Hogwarts: Starting with full Unforgivable Curses

“Of course I don’t mind.” Dylan smiled and waved his hand, turning his gaze to Harry, and said, “Harry, you just volunteered to learn Occlumency, so you must have done some research. Why don’t you tell us what you know about Occlumency? That way we can see where to start teaching you.”

Harry took a deep breath, gathered his thoughts, and said while recalling, "I think Occlumency should be considered a high-level protective spell, mainly used to resist mental magical attacks, or as I mentioned before, it may also have some resistance to Stunning Curses..."

He paused, a hint of uncertainty in his eyes, and added, "I also know that this magic is somewhat similar to the Patronus Charm; both are primarily defensive. However, the Patronus Charm mainly defends against Dementors, while Occlumency is used to defend against Legilimency. Dylan, if I understand Legilimency as mind reading, is that alright?"

“Of course, no problem.” Dylan nodded, encouragingly. “Your understanding is very accurate. Legilimency is essentially a high-level mind-reading technique that can directly invade another person’s mind and read their thoughts and memories, and Occlumency is its nemesis.”

With Dylan's affirmation, Harry became even more confident and continued to share his understanding of Occlumency: "In short, Occlumency is indeed very difficult and very obscure. It is rarely involved in daily magical studies, perhaps even more obscure than the Patronus Charm. That's about all I know."

Draco nodded noncommittally after hearing this and said, "It's pretty much the same as what I saw in the family library. It seems you really did do a lot of preparation this time, and you weren't just bragging."

“I also learned a lot,” Cedric remarked. “Harry, you were very well prepared. There were many things I had never heard of before. It seems my understanding of high-level magic was too limited.”

"Ahem..." Harry was a little embarrassed by the praise from the two of them. He coughed a few times, scratched his head, and said frankly, "Actually... I didn't find this information out of thin air. Dylan gave me a reading list before, and I consulted a lot of relevant ancient books in the library according to the recommendations on the reading list before I compiled these knowledge points."

"No wonder! I was wondering how someone your level could suddenly know so much." Draco muttered to himself, his tone less sarcastic and more relieved.

Dylan chuckled, unconcerned by their brief interaction, and began his formal explanation: "Normally, Occlumency and Legilimency are only widely used during wartime. This is because intelligence is crucial in war; Legilimency can be used to obtain enemy intelligence, while Occlumency can protect one's own secrets from being leaked."

"For wizards during wartime, the standard for judging a person's Occlumency level is mainly whether they reveal their true emotions and core thoughts when facing Legilimency attacks." He paused, then explained in more vivid terms, "If we extend this line of thought, the key to mastering Occlumency is to learn to detach oneself from one's emotions and precisely control one's thoughts. Or, to put it more simply, it's about clearing one's mind as much as possible, so that others have no opportunity to exploit it."

“We can imagine this scenario—practicing Occlumency is like emptying your bedroom of everything. So when someone breaks into your bedroom, all they will see is an empty room. Because there are no furnishings, no books, no decorations, no clothes, they naturally cannot learn about your interests, personality traits, or even your secrets through these things.”

"The specific practice method is to try not to think, not to recall, and not to feel when facing external interference, so as to keep the brain blank. Of course, those skilled masters of brain-blocking techniques can do even more impressive things - they can create 'illusions'."

Dylan continued, "It's like filling an empty bedroom with brand new furnishings that have nothing to do with you, to mislead an intruder and make them make wrong judgments based on this false information. Don't you think that's a bit too much to ask?"

Dylan's explanation was vivid and engaging, using relatable analogies to make the complex principles of magic easy to understand, giving Cedric, Draco, and Harry a comprehensive and clear understanding of Occlumency.

That's why they all agreed with Dylan's last question, nodding and saying with a touch of emotion, "It is indeed quite demanding. It's really too difficult to clear your mind or even create an illusion."

“Right?” Dylan said with a smile. “After all, it’s not wartime now. We don’t need to infiltrate enemy territory like spies to gather intelligence, nor do we need to be constantly on guard against others reading our core secrets.”

He changed the subject, his tone becoming gentler: "Harry just mentioned that Occlumency has many effects. Besides resisting Legilimency, it can also resist some mental magic and Stunning Curses. Since our main purpose in learning this spell is to protect ourselves in the third project, focusing on the core effect of 'protection,' we can actually lower the difficulty of learning it appropriately. We don't need to pursue a master level; achieving a basic defensive effect is enough."

Recently, Harry has been burying himself in the library researching various materials about "Occlumency" according to the reading list given by Dylan. From ancient magical books to modern wizards' research notes, he has read all the relevant documents he could find. However, the more he learns, the more Harry realizes that truly mastering Occlumency is far more difficult than he initially imagined. It not only requires extremely strong mental control, but also demands that the caster be able to accurately separate their own emotions. This test of character has repeatedly frustrated him.

These days, he has nightmares almost every night. In his dreams, he is seduced by Voldemort's voice, step by step walking into the abyss of error, watching his friends and elders—Ron, Hermione, Cedric, Dumbledore, and Sirius—disappear before his eyes, turning into nothingness.

Every time Harry woke up from a nightmare, he would be covered in cold sweat and his heart would pound. Although he knew it was just a nightmare, the fear in his heart would not go away: if he could not master Occlumency as soon as possible and resist Voldemort's mental invasion, the tragedy in his nightmare might really happen.

