Chapter 83: What It Means To Dislike Each Other
“I’m done for…”
Harry shouted this in despair as he returned to Gryffindor.
Although he struggled desperately on the way, trying to run back to the Headmaster’s office to get Dumbledore to revoke his decision, for which he even told Professor McGonagall that Snape was the man in black!
But given that he and Ron had just had a fight with Malfoy that evening, his face was still swollen.
Professor McGonagall forcefully suppressed his resistance.
“Mr. Potter, although you were out after curfew, copied homework, and fought… I still hope you will be a good boy. Now, obey Dumbledore’s arrangements obediently, otherwise, I will give you two weeks of detention and have Professor Snape supervise you!”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you!”
Clearly, in Professor McGonagall’s eyes, Harry was already considered unreliable.
Dragged back to the dormitory by Professor McGonagall, Harry was completely despairing. He lay motionless on the bed, his eyes staring at the ceiling blankly.
Not feeling at ease about him, Ron, who had not rested, went to the Common Room and asked the female student Lavender Brown to fetch Hermione from the girls’ dormitory.
Hearing Ron’s retelling, Hermione frowned, “Harry, didn’t Dumbledore say anything else?”
She stood at the entrance of the boys’ dormitory. Seamus, Neville, and a few other young boys wrapped themselves tightly, not daring to utter a sound.
The only one making noise was Scabbers by Ron’s bed.
The fat rat shrieked desperately because Guo Guo Cha had also followed. It was squatting in front of Ron’s bed, shaking its head at Scabbers’ cage.
Ron couldn’t bother with Scabbers now. He nudged Harry a few times, and only then did the despairing Harry say with a mournful face, “No, he only told me that starting tomorrow, Snape will teach me Occlumency.”
Hermione thought for a moment, “We’ll go with you tomorrow!”
Ron nodded hastily, “Yes, Harry, we’ll go with you. With so many people, Snape won’t dare to lay a hand on you.”
Beside them, Neville quietly peeked his head out, “Why would Snape lay a hand on Harry?”
Ron said without looking back, “It’s nothing, Neville. You come with us tomorrow too!”
Neville: “…”
On the other side, Seamus and Dean quickly put away their curiosity and pretended to sleep. No one in Gryffindor liked Snape, and no one was not afraid of him.
Poor Neville, why did he have to speak up?
After agreeing on the time for tomorrow, Hermione went back. Harry lay on the bed like a dead fish, listening to Ron’s incessant worries and Neville’s stuttered protests.
As they talked, the two of them started snoring, leaving Harry alone, his mental state collapsing, tossing and turning, sleepless all night!
Early the next morning, Harry’s eyes were wide open as he watched Ron get up yawning and then shamelessly say to him, “Harry, I was so worried last night that I couldn’t sleep. Look, my eye bags are dark.”
Heh heh…
That was clearly from Crabbe!
Harry couldn’t be bothered. He quietly washed up, went to the Dining Hall to eat, and then, with few classes in the morning, secretly slipped away to the Eighth Floor, trying to find Dumbledore.
He recited the password Professor McGonagall had said yesterday, but the ugly gargoyle showed no reaction. Instead, it attracted Peeves.
“Aha, Harry Potter! Caught you, you truant brat, you’re done for!”
For Harry, facing Snape was the real doom.
He threatened, “Peeves, shut up! Do you know the password to the Headmaster’s Office? Tell me, or when Vaughn gets back, I’ll have him teach you a lesson!”
Peeves seemed to be scared. He blinked his dark little eyes, “Oh, no—how could poor Peeves know the password? Dear Harry Potter, are you trying to break into the Headmaster’s Office?”
An irritable Harry casually replied, “Yes…”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he saw Peeves do a somersault in the air, grinned widely, and shouted:
“Help—there’s a thief trying to break into the Headmaster’s Office! Filch, you damnable cripple, come quickly, catch Harry Potter!”
