The Project | Sirius Black x reader | ✔

Occlumency

"Occlumency?" Marco looked up at you from his cup of tea with a confused look. "I'm sure professor Flitwick would be more suited than I to-"

"Please," you cut in, clenching your jaw. "I- uh... I'm asking you this as a favor more than professionally... I'd rather have someone I trust and have an established friendship with to teach it to me. Like you did with the Homorphus charm... kinda."

He stood up and put his cup on the table in silence, looking at it for a few seconds before his gaze fell upon you. "The reason being?"

"...There are some things I'd rather not have anyone find out, and if it doesn't work, I would be a bit relieved that it's you over someone else," you cleared your throat, twiddling your thumbs nervously. "You must understand."

"There is always the risk of Legilimency overpowering Occlumency. If you have certain things to hide, why try it at all?"

You looked away from Marco towards the ground, staying quiet for a few seconds before mumbling, "It's not that I want to, but James seemed eager to learn Legilimency for our advanced study group... he'll certainly try it on us."

"And you want to be prepared before he is?" Marco couldn't hide the small smirk that was starting to tug his lips. "Alright, I'll help you. Take out your wand."

"Wait- now? We're doing this right now?!" you exclaimed as he slid off his desk and walked towards you.

"Roman statesman Cicero said it wisely; saepe ne utile quidem est scire quid futurum sit, 'Often it is not advantageous to know what will be.' So yes, we're doing this right now." Marco nodded, rolling up his sleeves as he stopped right in front of you. "I recommend you take a seat for this."

You slowly nodded and dragged one of the chairs by the desks closest to the front of the classroom, sitting down even slower before looking up at Marco. "I've only ever read about how Occlumency works..."

"There's always a first time for everything," he smiled reassuringly. "I'll give you a warning at first, so be prepared."

Taking out your wand, you held it tightly in your hand as the seconds seemed to slow down. Clear the mind... My mind is clear, my mind is clear, my mind is-

"Now."

Before you had time to even think about how to protect your mind, there was a strong force throbbing from within your head mercilessly. You closed your eyes tightly shut and clenched your jaw tightly as you recalled the little you knew about how Occlumency worked.

Except it wasn't working.

You could see your most recent memories flashing through your mind in a hurry, from the study session with Lily and the marauders earlier to your encounter with the Bloody Baron; your memories, thoughts, and emotions kept seeping out like overflowing water, barely appearing for a second before moving on to the next.

He was getting too close. Marco was filtering every layer of your mind effortlessly, it seemed like he wasn't even bothering to pay attention to the contents. He. was. getting. too. close. Way too close to the events of summer, to the night of the wedding.

It was a desperate last attempt to kick Marco out of your mind. He had seen a lot more than you wanted, and now he was at the brink of discovering dark memories that couldn't be resurfaced. You gasped for air and shot your eyes open as you leaned forward on the chair, catching your breath. 

You weren't sure if you had succeeded at casting Occlumency strong enough to block out Marco's Legilimency, or if he had decided to back off, but nevertheless, you were so glad it was over.