Harry believed that the most difficult thing to understand in the world was women — and Cassandra was even more incomprehensible than most.
What puzzled him was why Pabi seemed to understand Cassandra better than anyone else. Even Vivi seemed to know her well. Yet neither of them would share their secrets with him, so he still had no idea how to properly communicate with Cassandra.
"Your suggestion is good, Pabi," Harry said. "I think I should go to Malfoy Manor first and ask if they have any basilisk fangs. If they do, I can buy some."
"Or try Knockturn Alley," Pabi added. "I remember Borgin and Burkes sells that kind of forbidden merchandise. I'm sure Mr. Borgin would have connections."
"Maybe. Mr. Burke isn't all-powerful," Harry replied. As he spoke, he felt Pabi lean forward slightly.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Pabi lifted her head cheerfully. "Just eating some grass."
Harry: ...
Oh well. She is a unicorn, after all.
"Don't worry, Pabi," Harry said gently, though a hint of sadness lingered in his voice. "When Vivi comes back, she'll definitely find a way to turn you back into a human."
"Heehee, really?" Pabi hopped happily a couple of times. "Actually, being like this isn't so bad. Look, all the magical creatures are so friendly with me, and you know how much I love them."
Seeing that Harry wanted to say more, Pabi quickly interrupted him.
"Instead of worrying about me, you should focus on rescuing Vivi. She's been trapped alone in a Slytherin study for over a hundred years, while I get to roam the Forbidden Forest carefree with all my magical creature friends!"
"You're right, Pabi," Harry said, reaching out to stroke her mane.
Pabi let out a joyful whinny, carried Harry on a couple of laps through the Forbidden Forest, and then returned him to the edge of the Black Lake.
Hermione was sprawled out on the grass while Ron was skipping stones across the water.
"Hi, Hermione. Hi, Ron," Harry called as he slid off the unicorn's back, smiling at his two friends.
Hermione tilted her head and let out a soft huff.
She really wanted to ride a unicorn too...
But she knew better. Unicorns were not horses. Despite their similar appearance, treating them like ordinary horses would end badly. Someone had once tried to ride one without permission and ended up with a gaping hole in his chest.
Only those truly accepted by a unicorn could ride them.
"Well then, see you tomorrow," Harry waved at Pabi.
"See you, Harry!" Pabi shook her head. "I heard you're playing in the Quidditch final. Can I come watch?"
"Of course, Pabi!" Ron and Hermione said together. "We can save you a spot in the Gryffindor stands. If you want, we can make you the official Gryffindor unicorn!"
"Thank you for the offer, but I'm actually a Hufflepuff," the unicorn said, her eyes curving into a smile. "But I'd be happy to visit Gryffindor as a guest."
"Yay!" the two cheered.
The next day at noon, Pabi arrived at the Quidditch pitch as promised.
The professors gave the sudden appearance of a visiting unicorn a warm welcome. Having such a pure and noble creature grace Hogwarts was considered a blessing from Merlin himself.
Pabi politely declined the professors' invitations and followed Hermione and Ron to the Gryffindor stands, taking the seat that normally belonged to Harry.
This match was the Quidditch House Cup final of the school year: Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw.
Madam Hooch mounted her broom and blew the whistle to start the game.
Harry caught the Golden Snitch in just three seconds, setting a new Hogwarts record for the fastest match in school history.
He also earned a new nickname: *The Fastest Man*.
The Weasley twins had come up with it. They probably didn't mean anything by it, but Harry still found it incredibly awkward.
Gryffindor's captain, Oliver Wood, had an ecstatic grin on his face. Winning the Quidditch Cup had been his greatest dream since he started at Hogwarts.
And today, thanks to everyone's hard work — and especially Mr. Three-Seconds' spectacular finish — it had finally come true.
Harry felt utterly hopeless. He never imagined that the person with the most ruthless nickname-giving skills at this school wasn't the Weasley twins, Snape, or even Draco Malfoy.
It was his own captain, Oliver Wood.
"No! I refuse to be called Mr. Three-Seconds!" Harry shouted in despair.
His protests were in vain. The enthusiastic Gryffindor students lifted him up and tossed him into the air.
Fortunately, his complaints had some effect. The nickname didn't last long before it was decisively rejected.
The person who shot it down so ruthlessly? None other than Professor McGonagall.
Pabi had disappeared at some point. Harry looked around but couldn't find her, so he eventually gave up.
After celebrating with his Gryffindor housemates, Harry made his way to the Great Hall.
Miss Farley was already waiting for him at the entrance. As soon as she saw him, she hurried over.
"Hello, Gemma," Harry greeted her with a nod. "Could you please find Draco for me? I need to talk to him. Same place as before — the abandoned classroom on the second floor."
"Certainly," Gemma said with a small curtsy before leaving.
Harry headed up to the abandoned classroom on the second floor.
Before long, Draco Malfoy appeared at the door.
To be honest, Draco had been in a terrible mood lately.
On one hand, Harry's success made him feel bitter — not exactly jealousy, but irritation at seeing Potter in the spotlight again.
The root of his dislike for Harry still stemmed from that day when Harry had rejected his offer of friendship.
Saint Potter!
On the other hand, Miss Melope, who had always been by his side, had suddenly vanished.
It had happened on the day Professor Quirrell carried out his scheme. Draco vaguely remembered taking the notebook to the fourth floor, but everything after that was a blur.
Without Miss Melope, not only was Draco miserable — nearly half of Slytherin House was going crazy.
Miss Melope was beautiful, gentle, understanding, and exceptionally skilled in magic. No problem was too difficult for her, and she knew countless clever spellcasting tricks.
