Please don't read my mind. on Defense Against the Dark Arts

Professor Levy

August 03, 2013 12:06 PM

Advanced Level (6th-7th Years): Lesson II by Professor Levy

“Good afternoon, class,” Erika stated, as the students filed into the classroom. She often gave the younger years a chance to settle down before beginning. However, the advanced class did not offer as much opportunity. She was under the firm belief that at this level of coursework, they should be prepared and ready to go, especially in this class. Advanced Defense against the Dark Arts required nothing less than the best one had to offer. And though, it was perhaps, not a reality quite yet, many of her students would probably go off to careers where more than just being fired from a job was at stake - the possibility of injury and death, whether it was theirs or someone else’s was real. It was an immense duty that fell on her shoulders to prepare them and try she would to prepare them.

Sitting tall on her desk, she brushed her dark hair out of her face. “Last year, we had a couple of weeks study on mindsets – positive and negative.” The timing was perfect, because her Intermediates were currently on this particular lesson. “At the time, many of you were probably a bit confused and wondering how this would actually ever impact your lives. Today’s lesson might help make a bit more sense of it. We are going to begin our study of legilimency and occlumency.” Erika gave the words a moment to sink in and her lips quirked at one corner for those who showed obvious understanding.

“Legilimency can loosely be referred to as ‘mind-reading,’ however, this is considered an insult to anyone, Legilimens, who practice the art. The mind is very complicated. To even attempt to navigate it can be quite trying and once anything is found, it can be interpreted incorrectly. Added on to this, any number of things can go wrong during the process and can do damage to either person.” The entire idea sounded quite frightening, but hopefully, the next part was a bit of a reassurance, if not somewhat disappointing. “Of course, only a small number of wizards and witches are even able to branch into this type of magic.”

“Unfortunately, we have to be aware of the ones that can. This is where Occlumency comes in to play. Occlumency is the practice of blocking the mind against such attacks. If we look back onto positive and negative mindsets, we can now get a better understanding of how they come into play. Both mindsets can be attacked, but a negative mindset is easier than a positive, because everything that can be used against the victim is lying on the surface just waiting to be used. While we can’t control our natural mindset, we can know it, accept it, and then focus our control so our mind is strong. A strong mind is harder to penetrate.”

Pausing she gave the students a chance to catch up in their notes, before continuing on, “With the practice of Occlumency, we can strengthen our minds and make them less vulnerable. An Occlumens, who is particularly accomplished, can even provide false information. This is why to a Legilimens interpretation is particularly important. All right, that said, many of you may be wondering how can you tell if someone is practicing Occlumency on you?” She knew this was the scary part. “It may not be noticeable at all if the Legilimens is of a high enough skill. Otherwise, one may feel the penetration in many forms. There may be slight pain or having memories brought up that you don’t want to think about to even just the feeling of something intrusive.”

Clapping her hands to break up the intensive talk, Erika said, “All right. Let’s break up into groups of two. There is a pile of cards on each desk. Using these cards, I want one person to try Legilimency on the other person and the other person to try Occlumency. The person using Occlumency should attempt to empty their mind, concentrating solely on one of the cards without showing the card. The person using Legilimency will try to figure out what the card is. After three cards, switch. Most of you may not accomplish much in terms of Legilimency, but just practicing the Occlumency will help strengthen your mind. If any of you feel that you have managed Legilimency, please let me know and if you wish, we can talk about further lessons. Okay, begin!”

OOC: Standard posting rules apply (grammar, 200 word minimum, etc.) The more detailed and creative the post, the more points earned. More information on positive and negative mindsets can be read in the Intermediate Lesson. Happy posting!

Subthreads:

Please don't read my mind. by Brianna Japos, Crotalus with Maximilian J. McLachlan - Aladren, Brianna, Josh McLachlan

Oh please tell me I don't have to... by Addison Thornton, Teppenpaw with Josephine Owen, Addi

0 Professor Levy Advanced Level (6th-7th Years): Lesson II 0 Professor Levy 1 5

Brianna Japos, Crotalus

August 05, 2013 6:02 PM

Please don't read my mind. by Brianna Japos, Crotalus

Brianna was not at all excited for this lesson. She knew it was coming because she had read ahead in the books as she did every summer, but that did not make her any more prepared than usual. This lesson terrified her. Brianna had so many things running through her head at all times, so many terrible memories that she never wanted to share with another living soul that the idea that someone could just so easily penetrate her thoughts using this skill made her physically ill. She did not want to work on this. She certainly didn’t want to partner up with another classmate who may end up having the capabilities of gaining access to her thoughts. There were things no one needed to know. Things that were meant to remain private. What right did they have to try and take them from her?

