bookbashuk Chapter 224 The Will of the Torrent
Chapter 224 The Will of the Torrent
Chapter 224 The Will of the Torrent
Happy times always fly by. In the blink of an eye, Karen's break in Plymouth was coming to an end. A faint sense of unease hung in the air, and even Lily seemed to sense it, clinging to her brother more than usual.
That afternoon, a car pulled up silently outside Hawthorne's house. The door opened, and Professor Castor stepped out. He was still wearing a well-tailored dark suit, with a long overcoat over it. His grey eyes were calm and serene, and the cursed mark on his left arm was neatly concealed by his clothing.
The doorbell rang. Emily opened the door and saw Castor, a gentle and polite smile on her face: "Mr. Grindelwald, please come in. Karen is upstairs packing her luggage and will be down shortly. You must be tired from your journey."
"Mrs. Hawthorne, excuse me." Castor nodded slightly, his voice low and steady. He walked into the living room, his gaze sweeping over the warm and tidy furnishings.
"Daddy! Karen's teacher is here!" Lily peeked out from behind the sofa, curiously looking at the guest who looked so different from the last time they met.
David also came out of the study and extended his hand: "Mr. Grindelwald, welcome. Cullen has been talking a lot about what he learned from you and Mr. Nicol during his stay at home. It's kind of you to come all this way to pick him up."
"It's my duty," Castor replied curtly, shaking hands with David. His gaze fell on Karen, who was descending the stairs. Karen was carrying a suitcase that appeared to be far larger than it looked, enchanted with a Seamless Stretch Charm.
"Teacher." Karen walked up to Castor.
"Ready?" Castor asked.
"Okay." Karen nodded, then turned to her parents and sister. "Dad, Mom, Lily, I'm leaving. I'll write to you when I get to France."
Emily hugged her son and whispered, "Take care of yourself, Karen. Remember to eat on time." David patted Karen's shoulder hard, "Study hard, son." Lily ran over and hugged Karen's leg, her voice slightly nasal, "Caraen, come home soon! Bring me a singing French cake!"
Karen crouched down and ruffled Lily's hair. "Okay, I'll definitely bring it to you. Listen to your parents at home, and be careful when practicing magic; don't overwork yourself." He then looked up at his parents. "Lily's talent—it's very special, and very natural. Keep a close eye on her."
David and Emily exchanged a glance and nodded solemnly.
After saying goodbye, before Karen could even make a move, Castor picked up Karen's suitcase. "Farewell," he said, nodding to the Hawthornes again before turning and walking towards the door.
Karen glanced at her family one last time, took a deep breath, and followed her teacher. The black sedan smoothly drove away from the Hawthorne family's yard and merged into the traffic of Plymouth.
The car was quiet, save for the low rumble of the engine and the fleeting city lights outside the window. Karen watched Castor's profile as he focused intently on driving; his sharp features appeared particularly cold and austere in the shifting light and shadow. He broke the silence:
"Teacher," Karen began, her voice clear in the quiet carriage, "I've tried some methods at home regarding the Occlumency technique, and made some progress, but I'm mostly confused."
He reported clearly and logically, speaking at a steady pace, "Following my notes, I first practiced maintaining a basic state of 'stillness of mind,' eliminating distracting thoughts. I can now begin to enter this state at any time. However, in open environments, especially places with complex sensory information, the interference is enormous. I need to continuously 'mark,' 'envelop,' 'capture,' and 'isolate' external information and intruding associative thoughts. The mental exertion is very rapid, like constantly building stone dikes on the beach of consciousness to resist the waves, which is difficult to sustain."
Castor kept his gaze fixed on the road ahead, but gave a barely perceptible nod, signaling him to continue.
“Later, I got inspiration from Muggle books,” Karen continued, his tone tinged with a hint of exploration, “I tried constructing ‘false targets’ and ‘mind mazes’ as a deeper level of defense. For example, creating an extremely realistic and detailed scenario of a successful Charms class; or pre-planning a complex Quidditch tactical deduction path. Imagine that when an intruder breaks through the initial barrier, you immediately cover it with these ‘false memories’ or ‘mazes’ to distract them and exhaust their energy.” He paused, raising an eyebrow slightly, “But constructing and maintaining this ‘illusion’ requires extremely strong instantaneous mental control and imagination, and it feels more like passively ‘blocking’ and ‘hiding,’ which is inefficient and always feels like there’s a risk of being seen through.”
After listening to Karen's well-organized report, Castor's lips seemed to twitch slightly upwards, almost imperceptibly. It wasn't a smile, but rather an expression of understanding that some expectation had been confirmed.
"Your speed and progress are quite good, Karen." Castor's voice remained calm, revealing little emotion. "To be able to grasp the initial stages of the 'Still Water' state so quickly, relying on notes and self-exploration without guidance, and to touch the threshold of constructing 'illusions,' proves that your willpower and comprehension are up to par." He then shifted his tone, adding an undeniable sharpness. "However, you, and the notes you referenced, have fallen into a typical beginner's trap—treating Occlumency as 'building walls.'"
"Build a wall?" Karen repeated, seemingly lost in thought.
