Your Brain Is Like Your Mother's (Please Keep Reading)

Ron looked at Hermione in alarm.

The other little wizards, having figured it out and vaguely guessed what Lockhart was really like, also wore complicated expressions.

Miss Granger had always been clever.

How could she...

"The other students are all regrettably lacking." Lockhart set down the exam papers in his hand. "If you were as outstanding as Miss Granger and Mr. Potter, and knew all my secrets..."

"Then you would surely become just as outstanding as they are."

The little wizards hesitated.

Granger and Potter were the two best first-years, without a doubt. Could Lockhart actually be right?

Was the purpose of this exam not his vanity, but truly some kind of test?

"For your first lesson of the school year..." Lockhart bent down and pulled a cloth-covered cage from beneath the lectern. "I will introduce you to the most dangerous, most evil, and most terrifying creatures in the magical world."

The little wizards held their breath.

Those in the front row tried to shrink back, afraid they would soon be splattered with blood.

"Please remain quiet and don't provoke them." Lockhart lowered his voice and slowly lifted the cloth from the cage, revealing the creatures inside.

A group of House-elves.

Only seven or eight inches tall, with iron-blue skin and faces like squashed peanuts, their personalities as awful as their looks. As soon as they saw the light, they began shrieking angrily, their voices sharp and grating.

"Pfft." One of the little wizards couldn't help laughing.

Ron rubbed his face and muttered unhappily, "Damn it, I actually believed him."

Harry's expression remained blank.

He felt...

Defense Against the Dark Arts didn't need to cover things like this.

Pixies—some wizards called them "Cornish Pixies." In fact, the prefix was only because they were often found in Cornwall.

They weren't Dark creatures and were almost harmless, just excessively mischievous.

The Weasley twins, shrunk down and made ugly.

"Listen, I know what you're thinking." Lockhart looked solemn. "But these are '3X'-rated magical creatures. Don't take them lightly."

"They're nimble and cunning, full of energy. They'll make excellent practice for you."

He reached out to open the cage.

Harry picked up his textbook and stuffed it into the Sorting Hat.

"Wait, you can't do that!" the Sorting Hat cried in alarm. "That's too much! We agreed, no textbooks..."

Harry ignored it, picked up Ron and Hermione's books, and stuffed them into the hat as well.

Creak—

The cage opened.

The pixies inside shot out like mad, baring their claws as they zipped all over the room.

Some snatched up the little wizards' textbooks and threw them around. Others tore down Lockhart's posters from the walls, ripped them to shreds, and scattered the pieces everywhere. A few smashed through the windows and flew outside.

"Quick, subdue them! They're only a few pixies..." Lockhart called out, heartbroken.

But none of the little wizards paid him any attention. In the chaos, they were all trying to protect their books, hats, robes, or themselves.

Lockhart raised his wand.

He chanted some unknown spell, but nothing happened.

He was about to try a second spell.

A pixie swooped over, snatched away his wand, and tossed it out the window. Then it grinned at him and pulled a face.

Lockhart said nothing. He looked at Harry in alarm and expectation.

Harry was about to take out his wand when Hermione pressed down on his hand. "Harry, let Ron and me handle this."

"This isn't anything difficult."

"We should see where we're at."

Harry nodded and stayed seated.

Hermione stood and cast a Freezing Charm, freezing two pixies. Then she cast a Petrification Charm, stopping a furious pixie in its tracks as it charged at her, trying to snatch her wand.

Compared to Hermione,

Ron's spells weren't as accurate. After several attempts, he hadn't hit a single pixie, and he'd nearly had his wand stolen.

This made him furious.

He simply took off his robe, cast a Transfiguration Charm to turn it into a fishing net, then waved his wand to make it float. It wasn't long before he'd caught a whole bunch.

The other little wizards came to their senses as well and began casting spells.

Before long, every pixie in the room had been caught.

They were shoved roughly back into the cage.

"Excellent." Lockhart applauded them. "I see your studies last year did you some good. You handled that very well."

"That was the purpose of my little act of panic—to test you."

"Especially Miss Granger, and..."

Ron hesitated, then gave his name. "Ron Weasley."

"And this Mr. Weasley here as well." Lockhart continued, "For your excellent performance, I'll award each of you ten points!"

The bell rang just in time.

Lockhart praised himself a few more times, then sent the little wizards on their way.

Seamus walked beside Harry. "Can you believe it? Our very first lesson, and we had to fill out a stupid questionnaire, then got messed with by a bunch of pixies."

"Yeah, I was starting to miss your explosions," Harry said with a nod.