She knew that she could use Occulmency to protect herself, but there was no guarantee that she was strong enough to fend off someone with greater power or even be aware that someone was hacking into her mind. It wasn’t fair that such magic existed. There were some things that deserved to be left alone. She could understand if an Auror needed to use this magic, but anyone else? No. Only the wicked would need it.

Still, what choice did she have? Brianna sank as low as she could in her seat, dreading the lesson, but still taking notes because she needed to. She understood why these spells were important. If she wanted to become a lawyer, she might even have to become proficient in it to be able to distinguish the good from the bad. Of course, these things could be manipulated, so it really wasn’t necessarily a means to an end, but she still didn’t like the idea that someone could pop into her head and view her own memories without her consent. She probably wouldn’t even be very good at either ability due to her negative mindset.

Ever since that lesson, Brianna often wondered if her life had been different, if she still would have had a negative mindset. Did the experiences she faced and the environment she had grown up in play a factor in how she perceived the situations around her? In which case, maybe she wasn’t permanently set with a negative mind. Maybe, after she was finally out of the Condominium building and creating her own path to life achievement, her mindset will flop and she’ll become positive? This was something that gave her hope. Brianna was always hopeful to things in life, but she was also realistic to things too. Maybe that was the negative part of her. As hopeful as she liked to be, there was that part of her that reminded her that things like a happy ending rarely happened for a girl like her.

She couldn’t think like that though. At least not now when she had to practice this with another person. Taking a deep breath, Brianna tried to think positively. She needed to. Feeling somewhat better, she pondered who to ask to be her partner. There was so few people she t rusted, but she couldn’t always rely on them to be her partner. Finding a neighbor without a partner, Brianna gave an uncertain grin, “Would you mind working with me?”

6 Brianna Japos, Crotalus Please don't read my mind. 0 Brianna Japos, Crotalus 0 5

Maximilian J. McLachlan - Aladren

August 05, 2013 11:22 PM

I'd like to get better at it. by Maximilian J. McLachlan - Aladren

These lessons were the reasons why Josh had chosen to continue studying all of the basic subjects available. Though DADA was not one of his favorite classes, he loved learning new information about spells he hadn't tried himself before. The subject of Occlumency and Legilimency was one Josh had studied and researched before on his own. He had been practicing Occlumency since he was a fifth-year and had done very well under the pressures of his household. Many of his relatives were Legilimens who enjoyed practicing on the orphan when they visited just to see what they could get out of him and, though he hadn't succeeded in creating false memories yet, he had succeeded in blocking them completely by the end of his fifth year. He had not, however, attempted Legilimency because there wasn't anyone to try it on except for his younger cousin whom he had lived with until recently. However, he had preferred to avoid her than attempt to use magic on her without her knowledge.

Josh took down meticulous notes in order to keep his thoughts in order. He was excited with the prospect of trying Legilimency. It was something he had only read about before and now it could be a new goal to achieve: to be a Legilimens. He would have no trouble with people attempting to read his mind; he was confident in his Occlumency skills that had been built up over the years and tested by his nosy relatives.

As a Legilimens, however, interpreting other peoples' thoughts would be a little difficult. He had been so tainted before it was difficult to interpret other peoples' experiences objectively, but he had to try. He had tried with Brianna and they were friends, but he had never tried to penetrate her mind. It was a little nerve-wracking, but maybe it would be a good experience for them before he went away completely. He wasn't planning to disappear from her life completely anymore, but he wasn't going to be around as much as he was now. They had to take advantage of this time.

From the standpoint of the one practicing occlumency, he could see why a person could be afraid of working with strangers. If your mind wasn't strong enough, people could easily sift through memories without permission and you would be helpless. Josh didn't want to make Brianna go through that and he was protective of her. When he wasn't here, he wanted Linus to take care of Brianna the same way.

