A magical journey that begins in Azkaban.

Chapter 535 What Harry Lost

Since Harry started learning Occlumency from Lupin, although his progress was not rapid, at least the atmosphere in the classroom had become much more relaxed.

Two "folks" who are not very good at brain occlusion can actually create some sparks when they get together, as if they have combined half of Zhuge Liang's wisdom.

During this time, he has been able to complete the first step of brain occlumency: stabilizing his emotions and clearing his mind.

Whenever he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, he could feel his thoughts as calm as the surface of a lake. However, today was different.

When Snape's stiff, repulsive face suddenly appeared in front of his nose, Harry felt an uncontrollable wave of disgust in his heart.

Especially when Harry met his suspicious eyes, it seemed as if he was a stupid troll in his eyes.

"Potter," Snape said coldly, "please... show us what Lupin calls 'teaching results'." He deliberately drew out his voice and asked him to start in a questioning tone.

Harry gritted his teeth, glared back at Snape unceremoniously, and said angrily: "It's definitely better than what you taught!"

"Heh~" Snape raised his eyebrows, a hint of sarcasm appeared on his face. He turned to look at Lupin, with obvious mockery in his tone, "It seems that your students are very confident..."

Snape suddenly launched a sneak attack and shouted, "Legendary!"

A silver-white beam of light suddenly shot into Harry's eyes. In an instant, Harry felt that his thoughts and emotions were like a house without a door, allowing Snape to break in at will.

Fragments of memory flashed before his eyes: the receptionist at St. Mungo's Hospital, the Great Hall of Hogwarts, Ron holding him...

Harry tried desperately to build up a psychological defense, but all efforts seemed in vain.

"Focus, Harry!" Lupin shouted urgently. "Remember, we practiced!"

If it was Lupin standing opposite him, Harry would definitely be able to control himself in the first moment and clear the "house" in his mind.

However, he was facing Snape, a wizard who could even deceive Voldemort. Harry felt a sense of powerlessness sweeping over him.

"It seems that you have not made any progress, Potter." Snape said coldly and interrupted the spell.

Harry seemed to be pushed by an invisible hand. He staggered back two steps and almost fell.

Glancing disdainfully at Lupin and Harry, he continued, "You've made absolutely no progress at all in these past few months. It's just been a pathetic waste of time."

Harry clenched his fists and tried to calm his rapid breathing. He could feel the anger rolling in his chest, but he had to admit that there was some truth in Snape's words.

"If you really want to learn Occlumency, the first step is to let go of your disgusting pride." Snape sneered, and every word was as sharp as a knife: "Just the same conceit and arrogance as James."

This sentence was like a lit fuse, which instantly ignited Harry's resentment.

"You are not allowed to talk about my father!" He drew out his wand and tried to attack, but Roger, who was silent beside him, acted faster: "Expelliarmus."

Harry's wand flew out of his hand immediately, drawing a beautiful arc in the air. Roger quickly caught it and played with it in his hands: "Mr. Potter, it seems that your wand is destined to be with me."

"I've forgotten how many times this has happened, haven't I?" He smiled and threw it to Professor Lupin as if nothing had happened.

Harry flushed, both with anger and shame.

"Actually, I've always been curious, Mr. Potter. Were you this...straightforward before you entered school?"

Lupin looked at Roger in confusion, frowning slightly. Snape quietly moved aside and used a meaningful look to signal Roger to "guide" this peer who was out of control.

"What before school?" Harry asked subconsciously, the faces of the Dursleys involuntarily appearing in his mind. He didn't understand why this was mentioned.

"As far as I know, you lived in the Muggle world until you were ten years old." Roger slowly approached Harry with a faint smile on his face. "It may be a little offensive, but there are usually only two situations for an orphan: being adopted or growing up in an orphanage."

He pretended not to know the Dursleys, and used information that was well known in the wizarding world to pretend to speculate about Harry's unhappy childhood.

"You are not a very cheerful person, which is because your childhood was not very happy. But you are also very kind, which is not in line with the living environment of an orphanage."

"Why?" Lupin suddenly interrupted, his face full of confusion and concern: "Is there something wrong with the orphanage?"

