"You didn't get me a gift—a Christmas gift."
Harry began to change the subject, speaking softly.
They danced together in the middle of the dance floor, moving with the music.
"Oh, is that so?" Cassandra snorted, "Don't worry, Potter—I've prepared a gift for you."
"What is it?" Harry asked quietly.
"You should be more composed, don't be so impatient." Cassandra said softly, "Look, your steps are a bit messy... ah, you little rascal!"
She exclaimed because Harry had stepped on her small shoe.
"Sorry, sorry." Harry quickly apologized, "I didn't mean to—"
"Never mind, you're clumsy anyway, Potter." Cassandra said softly, "Just like when I first met you, clumsy and couldn't do anything right, wasn't it?"
"How do you know I'm still clumsy now?" Harry retorted.
"I just..."
Mid-sentence, Cassandra suddenly stopped.
A suspicious blush appeared on her face.
Hmm...
Everyone knew that Harry had considerable prowess in magic.
But he often didn't stick to the rules; now he was using magic to slide his hand into Cassandra's clothes, pressing it against the small of her back without any hindrance.
"Is that so?" he asked softly, "Am I really clumsy?"
"Well, a bit." Cassandra said with a blush.
Harry didn't push further, simply enjoying the momentary warmth.
He had to admit, Cassandra's skin felt even better than the most expensive silk in the world.
Warm, soft, and with an unimaginable smoothness.
Harry continued to caress her skin, while glancing over Cassandra's shoulder to look around.
Neville and Ginny were dancing nearby—he could see Ginny constantly frowning and dodging because Neville stepped on her foot—Dumbledore was waltzing with an elderly lady Harry didn't recognize, though he felt she was somehow familiar, yet couldn't remember where he'd seen her before.
Mad-Eye Moody was awkwardly dancing a few steps with Professor Sinistra, who nervously dodged his wooden leg.
Meanwhile, Hagrid was dancing with Mrs. Maxim, snuggled affectionately in her embrace, gazing at her with deep love, and his other hand was quietly moving down.
Who would have thought Hagrid was like this!
Harry suddenly felt as if a mental image of Hagrid had shattered in his mind.
So then...
Should I learn from Hagrid as well?
It's certainly a behavior worth emulating.
With this thought, Harry moved his hand further down inside the clothes.
The trouble was, he forgot to pull it out from the clothes.
Cassandra's neck could no longer support her head, and her entire head leaned against Harry's shoulder, their skin touching. Harry could even feel the steaming heat from her cheek.
"Are you out of your mind?" Cassandra murmured a threat, "There...there are so many people, move your hand up!"
"Huh?" Harry pretended not to understand, "You mean, if it were just the two of us, it would be okay?"
"You..." Cassandra opened her mouth and bit Harry's neck.
"Is that so?" Harry persisted, knowing full well the bite was more playful than anything.
"Hurry up..." Cassandra's breath grew more labored.
"Then tell me, if it were private, could I do this?" Harry asked.
"Mm..." Cassandra hummed through her nose, "You can... you can..."
Only then did Harry place his hand back on Cassandra's waist, smiling as they continued to dance.
"Then," Harry said again, "I think we should change how we address each other—'Potter' really doesn't fit our relationship..."
Cassandra didn't answer, still simmering with embarrassment, wishing she could bite Harry's shoulder hard.
"Hey, you're not saying anything," Harry said helplessly, "Do you believe if I keep this up, I'll again..."
"Potter!" Cassandra suddenly lifted her head, glaring at Harry with mild anger, "Are you really that smug!"
Harry indeed felt rather proud; it was one of the rare moments he could tease Cassandra.
Oh, not really.
Since the maid incident, Harry had always had a particular edge over Cassandra in certain areas.
Almost every time he attacked, Cassandra would immediately surrender.
"Well, not too bad." Harry again seized Cassandra's weak spot.
Cassandra's slim waist immediately straightened, and she once again melted bonelessly against Harry's shoulder.
"Can we sit down, please?" she near pleaded, struggling to stand.
"Oh—but—this song is really nice!" Harry said, as the Quirky Sisters started playing a new song, with a much faster tempo than before.
"I'm having trouble standing, Potter..." Cassandra pleaded softly like the buzz of a mosquito.
"Hold on!" Harry withdrew his hand and patted Cassandra's slender waist.
Seeing Harry disagreed, Cassandra had no choice but to slump softly into Harry's arms, relying entirely on his support to keep from collapsing to the ground.
"Just dance for a bit," Harry continued, "You haven't prepared a Christmas gift for me, nor are you willing to dance with me, it's making me quite upset..."
"I did prepare one!" Cassandra cried softly with a tearful voice.
"Really?" Harry said skeptically, "Why haven't I seen your gift? Where's your sincerity? Why haven't I noticed?"
"I, I didn't bring it..." Cassandra said quietly, "But you'll find out tonight... you'll know what the gift is... now, shall we go to the sidelines and rest for a bit? I'm really tired..."
"Tired after one dance..." Harry pretended to be unhappy, "Seems like you just don't want to dance with me, maybe I should call Vivi instead..."
At this point, Harry knew continuing like this might be overdoing it; if he pushed Cassandra into a reaction, that wouldn't be good.
So he changed the subject.
"Of course, if you're willing to change how you address me and stop calling me 'Potter' from now on, we can go take a rest."
"Change... change it to what?" Cassandra's originally dazed eyes suddenly focused.
She really couldn't stand any longer, damn Potter...this guy really could be a handful...
How did I... how did I end up fancying such a little rascal back then?
Although...
He is quite charming indeed.
"That's up to you." Harry said softly, "What do you think I would like to be called?"
Cassandra forced her overloaded brain into overdrive, and after a moment, nearly short-circuiting, asked, "How about... calling you Daddy?"
"Huh?" Harry asked in shock.
The young man immediately stood at attention.
Don't interrupt; I'm thinking...
Wait, girl...
What the heck with calling me Daddy?!
Cassandra realized what she had just said, and quickly corrected herself, "No, I misspoke... I meant... how about just calling you Harry... like Grindelwald and the others..."
"That's good, but don't you find it a little repetitive?" Harry whispered into Cassandra's ear, "You can call me that in normal circumstances, but when we're alone, what do you call me then?"
Cassandra's mind overloaded once again.
"Call you... call you Master?" she purred, "Just like... um, just like that day, is that alright..."
"That's fine too." Harry really liked this term, especially the role-reversal it entailed.
After all, a century ago, he and Cassandra had a master-servant relationship—of course, Cassandra was the master, he was the servant...