Hermione supported Lia's swaying body, the parchment handkerchief at her fingertips quickly soaked by the warm blood.
She ignored Snape's loss of composure and the fearful looks from the other students in the corner of the classroom.
In her world, only the girl twitching slightly in her arms remained.
"Lia? How are you? What did you see?"
She asked urgently in a low whisper, her voice trembling in a way she didn't even notice.
Lia just shook her head, using all her strength to bury her face deep into Hermione's warm neck, greedily soaking in the scent that could put her at ease.
She didn't want to say.
And she couldn't say it anyway.
That sorrow, which didn't belong to her but was so real it nearly tore her soul apart, made every breath she took accompany a sharp, stinging pain.
The bell for the end of class rang abruptly, sounding like a toll of pardon.
The students rushed out of the Dungeon as if fleeing, as if invisible monsters were chasing them from behind.
Hermione didn't move.
She just held Lia, sitting quietly until the entire Dungeon classroom was empty except for them and the deathly silent shadow behind the lectern.
"Granger."
Snape's voice came through.
It was no longer oily or venomous; it was as dry as two rusted iron plates rubbing against each other.
Hermione stopped her pace but did not look back.
"Control your... pet."
Snape finally squeezed the word out through his teeth.
"Hogwarts is not a place where it should be."
"She is my family, Professor."
Hermione's response was clear, every syllable firm and decisive, echoing in the empty Dungeon.
"She will be with me forever."
After saying that, she didn't stay any longer. She let Lia turn into a cat and held her in her arms, walking out of that suffocating coldness step by step.
Snape pondered for a moment before deciding to tell Dumbledore about his discovery.
On the other side, Hermione took advantage of Parvati and Lavender's absence from the dormitory to comfort Lia for a long while before she finally recovered.
Snape's Occlumency was already powerful; an inadvertent gap allowed Lia to face a massive impact directly.
A mountain-like volume of unforgettable, heavy sorrow and regret flooded into Lia's perception through a tiny crack.
Lia, who was completely unprepared, had shown a rare resilience by not instantly becoming catatonic when faced with the world's most tragic pain.
Although Hermione didn't know what Lia had seen, she knew that comforting Lia in this state was the right thing to do.
However, for the next several weeks, Lia would turn into a cat and curl up on her seat during Potion Class.
Snape also acted as if he didn't see her, but the good news was that because of Lia, Snape wouldn't even cast a second glance toward the Gryffindor area.
It was a rare Potion Class where Gryffindor didn't lose points... The sky was as gloomy as Filch's rag soaked in dirty water.
Cold raindrops were whipped into lashes by the gale, viciously striking every corner of the Quidditch Pitch.
The match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff was underway.
In the stands, Hermione used a superb Waterproofing Charm to prop up an invisible barrier, wrapping herself and Lia in her arms tightly.
A ball of pure white fluff was snuggled safely inside Hermione's clothes, its head poking out from the collar to soak in Hermione's scent every second.
Lia was a perfect constant-temperature pillow, dispelling the chill brought by the wind and rain.
That long, fluffy tail even proactively wrapped around Hermione's waist, loosely coiling there.
"Harry's about to catch the Snitch!"
Ron's roar pierced through the wind and rain, exploding beside them.
Hermione narrowed her eyes, instinctively trying to find the red figure belonging to Harry in the curtain of rain.
Suddenly—
"Meow—!"
A shrill, completely distorted scream erupted in her arms!
Lia's body instantly tensed into a hard rock, every hair standing on end! Those sky-blue cat eyes were now filled with an extreme gravity and alertness.
Almost at the same time, the temperature of the pitch plummeted to freezing point!
The cold rain froze into tiny ice shards in mid-air, and an extreme chill that could drain all the happiness and hope from one's marrow swept in from all directions like an invisible tide!
"Dementors!"
Heart-wrenching screams came from the stands as panic spread like a plague.
Hermione looked up sharply.
At the edge of her vision, hundreds of tall, black-cloaked figures, like a rotting plague emerging from the depths of hell, appeared silently in the grey sky, slowly surrounding Harry's figure high above!
"No!"
Hermione's heart skipped a beat.
Her arms felt heavy for a moment, and then the snow-white Ragdoll Cat vanished.
