Dylan flipped through the small booklet in his hands and discovered that it contained not only Occlumency but also Professor Snape's specialty—Legilimency!
He looked up in surprise and hesitantly asked, "Professor? Are you sure you didn't give me the wrong book?"
Professor Snape cast him a sidelong glance. "Do you think I'm so old that I can't read anymore?"
"Heh… heh…" Dylan gave an awkward chuckle. "I wouldn't dare."
Snape snorted. "Remember, never let your emotions control you. They are nothing more than useless byproducts of your mind."
Hearing this, Dylan immediately thought of the words on the paper that Snape had burned just moments ago.
*Thinking of Lily~*
So, emotions are useless…?
Are you sure about that?
Dylan didn't dare dwell on these thoughts in front of Snape. As soon as the professor finished speaking, he quickly responded, "Understood, Professor."
Snape narrowed his eyes and studied Dylan for a moment.
Strange. For a second, he thought he had sensed something… but maybe he was mistaken.
"Alright, off you go," Snape finally said in a low voice.
Dylan hurriedly said his goodbyes.
Only after stepping out of the office and shutting the door behind him did he feel the invisible weight of Snape's gaze disappear.
He let out a small breath of relief before quickly heading toward the Great Hall.
He needed to finish his meal quickly and get back to studying the booklet Snape had given him.
Both Occlumency and Legilimency were skills he had *always* wanted to learn!
He had considered asking Snape about them before, but every time he attended a remedial lesson, he was kept too busy. As soon as they finished brewing potions, Snape would immediately tell him to get lost.
There was never enough time, nor an opportunity, to bring it up.
Yet now, out of nowhere, Snape had decided to *proactively* teach him these two spells. That was… unexpected.
"Maybe it's because, during Christmas, I went to Professor Flitwick for extra Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons and to Professor McGonagall for advanced Transfiguration research? Maybe that scared them a little?"
In fact, ever since then, Professor Flitwick had started teaching him advanced counter-curses, and Professor McGonagall had begun showing him secondary spell shaping techniques.
These subjects were far beyond the normal curriculum—even beyond what was typically taught at Hogwarts.
Dylan suspected the professors were worried he'd go down a dangerous path if he kept experimenting on his own. Teaching him higher-level magic might be their way of guiding him in the right direction and keeping him from making reckless mistakes.
Of course, Snape stuck to his usual methods—bombarding him with complex Potions theories and advanced brewing techniques.
But since Snape *was* the Potions Master, that was to be expected.
Dylan could hardly expect *him* to teach Herbology—Snape couldn't even keep a lily plant alive.
But now, Snape wasn't just refusing to teach him other subjects—he was handing him *the ultimate trump cards* in magic!
After finishing his meal, Dylan returned to his dormitory.
He climbed onto his bed, wrapped himself in his blanket, and eagerly opened the booklet.
"I thought I'd have to wait until next year and sneak into the Restricted Section to find this kind of information."
He turned to the first section—Occlumency.
"…Shouldn't I be learning Legilimency first?"
Occlumency was the ultimate defense against Legilimency.
Logically, it made sense to first learn how the mind could be invaded before mastering how to defend against it. But Snape had deliberately flipped the order, which probably meant he had his reasons.
As Dylan read on, he realized—Snape was *Snape*, after all.
This was some serious material.
*"Occlumency is an advanced mental defense technique that relies on absolute mastery over one's thoughts and an intricate deception of the mind."*
*"Through long-term meditation and specialized mental exercises, one can construct an impenetrable labyrinth within their consciousness. Every thought, every memory, can be hidden deep within this mental fortress."*
*"Additionally, by constantly altering the frequency of one's thought patterns—turning them into chaotic, meaningless noise—an intruder will struggle to extract any useful information."*
Dylan studied Snape's elegant handwriting and mulled over the concepts.
In reality, these descriptions referred to a *master* level of Occlumency.
Basic Occlumency merely involved clearing one's mind and suppressing emotions.
Even at that level, it was enough to make it difficult for a Legilimens to extract thoughts.
However, that also meant an attacker could *deduce* that Occlumency was being used—giving away the fact that the person had something to hide.
Wouldn't that be like putting up a giant sign saying, *I know Occlumency, and I'm hiding something*?
A skilled Legilimens could use that very absence of information to infer the truth.
Sometimes, *hiding* something was as good as *admitting* it.
"Snape wants me to learn *this* level of Occlumency from the start? Isn't that expecting a bit too much from me?"
Dylan had hoped to somehow unlock a magical shortcut to instantly master the spells. But seeing the complexity of the material, he realized he'd have to *actually* study.
But learning on his own… how was he supposed to reach *that* level right away?
Dylan kept reading.
*"Mastering Occlumency means achieving absolute sovereignty over your own mind. At higher levels, it allows you to suppress specific emotions or even memories."*
So that's why a skilled Occlumens could conceal information without making it obvious!
Dylan stroked his chin.
There was no doubt—Snape was a *true* master of both Occlumency and Legilimency.
A double agent, living under Voldemort's nose for years… without advanced Occlumency, he would have been exposed *long* ago.
Voldemort would've hit him with *Avada Kedavra* a hundred times over by now.
After finishing the Occlumency section, Dylan moved on to Legilimency.
—He planned to skim through everything first before diving deeper.
Legilimency, put simply, was a terrifying magic that allowed one to invade another's mind.
By using this spell, a Legilimens could tear through someone's mental defenses with ease.
However, because memories were vast and disorganized, extracting the *right* information wasn't always straightforward.
