I'm in a crossover anime world, and I've been transported to Hogwarts twice.

A bizarre hallucination caused by her excessive stress!

"No, no..."

She muttered to herself absentmindedly, her voice trembling violently, and her face drained of all color at a visible speed, turning ashen white.

"I'm dreaming, I must be having a nightmare. I'll sleep some more, yes, just a little more sleep and it'll be all better. Forget this damn, terrible nightmare, forget it all..."

As if grasping at a last straw, she abruptly closed her eyes, her long eyelashes trembling violently with immense fear.

She used all her strength to try to shrink her body back into the soft bedding, like a frightened ostrich desperately trying to bury her head in the sand to shut out the real world outside that filled her with immense fear and shame!

Once you fall asleep, everything will be gone when you wake up!

Those images and sounds that made her wish she could die immediately will all disappear!

However, reality, like a pair of merciless hands, brutally tore apart the illusory barrier she had tried to build.

"Ms. Kaguya."

A clear, calm voice, with an undeniable presence, rang out beside her bed.

It's Hayasaka Ai!

That familiar voice, however, struck like a thunderbolt at the soul that Kaguya Shinomiya was trying to escape!

Her body trembled violently, and she curled up even tighter like a startled shrimp, closing her eyes tightly and even covering her head with the blanket, uttering muffled, tearful protests: "I didn't hear anything, I didn't hear anything, go away, let me sleep."

Like a stubborn child, she refused to confront the bloody truth revealed by her most trusted maid in the most childish way.

Standing by the bed, Hayasaka Ai looked at her young mistress's self-deceiving, ostrich-like posture. Finally, a very heavy expression, a mixture of heartache, helplessness, and a hint of disappointment, appeared on her usually calm and composed, delicate face.

She remained silent for a few seconds, looking at the ostrich bag shivering under the expensive silk quilt.

A suffocating silence and oppressive atmosphere filled the air.

Finally, Hayasaka Ai took a deep breath, a resolute glint flashing in her icy blue eyes.

She knew she had to resort to drastic measures!

If the young lady continues to run away like this, the consequences will only get worse!

She wanted to use what the young lady feared most to force her to face reality!

Her voice regained the head maid's steady tone, but carried an undeniable, ultimatum-like coldness:

"If you, Ms. Liu Yishan Liu, don't get up and face reality..."

She paused deliberately, clearly feeling the body under the blanket tense up instantly.

"Then, I have no choice but to..."

Her tone carried a hint of deliberate helplessness, as if stating a choice she had no other option: "Please ask Mr. Yuzuru to come in and wake you up."

The name "Mr. Yuzuru" was like a magical spell, instantly igniting the greatest fear!

"what!!!"

A short, almost piercing scream exploded from under the covers!

next second!

Kaguya Shinomiya was as if struck by a high-voltage electric shock, and she sprang up from the bed with a speed completely out of character for a sickly person—a speed that could be described as a catapult launch!

The movement was so swift that it even created a gust of wind!

She yanked off the expensive silk quilt covering her head, revealing a pale face beneath her disheveled black hair, filled with extreme terror and shame!

Her ruby-like eyes widened, her pupils shrinking to pinpoints with immense shock, as she stared intently at Hayasaka Ai standing by the bedside, as if she were some kind of monster—no, something even more terrifying than a monster, a traitor who had brought in that demon, Genichi Hanyu!

"Xiao Ai! You!"

Kaguya Shinomiya's voice trembled sharply with extreme excitement and fear. She pointed a slender finger at Ai Hayasaka, her chest heaving violently as if she were about to faint again: "You traitor!"

These two words, like a dagger soaked in venom, were hurled at Hayasaka Ai by her with immense grievance, anger, and the excruciating pain of being betrayed by the person she trusted most!

Hayasaka Ai's body stiffened almost imperceptibly.

A clear trace of hurt and pain flashed across the depths of his icy blue eyes.

But the expression on her face quickly returned to the almost cold calm befitting a head maid. She even straightened her back slightly, as if to use this posture to resist the impact of those two words.

