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

But this emotion flashed by so quickly that Genichi Hanyu almost thought it was an illusion, and was then covered by a layer of feigned calmness and detachment.

"You're back."

She put down her quill and tried to make her voice sound calm and even, but her slightly tense shoulders betrayed her nervousness.

"The library is about to close. Is there anything I can help you with?"

She instinctively used her arm to cover the parchment she was writing on.

Genichi Hanyu didn't miss her subtle movements, but his attention was occupied by something more important at the moment.

He pulled up a chair and sat down opposite her, leaning forward slightly, his sharp gaze fixed on her: "I'm sorry to bother you so late, but I have something very, very important to ask you right away, Hermione Granger."

He deliberately emphasized her full name while lowering his voice to make sure only the two of them could hear: "First, I have to tell you some good news. The ten-year curse you mentioned has been lifted."

He stared intently into her eyes, not missing a single subtle change.

"This means that the future you remember, everything you experienced before your rebirth, has been completely altered from this moment on; it is no longer a predetermined script."

Genichi Hanyu didn't give her time to process the information, immediately throwing out a second, more crucial question, his voice carrying an undeniable urgency: "Secondly, I need to know, Hermione, how much do you actually know? Why did Cassandra Worre start researching Horcruxes?"

"Horcrux?"

Hermione gasped in shock, then immediately covered her mouth tightly, looking around in terror to make sure no one had heard her.

She turned around abruptly, her eyes filled with extreme horror and disbelief as she looked at Genichi Hanyu.

"What did you say? Cassandra Worre is researching Horcruxes? That's impossible, how could she?"

Her words came to an abrupt halt, as if she had thought of something extremely terrifying, and her face instantly turned ashen.

Genichi Hanyu's heart sank.

Hermione's reaction was genuine. She was clearly unaware of Cassandra's research into Horcruxes, and the shock and fear this news brought her even surpassed the news of his lifting of the curse!

What does this mean?

This shows that Cassandra's research was extremely secretive, and even the reborn Hermione was unaware of it.

Or perhaps, in Hermione's previous life, Cassandra never conducted this kind of research at all?

This is a completely new variable in the future, entirely outside of Hermione's knowledge.

"It seems you really don't know."

Genichi Hanyu's voice lowered, carrying an unprecedented solemnity.

“But it’s true. I stumbled upon a clue, Hermione. Tell me, in the future you experienced, what was Cassandra Worre’s final fate?”

Hermione's body began to tremble violently.

She lowered her head, clutching her arms tightly, as if she were caught in a vortex of extremely painful memories.

After a long while, she spoke in a barely audible voice with a heavy nasal tone: "She was always very strong and proud. She pursued power, but I don't know what ended up with her."

“Tell me, Hermione.”

Genichi Hanyu's voice carried an undeniable power as he gently pressed his hand on Hermione's trembling shoulder.

“Tell me everything you know that might be related to this, even the smallest details, about her, about the Worley family, now.”

The silence in the library seemed to freeze, with only Hermione's suppressed sobs and Genichi Hanyu's heavy heartbeat remaining.

Time seemed to have become more precious than ever before.

175 Hermione: I would never hurt you.

Genichi Hanyu's mind was filled with a chaotic white noise.

The lingering sensation on his lips was hot and vivid; Hermione's desperate kiss was etched into his senses like a brand.

What alarmed him even more was his body's most primal and honest reaction: a burning urge uncontrollably gathered and rose in his lower abdomen, and a strange desire roared and howled in his blood.

He felt a strong sense of self-loathing, almost horrified to realize that he was reacting in such a way to the eleven-year-old girl who was now straddling him.

Just as he was about to be overwhelmed by the surging, unfamiliar desire and the immense guilt that followed, Hermione abruptly lifted her head, ending the long and suffocating kiss.

She gasped for breath like a fish out of water, her chest heaving violently, the blush on her cheeks deepening to the point of almost bleeding, and her eyes misting over from the intense activity.

She looked at him with an indescribable complexity in her eyes, a resolute determination that had not yet faded. In the depths of that gaze, Genichi Hanyu caught a fleeting glint of cunning, almost triumphant, so quick that he thought it was an illusion.

"How about we try something else?"

Her voice, hoarse from panting, was even lower than before, like a hook coated in honey. Her eyes also became alluring, carrying a deliberate seduction that was completely out of character for her age.

She leaned down slightly, her brown hair brushing against his cheek, bringing a ticklish sensation and a deeper flutter in his heart.

These words were like ice water poured over my head!

It instantly jolted Genichi Hanyu out of his limbo, which was caught between his senses and guilt.

That nascent flame of desire, which was almost overwhelming reason, was ruthlessly extinguished by an even stronger will.

He took a deep breath, his eyes instantly becoming clear and sharp, carrying an undeniable refusal.

"No!"

His voice was resolute, even sounding somewhat stiff from the force he used.

He tried to sit up, but Hermione's weight and posture restricted him.

Hermione, that's enough!

He raised his voice, his gaze fixed on her: "Look at yourself! Eleven years old! No matter what your soul has experienced, this body is only eleven years old!"

His words were filled with strong moral condemnation, both for her crazy actions and for his own momentary wavering.

He is not a saint, but he is certainly not a beast without any moral bottom line.

Seeing Genichi Hanyu's resolute, even angry, rejection, the deliberately seductive light in Hermione's eyes quickly faded, replaced by a deep, as if anticipated, desolation.

Her shoulders slumped slightly, no longer trying to maintain that aggressive posture, but she didn't leave him either, still sitting astride him, only her body was more relaxed, as if the intense action just now had exhausted all her strength.

She sighed softly, the sound particularly clear and heavy in the silent Room of Requirement.

