Harry Potter: Glory Bows to Me

The next evening, the three of them arrived at Snape's office as scheduled.

The room was filled with the scent of herbs and potions, and Snape was standing beside his desk with a cold look in his eyes. The dim candlelight highlighted his gloomy face, making it look particularly suffocating.

Snape walked towards them from his desk, the hem of his robes brushing the ground silently.

He held a wand in his hand and stared at the three people expressionlessly, as if he was examining whether they were worth wasting his time.

"You're here." His voice was low and full of his usual sarcasm. "I hope you can prove that tonight's time will not be completely wasted."

He waved his wand, and three booklets with dark blue covers floated up from the bookshelf and landed precisely in everyone's hands.

Amanta raised her hand and took it steadily. The moment her fingertips touched the cover, she felt a hint of coldness.

She looked down and saw a line of large golden characters engraved on the cover: "Occlumency: Beginners". The font was ancient and emitted a faint golden light.

"Open it," Snape said in an unmistakable tone. "Read the first paragraph."

Amanta turned the page, and the other two did the same.

The paper was a bit rough, making a slight rustling sound when turned. In the center of the first page was a line of text:

"Occlumency is a magical art that resists external mental intrusion. It is the key to resisting Legilimency. The user needs to clear distracting thoughts and seal off emotions and memories."

Snape paced slowly, back and forth in front of them.

With every step he took, his black robe made a low rubbing sound on the ground, like some kind of silent threat.

“What you read is just theory, and theory is useless,” he said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. “The real challenge is practice.”

"Clear your distracting thoughts, close your brain, and make sure no one can see into your thoughts. It sounds simple, but for you confused idiots—"

His eyes were fixed on Harry, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly in a mocking arc, "--I'm afraid it will be as difficult as ascending to heaven."

Harry subconsciously clenched the book in his hand and gritted his teeth, but did not talk back.

"Put down the books and start clearing your minds." Snape's voice became even colder. "From now on, I want you to completely empty your mind."

"Any distracting thoughts, any emotions, clear them all. If you can't do that, then don't expect to be able to resist Legilimency."

Amanta took a deep breath, placed the book on the table, closed her eyes, and tried to clear her mind as Snape had instructed.

But the reality is far more difficult than expected.

In my mind, all kinds of insignificant thoughts flooded in like a tide——

The conversation at dinner yesterday, the strange color combination of Luna's new scarf, and even the image of Neville's cauldron exploding... all appeared clearly in front of him.

What made her most upset was that Draco's face suddenly popped into her mind.

It was a picture from a certain afternoon - the sun shone through the window onto his face, his eyelashes cast tiny shadows, he closed his eyes, looking defenseless...

Amanta's heartbeat suddenly quickened and her ears felt hot.

She glanced at Draco secretly, only to find that he was closing his eyes with a serious expression, seemingly completely immersed in the practice.

She bit her lower lip and pinched her thigh hard, trying to calm herself down.

As time passed, the room gradually became quiet, with only the occasional sound of turning pages.

Gradually, Amanta finally felt inner peace, as if all thoughts were isolated from her by some invisible barrier.

However, this silence was soon broken by Snape's voice.

"Very good." He said coldly, without any praise in his voice. "Now, let's move on to the second stage - actual combat testing."

"I will cast Legilimency on you and see if your progress is worth my time."

"So soon?" Harry blurted out, a hint of panic in his voice.

"A real battle won't wait for you to be ready." Snape stared at him with cold eyes, "Are you ready? Legilimency!"

A beam of light shot straight at Harry, and before he could react, he was caught in Snape's spell.

His face became distorted in an instant, cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and it was obvious that he was trying his best to resist.

After a few seconds, Snape withdrew his wand.

"Boring." Snape frowned. "All of it is irrelevant images and Lovegood's nonsense. What a waste of time."

Harry blushed and stammered back, "That...that's my privacy!"

"Privacy?" Snape sneered, "In the face of dark magic, the so-called 'privacy' is nothing but a joke."

Then his eyes turned to Draco.

"It's your turn next, Draco." He said meaningfully, "Are you ready?"

Draco pursed his lips and nodded slightly: "I'm ready, Godfather."

Snape cast the spell without any further ado.

"Legilimency!"

Draco's expression suddenly became stiff and his eyes became unfocused.

His fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white, and he was obviously trying desperately to resist.

After a few seconds, Snape lowered his wand once again.

"Oh, this is very interesting." Snape showed a strange smile on his face. "So you have an 'Amanta Jewelry Diary' that records her necklaces, rings and hair accessories?"

Draco's face immediately turned red and his eyes wandered around, trying to avoid Amanta's sight.

"Godfather..." he whispered in defense, but Snape ignored him.

"If your little secret is discovered, don't blame me for not reminding you." Snape sneered, "The last one, Miss Merlin."

Amanta held her breath and tried to calm her heartbeat.

"Legitimate!" Snape's voice was like thunder in my ears.

A cold light rushed towards Amanta, and she instantly felt an invisible force invading her mind, as if a sharp ice needle pierced the barrier.

Her thoughts were torn apart, exposed without reservation to the intruder's gaze.

Images flooded in—Quidditch practice, the scream of the mandrake, the latest issue of The Quibbler, creeping into the restricted section…

And the most recent memory: Draco taking a nap in the library, his blond hair shining in the sun, his eyelashes trembling, his thin lips slightly moving...that look made her heart beat out of control.

"No!" A sharp warning burst out in Amanta's heart. She tried desperately to suppress these memories, but the more she struggled, the more the memories poured out uncontrollably.

Snape snorted contemptuously and lowered his wand.

Amanta breathed in relief, but her face had already turned pale.

"Miss Merlin," he said with a mocking tone, "I thought you would perform slightly better than them, but apparently, I overestimated you, Draco? In the afternoon sun? What a touching scene."

Amanta blushed but was unable to refute.

Snape turned to Draco, his eyes carrying some subtle meaning: "My dear godson, it seems that you are not the only fool who is tied down by emotions."

Draco clenched his teeth, a trace of embarrassment and anger appeared on his pale face.

He lowered his head and said nothing, but his fists were clenched so tightly that the knuckles turned white.

"Love is stupid," Snape said coldly, "It will become your greatest weakness, and in a real battle, weakness is equivalent to death."

The air froze for a moment, and none of the three spoke.

Snape glanced at them and said expressionlessly, "Practice is over. This time tomorrow, I hope to see at least a little progress."

"Otherwise, I wouldn't mind letting you experience the true power of the Imperius Curse firsthand."

After he finished speaking, he turned and left, his black robe fluttering in a gust of cold wind.

There were only three people left in the office, and silence enveloped them.

Amanta lowered her eyes, trying to hide her embarrassment and shame. She could feel Draco's eyes sweeping over her, but she didn't look up.

"Um..." Harry broke the silence, his voice full of uneasiness, "Amanta, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she replied quickly, her tone much colder than expected.

Draco slowly took a step closer and whispered, "Amanta, ignore what the Godfather said. What he said... is meaningless."

Amanta raised her head and met his serious and complicated gaze.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end just nodded slightly.

Harry looked at them, seemed to realize something, and quickly turned around and pretended to flip through the booklet.

Amanta took a deep breath and decided to ignore the awkward atmosphere.

She knew that the next practice would only be more difficult.

What was perhaps even more difficult was how to face Snape's sharp words - and the inescapable emotions deep in her heart.