Evening, after dinner

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"Good, O'Doherty, very good." The Professor sat back at his desk, and studied the fifth year opposite him with a mildly approving expression. Casey was a most dedicated student - adept with his wand, academically bright, but always let down by his own physical health. His occlumency progress had come along very well since returning to the castle for his fifth year.

"We'll take a break a moment," He suggested, more out of his own need to stop forcing his mind onto another's, especially now the other mind was far less easy to step into. The Professor got to his feet, turning away a moment to fill the kettle and set it warming water for tea.

"How do you feel your occlumency is progressing, O'Doherty?" He asked, turning back to regard the Slytherin. A flick of his wand sent two teacups over to the desk, a milk jug filled and a teaspoon dislodged itself from beneath a text book.

"Has it been a worthy challenge?"

For all the tenuous relationships students could have with their professors, the DADA instructor could be a harsher edge. Professor Storm was fair, yes, but brutal in method given the unapologetic nature of facing down aggressive magic. Even for Casey, who had been secretly given an early go at the family wand before he was 'supposed' to have begun wand training, had faced plenty of difficulties along with others over their nearly five years of lessons.

And when it came to building magical mental defenses, Professor Storm was also the harshest to defend against. Of course, that is part of the reason why Casey had wanted to learn Occlumency from one of the best.

Although a layer of sweat had gone down Casey's head and neck, the pain of the effort was well worth it for the results. As Casey had just successfully allowed the professor a fractured glimpse of his holidays last Easter and nothing else. A carefully edited version of Casey's stay with the Norlings. General things that guarded the rather more private and personal conversation between him and Alvis one of the evenings.

"It is coming along rather sufficiently, thank you sir," Casey replied in a thinned voice. Once he had been able to understand how he could divert or limit Legilimensic penetration Casey's skill had suitably accelerated. Not only limiting but having purposefully misleading blocks and glimpses had resonated with Casey. Because there was always the practice of applying that towards another personality...

In any case these sessions with Professor Storm were tighter affairs compared to early in Casey's training, which had turned into memory revisits of the cold style of O'Doherty parenting. Such as Casey's strained relationship with his father Martin for instance. These episodes had diminished. Soon, Casey hoped, it wouldn't even be a controlled construct he left as a scapegoat to mental penetrations. Perhaps just outwardly denying any altogether.

Though the know-how to have others believe only what you wanted, and thus remain resolute, was just as important to maintain.

As the arrangements for tea were made Casey contemplated the remark. "It has been a worthy challenge." There was left an openness to that reply. Indeed, Casey was one to dive headlong into any magical challenge even regardless of his own through precautions sometimes. And there had been one inkling that was becoming more dominant in his thoughts ever since he had been privy to the raw potential of Alvis Norling's Legilimency. The two abilities were opposite sides of the same coin after all.

But how to phrase it was the thing of the matter. "Would you consider yourself a better Occlumens or Legilimens, sir?"

Over the newly steaming cups of tea, their eyes met as Casey posed his question. The professor narrowed his ever so slightly in consideration.

"Occlumens." He replied after a moment, "Only because it's every day, every moment habit. To know one's own mind is a far easier feat than to know every mind. A lot easier to practice, a lot easier to maintain." Professor Storm rubbed momentarily at his right temple where he could feel a headache brewing, his eyes closing for a moment as he did. This was a common occurrence in their lessons together, and as much as Ignan's legilimency skills were regaining with the more regular outlet, Casey's occlumency skills were increasing yet again to match. 

"Legilimency is rather like swimming in open water. You know how to swim, but the water and what lies below is never quite the same twice, even in the same person. Wandering someone's mind is nauseating depending on how calm they are and how forceful you are in turn." He reached for the teacup and blew on it gently. "I am being firm, but not overly forceful to you. If I were to be, it would not be a pleasant experience for either of us, and not conducive to learning. A worthy attacker would not hold back, but with the foundations of practice laid, you will have a far better chance of fending them off mentally if you did not with curses first." He gestured gently with a hand to Casey, expression revealing mild admiration of the Slytherin's skills in that area.

"Is legilimency your next intention, O'Doherty?" Ignan asked, gaze unflinching as he studied the boy's reaction.

