Improving the Vanishing Cabinet was familiar territory for Wade; he completed the task in half the time he'd anticipated.
Learning the Disillusionment Charm was somewhat complex, but Wade had already been self-studying it for a long time, and he had a solid foundation in Transfiguration. By Saturday evening, he had finally mastered the charm.
Currently, his Disillusionment Charm only allowed for color changes; one could still spot him with a careful look. However, with enough magical power, the Disillusionment Charm could achieve complete invisibility.
Additionally, repairing an Invisibility Cloak also required the use of the Disillusionment Charm.
With his anticipated work complete, Wade still had one day of the weekend left.
"Perhaps you could stroll around Hogsmeade Village? Or venture out into the surroundings?"
Lupin suggested his favorite student-era activities. "There are quite a few interesting places nearby; I could be your guide. If there's anything you want to buy, I can help you with that too."
However, Wade asked, "Remus, do you know the Imperius Curse?"
Lupin looked a bit uncomfortable. "The Imperius Curse is one of the three Unforgivable Curses... Do you know about the Unforgivable Curses?"
"I do," Wade said calmly. "The Imperius Curse, the Cruciatus Curse, and the Killing Curse are the three Unforgivable Curses. Anyone who uses them on a human will be sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban."
"Since you know that, you should understand that there's absolutely no way I would teach you such a spell!"
Lupin stated resolutely, "These are evil Dark Arts. No one should ever learn or come into contact with them!"
"It's getting late. You should head back to school."
He turned to open the Vanishing Cabinet.
"Don't be so sensitive, Remus."
Wade, however, said, "I'm not asking you to teach me the Imperius Curse. I just want to ask, can Occlumency resist the Imperius Curse?"
Lupin realized he had misunderstood and felt a bit awkward, but he thought he couldn't be blamed for being overly sensitive—
Wade wanted to learn everything and learned everything quickly. Even though he had already surpassed the level of many graduates, he still seemed unsatisfied.
That seemingly insatiable greed and thirst for knowledge... sometimes startled Lupin.
Once he finished learning orthodox magic, would Wade turn to even more powerful Dark Arts?
Lupin didn't know, but a sense of responsibility made him constantly worry about this.
He thought for a while before saying, "As long as one's willpower is strong enough, they can resist the Imperius Curse. However... Occlumency certainly helps."
In fact, Occlumency could not only resist the Imperius Curse but also prevent possession and even counter the effects of Veritaserum.
The Wizengamot at the time believed that Sirius Black might know Occlumency, and therefore, even using Veritaserum during interrogation wouldn't guarantee he spoke the truth.
Combined with the political climate at the time... and Sirius Black's alleged evil act of killing Peter, plus the fact that he was the well-known Secret-Keeper, yet the Potters were murdered in their own home by Voldemort...
Ultimately, Sirius Black was sent to Azkaban without trial.
Life imprisonment.
After all these years, Lupin had never had the chance to ask his old friend... why...
Lupin's expression became momentarily dazed, then he heard the student's voice in front of him.
"I've been practicing Occlumency for a long time," Wade said. "I'd like you to help me test my progress."
The magic of clearing one's mind wasn't complicated to practice, but the line between it and simply zoning out wasn't very clear either.
Without truly experiencing external mental penetration, it was difficult to confirm whether one's Occlumency was strong enough to repel such an invasion.
Lupin was silent for a moment, then asked, "Aren't you worried about me seeing your memories?"
"I trust you won't rummage through my memories. And if it truly involves privacy, I'll use other magic to resist," Wade said.
Harry's experience in the plot told him that under guard, offensive spells could also interrupt Occlumency.
For example, the Disarming Charm.
"...Alright."
Lupin had no reason to refuse. He took out his wand and said, "If you're ready, we'll begin."
"Of course..." Wade also drew his wand. "Let's start."
"Three, two, one... Legilimency!"
Magical invasion... Lupin felt obvious resistance, only reading a blank.
One second, two seconds...
After more than ten seconds, it was suddenly like a soap bubble popping, and countless images flashed by in quick succession...
Eating in the Great Hall... attending class... doing homework... eating in the Great Hall... walking through the castle corridors with friends... doing homework... attending class...
He voluntarily broke the spell.
"You didn't resist?" Lupin asked in surprise.
Based on his understanding of Wade, the effect of his Occlumency shouldn't have lasted only for a dozen seconds.
"If my mind was completely blank, wouldn't that just tell others something was wrong?"
Wade, enduring the discomfort, said, "I tried not to recall anything at all, but then I thought... perhaps it's better to cover important memories with ineffective ones..."
Lupin was speechless for a moment.
Wade was somewhat unsure. "Did I overthink it?"
He remembered Snape being a master of Occlumency and working as a spy for Voldemort. When Voldemort wanted to view his memories, would Snape simply show him a blank?
He surely had to let the Dark Lord read what he wanted him to, rather than simply resisting.
Wade had been working towards this.
"No," Lupin finally said after a while. "Ordinary wizards generally don't cultivate it to this extent... But if you can learn to cover memories, or even falsify them, that's certainly better."
"But we need to change our practice method."
He took a bright red apple from the cabinet and placed it on the table. "Look at it, remember this image. Then hide that memory. Don't let me find it."
Wade stared at the apple.
Lupin asked, "What's your favorite fruit?"
Wade casually replied, "Watermelon, I guess... Mangoes and cherries are nice too..."
"Legilimency!" Lupin suddenly struck.
Eating in the Great Hall... attending class... doing homework... eating... attending class... flying on a broomstick... a tapestry with a troll... reading a book... a red apple...
A red spell suddenly knocked Lupin's wand away. Wade staggered, nearly falling.
His head buzzed, aching intensely.
Lupin helped him sit down and poured him a cup of hot chocolate.
"That was very good. To be able to do that much at the start is remarkable," Lupin praised.
Wade drank the chocolate; it seemed to contain strange magic that soothed the throbbing pain in his forehead.
"I didn't resist it," Wade sighed, disappointed.
He knew that he had subconsciously tried to hide the Room of Requirement, and then the apple had been exposed.
"Don't be so hard on yourself, Wade," Lupin said gently. "No one can learn such difficult magic all at once. It naturally requires long practice."
Wade rested for a while, put down the cup, and took out his wand again.
"Again!"