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xxxi. THIRTY-ONE
PROTECT THE EVIL, PT. 2
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OCCLUMENCY WAS ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE SKILLS THAT BELLATRIX WANTED MELORA TO KNOW AND UNDERSTAND. After learning how to put the Unforgivable Curses to use on several things - from house-elves to humans - her mother wanted to practice the tricks of the mind. To begin with, Melora was accepting of the idea, but her joy about it did not last for long.
She knew what happened during Occlumency. Bellatrix would successfully enter her mind and witness her memories. Melora had never tried out Occlumency before, and therefore would not be able to push her mother from her mind. And this meant that Bellatrix would be able to find out her secret about the summer.
Bellatrix whined, "It will be useful! Why are you so miserable and boring?"
Melora did not respond. If she was going to be caught for lying, she would continue to stay silent. After all, it wasn't exactly lying if she hadn't said anything at all. She'd left the question unanswered. That wasn't lying.
"We're going to try it, anyway," she shrugged, and Melora froze. If what she suspected was true, then she was probably about to lose her surname - at least.
Bellatrix then uttered, "Legilimens!"
Melora felt a little dizzy as the room before her spiraled out of sight, and she watched just what her mother was seeing too. It was her first year at Hogwarts, when she and Ilia were waiting in the line to be sorted. She could clearly see the panic on her own face, despite the attempts of her eleven-year-old self to disguise it.
She felt a surge of pride as she watched the memory replay, when the Sorting Hat didn't even need to think about what her house should be. The first-year Melora Lestrange took a seat at the table, receiving cheers and yells of appreciation from each and every Slytherin on the table. Eric Montague, her former Quidditch Captain, was also in the memory, and both Melora and her mother were able to witness her blunt command of recruiting Ilia as a Keeper.
The memory skipped ahead. It was her second year. It started with her yelling rather loudly at another student, who was almost echoing her insults. They weren't physically fighting, only squabbling like children. Melora would repeatedly bring up the fact that the girl's father was a Mudblood and shouldn't have been allowed into Hogwarts.
