I want More

"Hey, originally everyone was happy…" Blake raised two fingers. "Now, two people are unhappy."

Hermione huffed, clearly frustrated. "This isn't my fault. You're the one who lied to us—"

"I didn't mean to blame you!" she quickly added. "Just that…"

Blake turned away with a sigh. "I'd better pick her up quickly. If I don't, she might run off to Godric's Hollow or something."

He pulled on his coat. "I promised to wait at home. If she finds I'm not there... well, her weather spell still hurts."

With that, he mumbled his way out the door.

Hermione stood there, guilt starting to gnaw at her. She regretted ever telling Cassandra about the trip.

Now Blake was heading out—probably to console Cassandra—and all of this was because Hermione couldn't keep quiet.

"Ugh… I should have known…"

Cassandra, for her part, was livid.

It wasn't just about the lie Blake told—she'd come to expect that. That rascal never told the full truth, and annoyingly, she liked him anyway.

No, what hurt was that Blake had taken Hermione out to have fun—without her.

She jabbed her quill into the parchment in front of her, muttering, "Stupid Blake… Rotten Blake…"

Soon the parchment was full of holes.

"Stinky? I took a shower today."

Cassandra froze. The voice had come from the other side of the dimensional door.

She whirled around. "You?! Why are you here?"

Blake stood there, hands in his pockets. "I came to pick you up."

"Oh, right. You picked someone else first," she said, eyes narrowing.

Blake nodded shamelessly. "Yeah. I picked up a bunch of people."

"Then why me? What's one more or less?"

"You told me on the train you wanted to go out with me," Blake said. "Now you're backing out. Who's the one lying now?"

"You—! I said we should go together! Not with a crowd of other girls!"

"You didn't say it was just us two!" Blake countered. "And what, if I brought boys, it would be fine?"

Cassandra's fingers twitched toward her wand.

"Hey now! No magic outside school—you remember the rule, right?"

She froze, groaned, then snatched up her broom instead.

"Hey, hey, don't hit! You hit me again, I'll fight back!"

"Oh really?" she sneered. "You think I won't?"

Blake reached out dramatically. "The horse of love… slays the chicken!"

"Ehhh—?!"

Half an hour later, Cassandra was flushed and wobbling as Blake helped her into a chair.

"Still want to fight?" he asked smugly.

She couldn't answer—her breath was shaky, and her legs wouldn't stop trembling. She stared at him with wide, glassy green eyes.

Blake pretended not to notice how much that look affected him.

Cassandra, meanwhile, was overwhelmed. What kind of twisted spell had he cast on her? Why did it feel so… embarrassing… but also kind of good?

Her face turned bright red.

"Hitting someone is wrong, right?" Blake asked.

She stayed silent.

"No answer? I'll take that as agreement."

Then he leaned closer. "Still mad at me?"

No reply.

"Still no answer? Alright then, I'll assume you're not mad anymore. That means we're still friends!"

He beamed. "And as friends, we should go out together. Oh, I've been working on some new recipes—wanna try them?"

For five whole minutes, he rambled while Cassandra sat, fuming in silence. It wasn't until then that she started to regain her strength.

Sure, she'd lost her temper and tried to hit him. But he'd responded with that strange magic of his—and turned her into jelly for thirty minutes straight!

Still… there was something in her eyes now. Something different.

"You listening?" Blake asked suddenly.

Cassandra nodded.

"Want to go out with me now?"

She nodded again.

"Wait, you still can't speak?"

She tried, but her voice was barely a whisper. "Yes…"

"Great! At least you can talk."

Blake relaxed, thinking he may have pushed her a bit too far.

"You should tell your parents now," he said. "Soon. Trust me—after a few days, they won't let you leave."

He didn't mention that Sirius Black would escape from Azkaban soon, and the world would erupt in chaos.

As he turned to leave, Cassandra tugged at his sleeve.

"What is it? I didn't mean to go that far, you know…"

She gestured for him to lean in.

Hesitantly, Blake bent down—and Cassandra whispered in his ear, "That magic… can you… can you use it on me for another half hour? I… I want more…"

When Blake finally stepped back into his room on Nameless Island, he was drenched in sweat.

"That girl definitely triggered some weird switch…"

He nearly collapsed.

If Cassandra hadn't fallen asleep at the end, he wouldn't have escaped.

He shivered, remembering her flushed expression.

"Way too dangerous… a wizard's got to protect himself too!"

Stepping out of his room, he ran into Hermione.

She looked behind him, expecting someone else.

"She's not coming?" she asked hopefully.

Blake wiped his forehead. "She'll come… but she's tired today. She'll join us tomorrow."

Hermione's hopeful look instantly dropped.

She had no one to blame but herself. She told Cassandra. She started this.

At Worley Manor, Cassandra's mother knocked on her door.

"Cassandra, dinner's ready."

No response.

"Cassandra?"

Mrs. Worley turned the doorknob—it wasn't locked—and stepped in.

She found her daughter fast asleep, flushed, in light pajamas and covered in sweat. A dreamy smile played on her lips.

It was the look of someone who had just experienced the happiest moment of their life.

Meanwhile, Blake was inspecting a master ball in his hand.

The system had granted it—it could make magical creatures experience vivid dream simulations where they might learn new skills.

So far, none of the creatures had managed to do it.

Until now.

The master ball had stopped shaking. The red gem turned green—indicating success.

The magical beast inside had learned something.

Blake stood at the area Newt Scamander had designated for dangerous magical creatures—now mostly his domain.

He tossed the ball.

"Come out, Big Bear!"

With a thump, a flaming-red bear hit the ground.

It looked around, found no threat, and turned to Blake.

Blake checked its stats immediately. A new skill had appeared: Transformation.

"Transformation? What's that mean?" Blake asked.

The bear scratched its head, thinking.

Suddenly, black mist enveloped its body.

Blake stepped back but focused his eyes, using True Sight.

He watched in awe as the bear shrank and morphed.

The mist cleared to reveal… a bear-headed humanoid.

"You've got to be kidding me! A bear-headed man?!"

Blake circled him, briefly eyeing the "Sword of the Brave" with concern.

"Let me try something…" the bear muttered.

"You can talk?!" Blake yelped.

"Yep. Met a guy in the dream who called himself a Druid. Said he could shapeshift too."

"He tried to keep me as a pet," Xiong Da chuckled. "After I beat him up, he taught me transformation magic."

Blake gawked. "So… you're a druid now?!"

"Kind of. I can't turn into a full human yet. But I can talk, and I feel stronger like this."

Blake rolled his eyes. "I'm human. Talking's not exactly a superpower."

"But you can turn into a bear. So… how many animals can you become?" Xiong Da asked.

"Plenty."

"Then… can you become a lady bear and make me happy?"

"Your uncle's!"

Ten minutes later, with bruises all over, Xiong Da was wearing conjured clothes.

Despite the bear head, he looked vaguely like a buff man.

"How long can you stay in that form?" Blake asked.

"As long as I want, unless I change back."

"Oh, and boss—got any honey beer? The guy in the dream bribed me with a whole barrel."

Blake narrowed his eyes. "Why? Planning to bribe me too?"

"No! Of course not!" Xiong Da said quickly. "You saved me from the circus. I'll never forget it."

He stood tall. "I am Druid Xiong Da!"

Then he scratched his head sheepishly. "So… boss, when can you find me that Lady Bear you promised?"

=============

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