Harry fled in disarray. However, how could he escape Peeves’ pursuit? The guy rode on his head and wouldn’t leave.
In the end, Harry was hurried by Filch to Professor McGonagall.
Looking at Professor McGonagall, who was so angry she clutched her chest and could barely breathe, Harry sighed and decided to resign himself to his fate.
He had figured it out: these adults were completely unreliable!
Hermione’s suggestion was more reliable!
At night, after a day of mental preparation, Harry picked up a lantern and prepared to go to the Room of Requirement.
Now he didn’t have to worry about Filch, but if possible, he would rather be caught by Filch and taken to the janitor’s office!
After walking down the corridor for a while, Harry quietly looked back, saw the empty space behind him, and whispered, “Are you still there?”
Then, Ron’s answer echoed in his ears, “We’re right behind you!”
And Neville’s soft sobs, “Honestly, can you let me go back? What if we get caught…”
A few steps away, Hermione’s voice could be heard, “It’s okay, Neville, you won’t get caught, I promise!”
“Hermione, why aren’t you under the Invisibility Cloak?”
“I have to bring Guo Guo Cha. Don’t worry, my Disillusionment Charm is quite good… Let’s go, Harry, don’t waste time. You have to go anyway!”
“Sigh…” Harry sighed and had to trudge his way to the Eighth Floor.
When he arrived, opposite the tapestry where the Troll had beaten Barnaby silly, the door to the Room of Requirement had appeared, slightly ajar, with a sliver of dim yellow light seeping out.
Harry nervously rubbed his trouser legs, then looked at the empty space behind him, and pushed the door open.
It was still the small study where he and Vaughn often practiced, but what he usually found warm and familiar was now infused with a chill, because standing by the fireplace was Snape, dressed in black like a specter.
Gulp!
Harry swallowed, deliberately leaving the door wide open, and gestured behind him.
But his plan failed.
Snape turned around, his dark eyes seeming to pierce through Harry’s body. In his characteristic drawl, he said, “Granger, Weasley, Longbottom—out!”
“…”
Harry stiffly forced a smile, “No one’s here, Professor…”
“I’ll say it again, out, and by the way—close the door!”
The air was silent for a moment.
Creak!
Harry heard the sound of the door rubbing. He knew his companions had finally relented, and he felt even more sorrowful and despairing.
Outside the door, Ron yanked off the Invisibility Cloak and whispered fearfully, “We’re done for. When I get scared, I just do it. Will Snape kill Harry inside?”
He seemed to see Harry turn into a pool of mosaic.
Neville beside him shivered with fear, his teeth chattering.
Only Hermione, after dispelling the Disillusionment Charm, stared at Guo Guo Cha at her feet, deep in thought:
Guo Guo Cha seemed anxious. It tried to sniff the air, as if searching for something, but it dared not leave Hermione’s side—it still had to help Hermione deal with Madam Rosmerta, so that everyone wouldn’t get caught during their night wandering.
Bang!
The door closed behind him. The slight sound, to Harry at this moment, sounded like thunder.
He felt as if his head had been hit by a troll’s club, numb and hollow. Many thoughts surged into his mind and then quickly receded, as if his brain no longer had the substance to sustain them.
Harry rubbed his trouser legs hard.
Snape, who had been staring at him coldly, gradually lowered his gaze, curling his upper lip into a mocking smile. “The famous Boy Who Lived gets nervous too. It seems you have some self-awareness, knowing you are just an idiot—sorry, I shouldn’t insult idiots!”
This infuriating sarcasm finally snapped Harry out of his daze.
He took a deep breath, knowing he had to accept reality. Dumbledore had arranged for Snape to teach him Occlumency, and he was powerless to resist.
But at least, he could choose not to let Snape succeed.
That detestable old bat wouldn’t get to read his memories and thoughts!
Harry also couldn’t let Snape know that he had discovered his “true colors.”
