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lomonaaerenTitle: I Have Been a Brother to O.W.L.S
Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling and associates own these characters. I am writing this story for fun and not profit.
Pairing: Gen, except for a few mentions of canon pairings
Content Notes: AU (Harry is Lord Slytherin), violence, discussion of past character deaths, bigotry, present tense, ridiculousness
Rating: PG-13
Summary: The second half of his fifth year means that Harry has to take his OWLS, which are a matter of great concern to him. But the world, with its magical creatures and Muggleborns who need help, corrupt Ministry, and stupid Voldemort, still spins on.
Author’s Notes: This is my next “Lordship Business” fic, which I didn’t get to during the latest seasonal story arc. It’s the sequel to my stories “Confusion Is Mine, Saith the Lord,” “Thou Shalt Have No Tournaments Before Me,” and “Of a Sweet Nonsense Unto the Lord.” Make sure that you read those first; otherwise, this won’t make any sense. The title is a twist on the Bible quote, “I have been a brother to dragons and a companion to owls.” I plan to post a scene or a few scenes from this fic every day until it’s finished.
I Have Been a Brother to O.W.L.S
“Take slow, deep breaths. That’s it. Let your mind sink into itself, into the plain that I told you about.”
Harry keeps his eyes closed and his breathing slow and deep, as Ernie is advising him. It’s odd that it would be Ernie, of all people, who knows the most about Occlumency, when he seems pompous and easy to irritate so much of the time.
But those thoughts are the kinds of things that will keep Harry from succeeding with Occlumency. So he tips his head back and lets the thoughts run out of his head like water, along with the worries about his nightmares that are the reason he’s learning Occlumency in the first place.
“Do you see the plain?”
It takes a long moment of concentration, but Harry can see the plain, an immense, flat, black, glassy expanse stretching out in front of him, reflecting the rippling light of a few stars overhead. Harry breathes. There are distant flares of green and purple light like an aurora, but he stands there passively while they play over him.
“I see the plain,” Harry says at last, when the silence has dragged on so long that it’s become an imposition itself and he realizes, distant, that Ernie is waiting for him to answer. The plain shimmers in front of him.
“Focus on a distant point of light.”
Harry picks out a purple one. It shines like starling feathers.
“Walk towards it. Leave your burdens behind as you do.”
Harry goes stepping lightly across the dark plain towards that distant point. The way that he has to walk means he sheds more and more burdens. Worries, fears, concerns, qualms of conscience. At last he stands in front of the purple light.
“Touch it.”
Harry reaches out. His hand travels through the air with incredible slowness. He watches it move, watches the light play over the back of his knuckles and fingers, the way that he turns as if to cup it in his palm…
And his hand slams against an invisible barrier.
Harry tries again to move forwards, and again, pushing against the molded air and trying not to feel the irritation that wells up inside him. That will just push him further away from touching this point of light.
But it’s useless. Harry exhales and opens his eyes, and finds himself staring at Ernie, who has his head cocked, lines falling into place as he frowns.
“Did you touch it?”
“I was blocked again.”
“You’re blocking yourself.” Ernie’s voice stops sending inhuman and ghostly, and sounds disapproving enough that Harry bristles. Ernie holds up his hands. “You need to let go of everything, and that includes worries about what will happen to your followers and Professor Black if you master the final step and abandon all your emotions to Occlumency.”
Harry shuts his eyes and leans back on his hands. They’re sitting outside by the lake, and it’s not Ernie’s fault that Harry is too afraid to complete that final step, or that the air around them has grown chill enough for snow to fall. They’re inside a Warming Bubble Charm that Sirius taught Harry, anyway, and it blocks the wind and keeps the snow from getting anywhere near them. “I know.”
“Why are you so worried?”
Harry swallows and opens his eyes. “Because of what happened to the other people with the title of Lord Slytherin. They became puppets of others who manipulated them into evil actions, or they were too proud of themselves and ended up being blood purists. What if that happens to me because I stop caring?”
“But you won’t.”
“That’s what you want me to do with Occlumency!”
“Yes, but it will only be temporary. You’ll be able to pull your mind out of the aurora and back into your body, and your emotions will return to you. The goal is to be able to leap back and forth between the open state and the blocked one, the emotional state and the emotionless one, at will.”
Ernie sounds like he’s quoting someone. Harry nods. “To block Voldemort.”
The name still makes Ernie flinch, but he doesn’t run away. “Yes.”
“I have a hard time doing it.”
“I know. But you said he’s been resurrected. You have so much to protect from him that you can’t afford not to do it.”
Harry knows that, which is why he’s out here practicing Occlumency in the first place. He takes a deep breath and shakes off some of the crowding fears as much as possible. “All right. Let’s try again.”
