Chapter 11: Secrets of the Mind Arts

Harry flexed his throbbing hand as he made his way to the empty classroom he and Riku had chosen. The first week of term had dragged on forever, but even though it was Saturday Harry couldn't relax yet. Occlumency lessons with Riku loomed over his morning like a long shadow.

Harry truly didn't know what to think of the blindfolded wizard who'd be teaching him. On the one hand, Riku had saved him from the dementors and was the only one besides Sirius who fought to keep him informed. Sometimes, however, it seemed like Riku was trying to control every aspect of his life, telling him how to act and how to think. If he was being honest with himself, though, he preferred Riku's over-interest in his life to the non-interest he was getting from Dumbledore.

His scar had hurt again in his final detention with Umbridge. When he told Ron and Hermione they immediately suggested he speak to the Headmaster, but Harry didn't want to go groveling to the man who hadn't so much as looked at him since last June. Even so, the incident had been a reminder that he was tainted. His mind was tethered to Voldemort's, and the only one who could help him fix that was Riku. He had to master Occlumency. Harry finally reached the door of the classroom and pushed it open.

"Morning," the white-haired wizard greeted him. Riku was leaning on a desk when Harry came in, face buried in some tattered journal. Silence reigned for a few moments until Riku finally looked up.

"I suppose we should get started then," he said awkwardly. He obviously hadn't taught much before. "Well, you know why we're here. We're going to try to use Occlumency to close the connection between you and Voldemort."

Riku's face took on its usual seriousness as he spoke the Dark Lord's name.

"Occlumency is the magical way of protecting your mind from magical attempts to invade it, known as Legilimency."

"So, like mind reading?" Harry asked, slightly confused.

"I suppose that's one way of putting it. Occlumency involves clearing the mind of thoughts and feelings one does not want the invader to detect. This takes a tremendous amount of focus and will. Those are the cardinal principles of Occlumency Potter, focus and will."

"Focus and will," Harry repeated silently to himself. "Is it like resisting the Imperius Curse then?" Last year when the impostor Moody had taught them the curse he'd repeatedly bellowed the need for will.

"The Imperius, which one is that again?" Riku asked. Harry looked at him with a bewildered expression.

"The unforgivable curse?" He replied as if stating the obvious. "The one that would let someone take control of your body?"

A ghost of something passed over Riku's face.

"Right," the man replied in a distant tone. "Yes, I would say the resistance is similar."

Another silence settled between them. Again, it was Riku who broke it.

"Occlumency can be tough to master because it requires a great deal of control over your emotions. It's much harder to clear your mind of unwanted thoughts if the thought you want to hide makes you especially angry or excited."

Harry thought about trying to hide thoughts of his detentions with Umbridge. It was hard to keep himself from feeling rage at having to slice open his hand for telling the truth.

"So how do I do this mind-clearing thing?" He finally asked.

"This is Dumbledore's Occlumency journal. There are a couple ways it outlines that I've found effective," Riku said, holding up the book he was reading when Harry came in. "One is to focus your mind entirely on one thing. The other is to focus on nothing at all and empty your mind of all thought. But before we do that, I want you to get a feel for what Legilimency is like."

"Wait, you're going to read my mind?" said Harry, suddenly very uncomfortable.

"I'm going to use a very light probe, just enough for you to feel what it's like, After that, I'm going to teach you the Legilimency spell so you can use it on me. Then you can see what Occlumency shields look like."

"Okay," said Harry taking a deep breath. Riku stood up and took out his wand.

"Legilimens!"

The classroom fuzzed out of focus as Harry felt a bit dizzy on his feet. The thoughts that had dominated his mind, those of Umbridge's detention, replayed before his eyes. He felt the anger of not being listened to, the grim resolve to outlast her in their private battle…

The images ended and the classroom snapped back into view. Riku had lowered his wand and his eyebrows were creased in restrained anger.

"Have you told anyone about what's been going on in detention?"

Harry shuffled from foot to foot, now feeling quite foolish about keeping it to himself.

"Just Ron and Hermione," he replied flatly.

"Let me see your hand," Riku demanded. Harry held out his right arm, exposing the bloody words 'I must not tell lies.' The taller man gripped his wrist. Though Harry couldn't see his eyes he knew Riku's strange vision was focused on the scars.

Suddenly, purple flames erupted from Riku's other hand and where once empty space had been there was now a wicked, bat-like sword.

"What are you doing!?" Harry started. He attempted to wrench his wrist from Riku's grasp while considering going for his wand.

"Fixing the damage. Hold still," Riku replied. Harry did as he was bidden, tension coursing through his limbs like a coiled spring. Riku held the tip of the sword an inch from his hand.

