Chapter 25

[Chapter Size: 2000 Words.]

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"Occlumency?"

Upon seeing the word, Harry couldn't help but recall the unsettling sensation of having his mind read when he was under the Sorting Hat.

This week, in addition to finishing his schoolwork, Harry had spent most of his time practicing Mental Blocking and Mind Reading. He had made some progress in shielding his thoughts but had achieved no success in reading others' minds.

"Is this Occlumency? Is it similar to the technique of blocking one's heart?" thought Harry.

Harry opened the booklet and skimmed through it, quickly confirming that his assumption was correct. The booklet detailed a type of magic that could prevent external mental intrusion. What surprised him the most was that it recorded two forms of counter-magic:

Legilimency and the Imperius Curse.

Harry was familiar with the Imperius Curse, one of the three infamous Unforgivable Curses. As for soul reading. Although he had never heard of it before, the name alone gave him a clear idea. It had to be a magic similar to mind reading.

Unfortunately, while the booklet contained detailed methods for mental defense and descriptions of Occlumency techniques, the other two types of magic were only briefly mentioned, without any specific spells or incantations.

Peering into someone's memories was undoubtedly a terrible invasion of privacy. Harry felt it was even worse than theft. But, if he were being honest, he wasn't entirely sure he'd be able to resist using such an ability if he had it.

In truth, he really wanted to learn it right now.

Unfortunately, since it wasn't included in the booklet, Harry had no choice but to focus on Occlumency.

After reviewing the text a few more times, he got the impression that this mental-blocking technique was similar to his own method of guarding his emotions, but not exactly the same.

"Maybe if I study them together, I can improve my heart-blocking technique?" With that thought, Harry took the booklet with him.

The books in the Hogwarts library were divided into different categories. Some were off-limits to younger students, while others couldn't even be accessed without special permission.

The book Powerful Potions, which Harry had come across before, belonged to the first category. Students below sixth year weren't allowed to check it out without a professor's approval, though they could read it inside the library.

As for The Learning Techniques and Essentials of Occlumency, it was a common book. Madam Pince merely glanced at it, then asked Harry to sign his name before handing it over without further comment.

When Harry returned to Padma and the others with a book titled The Feats of Famous Duelists in the Middle Ages, he found Ron looking utterly drained.

Ron was struggling to write a paper on the conflicts and cooperation between witches and the Muggle Church in the Middle Ages, one of two essays for Professor Binns's notoriously dull History of Magic class that week.

The assignment had nearly fried all of Ron's brain cells, yet he had barely made progress. The professor required at least half a meter of parchment, but the scroll in front of Ron barely measured fifteen centimeters...

Both Parvati and Padma made no effort to hide their disapproval.

Clearly, Padma had had enough. She stood beside Ron, pointing out where he could refine his wording, expand his arguments, and include additional evidence.

However, judging by Ron's blank, unfazed expression, Harry knew that at least half of Padma's advice was going in one ear and out the other.

When Harry returned, Padma stopped her lecture and took her seat.

They were sitting on opposite sides of a long table that could accommodate six people. Harry naturally sat next to Ron, while Padma sat across from him. The table wasn't very wide, so if they leaned slightly forward, they could easily discuss their work.

"Did you find it?" Padma asked as she watched Harry sit down.

Harry clutched the book in his hands and chuckled.

Padma lowered her voice and began guiding Harry through his research, explaining which sections he could copy verbatim, which parts he needed to summarize, and where he should add his own thoughts.

Her tone was entirely different from when she had been instructing Ron. This time, she spoke slowly, gently, and patiently. However, Harry's ability to absorb information wasn't much better than his best friend's at the moment.

Not because his brain couldn't process it or because he lacked time to absorb the material, but because he and Padma were sitting quite close, and the soft, floral scent of her perfume kept drifting into his nose.

Harry and his friends had arrived early, so the library was nearly empty at first. After all, waking up early on weekends required a level of determination that not even Gryffindors always possessed.

For example, take this newcomer.

Lavender Brown, dressed in a yellow floral dress, practically floated into the library like an energetic little magpie. She made her way to Harry's table.

The six-person table still had an open seat beside Parvati. However, instead of simply sitting down, Lavender suddenly leaned over and whispered in Parvati's ear:

"I was wondering why you got up so early on a weekend. Turns out you're studying with.., hmm, classmates? Hmph, and you didn't even call me."

After saying this, she playfully pecked Parvati on the cheek, like a chick pecking at rice.

Parvati's beautiful face immediately turned red, and she gently pushed Lavender away. "Stop that!"

Harry and Padma were both stunned. Two gorgeous girls kissing? That's exciting?

Ron, however, remained oblivious. He was locked in a second round of mortal combat with his essay, currently losing, and had no attention to spare for anything else.

Lavender, realizing she might have gone a bit too far, blushed slightly. She quickly hung her small purse on the back of her chair, sat down, and greeted the others.

"Hey, Ron. Hi, Harry. Hi, Padma."

"Hey, Lavender," Padma replied expressionlessly, still shaken by her sister's unexpected kiss.

Harry smiled and greeted her as well.

As for Ron, he had only just realized that someone had arrived. He looked at Lavender, who was staring at him blankly. Maybe he was reminded of the embarrassment from the Sorting Ceremony, as his face turned slightly red. "Uh... h-hi..."