Seamus gritted his teeth. "Hey, you can't say that. My spellwork's much more stable now. I've only caused a few mishaps in Transfiguration."

As he spoke, he paused and looked at Hermione. "Granger, you're not a Lockhart fan too, are you?"

Hermione shook her head. "Of course not!"

"Then why..." Seamus hesitated. He didn't think so either. Hermione didn't have the same fanaticism as the other little witches, but still, getting full marks...

"He's a professor," Hermione said earnestly. "Just look at how many points he gave us in one lesson!"

She held out her left hand with all her fingers spread. Harry passed her an index finger to add to them. "Sixty points! A full sixty points!"

"Last year, it took us more than a whole school year to earn sixty points."

They headed toward the Great Hall, passing the hourglasses that tracked the house points. Gryffindor's rubies were far ahead, outnumbering the other three houses' combined.

"Is there any professor easier to earn points from than Lockhart?"

"All we have to do is be a little nice to him and act like good fans, and we'll keep racking up points."

Seamus was convinced. He nodded.

That seemed... pretty reasonable?

Although Lockhart's smug face bothered him, as soon as he thought of... each and every one of those rubies representing points for Gryffindor, Lockhart suddenly seemed kind and pleasant.

After dinner, when they returned to the common room,

Seamus gathered the other little lions to discuss how to earn points from Lockhart more efficiently—so they could do whatever they wanted without worrying too much about losing points from the other professors.

Harry didn't linger.

He still had a detention with Professor McGonagall. It dragged on until nearly curfew, and only then did Professor McGonagall finally find an excuse to send him away.

Saturday was another busy day.

Harry stayed in his dormitory, working on materials. It wasn't until evening that he went to see Snape.

His office had been tidied up in advance, with a large open space cleared. Some of the rare specimens that had been there before were nowhere to be seen.

"Potter." Snape stood there. "Have you finished reading the notes I gave you?"

Harry nodded. "Of course."

He'd already read them carefully during Lockhart's lesson.

"Good, but I don't mind reminding you again." Snape's voice was low and eerie. "Occlumency is magic that requires you to control your mind, your thoughts, and your emotions."

"That might be difficult for you Potters."

"Was it difficult for Mrs. Potter too?" Harry countered.

Snape gritted his teeth. "You still have the nerve to be sharp-tongued. It seems you're underestimating today's lesson."

"Take out your wand."

Harry drew it and pointed it at Snape.

"You can use any method you can think of to defend yourself." Snape's voice was low. "You need to be able to fight back..."

He hadn't even finished speaking

when he suddenly attacked.

"Legilimens!"

The office wavered before Harry's eyes. Light and shadow blurred. A corner of the Wolf School witchers' fortress, Kaer Morhen, appeared in his field of vision...

It really was Kaer Morhen.

The Hogwarts House-elves would never let moss grow all over the roads.

Axii!

Harry raised his hand and instinctively cast the Sign.

Snape let out a muffled groan.

The office returned to Harry's vision. He drew a deep breath as cold sweat ran down his forehead. So this was Legilimency? It could peer into more than just his current thoughts—even his past experiences?

"I didn't expect you to love Hogwarts so much." Snape waved his wand. "The most vivid memory in your mind is the place you're in right now?"

"Because you don't have a home, you've decided to make this one yours?"

Harry's expression remained blank. "It is my home."

"Using your wandless little trick to stop me from casting a spell was a pretty good idea," Snape sneered. "But if the Dark Lord wanted to influence your mind, could you cast that little trick on yourself?"

"Next, try using only your mind."

"Don't feel anything. Cast aside every thought. Keep yourself under control—Legilimens!"

Memories flashed before Harry's eyes.

A photograph he'd found in Potter Manor—Lily and James, beaming as they held him as a newborn; their wedding ceremony, where they passionately kissed in front of a lake...

Snape had nearly finished looking through the entire album.

Harry jerked his head and finally broke free.

Snape gripped his wand until his knuckles turned white, his face dark. "It seems using your brain is very difficult for you. It took you that long to manage it."

"Actually, it took about as long as it did just now." Harry caught his breath.

Snape gritted his teeth. "Again!"

They kept going until curfew, both of them worn out and panting.

"Good." Snape glanced at the time. "You should be grateful you had a good mother. She gave you a reasonably normal brain. Your progress is acceptable. Perhaps I'll be rid of that stupid face of yours a little sooner."

"Keep practicing next Thursday."

Harry nodded and walked out of the office. After reaching the Great Hall, he headed toward the lawn on the first floor.

Today I'll try my best to post four chapters; three is the minimum.

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