Once they were finished, Josh looked for Brianna and immediately made his way to her. It looked like she was in the middle of asking someone else, but he didn't want her to force herself into a compromising situation. The last word had hardly left her mouth before he was right in front of her asking, "Can we work together?" He was being selfish, he knew that, but ever since he had opened that gift from her he didn't ever want to leave her side. A gift like that cost a pretty penny and it showed him that she considered them close friends as he did. "Close friends" didn't even seem to be good enough for their platonic relationship, but either way he wanted to show he felt the same way by being there for her before he graduated.

0 Maximilian J. McLachlan - Aladren I'd like to get better at it. 0 Maximilian J. McLachlan - Aladren 0 5

Addison Thornton, Teppenpaw

August 06, 2013 12:21 PM

Oh please tell me I don't have to... by Addison Thornton, Teppenpaw

The amount of studying and reading that Addison had been doing to study for her RAT’s exams had been intense. She not only had started re-reading all of her old notes, but she’d re-read all of her books from the younger years to boot. At the beginning of Midterm, she’d gotten finished with all of the things up to 7th year, so now she was focused on reading ahead in all of her classes so that she knew not only what was coming, but also had time to study it too. Defense Against the Dark Arts wasn’t left out. She’d indeed read ahead to see where they would be going in the next few classes and she’d moaned when she found out what they’d be doing. The next few days till the class Addi was dragging both in time and in mood. She was slow and more worried than she’d been lately. The last thing she wanted was someone getting into her mind in any way!

But even as much as she was dragging, DADA class still happened, and Professor Levy didn’t give them any chance to settle down before it. They were advanced, and therefore should be prepared before walking into the room. And generally, she tried to be, but this particular class Addison was hoping she’d relent and let them settle first. That was at least what she needed, for sure. She wasn’t sure if anyone else did, but she, herself did.

There wasn’t anything about the still slightly heavyset girl (though she was definitely losing weight!) that wanted to go to that class, but she had no choice. She had chosen to stay in all of her classes and not drop any so now she had to go. I can do this… I can do this… Day by day I’m getting better and better. I am somebody, the me I see is the me I’ll be… she thought, going into her whole positive affirmation that Emma had helped her make during one of her sessions with her. Professor Levy started talking about Addi pulled out her notebook and took her notes as the young woman in front of them explained their lesson to them.

Mind reading… Blocking the mind against someone trying to read your mind… she thought, moaning. There wasn’t anyone within the year groups that she even remotely trusted other than her own sister (who she KNEW wouldn’t work with her) and Josephine. She’d peeked around for both of them when Professor Levy mentioned they would be working in pairs, but couldn’t catch their attentions. It was almost like Amira was avoiding her, but that wasn’t anything new.

Amira had never liked working with Addison, Addi knew mostly why, but that didn’t mean it didn’t upset her or anything. Addi was sensitive and Mira knew that, but that didn’t mean it would be something the younger sister could deal with. Amira had never been the type to be caring like that and as much as Addi understood, she wished it was a different way altogether.

She heard Brianna nearby ask someone if they would mind working with her and Addi almost jumped at the chance, but she realized that Brianna had been talking to Josh. With a sigh, Addison looked around again, wondering if anyone would be her partner. I just have to ask someone, that’s all, just like Brianna did. I have to just come out and ask someone… she looked around, wondering if Michael was there, or Josephine, either could be nice to work with too… Finally she just walked up to someone nearby and said, “Hey, wanna work with me?” she asked, holding her breath for the answer. What if they say no? she thought as she waited with bated breath.

0 Addison Thornton, Teppenpaw Oh please tell me I don't have to... 0 Addison Thornton, Teppenpaw 0 5

Brianna

August 07, 2013 10:03 PM

I'd like to keep them to myself. by Brianna

Brianna had been looking apprehensively to the person that she asked when a full body appeared before her, blocking her view from them. Her brown eyes glanced up and she found herself looking into the face of Josh. She had thought he was on the other side of the room, which was why she had been asking the person nearest to her, so seeing him in front of her had thrown her off. “Oh…okay.” She said hesitantly, grabbing her crutch to try and stand. “I’m sorry, I’ll be working with my friend.” Brianna said to the person she had originally asked, feeling bad now for asking in the first place.

