Volume 1 Chapter 28 A Night to Remember
"The essence of Occlumency is actually to link the will with magic power to build a wall in one's mind. This wall can block the entry and prying of magic. The master can even construct false memories outside the wall to confuse the memory thief. There no way to tell whether the memory he sees is true or false."
While explaining to Jon, Slughorn did not forget to pinch a piece of candied pineapple from the paper box beside him and put it into his mouth.
"The learning of Occlumency has always relied on two methods. One is to simply and violently break into the learner's brain and make him constantly remember the feeling of being broken into. His body will subconsciously resist and his will will actively mobilize magic power. This is the most primitive way to learn Occlumency. But I don't like this. It is too rough. Moreover, peeping into other people's memories too frequently is not a good thing for wizards."
When he said this, he set his eyes on the stone basin on the desk.
"So I will use the second method, which is less rough and much more clever. I borrowed this basin from Dumbledore. Actually, I had one before, but I forgot where I left it when I moved. The stupid thing is that I actually kept the memory of where the hidden things were, in my basin, but if I can't find the basin, I can't get the memory, and if I can't get the memory, I can't find the basin..."
Slughorn shrugged self-deprecatingly.
"I can't find that basin anymore. Luckily Dumbledore brought his basin out of the castle. Otherwise I wouldn't know how to start teaching you. The Pensieve is a magical item used to store thoughts and memories."
Jon looked at the empty stone basin and asked in confusion.
"So how do we start, teacher?"
Slughorn cleaned his hands of the icing from his snack and grasped his wand.
"Now you have to recall any memory in your mind. I will extract the memory you are thinking about."
Jon took a few deep breaths and began to search his mind for a scene that left a deep impression on him.
"Are you ready?" Slughorn asked.
"Okay, teacher."
He pointed the tip of the wand at Jon's temple, and then as if some silk thread was connected to the tip of the wand, Slughorn rotated the wand and pulled a bright silver thread out of Jon's head!
Jon now feels very strange. He can clearly sense that there is a force pulling his memory. This experience is not good. His body instinctively resists this behavior.
Although his body did not move, the feeling of resistance in his mind was very strong, as if a robber had snatched something from his hand in front of him. His first reaction was to get his things back.
Just as Jon had this thought, the silver thread that had been pulled out of his head for most of the time suddenly seemed to take root, and the movement of pulling it out became difficult and slow.
But in the end, the magic wand still pulled out the silver thread intact.
Slughorn stored the memory extracted from Jon's mind into the Pensieve. He smiled as he looked at Jon, who was a little dazed at the moment, as if he was recalling the feeling just now.
"Is it because you don't like this feeling and your body is resisting it?"
Jon nodded and he frowned.
"My body uncontrollably wants to interrupt this process, and...it seems to have already taken action?"
"Not as if." Slughorn said admiringly, "Your body's instinct for self-defense is very strong. It did resist spontaneously, and this resistance also produced a certain effect."
"This is a very good start, Jon. When Occlumency was first created, someone recorded the feeling of having their memory forcibly read, strengthened this body instinct, and eventually evolved it into magic. Some people are naturally not sensitive to the act of having their memory read, so it is extremely difficult for such people to learn Occlumency. You are obviously the opposite type."
Slughorn looked delighted.
"This is the best thing that could happen. It means that our future progress should be smooth." He looked at the bright silver mist-like memory in the meditation basin and asked Jon, "Can this memory be viewed by others?"
Of course, Jon had no reason to refuse, and he and Slughorn entered the memory extracted from his mind.
The waves under the night sky are as peaceful as a baby sleeping in its mother's arms.
On both sides of the long table filled with delicious food, both students and teachers stood up, and the old man with gray hair and beard led the singing of the opening tune of the school song, followed by a melodious chorus.
Jon stood on the beach, silently watching himself three weeks ago being infected by the atmosphere at the dinner table and joining in the chorus.
Slughorn, who was standing beside him, suddenly sat down on the beach, looking at all the teachers and students of this small Hogwarts with a calm face.
"What is your most memorable experience of the evening?"
Hearing his question, Jon also squatted down and grabbed a handful of gravel on the ground. The memories slipped through his fingers, but his eyes were always fixed on the students and teachers who were singing with joy and sadness.
"This may be the most memorable day of my life, teacher."
Slughorn placed his left hand on the back of his right hand, put his arm on his knees, and looked up at the bright night sky.
"I'm the same as you, Jon. I'll never forget the night Dumbledore first brought me to Hogwarts. At that time, I hadn't agreed to become a professor here. The cunning old man asked me to come. I didn't need to give him any precise answer, just follow him to take a look and attend the welcome dinner that year."
"That day was just like the night you experienced. There was despair but also a last bit of hope that made people unwilling to even look at it. He pulled me to sit at the table. A student next to me asked me happily if I was a new professor. He said that there were too few teachers in our school and he was very grateful that I was willing to teach them. At that time, I was actually thinking that this might be someone Dumbledore deliberately arranged to be by my side, but I couldn't help but feel a sore nose."
"When the dinner was over, Dumbledore pulled my arm up without any prior notice and announced to dozens of children that I was the new professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts and History of Magic. I was very angry and thought I must scold him loudly on the spot, humiliate him, and then turn around and leave. But in the end, all I could say was 'Hello, children, I am your Professor Slughorn.'"
His voice was soft, yet filled with extremely heavy emotions.
"After I said that, I thought I would regret it, but actually what I was thinking was that it would be nice to just agree to stay and become a professor."