For starters, here was where some skill in Occlumency -- or even a mundane means of self reflection to better one's nerve -- had a useful benefit. The question Professor Storm posed did not come as a surprise and Casey did not act 'surprised' to it. Shrewd observation could be mistaken for Legilimency after all.

"It remains a curiosity," Casey said simply. "Potentially useful to better understand the ways of how one may usurp a mind in order to defend against it." If Casey was being honest there wasn't any particular need for him to study Legilimency the way he had picked up its counter or other defensive skills. There was no dire need, no greater ambition, no specific importance to learn both of the highest mental magics, as it were.

And yet...

Call it an unsatisfied desire or thirst. Maybe the furthest extent of some of Casey's most deep rooted paranoia. But if there was a guaranteed way of checking somebody else's perceptions of you to make sure it was what 'you' wanted to present, that did sound very attractive.

Casey fiddled with the lapel of his shirt that fit over the collar of his uniform. Not that trying to pierce the DADA professor's mind sounded inviting. With years of experience between pupil and instructor, who had already stated Occlumency to be a stronger forte, that challenge would be more like a suicide attempt.

"I dare say there is a holistic quality to understanding both of them, the sword and the shield."

".. better understand the ways of how one may usurp a mind in order to defend against it." O'Doherty explained, though the way he spoke suggested this was at the moment on a more academic term. The Professor swallowed, but his gaze dropped just for a moment to the pensieve where he had removed a number into it before their practice.

"I dare say there is a holistic quality to understanding both of them, the sword and the shield."

The Professor reached forward to put down his teacup again and pressed his fingertips together in thought.
"It is useful to understand how to navigate a mind when one needs to defend their own, two sides of the door. However it is not an adequate defence alone. Certainly an experience you should aim to engage in if you pursue occlumency past Hogwarts and into your career."

He did not actively offer to teach Casey, the thought had crossed his mind before now, that it would be the natural progression. However to be read in return by a novice legilimens was not attractive to him. The low risk was still a risk, and Casey was still his student. There were ethical reasons too, though Casey was a bright student and would probably have considered them.

"Just a curiosity?"

Past Hogwarts and into a career. Well. That was a surprise hurdle in Casey's mental gymnastics. In truth yes even if Casey was quite proficient in Occlumency, more than most, what did that skill translate to beyond the means of Casey protecting his identity? In fact, had he ever really given much thought as to what he wanted to do after Hogwarts? It was OWLs year after all and getting to be late for such thoughts.

Options that looked all over the board. Casey knew the limitations of the family's wealth, in that at some point he may not be able to count on it unless he partook in finance himself. Which he could probably do, once relived of life at Hogwarts but even that sounded like a 'backup' plan and not what he wanted to do full time. Similarly delving more into wizarding law like his father, Martin, would be a waste. And what were Casey's school strengths? Spellcasting, primarily. Dueling circuits could be lucrative but hardly a stable business, let alone for one with Casey's fluctuating health. As for going into the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, well, you could eventually graduate from your teachers but Casey was the self-motivated type that didn't like the idea of a 'boss' or other direct authority over him.

And circling back to Occlumency and other mental magics, while a plus on the side of the iffy outlook for MLE, what other career had those skills as the most important tools of the job? The only one Casey knew of, from cited works and the appearance of the man himself with Beauxbaton's Tournament delegation, was Gerard Gries the former mental health researcher. But given what of the Belgian's limited seminars Casey had (snuck) access to the man's stringent and almost broken attitude towards his discipline suggested that was a dead end field.

Plus, Casey had enough of his own problems he didn't consider himself having the temperament to deal with other people's problems.

The flurry of dizzying thoughts were punctuated by slow blinks from Casey as he focused back on the present. Now it seemed both student and Defense professor were circumnavigating the conversation, testing each other out. Casey could pick up on Professor Storm's acknowledgement of transitioning to Legilimency while not mentioning a change in lessons. Plus, given Casey's own reasons for purchasing a Pensieve he could guess the reasons for Storm's in the corner of his office. You didn't become as credited a Professor like Storm, one who could teach others about Occlumency or Legilimency, without having parts of your mind you didn't want people to see.

Casey cupped is own tea, contemplating Storm's last question. "Just a curiosity?"

And that got to the heart of the matter didn't it? And for Casey that question was posed like a trap.