"Heal." Riku spoke the word with a certain force behind his voice. It was like he was giving a command. Immediately, Harry's hand was encircled by leafy green rings of energy. It had the feeling of being bathed in warm water. When the energy dissipated Riku released him. Harry looked at the back of his hand to see the cuts were completely gone.

"That's a bit of my magic," Riku said as the sword vanished in those same purple flames. "I've noticed it's better for healing some injuries than yours is."

"Uhhh thanks," Harry replied. He hadn't realized his mouth had been hanging open.

"So, Legilimency then." Riku's tone returned to an instructional one. "The incantation is 'legilimens.' Usually an effective Legilimency probe requires eye contact, but we'll have to make do without that." Harry, who was still in shock over what he'd just seen, glanced back up at the other's blindfold.

"Right, so what do I do?"

"When you cast you will be attempting to project your consciousness into my mind. It will be as if you had a third eye, a mind's eye, which is trying to see into a really dark room." An image of a third eye on his forehead that could see Riku's brain came into Harry's mind.

"I'm not sure I get it," Harry finally said.

"That's fine. We're not here to learn Legilimency. I only want you to see what proper shields look like. Give it a go and see what happens."

Harry nodded and took a deep breath. He pointed his wand at Riku's forehead and said the spell.

"Legilimens!"

It was one of the stranger things Harry had felt in his life. Riku had described it accurately when he said it was like having an extra eye. It was very small and fleeting, but when he looked at Riku not only could see a tall white-haired figure, he also had this vague sense of seeing into him. Harry focused on that feeling and felt himself being pulled toward Riku's mind. However, just as he thought he was about to get in he had the feeling of being shoved in another direction. He still felt the additional sight, but the only thing he could sense was a vague desire to go the beach. Then he was thrown out.

"Whoah." Harry felt dizzy as normal perception came rushing back to him. "What was that?"

"That, Harry, was my mind deciding you had overstayed your welcome," Riku quipped. "Describe what you experienced to me."

Harry told him about the extra sight and the beach and Riku nodded his approval.

"Good. That is about what I wanted you to get from this. I grew up on a beach so the sounds and sensations of one are quite familiar to me. I can lose myself in the feeling and make the rest of my thoughts invisible. That's what you need to do to guard your mind. You need to find your beach, Harry."

Harry nodded. This part he understood. When he had learned the Patronus charm he had been forced to come up with a memory strong enough to repel his greatest fears. For Occlumency he would just have to do the same for his whole mind.

"I think I understand," he finally replied.

"Good. We'll meet again at the same time next week. By then you should have come up with a suitable focal point and practiced concentrating on it."

"Is that all then?" Harry said, anxious to get out of here and talk to Ron and Hermione.

"Not quite. There's one more thing." Riku's voice took on the same serious tone it did earlier when he mentioned Voldemort. "I want you to let me know immediately if you start having any more strange dreams or feeling things disconnected to the moment. It is of vital importance that we monitor the strength of the connection whenever we can."

Harry was immediately reminded of the scar incident with Umbridge. Did that qualify? It had been bothering him since it happened, so much so that he'd risked a letter to Sirius. But it might be a while before his godfather could respond. Looking down at his shoes, he filled Riku in on what happened.

The other wizard put a hand to his chin and seemed to ponder a few moments before responding.

"I doubt the pain has anything to do with Umbridge. It's likely these flashes of pain will be commonplace until you completely master Occlumency. Believe it or not, the fact that it was only pain is a good thing."

"How can that be a good thing?" Harry blurted in surprise.

"Because as long as you're only feeling pain it means the connection hasn't widened very far. If you start feeling emotions or seeing visions it means your minds are growing closer together," Riku finished.

"Alright, that makes sense I guess." The conversation paused for a moment and when Riku made no move to continue it Harry turned toward the door. "Next week then?" He asked.

"Next week," Riku nodded.

As he was leaving Harry felt the weight of his situation settle on him again. In his third year he'd trained tirelessly to master the Patronus. In his fourth he'd learned numerous spells and jinxes to prepare for the Triwizard. Occlumency, though, was looking to be the most important training he'd ever done.

"So do you always cast through the sword?" Hermione eagerly asked. Her lunch companion shifted uncomfortably.

"Not always. It's easier to cast my shield by hand. I can discharge energy from my hands as well."

"Can I see?" Hermione requested immediately.

"Here? Now?" Riku's face took on an incredulous look. Hermione chuckled at the expression and tried to reign in her curiosity. She and Riku were having a late picnic beneath a tree by the lake. Many other students were taking advantage of the warm weather as well.

