Defended Mind

**Catlyn Ollivander**

The soft light still pierces into my eyes, even with them closed. In, out. In, out. I order my lungs to stay as steady as a soldier's march as my barely beating heart falls in line. The tickle of my dark blue sweater. The tight hug of pale jeans. I block it all out, preventing Dr. Ballester from getting even the tiniest foothold in my mind.

Dr. Ballester bangs on the front gates of my head as my thoughts scatter to the wind. Gabbing the thoughts, the memories, the ideas, everything, I coral them and shut them in my unconscious. The thought of using Mana to protect my mind escapes before I can stop it. He's in. Like the grounds of a mansion, my mindscape stands vast and wide.

He's searching. Running up and down the halls, through rooms, and around the gardens in search. Doing some searching of my own; it's only a matter of time before we meet. That's just what I'm counting on. Typically, I stand guard in protection. It's about time that I do some offensive defence. Keeping my plan hidden, I pass through doors and rooms barren of furniture. Stepping into an empty bedroom, I can feel a grin escape my lips as I see him on the terrace, looking out at the grand maze of a palace. Got you.

Letting the grand facade fall around us, I ensnare him in place. As iron walls fall around him, he tries to knock me out of concentration. Now cut off, trapped in the edges of my mind, I set my plan into place. Drawing from my soul, I split my attention between keeping him in place and deciphering his attack. As I study it, the trail back to his mind becomes more apparent.

Following the trail, I grab hold of it like a string and pull myself into its origin; his mind. Not wanting to actually hurt Dr. Ballester, I merely give him a quick sharp jab. The mental battlefield falls as he feels the effect of my retaliation. Leaving the trance, I gasp for air while we both take a second to recover.

"You never stop surprising me. Backtracing without any guidance," Dr. Ballester manages while sitting back up in his desk chair.

'Is that what I just did, a Backtrace?' I ask from my seat on his couch.

"Indeed, it's a Method combining Occlumency and Legilimency to trace a Legilimency attack back to the attacker and dive into their mind. Because we haven't done any Legilimency training yet, you were only able to do the first portion," his sleepy, slow voice explains. As I take a moment to process the information, Dr. Ballester checks his watch. "I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today."

Pushing up from our seats, we make our way out of his office and back into the wand workshop. "You have a decent grasp on the basics of Occlumency."

I remind him to grab the briefcase as we leave the workshop. "Oh, thank you, Catlyn. Of course, we'll still occasionally practise some Occlumency, but our lessons will move to the topic of Legilimency."

Clouds dress in hues of grey as they threaten to bring more showers down on us. The air carries some water, bringing a slight chill to the summer day. Digging a mask out of my pocket, I put it on before we entered the shopfront.

"Afternoon AC, Dr. B," A smooth Irish voice greets from behind the desk he knows not to sit behind. His black hair sits neatly under a flat grey cap, and deep blue eyes grin from behind square brown glasses.

*Hello SMF,* I sign to him using the nickname I only call him in private; suave motherfucker. He shoots me a sly grin as I crouch down to Maxi, curled up next to the desk.

"Oh, afternoon Zach. You helping around the store today?" Dr. Ballester greets back, flashing a warm grin. In the beginning, Dr. Ballester was worried about whether my unique constitution and medical ailments could be affected by prolonged training in Occlumency and Legilimency. We asked Zach about it, and he explained how my magical disorders interact with my brain so they could figure out if they could.

"Only at the moment. Catlyn and I were planning on hanging out after her lesson with you. I had the bright idea to swing by early, and what does Mr. Ollivander do? Bloody asks me to watch over the place while he pops out of an errand." Zach's colourful language earns a laugh from Ballester.

"Have fun," Dr. Ballester says with a snicker still on his lips.

As Dr. Ballester leaves, I just manage to catch up with him and grab his wrist. Getting his attention, he turns back to me with a sleepy grin. "What is it?"

'I know Legilimency allows the user to take information from people's minds, but is there any way that one could send people information using it?' Slight desperation leaks through my eyes.

Dr. Ballester gives a knowing look. "You're talking about telepathy. It is a technique used by highly skilled Legilimens, but not often. I myself have only used the technique to see if I could and haven't since. I don't recall its concentration or Mana requirements needed, so I don't know if it could be used to substitute your voice." His face grows even softer as the information reaches my face. "I'll tell you what. I'll research the topic, and we'll look into it next lesson."

Nodding, I let him go. The chime of the shopkeeper's bell signals his exit as I turn to Zach, the idea of telepathy swirling in the back of my head. "Why did Father put you in charge of running the store when you can't do a wand fitting and don't know where anything is?"

"One," Zach begins, his quick wit showing, "no one could find anything in your sorry excuse of an organisational system. Two, I can do a mean wand cleaning."

A soundless chuckle escapes my lips. 'it's not a bad organisational system if there's no system in the first place.'

Zach smiles back. "I can't argue with that."

'Did you bring the things?' I ask, my face turning flat.

Responding, Zach holds up a black bag of medical supplies and points to a crate filled with food. "Yep. Who are they for?"

'A friend.'