"traitor?"

Hayasaka Ai's voice was calm and emotionless. She even tilted her head slightly, her golden hair brushing against her cheek. Her movements were elegant but carried a sense of detachment.

"Miss Kaguya, is this how you define my behavior?"

She took a small step forward and calmly began to tidy the corners of the blanket that Kaguya Shinomiya had tousled, her tone as indifferent as if discussing the weather: "Then, please allow me, the traitor you speak of, to explain my logic to you."

Her fingers smoothed out the wrinkles on the sheet, her movements meticulous.

"My duty is to protect you, Kaguya Shinomiya, to protect your safety, to protect your interests, and to protect what you truly desire."

She raised her head, her icy blue eyes meeting Kaguya Shinomiya's burning eyes, which were filled with anger and resentment. Her gaze was sharp as a knife: "Watching you, because of that damned, twisted pride, miss out on what you truly desire time and time again."

"Watching you trap yourself in the cold cage called Princess Kaguya of Ice, even though you desperately crave it, you can only use anger, denial, and escape to cover up your vulnerability."

"Watching you sink into despair and self-torture, even to the point of harming yourself..."

Hayasaka Ai's tone gradually took on a subtle sharpness: "Miss Kaguya, if I continue to indulge you like this, watching you destroy the happiness and future you might have, is that what my loyalty as a maid is all about?"

She slightly raised her chin, her voice resolute: "No! That's the greatest dereliction of duty, that's the real betrayal!"

"So even if you condemn me as a traitor, even if you hate me to the core, I must do it!"

“I must tear away your ridiculous pretense, I must drag you out of that self-constructed hell, I must make you see clearly what you want, and what you must fight for!”

"As for Mr. Yuzuru..."

Hayasaka Ai paused subtly, a complex and unreadable light flashing deep within her icy blue eyes.

"He's in the living room. If you have the courage, go face him and tell him your true feelings. If you don't..."

Her gaze swept over Kaguya Shinomiya's still pale cheeks, which were flushed with excitement, and her eyes filled with stubborn tears.

"Then stay hidden in this bed, be your Ice Princess Kaguya, and live forever in regret."

After speaking, Hayasaka Ai stopped looking at Shinomiya Kaguya and instead bowed slightly, performing a perfectly standard maid's bow.

"I have finished speaking. The choice is yours, Ms. Kaguya."

She turned to leave the oppressive and stormy room.

"Little Love!"

Kaguya Shinomiya's voice, trembling with sobs, rang out again. This time, her anger was mixed with even more helplessness and a hint of barely perceptible dependence.

Hayasaka Ai stopped in her tracks, but did not turn around.

Kaguya Shinomiya looked at Ai Hayasaka's straight and resolute back, and then thought about the immense panic, shame, and grievance of the man who might be sitting in the living room outside, a man like a demon king. The shock of Ai Hayasaka's traitorous declaration was like countless giant hands, dragging her into a chaotic vortex once again.

She felt like she was suffocating!

"Woo..."

An uncontrollable sob, filled with despair and helplessness, finally broke out of her throat.

She suddenly grabbed the silk quilt beside her and covered herself completely with it again, curling up into a ball. Under the expensive and soft fabric, she let out suppressed sobs like a wounded little animal.

Her body trembled slightly as she cried, like a leaf shivering in the cold wind.

Hayasaka Ai stood at the door, listening to the heartbreaking, suppressed sobs coming from under the covers behind her, listening to her young mistress's desperate whimpers that sounded like the end of the world.

The head maid's flawless, calm mask finally cracked slightly.

A deep, unspeakable heartache and weariness clearly flashed across her icy blue eyes.

She closed her eyes slightly, her fingers gripping the doorknob so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

In the end, she simply sighed silently, gently closed the door, shutting out the suppressed sobs.

She didn't leave, but leaned quietly against the cold wall outside the door like the most loyal guard, gazing up at the intricate patterns on the corridor ceiling, a complex and unfathomable silence deep within her icy blue eyes.

