Harry found it rather amusing. In his mind, he tore down the castle and rebuilt it, and when the mood struck him, he flattened the distant mountains only to raise them again.

As for the cost?

Negligible.

With the help of the transmutation gem, he could endlessly convert magical energy into mental strength.

For others, there might be limits to their magic.

But for Harry, the living embodiment of the Philosopher’s Stone, such restrictions were laughably insignificant.

After playing around for a while, Harry reluctantly withdrew from his mental state.

Seeing him open his eyes, Poppy leaned in, concern etched on her face. "How do you feel?"

"Pretty good," Harry said with a hint of excitement. "I tried it my way, and it worked out well—actually, I should say, thanks to Mr. Flamel’s stone. Without it, I wouldn’t have had the mental energy to expand my mind’s world."

Poppy blinked at his words.

Wait, what did you just say?

"Mind’s world?" she repeated uncertainly. "You mean—a mind’s world?"

"Yeah." Harry nodded. "Using ancient magic, I constructed a virtual world in my mind. It’s not just imagination... it feels real. I can invite others into my mind’s world, or if someone tries to use Legilimency on me, I can automatically counterattack, pulling them into my world instead."

Poppy stared at Harry, then pulled a face and leaned back dramatically.

Ugh... I’m done competing with you gifted types!

"Wait a second," she said, suddenly realizing something. "What happens if someone enters your mind’s world and causes damage?"

Harry chuckled.

"In my mind’s world, I’m the sole master. You really think someone could beat me on my own turf?"

"Wanna bet?" Poppy’s gaze flicked past Harry to Mr. Flamel.

But Flamel merely gave a cryptic smile, clutching his crystal ball and staring into the void, lost in whatever mysteries he was contemplating.

Seeing Flamel ignore her, Poppy pouted and pulled her wand from her pocket. "Fine, get ready then!" she said, baring her teeth like a playful tiger.

Just as she was about to cast Legilimency, she hesitated.

"No, wait. This was supposed to test whether you’d instinctively protect yourself when caught off guard. Let’s chat first, Harry."

"Chat about what?" Harry asked, puzzled.

Poppy glanced at Flamel, then at her nephew Newt standing nearby. After a moment’s thought, she said, "Come with me—we’re going to the room next door."

"Alright." Harry let Poppy drag him by the arm into the small room without protest.

Once the door closed, Flamel slowly lifted his head, giving Newt a mysterious smile.

"Looks like Miss Sweeting knows how to seize an opportunity..."

"Huh?" Newt didn’t quite catch Flamel’s meaning.

But Flamel had no intention of explaining. He chuckled, lowered his head, and resumed studying his crystal ball computer.

Inside the small room, Harry was utterly confused. Poppy pushed him into a chair, and he scratched his head. "Why do we need to come here to talk?"

"To distract you, obviously, Harry," Poppy said with a mischievous grin, reaching out to ruffle his hair. "That’s why I dragged you here—"

"Distract me?"

Before Harry could finish, Poppy unbuttoned her shirt, her pale hands pulling the fabric aside.

Harry’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.

Merlin’s beard, what’s blinding me?

But then, a sharp voice rang out. "Legilimens!"

Poppy felt the world spin, and she plummeted into a dark, misty void.

A moment later, a flash of light appeared. She opened her eyes to find herself at Hogwarts in the dead of winter.

A cold wind whipped past, and she instinctively clutched her clothes tighter, hastily rebuttoning her shirt.

"What’s going on?" she muttered to herself. "Isn’t it summer? Why is there snow?"

"Because you’re in my mind’s world."

At the sound of Harry’s voice, the landscape transformed into a lush, green summer scene.

"Harry?" Poppy gasped. "This is real? You actually created a mind’s world?"

As she spoke, she crouched down, digging her fingers into the ground.

The sensation was so real it left her dazed—her nails ached from the effort.

"What, you thought I went through all this trouble to create a fake world?" Harry said, smirking.

"Fair point," Poppy said with a sheepish grin. Then she asked, "If I caused any damage in this world, would it affect you negatively? I mean, not that I want to, but what if someone trying to invade your mind tried to do that? You must have some countermeasures, right?"

"What kind of damage do you think they could cause?"

Harry’s figure suddenly appeared in front of her.

"Eh? You can come in here too?" Poppy asked, stunned.

"It’s my world. Of course I can," Harry said with a laugh, pointing to the distant mountains. "In this world, I’m the master. You really think someone could harm me here?"

With that, the mountains he pointed to collapsed with a thunderous roar, as if struck by a magnitude-ten earthquake.

The ground beneath them trembled violently, and Poppy, caught off balance, stumbled and fell into Harry’s arms.

"Stop it, stop it!" she shrieked, clearly terrified.

Her eyes were squeezed shut, her arms clinging tightly to Harry, practically crushing him.

Harry halted the quake and looked at her again.

"Also, trying to invade my world comes with serious consequences. Want to find out what they are?"

"Find out what?" Poppy said, though her eyes drifted downward.

"The countermeasures, of course."

Harry snapped his fingers.

Suddenly, Poppy felt herself moving uncontrollably, dancing to some invisible rhythm. A commanding voice echoed in her ears, impossible to resist.

"Harry Potter is your master..."

"Master..." Poppy murmured, a dreamy smile spreading across her face, a glint of drool at the corner of her mouth.

