Cassandra clearly hadn't expected Harry to just bluntly answer "No" like that.
She was breathing as if she couldn't get enough air, her chest heaving violently with each breath.
She really was furious, and she didn't quite understand why that timid, soft little Harry from back then had turned into this now.
It was all Grindelwald's fault!
Cassandra clutched her chest, feeling very, very regretful—so, so regretful.
If she'd known it would turn out like this, why on earth had she taken Harry with her to Austria-Hungary that Christmas?
I was so stupid, really.
I only thought that taking Harry to Austria-Hungary to see the world would let Father train him into someone who could hold his own in the family…
Harry noticed the change in Cassandra and asked with deliberate concern, "What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing."
Cassandra's expression turned cold again. She raised her hand once more, pointing her Magic Wand at Harry.
"Potter, I expect you to concentrate and practice this Magic Spell properly!"
"Legiliments (Mind Reading)!"
This time Harry did everything he could to control his thoughts, but with his inexperience, he was no match for Cassandra's skill and couldn't mount any effective defense.
His unstable Mind Sealing Spell was instantly broken through, and Cassandra once again entered Harry's mental world.
...
1992, Slytherin's study.
Harry was pacing anxiously in the study, trying to find a way to get Vivi's seal undone.
However, he hadn't noticed that Vivi's eyes had been moving from the very beginning.
"Harry?"
A barely audible voice sounded, and Harry hurriedly leaned in close to her.
"I'm here!"
Vivi's eyes slowly opened, revealing her violet pupils.
"Harry?" she said softly. "I finally waited long enough for you…"
She slowly straightened up from the back of the chair, and Harry was shocked to find Vivi's golden hair suddenly starting to lose its color.
From dazzling, brilliant gold, it faded all the way to silver-white…
"Your hair?" Harry asked in astonishment.
"Oh." Vivi lifted a lock of hair with her hand and said with a light laugh, "This should be the erosion of time—Harry, if I turn into an old crone in a bit, you won't despise me, will you?"
"Of course not." Harry's nose stung a little. He knew that that glorious golden hair had been Vivi's greatest pride.
And now it had turned silver-white.
Fortunately, though, the change in Vivi seemed to be only in her hair—or maybe that was just on the surface.
"Can you stand up?" Harry asked.
Vivi tried to stand, but her legs went weak and she collapsed back into the chair.
"No, I've been trapped here too long, my legs are a bit weak," she said with a bitter smile.
"Let me help you and we'll see." As Harry spoke, he reached out and put his hand on Vivi's clothes.
He hadn't expected that the moment he touched them, Vivi's clothes would suddenly crumble like sand before his eyes.
Harry swallowed.
"Like what you see?"
Those words did not come from Vivi.
Harry turned his head and saw Cassandra, her face clouded over.
A wave of dizziness swept over them, and they were back in the empty classroom again.
Harry was breathing a little heavily; trying to concentrate and clumsily resist Mind Reading was extremely mentally draining.
"Looks like you two already got that far." Cassandra held her head high; no one knew what she was thinking. "I really had no idea, Potter, that you could be this shameless—actually taking the initiative to strip a girl's clothes off and have her bare herself to you…"
Bare herself?
Harry thought back. It had indeed been pretty bare.
He'd basically seen everything that was supposed to be seen, and most of what wasn't supposed to be seen too—and the rest just required a change of angle to see.
So that was the situation; what kind of situation exactly really depended on how you looked at the situation.
That said, he still had to defend himself.
Harry organized his thoughts and then said, "You really can't blame me for that, Kathy… You have to understand, she'd been sealed in time for a hundred years; her clothes had long since been eroded by time. I only touched her very lightly, I swear I had no idea what would happen—otherwise I absolutely wouldn't have touched her first!"
That was the truth. Back then he hadn't had the guts to fool around; his head had been a tangled mess.
However, when she heard this, Cassandra paused.
She narrowed her eyes slightly, lifted her head, and asked, "You're telling the truth?"
Harry raised three fingers.
"Of course. I can swear on my future children…"
Who knew that as soon as she heard that, Cassandra—who had just started to thaw a little when she saw him raise three fingers—froze over again in an instant.
"Shut up!" she snapped angrily. "If I say I believe you, then I believe you, but you're not allowed to make that kind of oath!"
"Oh." Harry answered honestly.
"Get ready!"
Cassandra raised her Magic Wand again. "Think about what I told you before. Keep control of your thoughts!"
Harry took a deep breath, clenched his teeth, and tried to push certain emotions out of his mind.
"Legiliments (Mind Reading)!"
...
It had to be admitted that Harry was actually progressing quite fast.
After all, with the Magic Stone in his hand, plus all the battles he'd been through and everything he'd seen, his speed at learning the Mind Sealing Spell was something ordinary people could only dream of matching.
At first, Cassandra could use Mind Reading to see large chunks of Harry's memories.
After just these couple of practice sessions, she could only glimpse a few fleeting fragments.