All the knowledge Vaughn had taught him flowed through his mind. Harry desperately applied Occlumency, locking all his thoughts and memories tightly within a cold “shell.”
That shell was made of blankness and random thoughts. For the past month, Harry had been able to maintain its existence while conscious.
But its strength could never be increased, and once he fell asleep, it would easily dissolve due to relaxed thoughts.
Vaughn had said this was due to his lack of survival pressure. A safe environment affected his practice efficiency, and he hadn’t formed a defense instinct ingrained in his subconscious.
Harry didn’t quite understand the theory, he only knew that his current sense of crisis and survival pressure must be at its peak!
Following the method taught by Vaughn, Harry desperately piled up his mental defenses. The result of extreme concentration was the expected side effect: his expression gradually turned cold.
“Begin, Snape… Professor!”
Seeing Harry’s transformation, Snape’s expression was somewhat dazed. Those cold, emerald-like eyes… they were so similar!
Just like about 20 years ago, after he had crazily shouted “Mudblood” and she had left crying, the eyes he saw when he met her again.
Not a trace of emotion left…
His heart ached for a moment, and Snape subconsciously shifted his gaze, then he saw Harry’s face.
That hateful face!
Pain turned into rage, burning uncontrollably!
He raised his wand and forcefully chanted the spell: “Legilimency!”
The powerful spell, carrying immense invisible magic power, slammed into him.
This time, Harry truly felt as if his head had been hit by a club.
A powerful, invisible force was violently attacking his Occlumency.
The ocean of thought churned with waves, and all light in the room quickly faded from Harry’s eyes, leaving only boundless darkness.
This was not because his eyes were injured, but because his brain, working at full capacity to defend itself, had no energy left to receive sensory information.
The Mind World, due to the external attack, this non-physical space, now exhibited various anomalies.
Lightning, gales, earthquakes… or perhaps many unspeakable horrors.
These were the materializations of Harry’s fears. Not understanding Memory Magic, he naturally couldn’t see these. He only felt that he was very scared now, and the mental shock caused by the attack made his thoughts chaotic, making it increasingly difficult to maintain Occlumency.
He finally understood what survival pressure meant!
This was completely different from the feeling of Vaughn using Legilimency on him in the past few months, but Harry knew that it wasn’t because Vaughn wasn’t strong, but because he had no defenses against Vaughn.
And more importantly, Vaughn had never harbored such deep hatred, disgust, and malice towards him!
Poor Harry, struggling to hold on, of course, didn’t notice that deep in his mind, a humanoid mist group quietly raised its head.
Its eyes, flowing with light, recorded all of this, then waited for the person who placed it there to take it out, read it, and analyze it…
…
Harry didn’t know how he managed to persist.
His mental defenses, built with all his strength, were like a small boat drifting alone in a storm under Snape’s attack, always on the verge of capsizing.
Time seemed to pass slowly. When Snape finally stopped Legilimency, Harry found his clothes soaked and his body covered in sticky sweat.
As the attack ceased and his mental defenses relaxed, his vision brightened again.
He suddenly felt as if he had gone through a lifetime.
Harry also noticed that Snape didn’t seem to be at ease either. He secretly clenched his trembling hand—maintaining strong emotions was very taxing. Muggles had similar cases; when people were in extreme grief, they could even faint.
Harry couldn’t help but laugh, but soon he paid the price for his complacency.
“Potter—you seem quite pleased? Yes, you defended against Legilimency… even though you couldn’t move an inch during the entire process and were at my mercy, this must have been a very rare experience for a dullard like you!”
“…I am not pleased, Professor Snape!”
“When you lie next time, pay attention to the smile on your lips, it’s truly disgusting!”
“…”
Snape could always break any young wizard with his cold expression and malicious words, especially Harry.
He clenched his fists, barely controlling the urge to punch. He knew he couldn’t beat Snape, so he decided to endure.