With another dizzying whirl, they were back in the small room in Flamel’s alchemy lab.

Poppy, still under the spell’s influence, giggled like a fool and reached to tug at Harry’s shirt.

Harry quickly dispelled the mind control, and Poppy let out a startled yelp.

"Oh, you absolute pervert!" she said in a teasing, dramatic tone. "All this time, I misjudged you. You’re the worst—"

"The worst what?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

"But I like it," she said with a sly grin, throwing herself at him, nearly suffocating him in the process.

Merlin, this is...

"You brainwashed me, so you’d better take responsibility, my little master," she purred, giggling mischievously.

Harry suddenly felt like he’d made a terrible mistake.

Had he just unleashed Poppy’s true nature?

Oh no...

It seemed when it came to mischief, Poppy was just as gifted as he was.

But right now, his priority was escape.

He struggled to free his head, gasping for air. The feeling of breathing fresh air again was heavenly—he’d nearly suffocated.

"Stop it, stop!" Harry pushed against Poppy, ignoring the soft sensation under his hands. Another moment of this, and he might actually pass out. "They’re waiting for us outside. Let’s go!"

"Oh, fine," Poppy said, nodding. "I’ll let you off this time, my little master~"

As they walked out, Poppy leaned in and whispered, "When the holidays come, I’ll wear a maid outfit for you~"

With a cheeky giggle, she slipped out the door.

A maid outfit?

Harry couldn’t help but picture it.

British maid outfits were proper, with long skirts, unlike the more provocative Japanese ones. Still, there was something about the uniform...

His mind wandered.

What would Veratia look like in a maid outfit?

Hmm... Veratia, that woman... There’d be some contrast, but it wouldn’t hit quite as hard.

But Cassandra in a maid outfit?

His imagination went into overdrive. He could already see Cassandra, cheeks burning with shame, clutching her collar in defiance, lips trembling with reluctance...

Merlin, that contrast!

The high-and-mighty heiress reduced to a maid—it was a thrill neither Veratia nor Poppy could replicate.

Back when he and Cassandra were master and servant, she’d treated him more like a friend, but Harry had always harbored the thought.

The sudden role reversal, that delicious contrast—it was something else entirely.

His eyes blazed with determination.

That’s it!

He had to make Cassandra wear a maid outfit at least once.

This is the way!

Noticing Harry frozen in place, Poppy turned back, concerned. "What’s wrong?"

"Oh, nothing," Harry said, shaking his head to banish the fantasy. He grinned. "Just thinking about something... something really exciting."

Poppy gave him a look but didn’t press further.

"It seems you’ve mastered it, Harry," Flamel said, setting down his crystal ball. "This stone is no longer of use to me. In fact, you don’t even need to hold it anymore. You can swallow it, and from then on, you’ll be able to convert magical energy into mental strength whenever you want."

"Swallow it?"

Newt looked up, eyeing the egg-sized blue stone, then glancing at Harry.

That’s a bit extreme, isn’t it?

Could someone really swallow something that big?

Wasn’t that practically suicide?

"Really?" Harry asked, realizing the issue. He opened his mouth, but the stone clearly wouldn’t fit.

"Here, let me," Flamel said, taking the sapphire from Harry’s hand.

Seeing Harry hesitate, Flamel sighed. "What are you waiting for? Open your mouth!"

"Oh." Harry complied, and before he could react, Flamel shoved the sapphire in, knocking against his teeth with a painful clunk.

Blimey, I knew this old man was faking it. What kind of centuries-old geezer has that kind of strength?

Before Harry could dwell on it, the gem melted into a warm stream, sliding down his throat and into his stomach.

"Huh?" He smacked his lips, barely registering the taste before it was gone.

"All done," Flamel said, clapping his hands with a flourish that was oddly youthful. "Now you can convert magic to mental energy anytime."

He added, "No need to thank me."

"Oh, thank you, Mr. Flamel," Harry said quickly.

"You’re welcome," Flamel replied, finally breaking into a warm smile, as if to say, Good lad.

Harry was thrilled. He’d gained an incredible shortcut to limitless mental energy—and the prospect of taming Cassandra in the future.

"Well then," Harry said, glancing at Poppy, "I think it’s time to put this into practice. Maybe give Veratia a surprise."

Poppy, who’d been distracted, snapped to attention at the mention of surprising Veratia.

Oh, now I’m wide awake!

"How are you going to surprise her?" she asked, her grin downright wicked. "Tell me, what’s the plan? Are you going to do to her what you did to me—make her drop her guard and call you ’master’?"

Newt’s face was a giant question mark. Wait, you lot are playing that big?

Harry paused, considering. Making Veratia call him "master"?

It was thrilling, sure, but... not as thrilling as making Cassandra do it.

Veratia had some contrast, but it wasn’t that intense.

"Not quite," Harry said, wiping sweat from his brow. "What’s with you, always thinking such things? Can’t you think of something proper for once?"

Poppy actually considered it for a moment before shaking her head. "Nope."

Harry took a deep breath, deciding not to argue.

In his mind, he was already scheming.

How should he counter Veratia?

He didn’t mind her glimpsing his thoughts, but he was wary of others catching him off guard.

Still... giving Veratia a surprise didn’t sound half bad.

--

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