Initially, a Legilimens could only access the surface thoughts of their target.
To go deeper, they had to focus intensely and transform their magical energy into a specialized frequency.
This frequency had to *resonate* with the target's thoughts—like tuning into the right radio signal.
Only then could the Legilimens smoothly infiltrate deeper into the mind and retrieve hidden information.
A rough or forceful approach could cause severe mental trauma to the victim.
A more effective method involved *subtlety*: maintaining eye contact, using words to lower the target's guard, and guiding them into revealing information naturally.
After finishing the booklet, Dylan finally understood Snape's intentions.
He wanted Dylan to establish a strong *defense* first—to grasp the significance of protecting one's mind.
It was like fortifying a castle before studying the enemy's siege tactics.
By learning Occlumency first, Dylan wouldn't just acquire a *defensive* skill—he'd also gain deeper insights into *attacking* through Legilimency.
This approach would help him develop a more comprehensive, analytical mindset when studying magic.
"Snape really *is* a 'brilliant bastard,' huh?"
Dylan sighed in admiration.
But still…
"I've already mastered Legilimency at the highest level. I hardly even need to use Legilimens anymore."
Using Legilimens is such a hassle. Isn't it easier to just hit someone with a Soul Snatch spell, extract their soul, give it a good whipping, or directly control them so they spill everything themselves?
That said, Dylan still decided to study both spells.
By comparing Legilimens to the Soul Snatch spell he had already mastered, Dylan quickly grasped not only Legilimens but also Occlumency.
"Looking at it this way, Legilimens is actually pretty mild."
After studying for a long time, Dylan finally lifted his head from the small booklet he had been reading.
**(Note: Removed promotional text for a novel site.)**
Legilimens and the Soul Snatch spell are similar in concept but fundamentally different in nature.
One allows entry into another's mind to read their emotions and memories.
The other completely dominates a person's thoughts and actions, turning them into a puppet, their very soul manipulated at will.
Moreover, just as Legilimens has a countermeasure—Occlumency—those who train in it can potentially resist Legilimens attacks.
However, the Soul Snatch spell, being one of the three Unforgivable Curses, has no countermeasures at all.
Once hit, the victim has almost no way to break free on their own, unless there is a powerful external force intervening or the caster releases the spell.
A hectic week of classes flew by.
During this time, Harry and the others were tormented by Hermione's strict revision plan, suffering through endless studying.
What made it worse was seeing Dylan casually flipping through a small booklet while they memorized mountains of knowledge. It made their struggles feel even more miserable.
Another weekend arrived.
Dylan had arranged to meet Professor Snape in an abandoned classroom.
As for why they weren't meeting in his office—
Dylan figured Snape was worried he might see something... peculiar again, so he brought him here instead.
That reserved little professor.
Dylan followed behind Snape into the classroom. The professor was still wearing the robe Dylan had given him, and it made his movements appear even more dramatic and fluid than before.
"It seems like your practice this week has paid off," Snape remarked, looking at Dylan.
He could no longer sense any emotions radiating from Dylan at all.
"Then let me test your Occlumency."
As soon as Snape finished speaking, he gave Dylan no time to react before locking eyes with him, his sharp gaze piercing straight through.
"Hm? There's nothing?" Snape narrowed his eyes and raised an eyebrow. "No... you're just clearing your mind. There are still some unimportant emotions surfacing."
Snape didn't sense any strong emotional fluctuations, but neither did it feel like Dylan's mind was completely empty. It was as if he were just an ordinary person walking down the street, occasionally having random thoughts pop up.
For example—
*What should I have for dinner tonight?*
*That steamed bun this morning was awful…*
Snape was slightly surprised.
He had only given Dylan the booklet a week ago and hadn't even explained it to him.
Yet Dylan had already reached this level of mastery?
Snape studied Dylan carefully.
Just how talented was this kid when it came to Dark Arts?
"Not bad," Snape huffed, his expression remaining cold as ever.
"Now, you may try—"
Before Snape could even finish his sentence, Dylan immediately spoke.
"Legilimens!"
Not giving Snape any time to prepare, Dylan launched his attack straight into the professor's mind.
He didn't see anything particularly interesting—just memories of identifying herbs and brewing potions.
Dylan frowned.
No surprise there—it *was* Snape, after all.
His Occlumency was probably permanently welded into his brain.
Anytime, anywhere, under any circumstances, he had no fear of someone using Legilimens on him!
At this level, his mastery was probably maxed out.
Dylan clicked his tongue.
Thanks to his proficiency with the Soul Snatch spell, he had a significant head start in understanding both Legilimens and Occlumency.
So even though he had only been studying for a week—without any guidance—he had already reached level five in Occlumency and level seven in Legilimens!
But compared to Snape… even level seven still wasn't enough.
Perhaps wanting Dylan to practice more, Snape didn't stop him.
Dylan continued attempting to penetrate deeper into Snape's mind, but all he saw were more images of potion brewing.
—And Snape was always alone in those memories.
After trying for a while with no new results, Dylan found himself focusing on Snape's precise potion-making techniques instead.
"Huh? This brewing method…"
Dylan paused, then immediately began analyzing Snape's techniques, his approach to handling ingredients, and his unique insights into potion-making.
It seemed Snape wasn't even trying to hide these thoughts from him.
Dylan could even sense the professor's thought process while handling each ingredient.
"*Damn… am I basically becoming Professor Snape, brewing the potion myself?*"
*(End of chapter.)*