Not that Casey accused Storm of laying a trap, that was just the inherent 'risk' from showing an interest in Legillimency. Unlike Occlumency it could be a nastier piece of work, the skill was about penetrating people's minds that the especially powerful could come to dominate them. Not all legillimens were like this, of course, but the danger was there. Not everyone were as diligent as Gries or non-aggressive like Alvis Norling. Even Professor Storm only appeared to use it for practicing the other skill, Casey hadn't caught wind of any times the Hogwarts instructor would have used it on unsuspecting students.

But from Casey's perspective, it was as much a trap as admitting that you owned a Hand of Glory. Best friend of thieves and plunderers, yes, but if you were't a thief or a plunderer there were many damn useful applications for having private undetectable light as an advantage over opponents faced with darkness. Casey was also somewhat guilty of the one time he used the sleep suspending function at the Norling residence last spring.

"It remains a curiosity because I'm remaining realistic," Casey began. "Because if it's not from a safe environment I probably wouldn't want to gain skill in Legillimency anyways. There are probably unscrupulous places or instructors to find on the subject but that's more dangerous. Let alone what would be commonly assumed about some soliciting training on Legillimency." Least of all a barely of age student.

That time Casey had been the pilot of Alvis Norling's brain for a half-day that it had actually been tiresome trying to block out the surface feelings of everyone in passing, like whispers and flushes of emotions from the mental shakeups of a third of the populace swapping bodies. That was more some fluke of Norling's head than what Casey would reason his own experience in Legillimency to be.

He swirled the remaining portion of his tea in the cup. "I would much rather learn Legillimency from someone I've come to trust." Well, for the Casey O'Doherty spectrum of trustworthiness he wasn't about to have an 'all is revealed heart to heart' with Professor Storm like he had with Alvis. But over the years of these and other lessons with Storm ever since Casey first broached the subject at the end of his third year, Ignan Storm was easily on top of the pile of the teachers Casey respected the most.

They easily fell into professional level patterns of business. Even with flare ups like Casey's strained family relations cropping up in breached memories or the time the O'Dohertys had raised a legal stink of when and how Casey could use the family wand at school, Storm had never pried further into these quibbles. Likewise for Casey, who was most toe-in-line in Defense classes.

"Someone who could trust that I have no ulterior motive, seeking dominance or such over others when I want to know first hand the different ways Legillimency could be wielded," he finished, meeting Professor Storm's eyes.

"I would much rather learn legilimency from someone I've come to trust." Slowly, maintaining a steady gaze on Casey, the Professor sat forward and rested his elbows on the desktop, listening. "Someone who could trust I have no ulterior motive…"

"It has crossed my mind before now, that you would ask, Casey." Professor Storm replied, breaking the usual habit of using only the surnames of students. "Trampling about in someone's mind isn't quite the same as defending one's own. I don't doubt you understand the risks in theory, but done wrong, like obliviation, there is the potential to cause damage. This is why I have not posed it myself."

One long finger tapped gently on the desk in thought, his expression indicating that it was not an opportunity to interrupt. His mind had thought to the Black Forest. Too forceful when reading a prisoner once, lives were at stake of colleagues. It had begun a slippery slope for his later years when he used legilimency most to steal secrets with Azorma. His own insecurities about the legitimacy of his use of the magic could not necessarily cloud Casey's wish to learn, but it certainly added a nagging doubt for a personality, and a talent.

"You are most capable of it, especially given your sturdy grasp of occlumency these days." His blue eyes narrowed a moment. "Then there is the consideration of who." He sat back a little, withdrawing all but his hands from the desk. "Or what." The very corner of his mouth twitched.

"Have you tried?" The Professor asked, genuine, interested curiosity this time, no hint of a trap, a lightness to his tone.

The reciprocation of a reply using Casey's given name was not missed either. A rare thing from Professor Storm who rarely addressed pupils with anything but their surname. That caused an upswing towards the optimistic for Casey's view on this query being a success. Professor Storm was quite mild, only half surprised it had taken this long to talk about the next stage of mental magic.

Still, it may have been from the professor's slight accent, Casey still had a awkward feeling hearing adults call him just Casey. That feeling was quickly brushed aside to formulate a reply to the next question.