“Yes, building walls.” Castor’s grey eyes swept over Karen, his gaze seemingly able to pierce through appearances and see into the very essence of thought. “Whether it’s the ‘still water’ state of emptiness you’re trying to maintain, or the ‘false memory fortress’ you’re attempting to construct, the essence is the same: using willpower to ‘build’ layers of barriers around the core of your mind. Higher, thicker, more complex, attempting to keep intruders out, or to confuse them with false walls. Is that right?”
Karen nodded slowly; this was exactly what he had done and what had puzzled him.
"If your thinking is wrong, you'll go astray." Castor's voice carried a chilling insight. "Even the thickest wall can be breached by force or someone can find a crack to sneak into. The most realistic fake fortress will immediately fail once the intruder sees through its 'static' nature or senses its lack of a natural 'flowing' connection to the core ideology, thus revealing what's hidden behind it."
The car drove out of town and onto an open country road. Castor slowed down slightly to make the conversation more relaxed.
"The real barrier is not a dead wall, but a living river." He presented his core idea: "Imagine your surface consciousness as a constantly flowing river. What is the river made of? It's the external information you receive every moment, the natural associations you make, the floating fragments of emotions, and the insignificant daily thoughts—these are your 'river water,' which exist naturally and are constantly flowing and changing."
Karen held his breath and listened intently; the analogy instantly struck a nerve with the stagnation he had felt during his previous practice.
“What you need to do,” Castor continued, each word clear and forceful, “is not to stop the river from flowing, nor to build walls along its banks. It's to completely ‘let go’ of the river! Let it flow freely in your realm of consciousness, following its natural laws, changing course, creating waves, and returning to calm. You even need to actively guide it, making it appear more ‘natural,’ full of seemingly reasonable whirlpools, undercurrents, and branches.”
"What about the core secret?" Karen couldn't help but press, "How is it protected?"
"Sink to the bottom of the river." Castor's answer was concise and powerful. "The core memories and thoughts you truly need to protect..."
The secret lies deeply and firmly anchored in the deepest part of this surging river of consciousness, beneath its bed. Let them become part of the riverbed, covered and buried by the thick silt—the vast flow of information generated by your surface consciousness. At the same time, in this ever-changing river, you can naturally and imperceptibly 'dissolve' certain false fragments of memory that you want intruders to 'discover,' letting them drift with the current and become part of the river.
He paused for a moment, allowing Karen to process this shocking idea.
"An intruder's mental probe enters like a probe inserted into a great river. What it first encounters is the turbulent, ever-changing surface stream of consciousness, filled with all sorts of 'real' noises. Its probe is swept up and impacted by the river, lost in countless waves and whirlpools where truth and falsehood are indistinguishable. It might capture a false fragment of memory that you deliberately released, such as the successful memorization of the Charms lesson you just mentioned, and believe it to be true because of its 'natural appearance' and harmony with the surrounding 'flow.'"
"Or perhaps he might be led astray by a seemingly thoughtful but ultimately meaningless memory, exhausting himself amidst the complex branches of the river. Your core, however, lies deep beneath the riverbed, seamlessly integrated with the rushing water, yet isolated by layers of silt. For the probe to reach the riverbed, it must penetrate this thick, dynamic, and disruptive 'flow layer'—a hundred times more difficult than penetrating a 'static wall,' and extremely easy to lose one's way."
Castor's analogy was like a wake-up call, instantly illuminating all the areas where Cullen had felt stuck and powerless in her previous practice. A static defense, no matter how strong, is still a target; while dynamic, environmentally integrated disguises and misdirection are a far more sophisticated form of protection! Let your mind itself become the weapon of defense, not merely the object of defense. Snape, the high-ranking double agent in the original work, likely reached this level.
“This kind of ‘living defense’,” Castor’s voice pulled Karen back from her stunned thoughts, “requires unparalleled ‘control’ over the mind, not ‘suppression’. You must control the flow rate and direction of this ‘river of consciousness,’ control when and where to ‘dissolve’ what kind of false information, and control how to perfectly integrate the core secret with the riverbed without leaving a trace. This cannot be achieved by ‘building walls’ through meditation; it requires elevating mind control to the level of ‘instinct,’ as natural as breathing and heartbeat.”
He glanced at Karen, who was lost in thought, and made his decision: "Once we return to the 'Dwelling of Tranquility,' we will begin the real, intensive training. I will use 'Leechception' on you."
Karen felt a slight chill. Mind control, a direct mental invasion, was an extremely unpleasant experience.
"Don't be nervous," Castor said, as if reading his mind, his tone carrying a rare, almost mentor-like certainty. "Not now, and not all at once. We'll take it step by step. I'll simulate intrusions of varying intensities and methods, guiding you to feel, adapt to, and control your 'river' from the very surface of your consciousness. In this process, you need to learn how to naturally 'release' surface thinking, how to skillfully 'dissolve' false information, and how to firmly 'anchor' your core. Every successful defense and guidance is a test of your control. Until you can, in the natural flow of the 'river,' bury everything that needs to be hidden deep beneath an unassailable riverbed."
A brief silence fell over the carriage, broken only by the low hum of the engine. Karen digested this new concept and the upcoming high-intensity training. He looked at Castor's resolute profile; the mentor's grey eyes reflected the greenery rushing past the window. Trust flowed silently.
"I understand, teacher." Karen's voice was calm yet firm. "I'm ready." He paused, then added with unprecedented confidence, "I will strive to master the 'river'."