章 6: The First Lesson
Two people, one young, the other old, sat in a room. The old man sat in his chair with a smile on his face. From any angle, the older man was just a joyous old man, while the young child sitting on a stool was emitting the air of nervousness and tension. The merry old man was Alan D. Baddeley, while the young child was Quinn West.
Both were sitting in a room of the West Manor. Today was their first meeting and Quinn's first lesson on mind magic. The reason for Quinn's apparent discomfort was that Alan had snooped around in his mind using Legilimency and that on their first meeting, with no warning or permission.
It wasn't a surprise that Quinn had a terrible impression of Alan after his blatant offense at reading his mind. Alan, who was looking at Quinn, continued as nothing had happened.
"Mr. West, before we begin, I would like you to tell me what do you think about mind magic. Please be assured, I am not expecting you to give a correct answer. Just tell me your thoughts when you hear the word mind magic."
Quinn, who had lost all his initial excitement about learning a new branch of magic, thought about the shitty old man's question and gave out his thoughts about mind magic.
"Mind Magic, as the name suggests, is the magic related to the mind. Any magic that affects the mind or explores the inner working of the brain comes under the category of mind magic."
Alan, with his ever smiling face, spoke in response to Quinn's answer. "Excellent, can you give me some examples of mind magic?"
Quinn immediately answered the question, "Occlumency and Legilimency."
Alan's smile widened, and he continued the Q-and-A, "Oh my, those are some heavy words that you threw out there. Can you give me some other examples of mind magic?"
Quinn frowned and thought about any other magic that could be categorized under mind magic, but he couldn't think of any other magic that came under mind magic. But just as he was about to shake his head, he remembered one more, "Oblivation is also a mind magic."
Alan leaned back into his chair and said, "Okay, not bad, but let me throw out a question for you to think. Have you heard about the Cheering Charm?"
Quinn nodded, "A charm that made the target feel elated. If overdone, it could cause the victim to overcome with fits of hysterical laughter."
"Excellent, excellent. Then wouldn't you say that the Cheering Charm affects the mind of the target? Wouldn't the Cheering Charm come under the category of mind magic?"
Quinn blinked twice, "B-but, the Cheering Charm... how can something like a trivial Cheering Charm be a mind magic."
Alan shook his head and countered, "Mr. West, magic being trivial has nothing to with its identity. As you said, any magic that affects the mind is mind magic. Cheering Charm, Bravery Charm, Jelly-Brain Jinx, Confudus Charm, Sleeping Charm, even potions like Love potions and Hate potions that affect the mind also come under mind magic.
My motive to tell you about this is to clear the confusion that things like Occlumency and Legilimency aren't the only magic that comes under mind magic. Mind magic, like any branch, is a wide field of magic. Many mysteries that need to be explored, many secrets that need to be unveiled."
Alan's revelation surprised Quinn. After listening to Alan's explanation, he agreed that even something like Cheering Charm was a form of mind magic. Before Alan's explanation, he never saw potions as a mind magic.
He looked up at Alan and spoke, "You are correct. Any magic that affects the mind is a mind magic."
Alan leaned forward towards the table, "Now, let's talk about the aim of these lessons. Your grandfather hired me to teach you the art of protecting your mind. You already know about it, don't you?"
Quinn answered, "Yes, Occlumency is the art of protecting your mind. It can prevent a Legilimens, a person who knows how to perform Legilimency, from accessing one's thoughts and feelings or influencing them. We know a person who practices this art as an Occlumens."
"Excellent!" said Alan, looking impressed with Quinn's knowledge. "But, let me tell you what an accomplished Legilimens could do against someone with no mental defenses."
Quinn turned serious as he hung onto Alan's every word.
"A novice Legilimens could perceive their target's emotions. That means that even though they couldn't look into their thoughts, they could still tell how you are feeling.
An intermediate Legilimens could perceive their target's surface thoughts. They could tell what you are thinking at the moment. Any intermediate Legilimens could do what I did to you.
A master Legilimens could dive into their target's mind and see their memories, experiences, and anything that the mind offers. They could know your every secret in a matter of minutes."
Quinn sucked in a sharp breath. He already knew what a Legilimens could do, but listening to it from a Legilimens' mouth was another thing. The thought that the person in front of him could know all his memories was a scary thought that was finally setting in, but it turned out Alan was just getting starting.
"Now above that..."
Quinn was shocked and ended up raising his voice. "There is more?!"
