It was a shared feeling of "I know how much you hurt."
She stood up quietly and, with an elegant feline gait, walked through the crowd to Neville's side.
Neville felt something soft touch the back of his hand. He looked up to see the snow-white Ragdoll Cat sitting quietly before him, watching him with eyes as pure as sapphires.
Lia didn't speak; she only raised a furry paw and gently, tenderly patted his clenched fist.
Then, she closed her eyes.
In her world, she summoned all her memories.
Not the tragic deaths, but every single moment Hermione had pulled her into an embrace.
The warmth of Hermione's fingertips, the pleasant scent of books on her, and the melting warmth that made her feel so safe when Hermione gently stroked the back of her neck.
That was her "anchor."
Her eternal harbor.
Using the Eye of Truth, she analyzed this "absolute warmth" and "eternal peace" into the purest energy.
Then, like sharing a most precious candy, she passed it through the paw resting on the back of Neville's hand.
An unprecedented flood, like the warm sun of early spring, instantly surged into Neville's cold heart!
That warm current was so powerful and pure that it instantly dispersed all the painful memories entangling him.
The screams of the Crucio curse vanished.
The white ward of St Mungo's blurred.
In their place were images he had never dared to hope for—
He saw himself as a very, very small child, hearing his father's hearty laughter as he held him high above his head, the sunlight on his father's face so brilliant.
He saw his mother's eyes, gentle as water, as she gave him a goodnight kiss, and the faint scent of flowers in her hair.
He even remembered his grandmother, the old woman who was always strict with him. Once, after he had broken a precious vase left by his grandfather, she hadn't scolded him but had clumsily used a Transfiguration spell to turn the shards into a swarm of flying golden butterflies to comfort his terrified self.
So... so I have so many happy memories too!
An unprecedented light erupted in Neville's eyes.
He grabbed his wand, stood up abruptly, and shouted from his soul toward the front with all his strength:
"Expecto Patronum!!!"
"Roar—!!!"
An echoing roar shook the entire Room of Requirement!
A complete Porcupine Patronus, composed of the most brilliant silver light, charged out from the tip of his wand!
It was massive, with every quill shimmering with powerful, solid magic. It ran a great circle around the training ground with majestic flair, even provocatively knocking over a training dummy before turning into a sky full of silver light and slowly dissipating.
The entire training ground was deathly silent.
Everyone stared dumbfounded at Neville, then at the quiet white cat yawning by his feet.
What happened? Lia just touched him?
After a brief silence, the training ground erupted in thunderous cheers and applause!
Although no one understood the principle, it was certain that the miraculous Lia had done something amazing again!
During a break in training.
Lia refused all the students who wanted to touch her for "good luck" and found a nice spot in a corner of the room.
It was a cat bed that the Room of Requirement had automatically generated after sensing her fatigue, piled with soft cashmere blankets and a few old sofa cushions—warm, secluded, and comfortable.
That "sharing" of energy just now had been a huge drain on her, as if she had given away half of her most precious possession.
She curled up in the bed and soon fell into a deep sleep, the tip of her snow-white tail twitching unconsciously.
Hermione, holding a book, quietly walked over.
She didn't disturb Lia's sleep, but simply sat down next to the bed, leaning against the cushions. She opened her book, but her gaze remained fixed on Lia's peaceful sleeping face.
Her fingers unconsciously reached out and gently wound around the furry tip of Lia's tail, once, then again, her movements as soft as if she were touching the most precious treasure.
Sunlight spilled from the high windows of the Room of Requirement, enveloping them in a serene and warm glow.
Harry and Ron watched this scene from a distance.
"Seriously," Ron lowered his voice, his face full of disbelief.
"Look at them... they're so harmonious it's unreal. Sometimes I even feel like they're... well, like each other's other half."
Harry nodded in agreement.
The image was so harmonious it seemed to form a world of its own. A girl, a cat, a book, a patch of sunlight.
Like a... incredibly warm and harmonious family.
Just then—
"Pop!"
A sharp, ear-piercing crack shattered all the silence in the room like a thunderclap.
Dobby the House-elf appeared out of thin air in the middle of the training ground.
On his head, he ridiculously wore every single colorful hat Hermione had knitted for him, stacked up like a bizarre pagoda.
His massive tennis-ball eyes were filled with extreme panic.
"Mr. Harry Potter!" Dobby let out a shrill, trembling cry, almost on the verge of tears. "Run! You must run!"
"Madam Umbridge knows! She knows about this place! She's coming to the seventh floor with the Inquisitorial Squad! They used a Snitch Jinx! Dobby heard them say... they'll be here any second!"
Dobby's voice was like a bucket of ice water poured over everyone's heads.
"Someone snitched!"
Hermione's face instantly turned grim. She slammed her book shut and immediately issued a command:
"Everyone! Evacuate through the secret passage over there! Fast! Don't take anything!"
The room instantly fell into chaos.
Students surged in panic toward the other escape route Hermione had pre-planned.
But Lia didn't run; instead, she stayed where she was with a thoughtful expression.
In the midst of the chaos, the parchment Hermione had enchanted, bearing the signatures of all D.A. members, slipped quietly from its hook due to the vibration of the walls.
It drifted down, landing on the empty floor.
A few seconds later.
"Bang!"
The wall at the entrance of the Room of Requirement was blown open by a powerful surge of magic.
Umbridge walked in with a sneer, followed by Malfoy and his cronies.
She immediately spotted the conspicuous parchment on the floor, walked over triumphantly, and bent down to pick it up.
On the parchment, the words "D.A. (Dumbledore's Army)" stood out glaringly under the magical lights.
[If you've read this far, please give me some motivation and click 'Remind to Update'!]
[Here's a Cat-girl hug for you all!]
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Greyhounds
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"