But for Snape, seeing the son of his enemy yield so easily only made him intensify his efforts, to vent the frustration of having to nurture the offspring of his enemy!
He raised his head high and, with Harry’s extremely disliked Malfoy-esque condescending posture, drawled slowly:
“Rest for 20 minutes, and we’ll continue!”
Harry’s face immediately turned pale. He was severely drained, sweating profusely, almost dehydrated.
If it happened again, he was very worried if he could really hold on!
He hurriedly cried out, “Professor Snape, 20 minutes is too short…”
Before he could finish, he heard Snape, who was secretly flexing his wrist, let out a cold snort, “Then 10 minutes, Potter. Do you have any other objections?”
Damnable!
Harry finally understood. This old bat was willing to risk mutual destruction just to read his memories and thoughts and humiliate him!
Harry also became fierce, gritted his teeth, “No, Pro-fessor!”
“Very good. I hope you will show the potential of the Boy Who Lived next. Honestly, your defense just now was only slightly better than a troll’s in my opinion.”
“I felt the same. Your attack was like Aunt Petunia tickling Cousin Dudley, afraid of piercing his delicate skin.”
Snape’s face darkened, and he said word by word, “…Ve-ry—good, Pot-ter! I want to see if your defense is as hard as your mouth!”
Although he regretted it a little, Harry would never back down. He retorted, “I look forward to your performance, Professor!”
“…”
“…”
The two stopped talking, glaring at each other, not blinking, as if they were going to compete in this regard.
Ten minutes passed in the blink of an eye. As Snape raised his wand, Harry let out a muffled groan.
The fierce confrontation began again.
“Tsk tsk, how interesting.”
In the corner of the study, the cloaked Vaughn smiled and looked around.
Snape and Harry’s clash might have been fierce on a mental level, but from his perspective, their performances were essentially mutual blank stares, followed by a jolt as the attack and defense paused, then they would stop, panting, to rest and recover their strength.
It was like a comical mime, perhaps even suggestive.
Neither was willing to admit defeat, so this mime continued in a way that would make onlookers burst into laughter.
As time went by.
After 60 minutes, Harry, as the defender, was the first to exhaust his strength. He flailed his limp limbs desperately, trying to grab the back of the sofa or something else to support himself from falling.
Snape also neglected his persona, bracing himself against the fireplace, his face pale and sweating profusely.
One had to admit that the professor still had professional integrity.
Even at such a moment, even if he couldn’t help but spew venom, he was genuinely trying to teach Harry.
“Potter, *huff*… your dull brain only crudely resists all attacks without adapting and adjusting…”
“Potter, huff… your idiotic skull can only crudely resist all attacks, and doesn’t know how to adjust and adapt…”
Harry no longer had the strength to retort. Panting, he listened to Snape’s words and then, with the last bit of strength he had managed to muster, gritted his teeth and said, “Again!”
So, continue!
In the 90th minute, as Snape finished his attack again, Harry, who had barely managed to hold on, was completely exhausted and passed out, his eyes rolling back.
Snape was not doing any better. He had been using Legilimency for over an hour, a power-enhanced teaching version that included a large amount of emotional investment.
His face was now as pale as Malfoy’s.
If not for his stubborn will, he too would have collapsed.
Even so, his arm, propped against the fireplace, was trembling.
Vaughn dispelled the magic and clapped lightly. “Brilliant! Sharp offense and tenacious defense, Professor, you and Harry have performed a textbook classic mind battle!”
Snape was not happy at all to hear Harry’s name mentioned alongside his own.
He suppressed his gasps with force and said sternly, “Go check on Dumbledore’s Boy Who Lived and see if he’s dead!”
“Oh, Professor, Albus and I still have faith in you. I’m just here as a precaution, and I won’t be coming tomorrow.”
“Hmph…”
Vaughn paid no mind to the mocking snort. He walked over to Harry, crouched down, and his eyes glowed faintly.