"Of course." Roger nodded, and like a master of psychology, he explained the reason bit by bit: "There are many children in the orphanage, but the resources are often limited. More importantly, they don't get enough emotional compensation."

"Moreover, Muggle orphanages usually have adoption businesses, which inevitably creates competition among the children. People who live and grow up in such an environment tend to become sensitive and suspicious."

Roger's words seemed to have stirred up an invisible ripple in the classroom. Lupin and Snape exchanged a meaningful look, and both of them couldn't help but think of Voldemort. Tom entered the magic world from an orphanage, and almost completely met the characteristics Roger said.

Harry felt a little uncomfortable, as if Roger's eyes were a sharp scraper that could dig out the deepest scars in his heart. He suppressed the discomfort and asked with a trembling voice, "What does this have to do with my learning of brain block?"

"Mr. Potter, please listen to me first." Roger did not answer Harry's question immediately. Instead, his eyes became deeper, as if he wanted to see through Harry's soul.

"Excluding the possibility of an orphanage, you must have been adopted since you were a baby." Roger continued to profile, and every word was like a scalpel cutting through his defenses. "But we rarely hear you mention your adoptive parents. This is unusual, isn't it?"

Harry felt his throat tighten and a complex of emotions surge in his chest.

"They are not my adoptive parents..." he couldn't help but retort.

But as soon as he said this, the fate of the Dursleys suddenly flashed through his mind. That tragedy, that indirect responsibility, instantly made him lose the courage to continue.

"It seems that the conflict between you is deep, and they are not kind to you." There was not much sympathy in his voice, and it was still full of calmness: "Since you don't object, you agree."

"I think that family also has their own children, and they often use cold violence against you, an uninvited guest. For example, cramped and dark living environment, leftovers, beatings and scoldings..."

Every word was like a knife, piercing the most vulnerable part of Harry's heart. He felt that breathing became difficult, and memories came flooding back like a tide: the small storage room under the stairs, Dudley's second-hand clothes, Aunt Petunia's mean eyes, Uncle Vernon's roar...

He seemed to have returned to Privet Drive from the dungeon, his body trembling slightly.

Snape narrowed his eyes slightly, with a cold light flashing in his eyes. He never knew Harry's Muggle living environment, nor did he know that he had suffered such a miserable childhood.

Lupin was keenly aware of Harry's discomfort and wanted to stop him, but Snape shook his head gently. He vaguely realized that if Harry wanted to master the brain block technique, this painful process might be necessary. Roger paused, looking directly into Harry's eyes with a sharp gaze. He slowly asked the most crucial question: "So, I want to know, did you treat them in this way when you were a child?"

This question hit Harry's heart like a heavy hammer. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out, and he didn't know how to answer for a moment.

"..." Memories came flooding back like a tide: during his time at the Dursleys', he had never dared to express his hatred and dissatisfaction towards his uncle and aunt like he did towards Snape.

The consequence of doing so would only be more labor, worse treatment and louder insults.

Seeing Harry's reaction, Roger's voice became gentle: "So, it's not that you don't have the talent to learn Occlumency."

There was a hint of certainty in his voice, but Lupin always felt that it was not a good thing. It was as if he was saying: Harry, you are born with the talent to become a Dark Lord.

Harry took a deep breath and tried to calm down. He raised his head, his eyes flashing with a complicated light: "Yes, I had to hide my emotions at that time. But that doesn't mean..."

"Your mentality has changed a lot." Roger interrupted him and continued to analyze, "After you received the admission letter from Hogwarts, after you came to the wizarding world and were praised by people, after you knew that you had defeated the Dark Lord..."

"Harry Potter, you must feel extremely proud and have an extraordinary sense of superiority in your heart."

"Rogge..." Lupin realized that there might be something wrong with the following words and interrupted him hurriedly.

"Professor, if he wants to learn Occlumency, he must face his own mind."

Lupin was stunned for a moment, then nodded slightly, indicating that he should continue.

"You have learned to use magic so that the family that once oppressed you will not dare to yell at you or force you to work." Rogge spoke slowly, but every word was so true. "I am not accusing you of doing anything wrong. I am saying that you need to take back what you once lost."

Harry crossed his arms, feeling uneasy. Roger's words were like a mirror, reflecting the thoughts deep in his heart that he didn't want to admit.

