Harmonizing with Him

Chapter 16

Hey, everyone! I hope you all are doing well and are staying safe from this troublesome COVID :D Once again, thank you for all the support you show this story <333 I plan to finish it before this year ends so wish me luck!

Anyways, enjoy the new chapter. And please leave some comments as I love hearing your thoughts! Also, do vote, as well.

Happy reading!

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Harry's mind was fully occupied as he made his way towards Snape's office for his first Occlumency lesson. He couldn't shake away a strange feeling that came upon him regarding Snape as he kept dreading that he might have something terrible for him in store.

At the worst time, he also recalled Ron's opinion of Snape – how he believed that he was still a Death Eater, despite Dumbledore's trust in him. Snape certainly seemed like the type, didn't he? But Harry had his doubts.

Besides that, for some strange reason, Hermione's concerned face that he last saw before setting off for the dungeons also kept popping up in front of his eyes. She seemed really worried for him, and knowing Hermione, Harry could tell that it was genuine concern. Nonetheless, her worry for him made his heart serene. At least someone in his life cared about him no matter the circumstance...

Lost in his musing, he had covered the path from the Gryffindor Tower right down to the dungeons in no time at all. The shady corridors of the place looked eerie to him. Here and there, students from Slytherin were chatting and idling about, giving Harry odd looks as he passed them by. While he continued navigating among the unfamiliar corridors, he spotted Malfoy and his gang standing and laughing in a corner. Just the sight of them was enough to make him grimace.

Recently, Umbridge had awarded this group the title of the Inquisitorial Squad. Now that Dumbledore was almost always gone and Umbridge had started to think that she was the headmistress of the school, this Inquisitorial Squad acted as her sentinels and reported back incidents where students flouted her Decrees. The title also gave them the right to take away House Points from misbehaving students. However, since Malfoy and his friends were absolute gits, they took away points for no reason at all, too. Becoming Umbridge's 'special' students had made them gain even more hatred in the eyes of both Harry and Ron, but the latter knew that messing with the Squad would lead to no good. They would just end up losing points, which they couldn't afford to do as they had gained them from all the hard work they had put into their Quidditch matches.

Ignoring the squad and blocking their laughter, Harry continued on his way to Snape's office. The corridor that housed his quarters was thankfully empty, but Harry's heartbeat could be heard plainly in the otherwise quiet place. Even the office door looked intimidating as heck to him.

Harry couldn't believe how scared he was feeling. He kept imagining the worst.

Get a grip on yourself! His head spoke up. You've faced this git a million times, remember? So you have no reason to be afraid of him now.

But it's not him I'm afraid of, Harry responded silently. It's the lesson itself. Occlumency. Snape is going to enter my mind, isn't he? What if he uses it against me?

Well, you have no choice, his mind said. No choice but to trust him. Dumbledore wouldn't have appointed him if he wasn't 100% sure about this. You have to give Snape a chance. Voldemort is much worse, remember?

Yes, Voldemort was definitely much worse. Harry sighed. Who was he even kidding? It was his jitters speaking for him, but the little pep talk he had shared with himself actually made him feel better. Determination, and a new kind of bravery, was beginning to impact his heart. He didn't need to be afraid of Snape and just had to believe that whatever would happen would be for the best.