"Okay, maybe now isn't the best time. You must show me later, though," Hermione demanded. She chuckled to herself at her tone. She was never this free and comfortable around anyone else. Harry and Ron were her best friends and she'd do anything for them, but often she felt more like their mother than their friend. Most of the time she enjoyed it; it was nice to be needed. However, it was also nice to have someone she could talk to like an equal, someone who didn't groan at everything she did.

"Maybe." Riku's voice jarred her out of her thoughts. "It's not exactly pretty to look at," the other teen trailed off. Hermione could see that the subject was troubling him and decided to change it.

"At least you know some defensive magic. With the way Umbridge is teaching I won't be able to defend myself from an angry owl." Riku gave an agreeing nod at this.

"It's a bad situation. Good training is essential to winning a war."

"That's just it, though. We're at war. Now more than ever is when we need to be learning proper defense," Hermione said. Again Riku nodded.

"The Ministry's refusal to acknowledge Voldemort's return is giving him more than stealth." Hermione winced at the name. "If he can drag the war on long enough he'll be fighting many wizards with no defense experience." Riku finished.

"The system is a disaster. Governments are supposed to help the people," she said, not without some anger.

"Maybe when you're out of here you ought join the Ministry and try and change it," Riku responded.

"I don't know," she replied thoughtfully. "I want to do something that fights injustice. I'd really like to take SPEW further if I could, maybe expand it to include all groups mistreated by wizards."

"Who else is mistreated?" Riu asked curiously.

"Half the magical population of Britain," Hermione replied bitterly. "Goblins have a quarter of the rights of wizards and Muggleborns are passed over for jobs that are given to purebloods with half their talent. Squibs and Werewolves have it even worse. They're completely ostracized by magical society and have almost no legal standing." Hermione was seething by the time she finished. Riku put his hand to his chin contemplatively.

"It's not hard to figure out why so many of those groups are attracted to Voldemort. The Ministry has created their own worst enemy in him. The irony is he'd be an even worse ruler than they are."

"I find it amazing," she remarked venomously, "that with all the wonders magic can accomplish, wizards are no better than muggles when it comes to basic rights."

"Well it makes sense," Riku said with the air that he knew quite a lot about this subject. "People are always willing to sacrifice the good of others to increase their own power. That's not wizard. That's human."

"But that can't be true for everyone," Hermione objected. "Dumbledore's not like that. You're not like that." Riku's head snapped around and his blindfolded gaze met hers. For a moment he looked about to speak, but instead he turned his face back towards the lake. His mouth was closed in a line and she was sure if she could see his eyes they would be gazing far, far away.

Silence settled between them. Hermione looked out onto the lake, staring at the clear water with the sun overhead. It was a nice view. She turned to look at Riku. He had his arms crossed over his chest. One leg was stretched out while the other was positioned so the knee reached for the sky. His long white hair rustled in the breeze along with the black streamer that extended from the knot that tied his blindfold. She stared at the blindfold longest of all.

Riku was such a mystery. Oh, she knew his personality; he was stoic and brooding and constantly looking like the weight of the world was on his shoulders, but she didn't know anything about him. She knew nothing about his past except he grew up on a beach and something about a North American Cult. She didn't know who his parents were, why he joined the Order of the Phoenix, or why he wore that blindfold. Again she found herself lost in the blackness covering his eyes. It suit the mystery very well. Questions surrounded him, but one pushed at her mind more than any other when she looked at that blindfold.

"Do you miss being able to see?" She finally asked.

Riku was silent a moment longer. His head shifted slightly downward.

"Yeah."

He didn't say anything else. Hermione didn't press him. Instead, she scooted closer to him and gently leaned her head against his shoulder.

He rode across the stars, coming to our land from a world afar…

Dumbledore carefully read the line over again. It was the opening line of an ancient poem given to him by his friend Nicholas Flamel. It was also the first lead Dumbledore had encountered as to how he might get young Riku home. Unfortunately, the poem was an incomplete copy. Poetry had never been a prized art among wizards so it was no surprise that an obscure poem dating back almost nine centuries had not been preserved in full.

The verse spoke of a wizard who traveled across the stars. He spent so much time among them that stardust clung to his robes. In the stars he learned strange magic. It described him as having control over the elements themselves. The fragment cut off with the traveler arriving in the wizarding world with its magic "filling his eyes with wonder."

Not having the whole poem was regrettable, but the portrait of the traveler bore too much likeness to Riku to be overlooked. More research into this legend was needed. Fortunately Nicholas had been able to supply the name of the author, one Cuthbert Wood.