Brianna turned to find a space for her and Josh to work in. She couldn’t say she wasn’t happy to work with him because that would be a lie. Josh would always be the first person she would choose to work with. That wasn’t to say anything less about Valerie or Linus, but she just trusted Josh. He helped her through her CATS and she felt comfortable with him. They seemed to have a flow about them that worked. She also didn’t know how well Linus would react if she did something incorrectly the first time. He seemed to not enjoy flaws in people or had little patience. He never actually said or did anything to her to suggest that, but she had seen the inflexions of his face whenever she did or said something he didn’t particularly like. She thought working with him would only make it worse. As for Valerie, sometimes Brianna was afraid of hurting her physically with some of the things they had to do, which meant that she’d be too nervous to really try the spell they were working on and that could affect her grade.

Josh though, didn’t say or do much whenever it came to things that displeased him. Most of the time, he just seemed amused or unaffected by it all. She could mess up or go all out without worry that he’ll get upset or injured. It was terrible of her, she knew, but that was how she felt.

Plus, with a lesson like this, Brianna knew he’d keep everything that he saw to himself. There were so many memories that Brianna wanted to keep hidden. She didn’t want anyone to know the sort of torments the kids put her through; she didn’t want anyone to see that terrible day when they had assaulted her and thrown her down the stairs, or when the girls retaliated against her. She didn’t want anyone to be a part of the private conversations she had with her parents when she was feeling her lowest, or the meltdowns she had. She didn’t want them to know her happy memories; she didn’t want those memories with anyone else. They were hers. Only hers.

But at least Josh would never share them if he did see them. She had faith in that.

“Thank you for working with me.” Brianna said when she found a spot for them to work together. “I’m sure you’re an expert in this already, so try not to read my brain too much. I know I’m not going to have enough reserves in me to keep you out for long.”

6 Brianna I'd like to keep them to myself. 0 Brianna 0 5

Josh McLachlan

August 12, 2013 6:22 PM

You can trust me. by Josh McLachlan

Brianna agreed to work with him and Josh immediately looked for a place for them to work. Brianna led the way and he sat down across from her at the table. The pile of cards was there as Professor Levy had said and Josh passed one to her without looking at it and took one for himself. Occlumency was a skill that came in handy more often than not especially with how untrustworthy people were. He and Brianna both came into contact with more untrustworthy people than others, it seemed, so being an Occlumens would benefit her greatly.

As for Josh's practice with legilemency, he wasn't very confident yet. He was confident in his ability to learn how to penetrate someone's mind, but he wasn't sure if his interpretations would do it justice. He had always had a hard time giving people the benefit of the doubt or reading them when they weren't trying to attack him with their wit. He had gotten much better since his fourth-year, but not by much.

"You may be better than you think," Josh replied encouragingly. When he went into learning with a confident mindset, he found he learned much faster than when he doubted himself. He should be doing that now with Legilimency and Brianna with Occlumency. Of course, it was much easier said than done. "If you don't mind, then, would you like to practice Occlumency first or Legilimency?" Occlumens seemed to be the easier route in this lesson and since Josh was already learned in Occlumency, though he hadn't mastered it, it might be better for her to start with the former. But he would let her choose.

As she decided, he looked down at his card and looked back at her. Three cards would take a little while to get through for beginners. He didn't want to be intrusive at all and go through Brianna's memories, but he wanted to help her learn. He would just have to go along and know when to stop and when to keep pushing. This lesson was exciting and Josh was glad he was able to practice this kind of lesson with a friend.

0 Josh McLachlan You can trust me. 0 Josh McLachlan 0 5

Josephine Owen

August 15, 2013 3:28 PM

Let's stick together by Josephine Owen

Josephine had been dreading the classes associated with mind magic, and she had guessed they would be coming up as they'd been reading about positive and negative mental attitudes. For most of her life, Josephine had been a very negative person. She had been fairly successful of late in turning that around, but she couldn't deny that there were times that her mind pulled her back into old habits. Sure, it was easier to accept a positive outlook now she was no longer overweight, had a collection of friends, had been invited to some mention-worthy parties and was at the top of the metaphorical student pile, ready to take her final exams in just a few months, but there were factors that did their best to draw her back under at every given opportunity.

In preparation, Josephine had actually already read ahead - that much was a given, as she read ahead in the majority of her classes - and had donated extra study time to learning about Occlumency, and had even tried to practice it herself (though it was difficult to tell whether she was successful). She was thankful of the extra rehearsal time, as it transpired they were expected to actually attempt these spells on each other during their first class on the topic. Josephine tried not to panic; she rarely had any issues mastering spells, and she wasn't naive enough to think that anyone who didn't count her as a friend ever thought enough about her to truly dislike her, so she had no enemies here. It didn't matter if one of her classmates accidentally uncovered some embarrassing or belittling truth about her... right?