"you are always like this……"

She murmured something softly, almost inaudibly, as if speaking to him, yet also as if speaking to herself.

Genichi Hanyu either didn't hear clearly or didn't understand the meaning.

Then she looked up, her gaze refocusing on his face, regaining the seriousness she had shown when discussing business, though a lingering unease remained deep within her eyes.

"I know nothing about Cassandra's research on Horcruxes. At least, in the history I know before I was reborn, there is no record of Cassandra Worre getting involved with Horcruxes."

She frowned slightly, as if trying to recall and judge.

"It's very likely that after I was reborn, some unknown disturbance occurred in the timeline, which led to this change."

"Like a butterfly flapping its wings, it triggered a storm that I could not have predicted."

Her tone carried a hint of solemnity and worry about the unknown.

"As for why I know you've obtained the godhood of Death..."

Hermione paused, her gaze becoming incredibly deep as she stared straight into Genichi Hanyu's eyes, as if trying to pierce through the thick fog of his soul.

"the reason is simple."

Her voice was unusually calm, yet it contained a tremendous amount of information: "Because before I was reborn, in that future, you had already obtained it."

She spoke the last few words very softly, her eyes devoid of the previous aggression and seduction, leaving only pure, heavy concern and a complexity that transcended time.

It was as if she was looking through him at that figure in another time and space.

There was a brief silence in the room.

Genichi Hanyu was deeply shocked by the information revealed in her words and the emotions in her eyes at that moment.

As if to break the heavy silence, or perhaps to emphasize an unquestionable stance, Hermione bent down again.

But this time, it wasn't a storm of looting.

Her movements became unusually gentle, with a kind of careful and cherished tenderness.

Soft, warm lips gently touched Genichi Hanyu's lips, like a feather brushing against them.

This was a kiss unlike any before—brief, tender, yet filled with an almost reverent comfort and promise.

Her lips lingered for a moment before slowly moving away.

830 Her forehead gently touched his, their noses almost touching, their breaths mingling. At this extremely close distance, Genichi Hanyu could clearly see the fine dampness clinging to her thick eyelashes and feel the subtle trembling of her body.

"String One".

She called his name softly, her voice tinged with a barely perceptible sob, yet unusually firm.

"Also, don't overthink it. I would never hurt you, never."

These words no longer carried the same do-or-die spirit as before, but rather the weight of a solemn vow, imbued with the weariness of traversing time and an unquestionable loyalty, settling heavily on his heart.

She seemed to have condensed all her secrets, all her worries, and all her unspeakable emotions into this last promise.

In this night filled with immense secrets and unknown dangers, the words "I will never harm you" became the only thing she could offer.

"Can't you really tell me your whole future?"

"It's not that I don't want to talk about it, but you should know that if too much changes occur, then my understanding of the future will also change. Some changes don't matter, but some changes I don't want to happen."

"Does this relate to the reason you were reborn?"

176 Hermione's Heavy Future

Gazing at the girl straddling him, her brown hair disheveled and her cheeks flushed, Genichi Hanyu's churning doubts, restlessness, and even aroused strange desires were ultimately replaced by a deeper, more powerless emotion.

He forced himself to calm down, his eyes scrutinizing every subtle expression on Hermione's face.

She was unwilling to tell herself about the future; that almost obsessive insistence was like a hard shell enveloping her.

Genichi Hanyu wasn't a fool; he instantly grasped the key point: she wasn't stingy with sharing information, but rather afraid of change itself.

Hermione's rebirth from that future filled with unknown dangers must be driven by a crucial goal so clear that she would transcend the flow of time to achieve it.

This goal is very likely the entire meaning of her existence.

Every time she reveals information about the future, every time she tries to change the established trajectory, it may be like a stone thrown into a calm lake, causing unpredictable ripples, ultimately pushing the "key point" that she is trying her best to correct into an even more uncontrollable abyss, or even completely annihilating her possibility of achieving her goal.

The more variables that change, the more difficult the single mission she bears becomes, and the slimmer her chances of success become.

She was silently protecting the future she was willing to risk everything to achieve.

Having figured this out, Genichi Hanyu felt as if an invisible hand was tightly gripping his heart, leaving him with a bitter and heavy feeling.

He looked at her, his gaze complex and indescribable. It contained the disappointment of being excluded, the heartache for her bearing such a heavy burden alone, and a deep sense of powerlessness.

Faced with a soul who would rather endure misunderstanding and loneliness than betray a secret and protect an uncertain future, what else can he do?

Forcing her? That would only push her into an even deeper predicament.

"Is there something you can't tell me?"

Genichi Hanyu's voice lowered, carrying an unprecedented gentleness and probing, almost like a sigh. He raised his hand, not to touch her hand that was still pressed against his chest, but gently covered her other hand, which was clenched into a fist and placed on her own thigh.

His palms were warm, carrying a comforting force that seemed to be trying to convey strength.

"We can face this together."

He said it very softly, but with extraordinary seriousness, like a solemn promise.

He stopped asking about the secret itself and instead tried to touch upon the heavy sense of loneliness in her heart.

Upon hearing this, Hermione's body trembled almost imperceptibly.

Her lowered eyelashes fluttered violently a few times, as if those words had precisely pierced the softest and most vulnerable part of her heart.

She looked up and met Genichi Hanyu's eyes, which were filled with complex emotions.

There was concern, helplessness, and a gentle gaze that she almost dared not delve into.

Suddenly, she smiled.

The smile wasn't bright; it even carried a hint of sadness and determination, like a flower stubbornly blooming in a storm.

"No"

Her voice was soft, yet as firm as a rock, shattering the glimmer of hope that had just risen in Genichi Hanyu's heart.

"This is something that only I can do myself."