He really hated the Dursleys, and still felt angry when he thought of the times they bullied him, but before he became a wizard, he never dared to resist, but like a patient little animal, he silently followed the orders of his uncle's family.

"The same principle applies to Occlumency. It's the same for hiding your true emotions and memories." Roger said softly, "You need to maintain a respectful heart, whether it's towards Muggles or wizards, or even your enemies."

Snape's eyes flickered, and he obviously resonated with Roger's words.

"It is not just a defensive magic, it is also an art of self-awareness and control. You already have the foundation, and now what you need to do is to consciously use this ability."

"We all know this is difficult." His simple words instantly pulled the two professors to his side, and Harry was left alone at this moment.

"But Harry, there are many things in this world that need you to protect, just like you protected yourself in your Muggle home."

This sentence touched the deepest chord in Harry's heart. He thought of his friends, his godfather Sirius, and the injured Arthur...

"For your responsibility, learn to control your emotions. We all believe you can do it, Harry." Roger's chicken soup was like a shot of adrenaline, injected directly into Harry's heart.

Harry felt a warm current flowing through his body, and his heart was filled with infinite emotion. He suddenly realized that learning the brain block technique was not a task, but to protect everything he cherished.

In fact, he is just a donkey who lacks love since childhood and has a strong savior complex. As long as you grasp these two points, it is not difficult to guide him.

"I'm... I'm sorry, Professor Snape." Harry slowly bent down and bowed deeply to Snape somewhat stiffly.

The atmosphere in the dungeon suddenly became cheerful. Snape had an imperceptible smile in the corner of his eyes, but he was still unforgiving: "I, the old bat, am not dead yet. I don't need you to bury me."

He witnessed the entire process of Harry's transformation. As a veteran who was proficient in the art of brain occlumency, he knew very well that Harry's behavior at the moment was probably superficial and hypocritical, just like when he was at the Dursleys' house.

But Snape was happy, like he had eaten bee shit.

Lupin frowned, feeling that something was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He could only comfort himself that at least under Roger's guidance, Harry seemed to have overcome his psychological barriers and could have a normal conversation with Snape.

"Professor, I'll go to the hall to attend the banquet first." Roger said softly, and began to move towards the door. He didn't forget that Snape was still planning to make trouble for him.

"Go, go." Snape waved his hand, as if he had forgotten that the classroom was covered with Christmas decorations.

"Hoo..." As soon as he went out, Roger couldn't help but exhaled a long breath of white steam. He looked around carefully, fearing that Dumbledore would suddenly appear and cause trouble for him.

From a present perspective, it is a good thing that Harry has mastered Occlumency to avoid Voldemort's prying eyes, but in the long run, it is likely to have a profound effect on Harry's character.

Harry has always treated everyone in Hogwarts with sincerity. Even his dislike for Snape is genuine and without any falsehood. In a sense, he is a person with a clear love and hate relationship.

However, if he had behaved in the same way at the Dursleys' house before the age of ten, he would have been oppressed even more severely.

The instinct of survival had long taught him how to control his expression and emotions. Now, Rogge had reawakened this forgotten survival skill.

When a person realizes that he can benefit from disguise, it will be difficult for him to completely put down the mask and face the world with his true self.

"This is also part of survival." Rogge said to himself and ran towards the auditorium with brisk steps.

As for what Harry will become in the future, it all depends on his own choice. I just helped him find his lost things without charging any reward.

In the Great Hall, Dumbledore had just finished his Christmas speech. His eyes lingered on Roger for a moment, but he didn't think much about it.

At this moment, his mind was thinking about asking his sister Ariana to stay one more day and have dinner with Aberforth tomorrow night.

While chatting with his friends, Roger kept saying to himself, "Tomorrow night."

News from Uncle Buck indicated that Voldemort planned to take action on Christmas Eve.

This way, Dawlish and the Aurors could raid the Death Eater camp tomorrow night and rescue the captured wizards.

"After obtaining the wand-making method from the Jonker family, Bellinrum can also take action." Rogge thought to himself, with a happy smile on his face, and raised his glass to drink it all with his classmates.

This Christmas Eve, the snow was particularly heavy and the wind was particularly cold. A storm was coming quietly.

(End of this chapter)