In the mind world that Snape could no longer see, Vaughn saw a misty human figure. He didn’t withdraw it but left it there, continuing to record.
After a moment’s examination, he said cheerfully, “The Legilimency is still intact. Although it’s running passively and its defensive capabilities aren’t ideal, it’s sufficient for early warning… Hmm, Harry seems very vigilant and resistant to you, Professor. I’ve never seen him possess such a sensitive subconscious when asleep before.”
This was not something to be proud of, and Snape’s expression grew colder.
Unconcerned by his grim expression, Vaughn checked for a while longer. When he was sure there were no oversights, he said with a smile, “Alright, everything went smoothly, and the results exceeded my original expectations. Alas, Harry should have received your tutelage earlier!”
Stare—
Snape’s dark eyes seemed to pierce through Vaughn’s head.
“Don’t be angry, Professor, just kidding. Actually, I think you and Harry work quite well together. Sparks fly between your mutual hatred and disgust. This intense emotional turbulence is truly…”
“Vaughn—Weasley!”
“Alright!” Vaughn spread his hands, no longer provoking the Professor’s emotions. “Let’s proceed at the current pace, Professor. Of course, today is enough. You can call Ron and the others in to take Harry back.”
With that, he went invisible again.
Snape gasped for a while longer, finally regaining some strength. He then glanced uncomfortably at the spot where Vaughn had disappeared, adjusted his robe, and once again became the unruffled “ghost,” flicking his wand.
The door opened with a sound.
Ron, who had been waiting anxiously outside, poked his head in. The moment he saw Harry lying on the ground with his eyes closed, his face turned ashen.
“Harry—” he yelled, clenching his fists and glaring at Snape.
Hermione, who had rushed to Harry’s side to check him, quickly said, “Wait, Ron, Harry just fainted.”
“—Oh…”
Ron smoothly uncurled his fist, scratched his head, and grinned sheepishly.
Snape curled his upper lip. “Gryffindor loses 10 points, Ronald Weasley for attempting to attack a Professor!”
“I didn’t, I just, my scalp was itchy. I haven’t washed my hair lately…”
Snape: “…Another 10 points deducted, Ronald Weasley for mocking a Professor!”
Ron decided to shut up.
He and Neville helped Harry up. Before leaving, he asked, “Hermione, should we send Harry to the Hospital Wing? I’m afraid he’s injured.”
Snape, his face dark, said, “I think you can send him to St. Mungo’s. The delicate Boy Who Lived needs 100 wizards to fuss over his head. You can also check if your own head is filled with troll boogers.”
Ron and Neville, supporting Harry, scurried away dejectedly.
From far away, his muffled grumbling could be heard:
“This old bat’s mouth is getting more venomous. Neville, if you hadn’t held me back, I would have punched him.”
“Huh? I, I didn’t…”
The voices quickly faded amidst Neville’s protests.
Snape felt that his mood was terrible. In fact, he hadn’t been happy for even a second in the past two days.
And all of this was thanks to Dumbledore and Vaughn. So, when Vaughn reappeared and wanted to chat with him, Snape simply threw off his robe and walked away without looking back.
Looking around the suddenly empty study, Vaughn shrugged. He sat in the study for a while and then prepared to go back to rest.
In order not to disrupt Dumbledore’s plan, he couldn’t appear in front of Harry for the time being.
He had to return to the Ministry of Magic through the fireplace first thing tomorrow morning.
This had some benefits, at least the blame for skipping class could be shifted to Old Dumbledore.
Recalling Professor McGonagall’s chest heaving in anger as she stared at Dumbledore’s beard that evening, Vaughn couldn’t help but chuckle.
Then, as he walked out of the Room of Requirement, he saw a big cat excitedly meowing and running from the corner of the corridor.
And Hermione too, the girl in her pajamas, was huddled in the corner, only her eyes shining brightly:
“I knew you were here!”