Alan raised his eyebrows and exclaimed, "Of course, anyone with enough aptitude for mind arts could accomplish this with enough practice. Please, note that we base these categorizations on a Legilimens' performance against an unprotected mind."
Quinn nodded, prompting Alan to continue.
"There is no categorization above master Legilimens as Legilimens take different paths after becoming masters in Legilimency. But, people like to call themselves Grandmasters.
Some would strengthen their prowess so that they could read memories from a practiced Occlumens. Others would seek other branches of Legilimens, like stimulating emotions inside the target or controlling people by influencing their minds. Then there are people who explore people's dreamscapes or in simple words dive into people's dream."
Quinn interjected with a query, "Controlling people like the Imperius Curse does?"
Alan wasn't surprised hearing Quinn mention an Unforgivable Curse, as children from magical families were educated about them.
"In a way, yes, while Imperius Curse makes people do things against their will, a grandmaster could plant suggestions inside their subconscious, making the target do their bidding and make it seem like the target did it out of their own free will. An Imperius Curse leaves traces on the mind, but a grandmaster wouldn't leave any trace of their presence."
Quinn felt goosebumps surface on his skins and chills going down his back. Alan didn't notice it and continued,
"Just think what someone could do if they got hold of your grandfather's mind. They would've so much wealth and influence under their control, and that is why magical families train their young ones against the attacks of a Legilimens by training them to become Occlumens."
Quinn nodded, thinking about the dangers of Legilimens having control of his grandfather's mind.
"Now, I would be teaching you how to protect your mind. I will teach you the art of Occlumency."
Before Alan could continue, Quinn interjected and asked a question.
"What is your level of Legilimency?"
Alan intertwined his fingers, his elbows on the table, and answered, "I am beyond the master level, Mr. West. I specialize in Mind magic and could do stuff you can't even imagine.". Alan stated as if not saying a terrifying fact.
And Alan's slight smile made it much more terrifying. Quinn gulped but braved forward, "Then why did you take a teaching job and that to a child who doesn't understand mind arts."
Alan laughed and spoke with joy evident in his voice, "Mr. West, you really are a smart child. You see, the people who study the mysteries of the mind and practice the mind magic often end up picking up a bad habit, an occupational hazard if that clears it.
To us, the average wizard seems like a mind begging to be explored and fiddled with. It is tantalizing to keep out of the minds of unsuspecting people, so they find various workarounds to suppress this urge to snoop around people's minds.
I personally chose to teach mind arts to curb my desire to snoop around in people's minds. When I am teaching, it is expected that our minds will be connected, frequently at that. Teaching mind arts to someone while maintaining proper protocol is enough for me. So be assured, I will not snoop around your mind untamed.
As to why I choose to teach a child? Mr. West, children are the best students for teaching mind arts. They are free and learn very quickly. And have the best imagination, which helps when practicing mind magic."
Quinn knew Alan was trying to assure him that everything would be fine, but Quinn knew that if he learned Occlumency, then a lot of Quinn's secrets would be revealed to Alan and then to anyone Alan shared that knowledge.
But it seemed Quinn had been worrying for nothing as Alan pulled out a thin stack of paper and set it on the table. Quinn looked at the stack of paper and then conveyed his confusion with his eyes to Alan.
"Mr. West, do you know what is a magical contract?"
Alan's eyes lit up, and he nodded. It turned out that magical oaths(so mote it be) weren't a real thing. Instead of oaths, there existed magical contracts that could bind someone to certain terms and conditions.
Alas, wizards and witches rarely use magical contracts as they bound their magic to the contract, which was the most important to a magical. Otherwise, corruption wouldn't exist in the magical world, but it did as no one was willing to sign magical contracts.
But there were rare cases where some will sign contracts that could, and it seemed this was one of those times.
"Excellent, I have signed this contract with your grandfather that will not allow me to divulge anything that happens during our lessons. I can't even talk about who I am teaching, which means it protects your identity.
I cannot willingly let someone look through my memories as a workaround, and there aren't many people who could break into my mind, so any things I see in your mind are safe with me, and I will take it to my grave.
I cannot even tell your grandfather what I end up witnessing. The only thing I can report to your grandfather is your progress."
Quinn looked at the magical contract in front of him and finally felt relieved. He would've leaned back into his chair if his stool had a backrest.
Alan noticed his relieved demeanor and ended up commenting.
