Chapter 26: Occlumency

Levid could not allow the secret in his heart to be exposed before Queenie.

It was not something that the people of this world could ever comprehend. He neither wanted others to think he was insane, nor did he want others to lose their minds because of his secret. Heaven knows what would happen if Queenie discovered that the world they lived in was merely a work of fiction in another. Of course, it was also possible that magic and the like were all real, only to be written into a novel by some author, and thus truly became fictional...

Levid cut short his chaotic thoughts; now was not the time to indulge in such musings. He urgently needed a solution to his problem. Furthermore, he had at most one day and two nights!

...

After Levid and the others disembarked, Flander Doyle drove the Thestral-drawn carriage away from Godric's Hollow. Professor Hicks remained behind, tasked with looking after Levid and Tom until the Jacob family arrived. Tom, naturally, was thrilled, as this meant more time for one-on-one tutoring from an excellent professor. In contrast to the proactive Tom, Levid seemed somewhat overly relaxed. Since arriving, he had spent even the daylight hours "napping" on a lounge chair. Of course, this was only on the surface.

On the very day they checked into Godric's Hollow, Levid quietly called Toby to his side. He instructed Toby to hurry to Diagon Alley and buy every book on Occlumency he could find in the bookstores. Then, he was to store them in a secret, secure location. Toby, an experienced house-elf, found such a task trivial. By the time everyone had finished dinner, he had returned.

As the sky dimmed, Levid took the initiative to tell Professor Hicks that he was tired and wanted to rest early. Professor Hicks naturally thought nothing of it, especially since she had the eager-to-learn Tom to attend to. Once back in his room, Levid locked the door and had Toby use Apparition to take him to where the books were stored.

It was a dry cave, the entrance sealed off by Toby with stones, leaving only enough gaps for ventilation. One could only wonder how Toby had found such a place. Toby had even thoughtfully placed a complete set of table and chairs inside, along with a bundle of candles, and the purchased books were stacked on the large table. This pile of books was a mix of old and new, as Toby had not even spared the secondhand shops. He had brought back nearly every book on Occlumency available on the market. At that moment, Levid felt incredibly fortunate to have the help of such an experienced house-elf.

Thus, starting that night, after drinking the energy potion Toby had procured, Levid began his crash course in Occlumency.

Mastering Occlumency in one day and two nights to the extent that it could deceive Queenie... just thinking about it made the success rate seem dismal. Levid had little confidence in this himself; he could only try his best. Of course, because the odds were so low, he had already quietly prepared a second plan. If he failed to master Occlumency in this time, he would take Toby and leave temporarily. After all, coming up with a barely plausible excuse to explain his departure was better than having Queenie directly peer into his secrets.

...

That night, thanks to his powerful memory, Levid had basically memorized the knowledge of Occlumency after flipping through the books. To Levid, so-called Occlumency was about setting a door in the mind, locking the memories he wished to hide behind it, and preventing anyone from seeing them. Then, one had to turn that door into a screen, constantly playing false memories. When an Legilimens peered into his mind, they would only see these false memories, unable to probe the memories behind the door. This was Occlumency.

Of course, if the Legilimens was powerful enough, they could still see through the illusion and shatter the door directly. However, Queenie, whose Legilimency triggered passively, would not be capable of such a feat—unless she used her wand to cast Legilimency directly upon him.

According to these records, there were two ways to practice Occlumency. The first method was faster. It involved finding a trusted wizard to constantly cast Legilimency on oneself, thereby stimulating the brain and magic, forcing the magic to develop a resistance. Upon sensing the magical probing of Legilimency, a mental wall would be constructed automatically, passively building the door. The whole process was somewhat like stimulating the body's immune system.

Compared to the first method, the second was much slower. The learner had to deliberately manipulate their consciousness. First, one needed to be able to enter a state of absolute calm at any time, thinking of nothing. Second, one had to add the prepared false memories into this calm state of mind. Finally, when the learner could maintain this state anytime and anywhere, the Occlumency was considered mastered.

Since he had no trusted wizard to assist him, Levid had to choose the second method. Once he had chosen his practice, Levid began meditation, struggling to reach a state of having no stray thoughts. He didn't even have time to check the system shop refresh that night. Even when Toby brought him back the next morning, he did not stop his practice. Tom, seeing Levid lying on the chair with his eyes closed in meditation, assumed he was napping.

Determined to surpass Levid, Tom was naturally delighted to see him slacking off; he wished Levid would remain this lazy forever. Professor Hicks, thinking Levid hadn't slept well in a new place and was catching up on rest, did not disturb him. Thus, Levid was able to practice Occlumency in peace.

This practice was incredibly difficult. The very first step—clearing away all distracting thoughts—was enough to discourage most people. Levid persisted all night without achieving this first step; he couldn't even reach a state of slight tranquility. In fact, the more burdened a person's mind was, the harder it was to find peace, because when they were awake, they were thinking at every moment. Levid was exactly that kind of person; even in his dreams, his brain could not settle down, so how could he possibly keep his mind free of distractions while awake?

As time passed, Levid's heart gradually sank. Perhaps, given enough time, he might eventually achieve a state of no stray thoughts. But now, he had very little time left.

As the sun began to set, Levid slowly opened his eyes. He had finally decided to give up. He would prepare to take Toby and slip away that night. As for an excuse for leaving... he would think of that if he got caught.

Levid stood up from the lounge chair, exhausted. At that moment, Professor Hicks was explaining the basics of Transfiguration to the diligent Tom.

"...When you transfigure an object, you don't need to deliberately imagine every detail of the object you are turning it into..."

"For instance, if you want to turn a goblet into a bird, you don't need to construct every single detail of that bird in your mind."

"If you had to imagine the shape of every single feather, a simple piece of Transfiguration would exhaust a person to death."

"We only need to outline the appearance of the bird in our minds during the transformation; as for everything else, leave it to the magic itself. Magic will naturally help the wizard achieve their intent."

Hicks was lecturing on the basics of Transfiguration, which Levid had naturally already read in *A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration*, but...

"...As for everything else, leave it to the magic itself..." This sentence now struck Levid's mind like a bolt of lightning!

Levid suddenly realized: of course! I am a wizard, I have magic, and Occlumency is magic! It is not some form of meditative discipline! He didn't need to rely on willpower like a Muggle to clear his mind—that wasn't a realm one could reach in a short time! His method of practice had been wrong from the very beginning!

In fact, as a wizard, he only needed to leave everything to the magic itself, and the magic would naturally help him achieve his goal! Because magic, by its very nature, is idealistic!

Thinking of this, Levid, who had just stood up, stretched and laid right back down...