In the cramped confines of the cupboard under the stairs, Lucas sat cross-legged on his thin mattress with a straight posture and slow breathing. He closed his eyes, focusing on the vast, tranquil sea that stretched out in his mind's eye. The gentle lapping of the waves against an unseen shore filled his ears, drowning out the distant sounds of the Dursleys' snores.

While he explored memories of his old life, Lucas sought the feeling of liberation that had surged through him when he first discovered his magical abilities in this new world. He smiled as he recalled the way the magic had flowed through him, bending reality to his will.

Concentrating on that feeling, Lucas allowed a small ripple to form on the surface of the calm sea, a gentle disturbance that mirrored his newfound freedom. He nurtured that ripple, feeding it with the memories of his first successful spells, the weight of each achievement anchoring the sensation in his mind.

The ripple grew, becoming a small wave that lapped at the edges of his consciousness. Lucas focused on maintaining that wave, and his brow furrowed slightly as he kept all other thoughts and emotions at bay. It was a delicate balance, sustaining the feeling of liberation without letting it overwhelm him or disrupt the tranquillity of the vast sea.

After several minutes of intense concentration, Lucas felt ready. He opened his eyes and turned his head to look at the cupboard door. Rousing the wave of liberation in his mind, he imagined that feeling infusing the door, willing it to unlock and swing open.

For a moment, the door remained still, unyielding. Then, a faint clicking sound emanated from the other side, and slowly, almost hesitantly, the cupboard door began to swing open, revealing the darkened hallway beyond.

Lucas's lips curved into a grin as he watched the door open, the physical manifestation of his magical intent. In his mind, the wave of liberation gradually subsided, turning back into a ripple that dissipated into the vast, calm sea.

But as he stood up from his cot, ready to step out into the night, a sudden realization struck him. The grin faded from his face, replaced by a slight frown. How was he going to lock the door from the inside? If he left it unlocked, the Dursleys might discover his nocturnal wanderings and put an end to his magical experimentation.

Sighing, Lucas closed the cupboard door and sat back down on his bed. He should have thought of this earlier, but in his excitement to master the unlocking spell, he had overlooked the importance of being able to lock the door as well.

Lucas leaned back against the wall and considered the problem. To unlock the door, used the emotion of liberation, the sense of breaking free from constraints. But what kind of emotion would be best suited for locking a door?

Security, perhaps? The feeling of being safe and protected, of having control over one's environment. Lucas closed his eyes again, trying to summon that emotion in his mind.

He thought of the times when he had felt most secure in his old life, the moments when he had been confident in his abilities and his place in the world. The satisfaction of a job well done, the comfort of a warm bed on a cold night, the peace of mind that came with knowing he was in control of his own destiny.

Focusing on those feelings, Lucas visualized a new ripple forming on the surface of the calm sea, a gentle disturbance that represented his desire for security. He nurtured that ripple, feeding it with memories of safety and control, willing it to grow and strengthen.

Slowly, the ripple began to expand, becoming a small wave that lapped at the edges of his consciousness. Lucas focused on maintaining that wave, his jaw clenching slightly as he kept all other thoughts and emotions at bay, just as he had done with the wave of liberation.

When he felt ready, Lucas opened his eyes and turned his gaze to the cupboard door once more. Rousing the wave of security in his mind, he imagined that feeling infusing the door, willing it to lock and seal itself shut.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, a faint clicking sound emanated from the door, and Lucas felt a subtle shift in the air, as if the cupboard had become a little more secure, a little more impenetrable.

A small smile played across his lips as he settled back onto his mattress. He had unlocked the door with the emotion of liberation, and now he had locked it again with the feeling of security.

It was a small step, but an important one.

oo0ooOoo0oo

Lucas sat cross-legged in his cupboard. The past two weeks had been a period of diligent practice, honing his ability to unlock and lock the cupboard door with progressively less emotional input. At first, he had needed to fully immerse himself in the feelings of liberation and security, allowing them to consume his mind and infuse his magic. But as he practiced, he found that he could achieve the same results with a more focused and refined approach.

It was a slow process, but Lucas was patient. He knew that by training his magic to associate his desire to unlock or lock a door with the emotions of liberation and security, he could eventually eliminate the need for the emotions altogether. His brow furrowed slightly as he pondered this development.

Could this be the reason why wandless magic becomes so difficult for adult wizards? He recalled how Tom Riddle, in his youth, had been able to perform decent feats of wandless magic, but as he grew older, he seemed to rely more and more on his wand.

Perhaps, Lucas pondered, by relying on the convenience of wands and incantations to power and direct their magic, wizards inadvertently trained their magic to depend on those tools. Over time, wandless magic would become increasingly difficult, if not impossible, for most. He shook his head in disgust.