"Mr. West, I don't sign contracts on every job I take, but sometimes my employers insist I do, and your grandfather insisted. Even those rare times I sign a contract, I don't talk about it to my young students as they are too young to understand, but your grandfather told me I should let you know about this contract." Alan stared into Quinn's eyes as he continued, "I am curious what makes you so different from my other students."
Quinn, who had just finally relaxed, again stiffened up because of Alan's words and expression and up cursing him in his mind, 'This shitty old man. Is he trying to kill with anxiety and fright!'
Alan laughed and spoke, "Mr. West, you need to relax."
Quinn's eyes widened, and then his brows furrowed as he growled, "Did you just read my mind?!"
Alan shook his head and teased, "No-no-no, your expression tells it all. I have to say, I am already having so much fun!"
Quinn gritted his teeth but refrained from speaking as he knew that the old man was trying to irk him.
- (Scene Break) -
That day, Alan taught nothing to Quinn, and they just went over what he will teach in the future. After the lesson was over, Quinn felt exhaustion from all the shocks he had received today, and he dragged his body to the manor's garden where he was told his grandfather was having tea.
Quinn entered the garden canopy and sat in front of his grandfather. When he sat down, Polly popped near the table and asked him if he wanted any refreshments. Quinn was too exhausted to have an appetite and refused.
He waited for his grandfather to speak up first, and George asked. "How was the lesson with Mr. Baddeley?"
Quinn sighed and graced the question with a simple reply, "It was stressful."
"Why so?" George asked before placing a piece of scone in his mouth.
"It was stressful knowing that he could, and he did it the first thing I entered the room," Quinn felt tired just from thinking back to the lesson.
George looked at Quinn before asking, "Didn't he tell you about the contract."
"He did, but he revealed the contract after thoroughly explaining what a Legilimens could do with an unprotected mind." Quinn could swear that he heard his grandfather chuckle, but maybe he was mistaken because when Quinn looked up, George looked stoic as ever.
Quinn thought about Alan and remembered why he came to see his grandfather, "What can you tell me about Mr. Alan D. Baddeley?"
George sipped his tea and waited for a moment before speaking, "Mr. Alan is a wizard from New Zealand, from what I have heard, he used to be very active in the mind arts community as a forerunner in research, but he distanced himself from the research community two decades ago and switched to teaching around fifteen years ago.
His track record has been excellent, which is very necessary for this line of work, so I hired him after asking around."
Quinn noticed something and asked, "He didn't teach Lia?"
George shook his head and revealed, "I asked Lia who taught her as your parents chose her teacher, her teacher wasn't available, so I had to find someone else."
Quinn nodded. He had already asked all he needed to ask, so he excused himself, "I will excuse myself. I want to take a brief nap before continuing my day."
George nodded, and Quinn left. Elliot, who was standing nearby, approached George and asked, "Was it alright to hire Mr. Baddeley. The young master looked tired."
George looked towards Quinn's retreating back and explained, "I choose Mr. Baddeley because of his reputation. He doesn't have a family, and before switching to teaching, he had devoted his life to his craft.
Even though Mr. Baddeley is a wizard from New Zealand, he traveled the world to hone his craft. He has traveled the world for around a century. Think about how much he would have learned from his travel. Now, think about Quinn's request for books from every country we visited.
Even though the scale is completely different, both of them are similar in how they approach learning, so when I heard about Mr. Baddeley's life, I hired him after checking his reputation."
Elliot's brows raised in surprise after listening to the reason for hiring Mr. Baddeley. He found his impression of the seemingly ordinary joyous old man changing.
"As for Quinn, he followed Ms. Rosey's daily instruction without a peep. Mr. Baddeley might be eccentric, but I doubt he will have anything on Ms. Rosey. Quinn will adapt after a few lessons."
He turned his head to look at Elliot and instructed, "When Quinn gets used to the Occlumency lessons, you are to teach him about potion brewing."
Elliot nodded and asked, "Am I to prepare the garden for some herbology to accompany the potion brewing?"
George nodded in response, and they spoke no more words.
One thing was for sure, Quinn had a busy year in front of him.
-*-*-*-*-*-
Quinn West - MC - 8 years old - Out for a nap
Alan D. Baddeley - Mind Arts Teacher - Likes to mess with people.
George West - Grandfather - Likes his tea time.
Elliot Dalton - Butler - Potion teacher to be.
-*-*-*-*-*-
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