All the same, perhaps she'd better find someone she trusted to work with. Josephine avoided looking at anyone in case she caught the wrong person's eye and ended up agreeing to partner some random student, and deftly shimmied her way round the desks and coupling students until she stepped in front of Addi, her mouth open to ask if they could be partners, when Addi beat her to it. Josephine grinned. "Merlin, yes," she said, laughing a little in relief as she pulled up a spare seat to Addi's desk. "I'm being weirdly paranoid and don't want just anyone poking around up here," she said, tapping the side of her head.

Having made herself comfortable, Josephine eyed the cards that were on the desk. "Okay," she said to Addi, her stance and tone suggesting they were doing something far deeper than trying out a board-approved spell that probably wouldn't work for them, anyway. No wait, there was that negative mental attitude again. Positive thinking, that's what would help here. "It would be really cool if one of us actually managed to pull this off," she enthused.

0 Josephine Owen Let's stick together 196 Josephine Owen 0 5

Addi

August 16, 2013 4:55 PM

Oh please, oh please! by Addi

Addison had been dreading the answer that the other person would give her. She really would have much rather worked with Josephine than anyone, but she didn’t see her and Addi’s heart fell. She really couldn’t do this type of class with just anyone, but she knew now that she wouldn’t have a choice. Addi came out and just asked the question, but didn’t really see who she’d been asking.

The Teppenpaw had been holding her breath and looking down, but when she looked up she saw that Josephine was standing before her and saying yes. Addison smiled the biggest smile yet, she may not have been able to find her best friend, but her best friend found her and now they would be working together and all was well! “You too?!” Addi whispered to Josie’s comment about being paranoid. “I didn’t want anyone else in there other than you or Amira and we all know that’s not going to happen…” she added in a whispered tone into her best friend’s ear.

Josephine made herself comfortable and Addi sat back down in her seat and the pair of them looked at the cards on the desk in front of them. Addi bit at her left thumb nail nervously as Josephine mentioned that it would be cool if one of them managed to pull it off. “It would be… but I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you…” she said softly. She knew she was being negative, but to change to be positive all the time was a journey and not something that could be done overnight or anything of the like.

What if I can’t? What if… she thought, trying to shake her negative mindset, at least for this lesson. She’d been working on it steadily, but something like this just didn’t seem like it could be positive. Not to her, as much as she wished it would, she just couldn’t see it happening…

0 Addi Oh please, oh please! 0 Addi 0 5

Brianna

August 16, 2013 11:39 PM

I do trust you, but they are personal. by Brianna

Brianna understood and appreciated Josh trying to cheer her up and knew that he was doing what he could to encourage her. But, she also knew herself. Defense happened just before lunch and Brianna’s mornings were sometimes exhausting. It always depending on how much sleep she received or how intense Potions was that morning. Since it was advance lessons, Potions tended to be intense. Even a year and a half later, Brianna still needed rest from time to time. Her back would ache or sometimes her head and she had trouble concentrating. Those were on bad days and they were usually rare. Today, so far, wasn’t a terrible day. She was not in agonizing pain or anything like that, but she was tired and her concentration wasn’t the best. The whole point of this lesson was to use all of her energy on keeping someone out of her mind while simultaneously trying to get them to read the numbers from the cards through her mind. It was all too much for her. She might be able to do one, but not both.

“I’m pretty sure I know my limitations.” Brianna commented matter-of-factly. She did not say it with hostility or any sort of negativity. It was simply the truth. As confident as she could claim to be, her body was not in the top of shape and it affected her mind equally. “I’ll prefer to do Occlumency.” Brianna said even though that was only the half-truth. She had figured that if she could at least learn to protect her private thoughts from outside forces that would be good enough for her. Maybe someday she would get the hang of both, but she would hope to never have to use either.

“I don’t think I can handle keeping you out and showing you a card through my mind at the same time, so, instead of starting with all three, I’ll just focus on one card for the time being.” Brianna advised him. She thought that she had enough strength and confidence to focus and keep focus on one card. As they practiced and she became comfortable, they could increase the amount of cards. She wasn’t sure if that would ever happened, but it gave her some hope of getting better.

