For example, when Harry boarded the school train, he sat next to Ron, the chicken-leg-crazed warrior, Miss Granger with the big front teeth, and that very annoying Draco.
She instinctively frowned; just a fragment of memory made her feel that this grandnephew of hers wasn't really anything good.
If she had been there back then, she would have definitely scolded that ignorant fool harshly.
The fragment continued, with Harry participating in his first Quidditch match, catching the Golden Snitch, and throwing Biting Kale at the back of Professor Quirrell's head...
In the end, she managed to capture a slightly longer fragment.
It should have been last year when Harry received a letter left by Cassandra and headed to her vault.
Just as Harry was about to start rummaging, Cassandra coldly remarked behind him.
"I'm about to throw up..."
Harry was jolted awake, and after a familiar dizzying sensation, the two of them were back in this empty classroom.
He was panting heavily, sweat all over his forehead from exerting himself to resist just now.
"Is this what you call control?"
Cassandra's voice was devoid of any emotion, purely professional and businesslike.
"Ha... Ha..." Harry was still calming his pounding heart, not sure why resisting Mind Reading was such a strenuous task.
However, Cassandra raised her Magic Wand once more.
"Wait..." Harry attempted to stop Cassandra's action: "Let me take a break, I can't quite focus..."
"But the Black Demon won't rest!" Cassandra stated expressionlessly: "The Black Demon doesn't care whether you can focus or not—he can break through your mind shield anytime he wants..."
She lowered her eyelids, catching the sight of Harry still gasping.
Cassandra looked disgusted, suddenly reaching out to grab Harry by the collar, speaking in rapid succession: "You and Grindelwald, you really are two peas in a pod... You're like carefree little brats, all full of impulsiveness... Maybe you've never noticed what serious consequences recklessness can bring, if it weren't for your overconfidence and recklessness..."
At that, Cassandra suddenly fell silent.
Indeed, it had come to this, so what good would complaining do?
Harry naturally understood what Cassandra was referring to just now.
In fact, she was absolutely right, if only they had advanced cautiously and carefully, maybe he wouldn't have been tricked by Lanlock so easily.
"Lift your head up!"
Cassandra once again pointed her Magic Wand at Harry: "Every piece of your memory can be used against you... If indeed he can invade your thoughts anytime, as we suspect, it won't be long before you become his puppet... Or do you want us to die with you?"
"No." Harry shook his head.
"Then prove it to me!" Cassandra said coldly: "Control your emotions! Restrain your thoughts! Don't let me see your weak side again... Legiliments (Mind Reading)!"
Even before Cassandra spoke, Harry had already focused and even used Magic Power to form a protective shell outside his brain.
The theory was just a theory anyway, Harry thought it might work, who knows?
As it turned out, it did seem to work.
This time, Harry's memory fragments flashed by even faster than before, almost at several fragments per second.
Faster than flipping through a book.
"Well done." Cassandra lowered her Magic Wand, "Building a protective barrier outside the brain is indeed a good idea... and you don't need to become a double agent like Professor Snape, so you don't need to go to that extent either..."
"It's not enough." Harry shook his head, "At least you're still able to glimpse a part of my memory, maybe I can improve this method a bit..."
"It's good you're aware you're just using clever shortcuts." Cassandra placed her Magic Wand back inside her robes: "That's it for today's practice, we'll continue tomorrow... On your way back, think carefully about how you can reinforce your barrier, understand?"
"Of course." Harry nodded, then suddenly remembered something and said, "Your Life Force... is it still enough?"
"What are you up to?" Cassandra narrowed her eyes.
"Oh, just..." Harry scratched his head, "caring about you—I remember the last time we replenished your Life Force together was a while ago."
Suddenly Cassandra's face flushed suspiciously red.
She instinctively wanted to scold Harry for being shameless, but also realized that it had indeed been several months since the last Life Force recharge.
Even though she didn't know how to perceive Life Force, Cassandra wasn't eager to die just yet.
"No need for that."
Cassandra stood up, her leg nudging the chair backward a few steps.
"I have some things to do." She said, ready to walk out.
Although replenishing Life Force was indeed something that should be done, allowing her bashful and proud self to accept Harry's offer was simply too hard to bear.
So she could only stand up and act as if she was going to leave, but her steps slowly moved toward the exit.
"Wait."
Harry hurriedly called after Cassandra.
The matter of replenishing Life Force had just suddenly crossed his mind, but in actuality, he also had ulterior motives.
Mr. Leme's method, to replenish Cassandra's Life Force, required some degree of contact between them.
Naturally, Harry wanted to use this opportunity to deepen their relationship, killing two birds with one stone.
Upon hearing Harry's voice, Cassandra stopped in her tracks.
She turned her head, looking at the desk nearby, remaining silent as she stared.
"What's wrong?" Harry tentatively asked.
Cassandra just looked at that desk, without any intention of responding.
"Then... shall I start?" Harry asked again, tentatively.
"Sh-shut up, Potter!"
Cassandra blushed as she scolded.
"Oh." Harry obediently shut his mouth, fully aware of how thin-skinned Cassandra was, so he refrained from saying anything else that might make her uncomfortable and reached out to wrap his arm around her waist.
Admittedly, though Cassandra's waist wasn't as slender as Vivi's with her Austria-Hungary charm, it was still in the slender category.
Vivi was out of this world in that respect, as her aunt Princess Sissi was the epitome of a slender waist.
Boys grow later, and Harry was only fourteen now, so he wasn't yet as tall as the seventeen-year-old Cassandra.
Hugging Cassandra from behind, his face barely reached her back.
He actually missed the Ageing Potion quite a bit, as it allowed people to mature quickly.
He estimated, judging from appearances, that his adult self would be taller than both Cassandra and Vivi.
But he couldn't be entirely complacent either, he should look into some Magic Potion books to see if there was anything that could help people grow taller.
Better to have a backup plan.
As a man, Harry wasn't exactly comfortable with the idea of being shorter than his other half. In this current state it was one thing since he's still in that dreadful early teen phase.
Oh no, at this age, in Dai Ying, he was a middle school student.
The two of them stood there hugging, and the atmosphere gradually became visibly awkward.
Harry decided to break the silence first, as eventually, something needed to be said.
"Isn't this a bit tiring?" he tentatively asked, "We've been standing for quite a while, maybe we should sit over there for a bit."
Cassandra didn't respond right away, and just when Harry thought she was ignoring him, he heard a faint "Mm".