Slytherins admired strength. That had been true a hundred years ago, and it remained true now — even if many current Slytherins were children of criminals, the house's deep-rooted pursuit of power and glory had never faded.
Power and glory!
More than one person had confronted Draco, accusing him of hiding Miss Melope's notebook.
But Draco was just as lost as they were. They wanted to know where she was? So did he.
The Malfoys were a pure-blood family, but so was nearly every other Slytherin house. The Malfoy family had once been extremely powerful, but that was in the past. The glory days of Septimus Malfoy as Shadow Minister were long gone.
In the end, Draco had no choice but to let people search his dorm. Once they confirmed the notebook wasn't there, the Slytherins reluctantly backed off.
He was frustrated — both by the invasive searches and by Miss Melope's sudden disappearance.
Still… at least he had retained the power she had given him.
While he was sulking, Miss Farley came to him saying that Potter from Gryffindor was waiting for him in the abandoned classroom on the second floor.
Draco wasn't about to pass up such a perfect opportunity for revenge. Barely able to contain his excitement, he abandoned his half-eaten meal and rushed upstairs.
The moment he saw Harry, a savage, confident smile spread across Draco's face.
"Well, well, Potter!" Draco stepped out from behind the door. "If I were you, I wouldn't meet me alone in a place like this. Don't worry, I'll leave you alive so you can publicly admit in front of the whole school that the Boy Who Lived—"
"Listen to me, Malfoy," Harry interrupted his tirade. "Tell me about that notebook that's been circulating in Slytherin."
"You don't deserve to know!" Draco's eyebrow twitched. He drew his wand. "All you need to know is that Saint Potter is about to be defeated by me!"
Harry sighed.
Can't we just talk like normal people?
He didn't even bother drawing his wand. He simply snapped his fingers, and a ring of brilliant blue flames surrounded them both.
Then, with a surge of fire, a majestic blue flame lion leaped out of the blaze and roared silently at Draco.
Draco opened his mouth, unsure what spell to use against such a creature. After all, he wasn't Hermione — he had never been particularly dedicated to studying.
He fired a few desperate spells, but they had no effect on the flame lion whatsoever.
The lion advanced, forcing Draco back until he stumbled and fell into a chair with a thud.
"This… this is…" Draco's voice was hoarse. "Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Miss Melope gave me so much power. How… how did you become this strong?!"
Gaining power himself had been thrilling, but Harry's growing strength filled him with despair.
Harry almost wanted to laugh.
Why did I get stronger?
*I absorbed the Philosopher's Stone, mate. What about you?*
Still, hearing the name "Melope" made Harry breathe a sigh of relief.
"Tell me about your Miss Melope," he said casually, leaning against the desk.
"No! I won't tell you anything!" Draco stubbornly lifted his chin. "Never!"
Seeing that he wouldn't cooperate, Harry pulled out his wand.
"W-what are you going to do?" Draco asked fearfully.
Without wasting words, Harry stared straight into Draco's terrified eyes and cast the spell.
"Legilimens!"
Draco suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head as memories flooded out like a tidal wave.
Miss Melope granting him power, teaching him spells, him spreading the notebook around the Slytherin common room...
Malfoy Manor, conversations with his parents, discovering Miss Melope's notebook...
Finally, the scene froze on Draco frantically searching his dorm for the missing notebook.
"Feeling a bit sentimental?" Harry's voice came from behind him.
Draco snapped back to reality. He wasn't searching for the notebook — he was under Potter's control.
"That's my private memory!" Draco gasped.
"Not from me," Harry said with a slight smirk. "You should actually thank me, Malfoy. It seems you've been deceived."
"Deceived?" Draco was still struggling to calm down.
Harry sighed helplessly. "That notebook — are you really that dense? Think about it. Your grandfather, your father, and you all have pale blond hair. I've seen photos of Septimus Malfoy too — he also had pale blond hair. How could your family possibly produce a member with black hair and red eyes?"
"Impossible!" Draco refused to believe it. "Absolutely impossible! Miss Melope would never lie to me! Never!"
Harry pulled out Cassandra's notebook from his robe.
"Look at this. This is the real notebook of Cassandra Malfoy. Yours is a fake."
"H-how do you know Cassandra?" Draco asked in shock.
At the mention of Cassandra, Harry flicked his wand.
"No, please don't use that spell again…" Draco scooted backward, tears finally spilling from his eyes. "I'll tell you whatever you want to know—"
"Tell me about Cassandra," Harry said, sitting down and casually crossing his legs.
"W-why do you want to know about her?" Draco sobbed. The splitting headache from earlier had left him utterly broken.
Harry didn't answer. He waved his wand and conjured a small alarm clock.
He set it for five minutes and slammed it down on the table.
"You have five minutes. Otherwise, I'll use Legilimency again," Harry warned.
"Ah? I…" Draco couldn't hold back his sobs.
Even though he came from a prominent family, he was still only a twelve-year-old boy.
Raised in a greenhouse, constantly pampered and admired, Draco had never experienced anything like this.
"Cry?" Harry gave a cold smile. "Crying counts as time too!"
Draco let out a hiccuping sob.
"I'll talk—"
Draco began spilling everything like a broken dam, recounting what he had heard from Lucius.
"Wait!"
Harry's heart suddenly skipped a beat. "Are you saying… Cassandra stole a secret treasure from your family's inheritance and then disappeared?"
"Y-yes…"
Draco nodded frantically. He glanced up secretly at Harry and noticed that the boy's expression was shifting, as if he genuinely cared about Cassandra — the ancient ancestor of the Malfoy family.
"You… you seem very concerned about my ancestor?" Draco asked, a hint of flattery in his voice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------/-------------------------------------------------------------------
Read more chapters on my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/SailorTranslations