Brianna chose a card from the deck and stared at it for a long moment. It was a tiger cat. Orange with white stripes, long hair, green eyes, and absolutely adorable. If she could have a cat, she might have wanted this one. She hadn’t realized it, but the picture on the card had made her smile. Shaking herself out of it, Brianna took a breath and did her best to clear her mind and think only of that cat. Just that cat. “Okay, I’m ready.” She declared, again with only the half-truth.

6 Brianna I do trust you, but they are personal. 0 Brianna 0 5

Josephine

August 21, 2013 2:56 PM

Sticking together. by Josephine

"Positive mental attitude," Josephine chastised Addi for not believing they could do the spells. Admittedly, she had reason to be doubtful on this occasion, but if the spells were in the curriculum then they were obviously possible for witches of their age and expertise, then there was no reason to suspect that the girls couldn't master them with a little effort... or, okay, a lot of effort, and a very positive attitude. "I really think we've got a shot," Josephine said, as much trying to convince herself as her partner.

"So," she said with a business-like air, "which would you like to try first: Occlumency or Legilimency?" For her part, Josephine didn't really think should would mind. She picked up one of the cards off the table and turned it around in her fingers. She thought maybe she would be absolutely useless at closing her mind, partly because she hadn't really had much success in her previous practises, and partly because she was incapable of shutting off her brain. Her thoughts continued to wander, tangent and digress until her head was so full that she couldn't completely remember her original thought.

On the other hand, Josephine didn't expect to be any good at Legilimency, either. It took determination, skill, and a talent for the spell that one couldn't really develop without a pre-existing propensity. The Pecari wasn't sure she had any of those attributes. Yet, she did at least have an ounce more positivity than Addi seemed to. Hence, a moment after she'd put the question to Addi of who should do what first, Josephine added, "Can I try Legilimency first? I mean, it's okay if you'd rather I didn't," the suggestion was made with a suitable retraction if required.

0 Josephine Sticking together. 0 Josephine 0 5

Josh

August 24, 2013 1:45 AM

I'll try to be gentle. by Josh

Josh didn't say anything to Brianna's retort. If she refused the encouragement he was offering, he wasn't going to try and convince her. She knew more about herself than he ever would, he was sure, and he simply went along with it. Josh, too, rarely ever listened to any praise or harsh criticisms from others. He knew himself better than anyone else. Though people could put him down, he knew he was brilliant with magic even if people didn't always see it or care to see it. And praises from others fell onto deaf ears; he already knew he was good if he was, and if he was awful he knew that too.

Brianna chose the subject Josh had hoped she would and he nodded encouragingly. "Good, then." This would be a challenge for him and Occlumency was the easier between the two. Most of the time it was easier defending oneself than attacking. Josh knew much about defending oneself and it had made him strong.

He hadn't expected Brianna to show all three cards at the same time. He had just thought going through three cards one at a time would be enough practice before they switched roles. But he allowed her to dictate the plan and nodded again. One card was hard enough for a beginner; three would be almost impossible to do at the first try. He sat down across from her and waited for her to indicate that she was ready. He tried to imagine what it would be like, trying to penetrate her mind, and trying to interpret all that he saw. He didn't know if minds were made up of pictures and emotions or words. He had never attempted Legilimency on anyone before, but he was eager to try.

Josh knew of several masters of Legilimency in his family. Most of them were able to perform the spell non-verbally and Josh wanted to achieve that skill one day. Legilimency was tough, but it provided a challenge that Josh had been missing in some of his classes, Advanced as they were. He looked up from his thoughts when Brianna announced that she was ready and he swallowed, hoping he didn't mess up some part of her brain.

"Okay, I'm going to administer the spell now," he said and cleared his throat. He looked right into her eyes and lifted his wand. "Legilimens." Immediately he found himself in a swirl of color and emotion. He felt like he could almost feel a sort of content happiness from Brianna that was on the very surface of her mind. There were colors and Josh had to focus hard to interpret them. There was orange, white, and green. He focused harder, trying not to prod her any more than he had to, and found it taking a shape. It was an animal with four legs with some orange, white, and green. He frowned. Josh could feel himself getting tired mentally, but he fought to figure it out.

The fighting only caused him to slip into something else in Brianna's mind, a darker place that he refused to interpret. He pulled out of her mind and found sweat beaded on his forehead. "Sorry, I didn't look," he said as he tried to refocus his eyes on the present. "Wow, that was more tiring than I had expected." He wiped his wrist against his forehead. "Were you feeling happy about something? The picture maybe or some other thought?"