“Picture a plain…”
Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling and associates own these characters. I am writing this story for fun and not profit.
Pairing: Gen, except for a few mentions of canon pairings
Content Notes: AU (Harry is Lord Slytherin), violence, discussion of past character deaths, bigotry, present tense, ridiculousness
Rating: PG-13
Summary: The second half of his fifth year means that Harry has to take his OWLS, which are a matter of great concern to him. But the world, with its magical creatures and Muggleborns who need help, corrupt Ministry, and stupid Voldemort, still spins on.
Author’s Notes: This is my next “Lordship Business” fic, which I didn’t get to during the latest seasonal story arc. It’s the sequel to my stories “Confusion Is Mine, Saith the Lord,” “Thou Shalt Have No Tournaments Before Me,” and “Of a Sweet Nonsense Unto the Lord.” Make sure that you read those first; otherwise, this won’t make any sense. The title is a twist on the Bible quote, “I have been a brother to dragons and a companion to owls.” I plan to post a scene or a few scenes from this fic every day until it’s finished.
I Have Been a Brother to O.W.L.S
“Take slow, deep breaths. That’s it. Let your mind sink into itself, into the plain that I told you about.”
Harry keeps his eyes closed and his breathing slow and deep, as Ernie is advising him. It’s odd that it would be Ernie, of all people, who knows the most about Occlumency, when he seems pompous and easy to irritate so much of the time.
But those thoughts are the kinds of things that will keep Harry from succeeding with Occlumency. So he tips his head back and lets the thoughts run out of his head like water, along with the worries about his nightmares that are the reason he’s learning Occlumency in the first place.
“Do you see the plain?”
It takes a long moment of concentration, but Harry can see the plain, an immense, flat, black, glassy expanse stretching out in front of him, reflecting the rippling light of a few stars overhead. Harry breathes. There are distant flares of green and purple light like an aurora, but he stands there passively while they play over him.
“I see the plain,” Harry says at last, when the silence has dragged on so long that it’s become an imposition itself and he realizes, distant, that Ernie is waiting for him to answer. The plain shimmers in front of him.
“Focus on a distant point of light.”
Harry picks out a purple one. It shines like starling feathers.
“Walk towards it. Leave your burdens behind as you do.”
Harry goes stepping lightly across the dark plain towards that distant point. The way that he has to walk means he sheds more and more burdens. Worries, fears, concerns, qualms of conscience. At last he stands in front of the purple light.
“Touch it.”
Harry reaches out. His hand travels through the air with incredible slowness. He watches it move, watches the light play over the back of his knuckles and fingers, the way that he turns as if to cup it in his palm…
And his hand slams against an invisible barrier.
Harry tries again to move forwards, and again, pushing against the molded air and trying not to feel the irritation that wells up inside him. That will just push him further away from touching this point of light.
But it’s useless. Harry exhales and opens his eyes, and finds himself staring at Ernie, who has his head cocked, lines falling into place as he frowns.
“Did you touch it?”
“I was blocked again.”
“You’re blocking yourself.” Ernie’s voice stops sending inhuman and ghostly, and sounds disapproving enough that Harry bristles. Ernie holds up his hands. “You need to let go of everything, and that includes worries about what will happen to your followers and Professor Black if you master the final step and abandon all your emotions to Occlumency.”
Harry shuts his eyes and leans back on his hands. They’re sitting outside by the lake, and it’s not Ernie’s fault that Harry is too afraid to complete that final step, or that the air around them has grown chill enough for snow to fall. They’re inside a Warming Bubble Charm that Sirius taught Harry, anyway, and it blocks the wind and keeps the snow from getting anywhere near them. “I know.”
“Why are you so worried?”
Harry swallows and opens his eyes. “Because of what happened to the other people with the title of Lord Slytherin. They became puppets of others who manipulated them into evil actions, or they were too proud of themselves and ended up being blood purists. What if that happens to me because I stop caring?”
“But you won’t.”
“That’s what you want me to do with Occlumency!”
“Yes, but it will only be temporary. You’ll be able to pull your mind out of the aurora and back into your body, and your emotions will return to you. The goal is to be able to leap back and forth between the open state and the blocked one, the emotional state and the emotionless one, at will.”
Ernie sounds like he’s quoting someone. Harry nods. “To block Voldemort.”
The name still makes Ernie flinch, but he doesn’t run away. “Yes.”
“I have a hard time doing it.”
“I know. But you said he’s been resurrected. You have so much to protect from him that you can’t afford not to do it.”
Harry knows that, which is why he’s out here practicing Occlumency in the first place. He takes a deep breath and shakes off some of the crowding fears as much as possible. “All right. Let’s try again.”
“Picture a plain…”