"I'll alert Riku, then tug on the thread and see where it leads," the headmaster thought to himself. He was interrupted from his musings by a light knock at the door.

"Enter," Dumbledore called out.

Severus Snape swept across the threshold, robes billowing behind him as per usual. Also normal was the unreadable expression the potions master always wore around himself. It was only on select occasions Dumbledore had seen him without it.

"You wished to see me Professor?" Severus spoke the words as not quite question nor statement.

"Yes. I was hoping to discuss our youngest member of the Order tonight," Dumbledore said casually. "I'd like to know what you think of him."

The younger man's eyebrows crinkled in disgust. Dumbledore knew Severus disliked Riku since Riku knocked him out while Severus was keeping watch on him. And Riku's friendship with Sirius Black had done nothing to alleviate the tension.

"He is arrogant and half-mad, believing himself to be the only one capable of intelligent thought. He is disrespectful, unreliable, and untrustworthy. However, several of his suggestions to the Order have succeeded in greatly frustrating the Dark Lord. And his skill in magic and combat cannot be denied." Severus ground his jaw as he spoke the grudging compliment, as if it bodily harmed him to speak the words. "Why are you asking me of him?"

"I value your opinion greatly, Severus. He has taken on a more important role in the Order and I believed your insight would serve me well." Severus narrowed his eyes at that and Dumbledore inwardly chuckled. Severus could always perceive when there was more to the story. He sighed and continued. "Riku has also come to me with a plan recently, a plan to publically depose Lucius Malfoy by forcibly interrogating him for information on his criminal activities."

This time Severus's eyes widened in shock before his face returned to its flat look.

"A bold move. Crippling Lucius would strike a severe blow to the Dark Lord's financial and informational networks. Is the plan feasible?"

"By the look of it it would take at least a month to make the necessary arrangements, but yes, I believe it could work." The headmaster paused and waited for Severus to respond.

"You are against the plan for some reason?"

Dumbledore's voice took on a more solemn tone.

"I am not against exposing Lucius for his crimes and damaging Voldemort financially. It is the other part of the plan that concerns me."

"You mean the forcible interrogation. Is the boy not satisfied with the information I bring in regards to the Dark Lord?" Severus added not without some annoyance.

"He is not satisfied. He has surmised, correctly, that you are still in the outer ring of Voldemort's Death Eater's due to your length of time close to me. He believes Lucius has no such limit." This time it was Severus's mouth that thinned into a line.

"And you believe the ends don't justify the means?"

Dumbledore sighed. A weariness entered his voice when he responded.

"Yes, Severus. I do not believe a potentially damaging mental assault on Lucius Malfoy involving a combination of Veritaserum and Legilimency is justified. I am not yet ready to concede that moral high ground."

"And what did Riku say when you told him this?" Snape asked flatly.

"He was quite angry. He asked me why I cared more about the mental well-being of a Death Eater than I did the lives of innocents."

"A valid question." Snape stated poignantly. Dumbledore sighed again and looked directly at his potion's master.

"We must be held to something, Severus. If we begin to say 'we must defeat Voldemort at any cost' or even 'we must protect the innocent at any cost' we open ourselves to the darkness. We put ourselves in danger of becoming the very thing we want to destroy." Dumbledore gazed down at his desk. When he spoke again it was softer.

"I've learned from experience what happens when men believe they can justify any action 'for the greater good.' If we are to beat Voldemort and not replace him, it must be on our terms."

Severus's expression was unreadable. For a moment Dumbledore wished someone other than Riku had come up with this plan. Then he could discuss his decision with the younger man. His viewpoint always served as a good counterbalance to his own.

"What would you like me to do, Headmaster?" Severus's voice cut through his thoughts.

"For now, observe. Keep an eye on him when you can. I am uncertain how Riku will respond to this rejection."

Snape nodded and Dumbledore dismissed him. He popped a lemon drop in his mouth and sagged into his chair. He had placed an awful lot of trust in Riku as of late. He hoped he hadn't made a mistake.

Sirius Black looked around the kitchen walls of Grimmauld place. The house was empty except for a hippogriff, himself, and the white-haired wizard across from him. The Order wanted him to do nothing but sit at home.

"Dumbledore refused. Does that change your involvement at all?"

Sirius grinned.

"You know who you're talking to here? Never a more flagrant rule-breaker did Hogwarts ever see. I'm not sure I could still call myself a Marauder if I didn't bend the rules of the Order as well," Sirius finished. He sure wished James was alive for this one. He'd be putting one over on Dumbledore, Voldemort, and Lucius Malfoy all in one go.