, the power of the Legilimency intensified.

After a brief moment of consternation, Harry resolutely followed Dumbledore's instructions and began trying to recall the dreams he had in the Department of Mysteries and the burning sensation of the scar.

But even with his face flushed and sweat pouring down his forehead, he was unable to glimpse a single trace of Voldemort's version.

"That's it," Dumbledore said as he sheathed his wand. "It seems Voldemort also feels that your access to his thoughts and emotions is dangerous, so he has used Occlumency on you as well."

He looked at Harry, who was sweating profusely but remained resolute, and said with a reassuring smile, "I only tested it on a whim. It doesn't matter if it didn't work. It's up to you to continue honing your Occlumency skills."

"I will," Harry nodded solemnly. "So, are we going to continue the 'adventure' of... now?" he asked, standing up.

"No," Dumbledore pulled him back to the bench. "Your Occlumency is still somewhat immature, but it's sufficient for now as long as you keep strengthening it afterward," he looked at Harry and said seriously, "Next, I'm going to tell you about the prophecy... about you and Voldemort."

Harry's spirits lifted instantly; he would finally be able to find out exactly what the prophecy was about!