173. Uncertainties about the future; the future seems out of control.

The heavy stone door to Cassandra's lounge closed silently behind him, shutting out the flickering fire inside and the unsettling figure.

Genichi Hanyu leaned against the cold stone wall, trying to suppress the burning sensation in his mind caused by Cassandra's eyes, which were trying to remain calm but couldn't hide her emotions, as well as the bold declaration he had blurted out.

"Tsk, kicked out again."

He muttered self-deprecatingly, his fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of his robe.

Cassandra's reaction was within his expectations, but the almost tangible shame and anger combined with her forced indifference still stirred a wicked pleasure within him.

However, now is not the time to reminisce about this.

He straightened up and looked toward the end of the dark corridor.

The thought that Cassandra was secretly researching Horcruxes extinguished the glimmer of hope in his heart like a heavy block of ice.

Horcruxes are knowledge that touches upon the darkest taboos of magic, the core secret that allowed Voldemort to survive.

Why would Cassandra Worre, this proud, rational, and goal-oriented Slytherin prefect, venture into such a dangerous area?

Is it for power?

For some ambition he couldn't understand?

Or has she encountered some predicament that she believes can only be resolved through such taboo means?

Regardless of which one it was, it sent a chill down Genichi Hanyu's spine.

He had to figure it out. And the only possible breakthrough was the reborn person who was also shrouded in great mystery—Hermione Granger.

He took a step, his shadow stretching and shrinking under the swaying wall lamp.

The target was clear: the common room near the Gryffindor Tower, or the library; given the little witch's diligence, the library was a likely candidate, even close to curfew.

However, as he walked through a corridor lined with portraits, an image suddenly and inopportunely popped into his mind: a small, not-yet-fully-grown Hermione Granger, wearing a robe, but with pure white stockings on her lower body? The slender lines of her legs, in his imagination, carried an almost sinful clarity.

"Pfft-cough cough cough!"

Genichi Hanyu choked on his own saliva and coughed violently, his cheeks instantly burning hot.

He awkwardly grabbed onto a nearby stone pillar, his heart pounding wildly in his chest, and an indescribable burning sensation shooting straight to his lower abdomen.

"What the hell!"

He growled, his voice filled with unbelievable horror and disgust for his own brain.

"Hermione Granger is toxic!"

He shook his head violently, trying to banish the absurd, downright mentally polluting image.

Cassandra's teasing had gotten a little too much to bear, causing my thoughts to take a strange turn.

He took several deep breaths, the cold stone wall penetrating through his thin shirt, which finally calmed the evil fire within him, allowing reason to regain its dominance.

He wiped his face, his expression a mix of "What the hell was I thinking?" and took another step, this time faster, with an eagerness to shake off that bizarre thought.

When he finally reached the library entrance, the huge oak door was ajar, letting in warm light and the familiar smell of parchment and old books.

He quietly pushed open the door a crack, his gaze sweeping over the rows of towering bookshelves.

found it.

In a secluded corner near the protected area of ​​the restricted book zone, a lone lantern cast a soft glow.

Hermione Granger was hunched over a table piled high with thick books, her small body almost completely submerged in the mountain of books.

Her brows were furrowed, her lips moved silently, and her quill flew across the parchment, making a rustling sound. She was so focused that it seemed as if the only thing in the world was the knowledge before her.

That signature fluffy brown hair seemed even more unruly because its owner was so engrossed in thinking.

Genichi Hanyu walked over quietly and stopped a few steps away from her.

He didn't speak immediately, but quietly observed the reborn person.

Hermione in front of me still had a distinctly childish look, but the light in her eyes, the focus beyond her years, and the subtle sense of heaviness were completely different from that of an ordinary first-year student.

She knows too much, and she carries too much on her shoulders.

"Miss Granger."

He finally spoke, his voice standing out clearly in the quiet corner of the library.

Hermione's body jerked violently, like a startled fawn, her quill leaving a long, dark mark on the parchment. She abruptly looked up, and when she recognized the person as Genichi Hanyu, a flash of surprise crossed her bright brown eyes.