"Perhaps I should commend you, Miss Yu."
In the dimly lit dungeon, the familiar cold humor of Severus Snape echoed once again.
This was supposed to be a private 1v2 Occlumency lesson for Jane Yu and Harry Potter, but now the dungeon was dominated by the hissing spray of venom.
For once, Harry had managed to escape unscathed, as Snape was entirely focused on "praising" Jane's performance in Defense Against the Dark Arts.
"Such an excellent, outstanding Slytherin student, a three-time recipient of the Special Contribution to School Award—"
For a moment, Jane couldn't tell if Snape was genuinely praising her or mocking her.
But based on her three years of accumulated research on Snape—
There was a 99% chance it was mockery.
With his arms crossed, Snape's gaze slid down the bridge of his nose to Jane's face, his brows furrowing so tightly they could pinch a fly:
"Let us review Miss Yu's brief school history. 1991, trespassing into the Forbidden Forest on the very first day of school; 1992, arriving at school in a flying car at the same time; 1993, facing a Dementor even before stepping through the school gates—a moment truly worthy of history."
"And in 1994, she managed to last an entire week after the start of term before attacking a professor. I suppose I should applaud her progress."
Confirmed—this was 100% sarcasm.
"Our esteemed Headmaster has even entrusted me with teaching her Occlumency, but I suspect she might end up in Azkaban before she learns anything."
"If your guardian weren't Dumbledore, and this weren't Hogwarts, imagine what would happen if you used the Imperius Curse—"
But before Snape could finish spraying his venom, Harry, who had narrowly escaped trouble, walked straight into the line of fire.
"No, I heard them say it was Moody who threatened her—"
Perhaps spending too much time with Sirius Black had emboldened Harry, giving him a newfound courage.
When it came to matters involving Jane, he couldn't help but talk back to Snape.
Even Jane was impressed by his bravery.
Snape's expression grew even darker, and his fury immediately shifted to a new target:
"Very well, Potter, it seems you've learned to defy professors from Miss Yu. What's next? Learning the Imperius Curse?"
"The Imperius Curse might be too juvenile for you. Are you planning to try the Killing Curse next, Potter?"
"Gryffindor, twenty points deducted—for your disrespect towards a professor."
Harry's newfound courage was instantly crushed by Snape's venom and the double blow of point deductions, leaving him speechless.
It seemed that randomly scolding a Potter was Snape's way of lifting his spirits. He smoothly changed the subject:
"I hope you understand why you're here, especially you, Potter."
"You can sense the Dark Lord's emotions and thoughts, but we don't know if he can sense yours—that's why the Headmaster wants you to learn this."
He paused, then turned his gaze to Jane:
"I assume that if your brain hasn't been addled by Moody, I don't need to explain further."
Satisfied with her nod, Snape's lips twitched briefly, and he drew his wand.
Pointing the tip of his wand at his temple, he extracted a silvery strand, which fell into a stone basin.
"I'm going to enter your minds," he said softly, "to test your resistance... Potter, you're first—Legilimens!"
Jane pulled out a chair and sat down, but she soon found herself unable to stay seated, as the office descended into chaos.
Harry's eyes turned glassy, and he staggered, swaying left and right.
Soon, his knees buckled, and he tripped over his own feet, collapsing onto the floor in a full prostration before Jane.
Unfortunately, before hitting the ground, one of his legs twisted and struck the desk leg, causing his knee to swell to the size of a thigh.
Even more unfortunately, as he lost control, he managed to hit Snape's arm, leaving the professor's wrist red and swollen.
Jane had to rummage through the dungeon drawers for potions to reduce their swelling.
"Quite the summer, Potter, spending it with your dog of a godfather, treating my garden as your own."
Snape's icy tone dripped with scorn:
"Unbelievable—my cauldron turned into his chew toy. Perhaps the Black family has fallen so low they can't even afford a frisbee."
Jane clucked her tongue and shook her head.
As the saying goes, "If you don't want people to know, don't do it."
Judging by Harry's face, which was as red as a tomato, he must have been dying of embarrassment.
After two more rounds of 1v1 training between Snape and Harry, the bat-like professor seemed to lose what little patience he had left:
"Given your tendency to turn potions into unidentifiable solids, I've long since given up hope for your brain, Potter."
"Control yourself, and spare me from seeing Muggle girl pin-ups and Veela in your mind."
Harry turned as red as a cooked lobster, consumed by shame and anger.
He stared at the floor as if it held hidden treasure, not daring to glance in Jane's direction.
Snape sneered, pulling open a drawer to retrieve a sharp, gleaming, wolf-toothed frisbee—clearly one of the twins' creations:
"Take this to your dog of a godfather. Tell him to use it to cleanse his filthy, depraved thoughts."
Then he turned to Jane, beginning to explain the principles of advanced Occlumency:
"Clear your mind, discard emotions, seal off specific thoughts, feelings, and memories—"
"Use imagination when necessary, construct scenarios and images—"
Snape pointed his wand at her. "Are you ready?"
Being subjected to Legilimency was a peculiar sensation, as though her mind was being invaded by magic, yet it was firmly blocked.
It felt like a bird skimming the surface of the sea, unable to dive deeper.
Like molding clay or filming a movie, Jane tried to fabricate memories to show Snape.
What should she fabricate?
Harry holding the Triwizard Cup?
A cauldron of potion turned into porridge?
A balanced diet pyramid?
Meat, eggs, dairy, carbs, vegetables...
Cattle, sheep, chickens, kale...
A massive farm...
Snape abruptly stopped the Legilimency spell, glaring at Jane with intensity:
"Practical learning? Such an excellent spirit of research. I must applaud your profound understanding of dung stones."
"So passionate about balanced diets—perhaps you should work in the Hogwarts kitchens with the house-elves."
Jane looked up at the ceiling.
The dungeon roof... so dark!
The cauldrons stacked to the top... so shiny!
Snape's expression... so grim!
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