"Silence!"

Perhaps due to his confusion, Ron's voice had risen slightly, prompting Madame Pince's sharp reprimand to echo through their ears.

She had clearly used some kind of magic, because while Harry and his friends were startled, the other students nearby seemed completely unaffected.

The five of them quickly lowered their heads and obediently resumed their homework.

That morning, with Padma's help, Harry and his friends finally managed to complete all their assignments for the week. At least this way, we can enjoy a carefree weekend on Saturday afternoon, evening, and all of Sunday.

For that, both Harry and Ron expressed their gratitude to Padma.

Without her help, Harry estimated that he wouldn't have finished until at least that night. As for Ron, unless he was prepared to stay up late battling his essay, he'd probably have to sacrifice half of his Sunday morning to get it done.

The five of them headed to the Great Hall for lunch, and on the way, they came across two Hufflepuff boys leaving the library as well.

One of them, a curly-haired boy, suddenly stepped in front of Harry.

Harry frowned slightly. He recognized the boy, Justin Finch-Fletchley. During the Sorting Ceremony, Justin had openly questioned Harry's reputation and background.

At one point, Harry had considered pulling a prank on him in retaliation, but after discovering that Justin was also from a Muggle family, he abandoned the idea. After all, Muggle-born students wouldn't have known about the wizarding world's history until shortly before arriving at Hogwarts. It wasn't surprising that they had their own misconceptions.

Not everyone can be like Hermione, reading dozens of books about magic before even starting school.

If Justin were on Hermione's level, he probably wouldn't be in Hufflepuff.

Harry had no intention of picking a fight with Justin, but he also hadn't expected the other boy to block his path. If he starts talking nonsense again, Harry thought, "I'll give him a lesson with my fists, just like I did with Draco on the train."

To his surprise, Justin stepped forward and gave a deep, formal bow.

"Harry, I'm here to apologize," he said seriously.

Harry blinked in confusion.

Justin continued earnestly, "I regret doubting your courage just because of your reputation. We all saw what happened in Potions class. You're the real deal!" He then gave Harry a big thumbs-up.

The boy next to him, Ernie Macmillan, also smiled and gave Harry a thumbs-up.

A question mark seemed to float above Harry's head.

This situation is playing out completely differently than expected!

However, this at least confirmed one thing, Snape was equally hostile to first-years from other houses, including Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Otherwise, these two wouldn't have reacted like this.

Despite his surprise, Harry quickly responded politely, assuring them that there was no need to dwell on it.

Children could be easily annoyed over trivial matters, but they could also make friends just as quickly.

With their shared dislike for Snape, Harry and Ron found themselves befriending Justin and Ernie. The five became seven, and together, they headed for lunch.

Although Hogwarts students could technically sit anywhere in the Great Hall except during special banquets, in practice, most stuck to their house tables. That was the case now.

Even though they had become friends, Justin and Ernie returned to the Hufflepuff table, and Padma was about to return to the Ravenclaw table. Before leaving, she patted Harry on the shoulder.

"Harry, I spent all morning helping you review your work. How do you plan to thank me?" She batted her big eyes at him playfully.

"Hmm..." Harry thought for a moment. "How about I get you some Honeydukes sweets?"

"Really?" Padma had only been teasing, but she hadn't expected Harry to take her seriously. Honeydukes was a famous candy shop in Hogsmeade, the wizarding village near Hogwarts.

Hogwarts students were allowed to visit Hogsmeade, but only from third year onwards.

Thinking of this, Padma hesitated. "But first-years aren't allowed to go to Hogsmeade."

"That's not a problem at all," Harry said with a grin. I may not be able to go, but the Weasley twins can. Given his friendship with Fred and George, asking them to bring back some sweets wouldn't be an issue.

"Then it's settled!" Padma beamed happily before returning to the Ravenclaw table.

As Harry watched her leave, he suddenly heard Parvati teasing beside him.

"Harry, Padma's getting a treat, but what about Lavender and me? Don't forget, I was the one who introduced you to Padma in the first place!"

"Yes, yes, of course." Harry nodded repeatedly. He was rich, this little expense was nothing to him.

"Hehe!" Parvati giggled proudly.

"By the way," Lavender suddenly said, "I heard the Gryffindor Quidditch team is holding tryouts for new players this afternoon. Want to go watch?"

"Tryouts? Can we participate?" Harry asked curiously. He had recently studied Quidditch a bit and now had a better understanding of the sport. At first, he had thought, "What's the point of playing basketball in the air while riding broomsticks?"

But after looking into it more, he realized, this is actually kind of interesting.

The only thing that still worried him was whether his legs would get sore from sitting on a broom for too long.

"No, first-years aren't allowed on the Quidditch team," Ron said, spreading his hands. Four of his five older brothers had been on the team, so he was quite familiar with the rules.

"Even if we can't join, we can still watch. What do you think?" Lavender pressed. "Come on, Ron, your twin brothers are on the team, aren't they?"

Ron thought for a moment and nodded. "Yeah, it wouldn't be bad to check it out."

Seeing that everyone was interested, Harry agreed as well. If the twins are going to be at the pitch, I can also ask them to bring back those Honeydukes sweets for Padma.

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