Rising to his feet, Lucas focused on his more immediate goal: finding a snake to practice Legilimency on. For the past two weeks, he had been sneaking out into the garden at night, searching for any sign of the small snakes that he knew inhabited the UK. But so far, his efforts had been fruitless. The Dursleys' garden was small, and Lucas had to be careful not to venture too far, lest he be seen by a passing car or neighbour.

Taking a deep breath, Lucas unlocked the cupboard door with a mental command and a sharpened will. The door swung open smoothly and quickly, and he stepped out into the darkened hallway. His footsteps were silent as he made his way to the front door. He peered through the edges of the curtains, scanning for any signs of light or movement outside. Seeing none, he unlocked the door with a flick of his wrist and slipped out into the night.

The cool grass tickled his bare feet as he crouched low beneath the flowers and shrubs. Lucas took a deep breath, the earthy scent of the garden filling his nostrils, and called out in Parseltongue, "Is there any snake here? I wish to speak with you."

He waited, half-expecting to be met with silence once again. But then, he heard a rustle in the grass, and a small voice hissed, "Is that a speaker?"

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Lucas's lips curved into a slight smile. "Yes," he replied in Parseltongue. "I am a speaker. Please, come out so I can see you."

A moment later, a small grass snake emerged from the undergrowth, its scales catching the moonlight. It raised its head, flicking its tongue out to taste the air.

"A human who speaks the noble tongue," the snake mused. "How curious."

Lucas studied the snake intently, his eyes tracing the patterns on its scales. He had known that Parselmouths could communicate with snakes, but to actually experience it firsthand was something else entirely.

"What is your name?" he asked, still speaking in the sibilant hisses of Parseltongue.

The snake cocked its head. "We do not have names as humans do," it replied. "But you may call me what you wish."

Lucas nodded, filing that information away for later. He was eager to test the limits of his Parseltongue abilities, to see just how much control he could exert over the snake.

"Come closer," he commanded, holding out his hand. "Coil around my wrist."

Without hesitation, the grass snake slithered forward and wrapped itself around Lucas's outstretched arm. Its scales were cool and smooth against his skin, feeling almost like a gentle, living bracelet.

"Fascinating," he whispered. "It seems that Parselmouths can command non-magical snakes without issue."

The snake hissed in agreement, its tongue flicking out to brush against Lucas's skin. "We have to obey the speakers," it said.

Lucas nodded as he sat cross-legged in the garden, the cool night air caressing his skin while he studied the grass snake coiled around his wrist.

"Tell me," he hissed, "do you have a sense of self? Are you aware of your own existence?"

The snake tilted its head, and its unblinking eyes reflected the moonlight. "I am aware that I exist," it replied, its forked tongue flicking out to taste the air. "I can hunt, eat and do what I want."

Lucas hummed as he considered the snake's words. The creature's response was expected since it could speak, but it still meant a level of self-awareness that he had not expected from a mere animal. He leaned forward as he posed his next question.

"Do you have memories?" he asked curiously. "Experiences that you can recall and reflect upon?"

The snake's tongue darted out once more, as if sampling the weight of Lucas's inquiry. "I remember the warmth of the sun on my scales," it hissed softly. "The taste of the mice I have caught. But these are fleeting things, impressions that fade with time."

Lucas sat back. The creature's ability to engage in such discussion, despite its limited experiences and lack of formal education, suggested that Parseltongue was more than a mere language. It seemed to grant the serpent a level of intelligence and self-awareness that it would not otherwise possess.

In his past life, Lucas had been well-versed in the concept of artificial intelligence, particularly the advanced language models like ChatGPT and Claude. These AI systems, trained on vast amounts of data, were capable of engaging in complex conversations and performing a wide variety of tasks. Yet, the snake before him, with its tiny mind, was able to communicate like a human.

"How is it that you are able to speak with me like this?" Lucas asked. "You have not had the benefit of an education or a vast amount of knowledge, and yet you are able to converse with me as if you were a human."

The snake was silent for a moment. "I do not know," it said at last. "When you spoke to me, I immediately knew that you were a Speaker. I suddenly understood a lot of things that were previously not clear to me."

Lucas's eyes widened a fraction. If Parseltongue could grant knowledge and intelligence to snakes, could this principle be applied to other creatures as well? And if so, could it be used to bestow knowledge upon oneself?

If magic could help people gain knowledge and understanding, it would change how they learned and picked up new skills. Instead of spending years studying and practicing, one could use magic's power and instantly get the knowledge they needed.

