Legilimency is an exceptionally complicated magical skill which can be hard to master. There are always debates over whether it is highly useful or extremely invasive. So, have you ever wondered about this curious and potentially powerful magical skill? Well, today is your lucky day! I'll give you a general introduction to Legilimency, including its uses, dangers, and more.

The first question we want to ask ourselves is, what truly is Legilimency? Basically, it's using magic to enter others' minds. Snape would be furious if he heard this, but mind-reading does give Legilimency the basic idea. However, Legilimency is far more than that–Legilimens don't read people's minds like flipping pages of books. Instead, they actually feel people's thoughts mingled with emotions, senses, memories, conflicts and much, much more.

Due to all this, Legilimency is an extremely powerful tool. Many of our most revered wizards and witches, like Queenie Goldstein, Gellert Grindelwald, and Albus Dumbledore, were able to perform the highly coveted skill and use it to turn many situations to their advantage. For example, Albus Dumbledore used it to check on Harry Potter when he was still in school, while Voldemort used it to possess him in a way (however, this was accomplished side-by-side with blood magic, do not attempt this at home!).

Often, Legilimency includes understanding people's thoughts like Queenie Goldstein did to Newt Scamander when they talked about Leta Lestrange; or creating illusions and confusions, like in the famous case of Voldemort and Harry in 1956, when he planted the fake sight of Sirius into Harry's mind in order to bait him at the Department of Mysteries.

Okay, so now that you've learned about Legilimency itself, your next thought is probably how to perform it. After all, who wouldn't want to be able to perform such an extraordinary and powerful skill? Legilimency begins with the incantation– "Legilimens". If the spell's cast correctly and the victim isn't good at Occlumency (which is similar to a counter-curse to Legilimency), the defenceless victim will have the feeling that their minds are invaded, possibly with unwanted memories and thoughts being forced to reveal, just like Harry did when Snape used this magic on him.

But highly skilled Legilimens often have no need for spells to perform Legilimency; all they need is a sneak peek...

Although Legilimency can be considered invading and dangerous (with some good reasons), we can't deny that it can also be quite useful at times. Surely, everybody knows that without Legilimency, Harry couldn't warn the Order about Mr. Weasley being hurt on time, though he clearly disliked the experience, nor could Dumbledore have found out the truth about Sirius from Kreacher. Legilimens can also impact their relationships with others by understanding what others think about them.

There is also the theory that the Sorting Hat was given the skill of Legilimency so it could decide students' houses (by exploring their minds). Not a big surprise, huh? And not to mention its use to the Dark Lord during the two Wizarding World Wars.

But, of course, like mentioned before, Legilimency can also be reasonably dangerous. If Legilimency is used against someone, then, without mastering the skill of Occlumency, the victims are often in great trouble, what with the possibilities of their emotions and memories and stuff invaded or mixed up. Well, let's just say this feeling is definitely not enjoyable.

There can also be dangers for Legilimens. Remember the time when Harry accidentally entered Snape's memory without purpose? Yup, the attackers can also be counter-attacked by their victims. Doesn't seem that dangerous, right? But I'm not that certain that Legilimens have some particular thoughts they want to share. In other words, if you attack others' minds, there's a high chance of you being counter-attacked by others. Geez!

In conclusion, being a Legilimens may not be as easy as we thought. It can be cool, yes, but it can also be hazardous and embarrassing. But we can't deny that Legilimency is a truly fascinating thing to study. Don't you think?

Written by Lily.
Edited by Sara Rowan.
Proofread by Daphne Clarke.