Faith .|. H. J. POTTER ✔

Chapter fifty-seven

By six o'clock, Faith and Harry made their way to the dungeons, to Snape's office. Every step closer, made their stomach twist. Snape's office was stacked with jars of slimy parts and bits of animals and plants, one of the many reasons Faith did not like Potions, no matter who taught it. In the middle of the room, there was a stone basin, covered in engraved runes and symbols. Faith didn't know what it was but Harry recognised it immediately; it was Dumbledore's Pensieve. What is was doing there was a mystery.

"Shut the door behind you, Potter," Snape's voice sounded from the shadows, making the two students jump. Harry did as he was told. Snape pointed at the two chairs in front of his desk for them to sit as he himself sat down in his office chair. 

"Well, you know why you're here," Snape said slowly, accentuating every word. His way of talking really annoyed Faith, she had no patience. "The Headmaster has asked me to teach you Occlumency. I can only hope that you two prove more adept at it than at Potions,"

"Right," Faith mumbled, clenching her jaw and doing her best not to lose her temper. 

"This may not be an ordinary class, Diggory," Snape's eyes narrowed, "but I am still your teacher and you will therefor call me 'sir' or 'Professor' at all times,"

"Yes ... sir," Faith said with great effort. 

"Now, Occlumency. As I told you back in your dear godfather and landlord's kitchen, this branch of magic seals the mind against magical intrusion and influence,"

"And why does Professor Dumbledore think we need it, sir?" Harry said, looking directly into Snape's eyes. 

"Surely even you could have worked that out by now, Potter? The Dark Lord is highly skilled at Legilimency -"

"What's that? Sir?"

"It is the ability to extract feelings and memories from another person's mind -"

"He can read minds?" Faith asked with wide eyes. 

"You have no subtlety, Diggory," Snape sneered. "You do not understand fine distinctions. It is one of the shortcomings that makes you such a lamentable potion-maker,"

Faith saw Harry open his mouth to protest but she quickly pinched his hand to shut him up. It was only going to land him in trouble. But even Faith knew, if Snape was going to keep this up, she wouldn't be able to shut up either. 

"Only Muggles talk of 'mind-reading'. The mind is not a book, to be opened at will and examined at leisure. Thoughts are not etched on the inside of skulls, to be perused by any invader. The mind is a complex and many-layered thing, Diggory - or at least, most minds are,"

Faith pinched Harry again.

"It is true, however, that those who have mastered Legilimency are able, under certain conditions, to delve into the minds of their victims and to interpret their findings correctly. The Dark Lord, for instance, almost always knows when somebody is lying to him. Only those skilled at Occlumency are able to shut down those feelings and memories that contradict a lie, and so can utter falsehoods in his presence without detection,"

Whatever Snape just explained, sounded exactly like mind-reading to Faith and Harry. 

"So he could know what we're thinking right now? Sir?" Harry asked, repeatedly forgetting to call Snape 'sir'. 

"The Dark Lord is at a considerable distance and the walls and grounds of Hogwarts are guarded by many ancient spells and charms to ensure the bodily and mental safety of those who dwell within them," Snape said. "Time and space matter in magic, Potter. Eye contact is often essential to Legilimency,"