Therefore, when Harry heard Dylan say that the difficulty of learning Occlumency could be reduced, his eyes lit up with surprise. His previous fatigue and anxiety seemed to vanish instantly. He eagerly asked, "The difficulty of learning Occlumency can be reduced? Does that mean we can master this magic faster?" For him, learning Occlumency a day sooner meant more security and less risk for those around him.

“If you’re only using Occlumency to protect yourself from basic mental interference and Legilimency, then it’s true that you can reduce the learning difficulty,” Dylan explained patiently, his tone still gentle but full of certainty. “As I mentioned earlier, skilled Occlumency practitioners not only ‘empty’ their own ‘mind room’ but also fill it with entirely new ‘furnishings’ to mislead wizards who use Legilimency. We can use this core logic to deduce a learning method that is more suitable for beginners, although this method will be relatively unconventional and different from traditional practice methods.”

"A reverse learning method?" Draco's eyes lit up at the question, as if he had thought of a key clue. He leaned forward instinctively and said with a hint of excitement, "I understand! It's not just about placing new 'furnishings' to fill the 'mind room'! There are other things that can be used to fill it! For example... the ultimate pursuit of 'honor,' the defense of family honor! Fill this 'room' with firm beliefs and strong emotions, so that intruders can only see these amplified emotions and beliefs, and can't touch our true core ideas at all!"

As the heir to the Malfoy family, "honor" and "dignity" were deeply ingrained in Draco's bones. He instantly grasped the profound meaning in Dylan's words. This way of filling his mind with conviction seemed particularly fitting for him.

Dylan nodded and continued, “You’re right, Draco. It’s like the Illumination Charm, isn’t it? When darkness envelops a room, we don’t need to work hard to clear it away; we just need to light a lamp, and the light will naturally dispel the darkness. Similarly, we don’t need to forcibly clear our minds—that’s too difficult for beginners. Instead, we can use a strong and pure belief or emotion as ‘light’ to fill the entire ‘mind room.’”

He further explained, “This belief or emotion must be strong and pure enough to overshadow your other thoughts and feelings. For example, Harry’s dedication to protecting his friends, Cedric’s commitment to fair play, and Draco’s defense of family honor. When you amplify this core belief to the extreme and fill your mind, even if Legilimency tries to invade, it can only sense this strong belief and cannot penetrate it to read other information. This achieves a basic defensive effect.”

Cedric said thoughtfully, "I understand! This method is equivalent to building a defense in an active and proactive way, rather than passively emptying yourself. In this way, not only is the difficulty reduced, but the practice is also more focused, after all, everyone has their own most cherished and firm beliefs."

A relieved smile appeared on Harry's face, and the huge weight in his heart finally lifted a little. He thought of his protection of Sirius and his promise to his friends. This belief was strong and pure enough. If he could really practice Occlumency based on this belief, perhaps he could master this magic as soon as possible and resist Voldemort's mental interference.

“That’s right,” Dylan said with a smile. “Traditional Occlumency requires ‘emptiness,’ while our simplified method requires ‘fullness’—filling the mind with the strongest beliefs to form an unbreakable barrier. Although this method cannot achieve the master-level misleading effect, it is more than enough for self-protection and resisting the mental interference that may be encountered in the third project. Next, we can try to start basic exercises with our strongest beliefs as the core.”

Hearing this, the three of them were filled with anticipation. The high-level magic that had seemed so far away now seemed within reach, and their worries about the upcoming third project were also greatly reduced. They had all found their own beliefs and were ready to use this as a starting point to begin their journey of practicing Occlumency.

“Of course!” Draco’s face also broke into a smile. He crossed his arms, raised his chin slightly, looked at Harry and raised an eyebrow, his tone tinged with smugness. “What can fill the ‘Mind Room’ is never just new ‘furnishings’. Just like the light brought by the Illumination Charm, it can also fill a dark room to the brim, leaving no hidden corner undiscovered.”

“It should be called unwavering belief and pure emotion!” Harry immediately realized the key point, looking back at Draco with a defiant glare, his eyes filled with an indomitable fighting spirit. “Since we can fill our minds with belief and emotion as ‘light,’ doesn’t that mean… we can use the principles of the Patronus Charm to assist in learning Occlumency?”

The Patronus Charm requires the happiest memories and positive emotions to be summoned, which coincides with Dylan's statement about "filling your mind with positive emotions," a discovery that thrilled Harry.

“That’s right!” Dylan snapped his fingers. “Combining Draco’s ‘filling with light’ and Harry’s ‘emotional core,’ we can outline the core trick of this simplified version of Occlumency—filling the ‘mind room’ with positive, pleasant emotions and firm beliefs. This is the foundation of the method; and the specific practical path requires a deep integration with the principles of the Patronus Charm.”

He further explained: "Brain lock constructed in this way will have most of the core characteristics of traditional brain lock. We all know that the Guardian Charm is the embodiment of the most beautiful and positive emotions in our hearts. It is not a magic that is temporarily summoned, but exists in our bodies all the time. As long as the emotions are strong enough, it can continuously provide us with protection."

"This is precisely the key characteristic of Occlumency!" (End of Chapter)