Harry cautiously took two steps forward, coming to Cassandra's side.
"Miss Malfoy?" he called out.
The Cassandra in front of him remained asleep, showing no signs of waking up.
"Cassandra?" Harry called her name, trying to muster some courage.
However, Cassandra still showed no sign of waking up.
How exactly should he wake her?
Maybe try using a magic spell, he thought, perhaps trying the Revelio spell, just in case there's some message left behind by Cassandra.
Harry's ability to act was always strong. With this thought, he pulled out his magic wand and recited the spell.
"Revelio!"
The glow belonging to a detection spell flashed by, but there was no reaction.
The room was completely empty with no messages left behind.
Harry searched for a while, but found nothing of significance.
If it could be like Vivi, leaving some kind of message, that would be great, he thought.
No, wait...
Since she left no messages, why couldn't I ask her directly?
Even though Cassandra is currently in a deep sleep and can't speak, I can use magic.
With this idea, Harry stood up again and looked at Cassandra.
He held his magic wand, still undecided in his heart.
But...
Can Mind Reading be used on someone who has been asleep for so long? He was doubtful.
Logically speaking, Mind Reading can only be used on someone who makes eye contact with the spellcaster.
With a mindset of nothing left to lose, Harry decided to give it a try.
He pointed the magic wand at Cassandra, and after making up his mind, he recited the spell.
"Legilliments!"
A dizzying sensation overtook him, and it took Harry quite a moment to steady himself before opening his eyes.
He found himself seemingly in a place completely enveloped in darkness.
There wasn't a single sliver of light; he couldn't even see his own hand.
"Lumos!"
Yet there was no reaction. He then remembered he was inside Cassandra's memory and couldn't use any spells.
Could it be... Mind Reading doesn't work on someone who's asleep?
Harry thought to himself, planning to wait in place for a while.
In this level of darkness, it was hard to have any concept of time. Harry didn't know how long had passed. Just when he was losing patience, a voice suddenly came from nearby.
"Crucio!"
A scarlet light flashed by, and Harry instinctively recoiled, only to find a figure already blocking him.
"Reducto!"
After casting a spell to knock down the attacker, that figure knelt to the ground, seemingly in great pain.
Harry couldn't forget that figure because he was all too familiar with that scene.
This memory was from the second half of his third year, when he and Cassandra had encountered a poacher in the Forbidden Forest at night.
According to reason, he should see himself in Cassandra's memory, everything proceeding as expected, but when he looked around, he didn't find his presence.
"Miss Malfoy?" he approached, asking with concern, "Are you alright?"
Cassandra's breathing was heavy. After a moment, she raised her head.
"I hope you can focus more, Potter." Cassandra's gray eyes were full of disdain, "Look at you, now you're only holding me back. If it weren't for me, you'd be in trouble."
"Are you alright?" Harry asked, just like back then.
"Me?" Cassandra curled her lips, "You should worry about yourself, Potter. If I were you, I'd have already drilled into the earth cave to practice spells."
However, this time, Harry noticed that Cassandra didn't seem as nonchalant as she claimed. Her forehead was covered in fine sweat, clearly enduring significant pain.
"Why are you just standing there?"
Cassandra seemed somewhat impatient, as if she was very reluctant to stay here.
"Let's go back." She said.
Yet after taking just two steps, Cassandra suddenly stopped.
Harry was surprised; he remembered that Cassandra from that day didn't stop, but instead marched back to school with her head held high, going to the school hospital.
"What's the matter, Miss Malfoy?" Harry asked.
A moment of silence fell between them.
"No need to pretend anymore, Mr. Death." Cassandra said lightly, "Your acting was quite good, but you gave yourself away... This kind of memory, I've experienced it over ten thousand times in my sleep, and I remember almost every detail..."
Harry was suddenly shocked.
This wasn't Cassandra's memory?
Could it be that I've entered Cassandra's consciousness, and this young girl in front of me is Cassandra herself?
Seeing Harry unresponsive, Cassandra continued, "I know you're eager to harvest my soul into hell because I dared to defy the boundaries of life and death — but please allow me to refuse, I have more important matters to attend to."
With that, Cassandra waved her hand at Harry.
The consciousness space suddenly shattered, and Harry felt himself being pulled back into that eternal darkness.
"Cassandra?"
He called out.
However, there was no response.
Just as he intended to call again, the surroundings suddenly brightened as light returned to the space.
"Rumble... rumble..."
Harry raised a hand to shield his eyes from the blinding sunlight. As he gathered his thoughts, he realized he was on the Hogwarts Express, dragging a heavy suitcase.