The girl with the familiar fragrance had already appeared, shielding her from behind in an almost instinctive posture.
In Lia's perception, a thick, inseparable aura of "death" had already covered the entire pitch.
And one of them accurately detached itself from the main force surrounding Harry, like a deep-sea hungry shark sensing a top-tier delicacy, drifting silently and directly toward the stands where they were!
Its target was the "Black Crystal" deep within Lia's soul, belonging to Lord Voldemort and emitting an alluring scent!
Hermione didn't even have time to pull out her magic wand.
Lia's instinct had already boldly activated!
[Soul Protection]!
Buzz—!
A layer of warm and pure golden halo, no longer thin but visible to the naked eye, erupted with Lia at the center!
It didn't spread too far, only precisely wrapping her and Hermione, whom she held tightly, forming an absolute domain two meters in diameter!
This halo had no offensiveness, nor did it emit any temperature.
It was like a perfect "Soul Invisibility Cloak," instantly "deleting" Lia's and Hermione's soul signatures from this world ruled by despair and coldness!
The Dementor drifting straight toward them stopped abruptly less than five meters from the stands.
The hollow "face" beneath its hood "scanned" blankly.
The scent of the prey that had been so alluring just a second ago had vanished into thin air.
But this time, it didn't leave directly as it had on the train.
There were other students in these stands.
The sweet scent overflowing from those students' souls, made so by fear, was still attracting it.
It hesitated for a moment, then slowly drifted toward Hermione's side, attempting to approach several students nearby who were already on the verge of fainting from fright.
Just as the edge of its tattered cloak was about to cross the boundary of the golden domain—
"Sizzle!"
There was no loud noise, only a slight sound like a drop of water hitting a red-hot iron.
The edge of the Dementor's ragged cloak, upon touching the golden halo, actually melted and vaporized silently like black snow in the scorching sun!
An invisible shriek, audible only to the soul, erupted from within the Dementor!
As if it had encountered an incomprehensible predator of a higher order, it suddenly flew backward, its movements filled with panic and fear.
Without looking back, it turned around and rejoined the main force besieging Harry, never daring to approach this strange "safe zone" emitting golden light again!
Hermione felt an indescribable warmth spread from her chest to her entire body, instantly dispelling the bone-chilling cold.
She looked down.
Lia was sitting on her lap, her arms tightly around her neck, burying her face in her shoulder.
In those sky-blue cat eyes, the fragmented golden light was slowly receding.
It was Lia!
It was Lia, protecting her in a way she completely couldn't understand!
Just as her mind was reeling, a sudden change occurred above the pitch!
Surrounded by hundreds of Dementors, Harry finally couldn't hold on any longer. His body went limp, and he fell straight from his high-speed broomstick!
"Harry!"
Ron's scream was torn to shreds by the gale and torrential rain.
At the critical moment.
A majestic and steady voice echoed throughout the pitch:
"Aresto Momentum!"
Dumbledore appeared in the Teachers' stands, waving his magic wand forward. Harry's downward momentum slowed abruptly, and his body was held by an invisible force, suspended safely in mid-air.
Then, a dazzling silver light erupted from the tip of his wand, transforming into a large, elegant silver Phoenix in the sky.
The Phoenix craned its neck and cried out, charging into the sky with matchless power.
Wherever the silver light passed, warmth was sown. Those black, terrifying figures retreated in panic, finally disappearing completely at the edge of the horizon.
The crisis was averted.
The match was suspended.
Hermione immediately pulled Lia down from the stands and ran toward the team changing rooms.
After confirming that Harry had only fainted from fear and cold, her extremely tense nerves finally relaxed a little.
Meanwhile, in the Teachers' stands, almost everyone was cheering for the Principal's incredibly powerful magic.
But Dumbledore didn't look at the saved, spotlight-stealing Harry Potter.
His blue eyes behind the half-moon spectacles were looking through the chaotic crowd, across the entire pitch, with an unprecedented seriousness... meaningfully at a certain corner of the Gryffindor stands.
Just now, in that overwhelming darkness of despair, before his Phoenix rose.
There, another light had briefly shone.
A tiny, yet incredibly pure Golden Sun that didn't belong to any known magic system.
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