0 Josh I'll try to be gentle. 0 Josh 0 5

Brianna

August 25, 2013 9:33 PM

That's kind of you. by Brianna

Brianna felt a moment of fear that produced a shiver down her spine when Josh pointed his wand at her. She knew that it was part of the assignment and that he wasn’t intentionally going to hurt her, but she also knew how strong he was and how fantastic he was with his magic. He might not even realize what he was doing or how deep he could go before getting out. She knew he would get in too. She knew it. Even if she was strong enough to keep someone out, he was stronger and she would not be able to withstand him for very long.

She kept telling herself that it was better that it was Josh. She didn’t want Linus to know who she really was. She didn’t want him to know about her life at home. Brianna was aware that Linus knew some things. It was hard not too with her current situation. But he did not know everything and she did not plan on telling him. Josh already knew most of the bad, seeing visuals of it (as much as it disgusted Brianna at the idea of anyone having visuals of her past) would just solidify what she might have already told him.

Brianna tried as hard as she could to keep him out of her head. She tried to focus only on the cat and just the cat. But she was nervous and her concentration was slipping. On top of that, she could see what he was seeing. It unnerved her that she could. She didn’t realize that it would be almost like a movie in her head. Flashing of things. Mostly of the cat. But then he forged on and her energy slipped and he moved past the cat. Fear riddled her as he found the darker memories. They must have disturbed him too because as soon as he found them, he was already pulling out of it.

When it was done, Brianna felt tired. Not completely drained or anything, but tired. She did not know how a person could slip into another’s mind without being noticed. They had to be absolute experts and that was a terrifying concept for her to know. “It’s okay.” She said when he apologized for seeing something beyond the card. She knew it would happen anyway.

His question surprised her for a moment, but then she realized that he was talking about her feelings towards the cat. “The picture on the card. I like it. You probably felt my joy towards it.” Brianna stated. “Were you able to see what was on the card? I tried really hard to keep focused on it.” She commented, hoping that he figured it out. “If not, we can try again.”

OOC: If he wants to go again, go ahead and assume Brianna gave him the ready

6 Brianna That's kind of you. 0 Brianna 0 5

Josh McLachlan

August 26, 2013 6:43 PM

Success number one. by Josh McLachlan

"I could see the colors," Josh said, "but I didn't get the whole shape of it. It's some kind of animal though, isn't it?" If he got that right, it would help this second time. "I could tell you were focusing on it, but try not to let your emotions get to you. I could tell you were a little scared, or maybe it was anxious. Just clear your mind and don't let the intrusion scare you into letting go of that." Josh knew a lot about Occlumency; he was very glad he was able to help Brianna of all people learn this spell. It was a necessary skill in the real world, or at least in the worlds they lived in.

She offered to try again and he wanted to make sure she was actually okay with it. Brianna didn't seem too shaken up and Josh was glad he had pulled out of her mind when he had. He didn't want to see anything she didn't want him to see. Practicing this was really intimate stuff. He just needed to get better at interpreting what he saw. He was sure the image that Brianna was thinking of could have been clear, but he just wasn't trained to see it. "Okay, I'm going to do it again," he said, having regained his focus. He looked to make sure she was ready and after a couple seconds, he administered the spell again. "Legilimens."

It was the same eerie feeling of being in someone's mind and he tried to wave through the emotions that seemed to surround the image. The mind was complex and Josh seemed to be realizing that only now as he tried to weave through it. Brianna seemed to be concentrating pretty hard on the image since it came up quicker than the last time. He saw the four legs again and the colors and at a snap he saw the tiger before it disappeared in a wave of other stuff that Josh didn't understand. But he had seen enough. He could feel himself smiling, though he wasn't sure if it was his body that was smiling or the Josh that was inside her mind. This was fascinating.

He pulled out, now that he knew he didn't have to go any deeper, and smiled at her, pleased with both his and her progress. "Great job. You've got an orange tiger with white stripes and green eyes, right?" Professor Levy had said Legilimency was much more difficult than Occlumency and she was definitely right in that. If they weren't using cards to practice, Josh wasn't sure how he could interpret any of the things going on in Brianna's mind or anyone else's. He wanted to practice this day and night on someone to perfect it.

