"I completely forget that I had this," Harry admitted, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "I first saw it in a mirror that Quirrelmort was carrying, and then I found it in my pocket afterwards. It was weird, but I've had weird stuff happen to me at Hogwarts, so I just… forgot about it. I'm sorry it took me so long to return it."
"That mirror was the Mirror of Erised… it shows you your heart's greatest desire, but it is also an ancient and cursed vault of treasure. Only somebody who knows of what lies within, but doesn't desire what the mirror hides, can acquire something from its depths," Nicholas Flamel revealed, taking the stone from Harry in awe and examining it closely.
He then immediately handed it back, Harry blinking in surprise. He wasn't alone. My friends and I all stared in astonishment at what had just happened.
"I cannot take it. It is yours. You've earned it," Nicholas said softly, his wife nodding in agreement.
"Anyone who knows what the stone is, but would do nothing with it, is truly somebody worthy of being it's guardian," Perenelle said fondly, giving Harry a motherly smile.
Harry nodded bashfully, still not used to being praised (Something I was damn well going to make sure he got over by heaping all the praise he deserved onto him!) and tucked the most valuable piece of alchemy back into a pocket.
"Now, I don't mean to ruin the mood or be rude or intrusive with a question of my own, but if I may ask, how long have you lot been incorrectly using Occlumency?" Nicholas asked, and I tensed up.
What did he just say?!
...
I stared at the Flamel's nervously, while at my side Harry fidgeted in his seat. Sam and Delilah shot me concerned looks but I was unable to pay them much attention at the moment.
"I don't know what you mean," I said slowly, keeping my attention squarely on the elderly couple.
"Peace," Perenelle said as she shot her husband a disappointed look. He shrank under the chastisement, looking embarrassed and apologetic.
"My dear Nicky did not phrase that properly," she continued. "We are not masters of Occlumency ourselves, but we do know it, and how to recognize when it is being used by others. Specifically, when it is being used… improperly, shall we say."
"I did learn Occlumency, and I did teach it to the others," I admitted after a moment.
"I see," Perenelle muttered, and both she and her husband looked at Harry and I closely.
"The two of you… have killed, haven't you?" Nicholas Flamel inquired softly, and Harry and I both tensed up.
Sam and Delilah knew what I'd done in the past to save the latter from kidnappers, and we knew about Harry having to destroy the possessed body of Quirrel, but how could the Flamels possibly know of either?!
"Mm. As I expected, you are using Occlumency to deal with it. Pushing the guilt and other emotional responses down, perhaps unconsciously," the legendary alchemist mused. He then shook his head.
"Occlumency is a useful tool, but the both of you have been abusing it," he scolded us. "The other two here should also stop using it as well until they've learned the proper method."
"What?" the exclamation had slipped out of me without meaning it to, and the ancient man tutted softly.
"Occlumency is not meant to be maintained for days at a time. Especially not when you are so young," Flamel explained. "Furthermore, suppressing your emotions to this extent is not healthy! They are natural, and vital to maintaining a stable mentality."
"Is it really that bad?" Harry asked weakly, and the legendary alchemist tutted.
"Overuse of Occlumency can result in dangerous mental conditions developing, such as sociopathy and psychopathy. Thankfully, you two are still salvageable, though you, Mr. Rose, are very near the tipping point," Nicholas Flamel revealed, and I gulped nervously. "While you are here in France, all four of you are forbidden from using Occlumency! And even when you leave, I request that you do not use Occlumency for more than an hour every day going forward! And only use it to remember things, not to suppress your emotions!"
"What about protecting ourselves from Legilimancy?" I asked hesitantly, and he shot me a sharp look.
"Why do you-? Ah. I see. You have concerns towards the conduct of my old student, Albus."
"Yes. I am worried about Dumbledore reading my mind," I admitted, and got a weary sigh and shake of his head at that.
"Then you are going about it all wrong. To use Occlumency to protect your mind against mental intrusions requires a vastly different set of skills to the ones you are current using to suppress emotions and sort your memories. I will teach you these, but only the theory. As I said, you will not use Occlumency at all while staying in France."
"I- okay, I understand," I said, accepting Nicholas Flamel's request, though not liking it. And I was a bit annoyed to hear I'd been doing Occlumency wrong this whole time!
'Though it does explain some things, looking back on them,' I mused to myself. How quickly I jumped to extreme actions when it came to dealing with others, like the Vice-Principal of Woolingsby, the lack of care over the deaths of the kidnappers in the parking complex, the single-minded drive to get my potions business up and running… it was all starting to make sense in hindsight.
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