When the morning rolled around – far too early for my taste – Delilah was up and raring to go at the crack of dawn. She was excited, and why wouldn't she be? She was going to be learning from legendary teachers, after all.
'Still, I wish she'd be a touch less exuberant about it,' I griped to myself as I poured myself a third cup of coffee from the hotel's breakfast buffet.
I hadn't been able to stay in bed, not with Delilah excitedly bouncing around the hotel room.
"This is your own fault, you know," Delilah scolded me, though there was a teasing note in her voice and she was watching me guzzle my caffeinated drink with a smirk.
"I know, but how could I resist the chance to talk shop with the Nicholas Flamel?" I replied with a shrug.
That was another reason I wasn't too miffed about Delilah's peppy mood. I'd been the same last night, and it was my undoing in the end. Couldn't really throw stones when I was in my own glass house.
A few minutes later, Harry and Sam came down to join us, rubbing the sleep from their eyes.
"You two are up early," Sam greeted us.
"Some of us were more excited than others," I drawled.
"I know how that feels. I'm not sure how I fell asleep last night after dinner," Sam laughed.
"Me too," Harry said, bobbing his head in agreement.
Everyone ate breakfast, and then we headed off to the Flamels' home. They'd given me the password for their private floo when I'd eventually left, and we hopped into the green flames and were whisked off.
"Ah, right on time," Nicholas Flamel greeted us. He was sitting in a rocking chair facing the fireplace as we came tumbling out of it.
"I don't like floo travel," Harry griped. "Give me a broom any day!"
"You'll get used to it," the legendary alchemist told us.
"Really?" Sam asked hopefully.
Nicholas Flamel just smirked, and I shook my head. "He's lying, it never gets any easier," I warned my friends, crushing their spirits.
The old man just cackled a bit, before standing up and walking over to the dining table we'd drank tea at last night.
"Well, come on then, park your pants in a chair, and we'll get started," he announced.
"Today, we will be focusing on Occlumency. Namely, correcting what you've been doing wrong, and explaining a bit about the nature of this unique mental discipline," Nicholas Flamel stated as we hastily sat down at the table. "First off, who here can tell me what Occlumency is?"
Harry raised his hand, and the husband of the Flamel duo snorted in amusement at that but nodded at the boy and motioned for him to speak.
"It's the art of protecting and organizing the mind," Harry said.
"Correct. A simple, but concise answer," Nicholas agreed. "However, Occlumency is not merely one form or style, but in fact a broad term to describe any mental discipline that does what young Harry says. There are many different variations of the technique with their own names and histories in the world, and many different types of meditation, but they all share the same goal."
"Then what is Legilimancy?" Delilah asked.
The ancient alchemist put a hand on his chin. "In layman's terms, it is Occlumency's opposite. It is the art of projecting your consciousness and delving into another person's mind. However, it is not perfect, and it requires constant eye contact to work, and it can only read surface thoughts and emotions with any reliability. There are ways to draw more information forth from a target, but in general, it's hardly the most impressive magic out there. Still, it is a magical ability that doesn't need a wand, and can be learned rather than having to be born with it, thus the art has immense value. A duelist could use Legilimancy to read their opponent's next move, or an Auror could pluck vital details about an investigation from a criminal's mind. The only drawback is it does require a tremendous amount of practice to use properly. And I have heard of natural born Legilimancers going insane from over stimulus."
He let us digest that information before continuing on with his lecture.
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