His goal for this class, by the end of his last year at school, was to successfully perform Legilimency on someone without them knowing. Maybe even non-verbally. Learning magic and continuing on with his academic career really made him wonder if he should have applied to universities. Maybe once he settled himself with a new identity he could forge papers, if need be, and apply to the universities next year.

"Ready to move on to the next card, or do you want to rest a bit?" The sweat on Josh's forehead had come back from the draining spell, but he was excited to try again. He wanted nothing more than to understand the human mind more now that he had a taste of it.

0 Josh McLachlan Success number one. 0 Josh McLachlan 0 5

Brianna

August 30, 2013 8:58 PM

Break from success by Brianna

“Yes, it is.” Brianna commented, feeling relieved that he had been able to pick up at least something of the cat while he had been in there. She would have felt that if her first attempt had failed in some capacity, when she was supposed to be at her strongest, than Brianna wouldn’t have thought of having much hope of being able to really master this lesson. Not that she had a lot of hope as it was since she wasn’t at the same capacity to handle these things like some others. Her skull might have healed, but her brain had not. Her Healers said there would always be pain because of the rewiring her body had done to fix itself. And with brain trauma, there was no real say what was damaged until it came around. Studying was easy, but forcing her mind to this length was draining to her and she could already feel the tight squeeze of a headache coming on. If she strained herself too much, she held a strong possibility of having another fit. She hadn’t had one in a long time and she didn’t want to have one now.

Josh seemed to be in his element though and Brianna felt bad if she let him down. She could try to follow his advice, but it was really hard to not be afraid or anxious when someone was intruding into her thoughts and memories. She didn’t want to do the lesson, so the anxiety of being forced to do it was there and she could do little to change that. But she could at least try for his benefit.

She took a breath and steadied herself for his next intrusion. Josh was excited for this lesson. She hadn’t seen him this giddy (or, at least, Josh’s version of giddy) since maybe his potions project. Or when the next volume of his favorite journal finally arrived. She really needed to try harder for him. Brianna refocused onto the cat that had made her so happy to just simply look at and free herself from any other thought.

This time went by easier and Brianna used all that she could to think only of the cat. It seemed to be a success because he was already out of her head and smiling. She smiled back at him, a little wearily but happy that he had been able to see the cat. Only, now that he had a taste of it, he wanted even more.

The headache was pounding little harder now and Brianna was a little tired. She knew she had the easier job of the two of them, but that didn’t mean that it still didn’t tire her out just as much. “I think I need a little rest.” She commented, rubbing her head absently. She reached into her bag and pulled out a small vial of pain reliever. She hardly used it anymore, but since this lesson was going to put her into that threshold, she might as well keep it at bay for the time being.

Feeling better knowing that she now had the potion in her system, Brianna looked at another card. This time, it was of a house elf. She did her best to memorize it and to keep it in her mind. This one did not produce thoughts of happiness. This time it was of sadness. She had heard some of the people in the building once call her mother the equivalent to a House Elf. They basically called her a slave. Their property. Her mother ignored it, but it hurt Brianna to hear it. Having this in her head, Brianna gave Josh the okay to try again.

6 Brianna Break from success 0 Brianna 0 5

Addi

September 04, 2013 3:44 PM

Like glue, I hope... by Addi

“Yes… I know… Positive mental attitude…” Addi repeated, trying to shake off the negative feelings that she had with this lesson. Addison was scared, and even working with Josephine didn’t mean that other people couldn’t end up in her mind after all was said and done. Addi’s mind was private, not even Emma and Josephine knew everything! There were certain things in her mind that she didn’t want anyone to know about and that was for sure!

“If you think we have a shot, I’ll try my hardest, I will, but I’m still not sure what I think about it… I mean, if other people can read into my mind… It’s just scary, you know?” she said in a whispered tone to her best friend. Thank goodness for Josie, that was for sure!

Addison was about to tell Josie that she didn’t care which she tried first, and that she was almost sure that neither would work so well for her, when Josie mentioned the fact that she’d like to try Legilimency first. “That’s fine with me… I really didn’t care which one I did first. To be honest, I’m worried, even though I’m working with you. With you, I don’t care as much, but what if other people were to try this on me? What if they saw things I don’t want anyone other than you or Emma to know?” she asked, unsure on the topic and hugely unsure of herself to boot.

0 Addi Like glue, I hope... 0 Addi 0 5