But Lucas knew he was still far from being able to look into these ideas closely. He was only starting to see a little of what magic could do, and he had a long way to go before he could even begin to understand the secrets of Parseltongue and how it might be used.

With a final, contemplative glance at the moonlit garden, Lucas turned and made his way back to the house with silent footsteps against the dew-dampened grass.

oo0ooOoo0oo

Lucas carefully carried the grass snake into the house to avoid startling the creature. He slipped back into his cupboard, the door closing behind him with a muffled click, enclosing him in the familiar darkness.

Settling onto his thin mattress, Lucas lifted his arm, bringing the snake to eye level. "Relax for a while," he hissed quietly in Parseltongue. "I need to meditate."

The snake bobbed its head as it draped itself across Lucas's forearm, the cool scales a gentle pressure against his skin.

Closing his eyes, Lucas allowed himself to sink into a deep state of introspection, and turned to the subject of Legilimency. The snake's mind, even with the knowledge granted by Parseltongue, should be simpler than that of a human. It made the creature an ideal test subject for his initial forays into the art of mind reading.

Lucas's thoughts lingered on the snake's well-being for a moment, but he quickly dismissed the notion. It may have been granted a measure of intelligence through the power of Parseltongue, but at its core, it was still just a snake. A lesser creature, not of his own species. In the corner of his green eyes, a tinge of red appeared.

Lucas held the snake somewhat-gently in his hands. He had no desire to harm the creature unnecessarily, but if his experiments caused it some discomfort or bewilderment, he was willing to accept that as a minor sacrifice in his quest for power. His fingers tightened almost imperceptibly around the serpent's body as he thought of his next move.

To perform Legilimency, Lucas knew he needed to find the right emotional state - one that would allow him to bridge the gap between his mind and that of the snake. He thought back to the various mind readers he had encountered in fiction, from the telepaths of science fiction to the legilimens of the Harry Potter series. What emotions did they tap into when they probed the thoughts of others?

After much consideration, Lucas settled on a feeling of intense curiosity, tinged with a hint of dominance. A desire to know, to understand, to expose the secrets hidden within another's mind, coupled with the unshakable belief that he had the right to do so. While he focused on cultivating this emotional state, he gazed intently at the snake, searching for any sign of its thoughts or feelings.

Despite his efforts, Lucas felt nothing from the serpent. Frustration welled up inside him, and he began to tap his thigh unconsciously. The snake’s mind remained firmly closed off from his probing thoughts.

Undeterred, Lucas tried again, this time adjusting his emotional state and tightening his grip on the snake, hoping to find a new way to break through its mental defences. Yet still, the serpent's mind remained stubbornly inaccessible. A heavy sigh escaped Lucas's lips as he ceased his leg tapping and paused to consider his next move.

Taking a deep breath, Lucas attempted to calm himself. I’m not a Natural Legilimens, it’s not going to be that easy… He exhaled slowly and relaxed his hold on the snake. His shoulders slumped as he accepted the need to try a different approach.

Suddenly, a thought struck him like a bolt of lightning. In all the stories he had read, eye contact seemed to play a pivotal role in Legilimency. The eyes were frequently described as the windows to the soul, a metaphysical representation of a person's innermost thoughts and emotions.

Lifting the snake once more, Lucas commanded it to focus entirely on his eyes. "Open your mind to me," he hissed intensely in Parseltongue, the sibilant words seeming to hang in the air between them. "Focus all your thoughts on allowing me access."

The snake obeyed and locked its gaze onto Lucas's own. The reptile's eyes were like polished obsidian, reflecting the flickering light in the cupboard. Lucas felt a strange sensation as he stared into those eyes, a tingling that started at the base of his skull and spread throughout his body.

Taking another deep breath, Lucas summoned up the emotional state he had initially chosen, allowing it to fill his mind like a vast, churning sea. Curiosity and dominance swirled within him, forming a vortex of emotions. He focused all his mental energy on the snake, willing himself to forge a connection with its mind, to see through its eyes and hear its thoughts.

For a long moment, nothing happened. The room was silent save for the pounding of Lucas's heart and the soft hiss of the snake's breath. Then, suddenly, Lucas felt a flicker of something - a presence at the edge of his awareness, faint but unmistakable. It was like a whisper in a crowded room, barely audible but impossible to ignore.

I must open my mind for the speaker, the thought said, echoing through Lucas's consciousness.

The corners of Lucas's mouth lifted slightly. He had done it. He had successfully performed Legilimency, reading the surface thoughts of another creature.

It was a small win, for sure. The snake's mind was probably a simple thing compared to a human, and its thoughts a lot easier to understand. But it was a start, a first step on the long road to becoming great at mind magic.