Had Casey ever tried it? His grandparents had been a temptation as they were quite lax with their defenses these days but after his stringent upbringing Casey could pretty much peg how they were going to act. The only time he had ever been privy to anything from the inside of other people's heads was back during the body swap day yet that was only because of Alvis Norling's 'talent.'

And this wasn't the place to go into that. Casey had sussed out from his advice about control that Alvis would have to speak to Storm at sometime about Legilimency, the only real option of expertise at the school. But that was Norling's to inquire about, Casey didn't want to appear to know without the Ravenclaw having mentioned it first.

"I haven't acted on it," Casey said to 99.9% truthfulness (excluding the one outlier from above). "Of course I know the incantation is Legilimens but knowing the name of a spell doesn't always mean you can cast it, especially on a first try."

"I daresay you know more than just the incantation, O'Doherty." The Professor remarked with mild amusement. "For you not to research almost obsessively over something you have interest in would be remarkably odd."

He studied Casey carefully over the desk and considered.
"Each time I have used legilimens against you, you have tried to resist at my insistence. You have tried to throw thoughts at me while in your head as a way of preventing me seeing things, of throwing me off a scent and pushing me out. Then once you had control of closing off entirely, you now fight me out with occlumency. I don't think I have entered your mind with invitation." He paused, wondering if Casey knew what he was about to ask.

"If you are serious about learning legilimency, would you permit me to?"

And there was an instance where Casey's usual habbits proceeded him, Professor Storm finding a twinge of humor at the thought Casey 'only' knew the incantation of the spell. Could the Defense Professor really be blamed? Casey was a student who not only had accelerated magically for his grade during his first years at Hogwarts, given the tutelege he'd had earlier from his family, but even outside of academic intrests when Casey O'Doherty knew something you didn't everybody else knew just how much Casey knew on the subject.

Admittedly, during preteen years Casey had been more of a braggart and showoff. Any times he was showing of he was more indirect now as he didn't call attention to it or seek praise. Casey actually curled the edge of his mouth into a slight smirk.

Yes, Casey did know a lot more about Legilimency than just the indication. Not only had the school LIbrary been exhausted, as information on Legilimency was just under that of Occlumency both as subjects that were't part of Hogwarts curriculum, but there had been other opportunities for Casey to learn besides occupying Alvis Norling's brain for a time.

A smirk that stayed plastered on as Storm continued speaking, as mentally Casey's usually lightning fast thoughts were going to pieces.

Permitting Professor Storm an invintation into Casey's mind.

Was this a trap? Hadn't the point of Casey learning Occlumency been for Casey's sake to have security in his own mind? But open access? Wouldn't that mean Storm you notice if Casey still continued to block things off, deliberately tried to misdirect what Professor Storm would be able to note? It had to be a trap. Godric! Casey had just said that he trusted the Defense Professor!

Though it wasn't as if Casey's training had all been for nought. Casey recovered remarkably, barely leaving any gap in the conversation and replaying as if he hadn't been phased at all. "Forgive me, Professor Storm," because the question had certainly been a surprise even with the conext of Storm's buildup to the question, "but I'm not seeing how giving you an invitation into my mind pertains to how I learn to use legilimency."

The proposition seemed to wrong-foot O'Doherty who baulked at his question. That was a nice, rare occasion, Ignan thought to himself. Casey usually followed the Professor's line of enquiry and pre-empted it. The two of them got on very well.

"How will you know what it is like to navigate a mind if you have not had your own willingly navigated first?" The Professor countered Casey's question. "If one is conscious of the other inside their mind, I can explain how to traverse and you can experience at first hand how thoughts are brought to the surface with the minimum of fuss." He raised an eyebrow.

"It is akin to me teaching you a curse and you never receiving it. You would be unaware of the pain you might be inflicting on another. Well," Professor Storm paused, the corner of his mouth curling, "within reason - the spells within the Ministry's approved curriculum at least."

He studied Casey a little more carefully.
"I have seen enough of your stray memories to know what I can safely draw upon without causing you distress, O'Doherty. Nothing more than mutually acknowledged memories of my lessons, or of other mundane Hogwarts days. Considering I am entertaining the possibility you might do the same to me in return, this is the least you can expect."

Surely O'Doherty had thought this through. If not, he was most disappointed.

End