The wedding banquet officially began, marking the end of Cassandra's bridesmaid career.
She wore that beautiful bridesmaid dress and sat beside Harry.
"You did a great job as a bridesmaid, Kathy," Harry didn't forget to offer praise.
"That's a basic requirement for being a bridesmaid, Harry." Cassandra accepted the butterbeer Harry handed over and elegantly took a sip.
"Did you see that?" Cassandra glanced in Vivi's direction: "Look at Grindelwald, that guy... he's a born politician. If I had to do such things, I'd have been fed up long ago."
"Everyone has their own choices," Harry shrugged and said, "This is the life Vivi likes, isn't it?"
Cassandra smiled and didn't say anything more.
After the wedding ended, Little Sirius left with Miss Fari... well, now Mrs. Black.
The two of them returned to Number Twelve Grimmauld Square, while the others went home, and Harry followed Cassandra back to Malfoy Manor.
He originally wanted to stay at school, but Cassandra wouldn't allow it.
He tried to put up a last fight, saying Annie had nowhere to go—but Annie cheerfully said she could stay at Hogwarts for now.
Oh well...
It seemed like there was no escape, so Harry reluctantly complied.
Along the way, Draco was incredibly excited, pestering Harry with talk until the disgruntled Malfoys pressed him into his seat.
This son, who lacks sense...
If it were possible, Lucius strongly wished he had never fathered him.
However, with Draco removed as a third wheel, the carriage fell into a strange silence.
Harry placed his hand on Cassandra's thigh, holding her hand that tried to move away.
The two sat side by side like this until they reached Malfoy Manor.
"It's already late today, Harry." Cassandra spoke after entering the mansion: "Let's talk about meeting my father tomorrow."
With that, she gave Harry a meaningful look and turned to retreat to her room.
Harry's room at the Malfoy family's was always available, although it was some distance from Cassandra's room.
Finding an excuse, Harry said he was a bit tired and headed to his room first.
In the middle of the night, Harry quietly got up and went to Cassandra's door.
He reached out and pushed the door, finding it had been locked.
Now what?
Harry wasn't worried; he placed his hand on the lock and softly whispered, "Alohomora!"
Accompanied by the quiet click of the door unlock, Harry faced no further obstacles.
He quietly pushed open the door, closed it and locked it again, then silently felt his way forward.
He reached the side of Cassandra's bed softly and cautiously called out, "Kathy?"
No sound came, only Cassandra's even breathing.
Harry rubbed his ribs to bolster his courage and lifted a corner of the blanket to crawl in.
His eager hand reached forward and touched Cassandra's soft cotton-studded tummy.
Cassandra remained oblivious, sleeping soundly.
Emboldened, Harry's hand began to move mischievously...
[Five thousand words omitted]
After everything was over, Harry let out a long breath and looked at Cassandra again, finding she had at some point opened her eyes, looking at him with a shameful gaze.
"Ah, you're awake?" Harry, thick-skinned as ever, said, "I called you for ages earlier, thinking you weren't waking up, so I just..."
Yet, at this moment, Harry's mind had already plotted.
Cassandra must have been pretending to sleep; from the moment he entered the room, she was awake.
However, he didn't plan to expose her, knowing Cassandra's face was even thinner.
"Shall we continue?" he tentatively asked.
Cassandra continued to look at him fixedly. As Harry was about to say more, he noticed Cassandra's eyes had closed again.
At that moment, Harry understood what it meant.
[Another five thousand words omitted]
Early the next morning, Harry got up bright and early.
You don't understand the power of the Human Magic Stone. As he grows older, and his bond with the Magic Stone deepens, he doesn't need any rest, sleep is just a habit.
An endless excess of energy like that of an angel every day.
Seeing Cassandra asleep deeply, Harry didn't wake her up, instead walking out of the room himself.
Lucius had already been up; he sat in the living room reading the Prophet Daily.
Upon seeing Harry come out, Lucius smiled and nodded at him.
"Good morning, Harry."
"Good morning, Lucius," Harry said with a smile, looking around but failing to spot Draco's figure, thus he asked, "Where's Draco?"
"At this hour, he should still be asleep," Lucius said.
"Kids, huh?" Harry started talking bashfully, "Sleeping in is pretty normal."
Lucius had initially planned to comment that Harry was at the same age but reconsidered given Harry's true identity, thus held his tongue.
He had long abandoned the mindset of trying to push Draco; pushing him should be prioritized on whom it's compared with. Compared with Harry Potter, does it even hold water?
Lucius was well aware of his son's calibre, so—for whatever a push could achieve, establishing a good relationship with Harry was more pragmatic.
When Cassandra got up, it was already close to noon.