Chapter 28: A night to remember for a lifetime

Chapter 28: A night to remember for a lifetime

"The very essence of Occlumency is actually the combination of 'Will' linking with magic to build a wall in one's mind. This wall can block entry and prying through magic, and those who excel can even construct false memories on the outside of the wall as a way to confuse the memory stealer, with no way to tell if the memories they see are real or not."

While explaining to Jon, Slughorn didn't forget to grab a piece of Crystallised Pineapple from a cardboard box and pop it into his mouth. Read latest chapters at novelhall.com Only

"The Occlumency magic has mostly been learned in two ways, one is a simple and brutal method of forcing one's way into the learner's mind and making him constantly remember the feeling of being broken into, and his body will subconsciously resist and his 'will' will actively mobilise his magic, this is the most primitive way of learning the Occlumency. But I don't like this, it's just too crude, and it's not exactly healthy for a wizard to snoop into another's memory too often."

As he said this, he laid his eyes on the stone basin on his desk.

"So I will be teaching using the second method, which is less crude and much more flexible in comparison. I borrowed this magical item from Dumbledore, I actually owned one before, I just forgot where I left it later on during a relocation. Foolishly, I actually kept the memories of where I hid things, in that same magical item of mine, for safekeeping, but without finding the Pensieve I couldn't get the memories, and without getting the memories I couldn't find the Pensieve."

Slughorn chuckled with a self-deprecating shrug.

"I would never be able to find that Pensieve again, good thing Dumbledore's Pensieve was taken out from that castle with him, or I wouldn't know how to start teaching you. Pensieve is a magical item that is used to store thoughts and memories, and to recreate memories so that they become re-liveable."

Jon asked in confusion as he looked at the stone basin with an empty interior.

"So how would we begin? Teacher."

Slughorn cleaned the icing that had stained his hands from the snack he had eaten while holding his wand.

"Now you are going to recall a memory in your own mind, any memory will do, and I will extract the memory that you are thinking about."

Jon took a series of deep breaths as he began to go through his thoughts to find a memorable scene that was fresh in his mind.

"Are you ready?" Slughorn asked.

"Ready, teacher."

He pointed the tip of his wand at Jon's temple, and then the next instant, some kind of silk thread had attached itself to the tip of the wand, Slughorn twirled his wand and pulled a bright silver thread out of Jon's mind!

Jon stood on the beach and watched in silence as his own self from three weeks ago was infected by the atmosphere at the dinner table and joined in the chorus.

Slughorn, standing beside him, suddenly sat down on the beach, also looking at the entire student body and faculty of this little Hogwarts with a serene expression.

"What do you remember most about this night?"

Hearing his question, Jon followed suit and crouched down, grabbing a handful of sand from the ground, this memory slipping through his fingers as the sand slipped away, while his gaze remained fixed on the students and faculty who sang with joy and sadness.

"This is perhaps the most memorable day of my life, teacher."

Slughorn rested his left hand on the back of his right, placing his arm on his knee as he raised his head to look up at the sparkling night sky.

"I'm with you on this one Jon, I'll never forget the night when Dumbledore first brought me to this Hogwarts before I even agreed to become a professor here, that sly old man begged me to come without having to give him any exact answers, he said all I had to do was follow him around to see and attend the orientation dinner that year once. "

"That day was just like the night you experienced, a night filled with despair and the last bit of hope that one couldn't even bear to look at, and that's how I was pulled by him to sit down at the table, surrounded by students happily asking me if I am the new professor, and they said that they have way too few professors in the school and were really grateful that I was actually willing to come and teach them. I was actually thinking in my mind at that moment that this was probably scripted by Dumbledore to keep me in the company on purpose, but I just couldn't help but feel a sourness in my nose."

"When that dinner was over, Dumbledore took me by the arm and stood up without any prior notice and announced to the dozens of children that I am the new professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts and the History of Magic, I was pissed off, thinking that I must scold him loudly on the spot, ruin his image, and then turn around and walk away. But in the end, all I could say was 'Hello children, I am your Professor Slughorn.'"

His voice was soft, yet filled with an immense weight of emotion.

"After those words were said, I thought I would regret it, but what my mind actually thought at the time was that it would be nice to just agree to stay and be a professor."

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