After the first tutoring session ended, the members of the D.A. looked at Lia in a completely different light.
It was a complex mix of awe, inquiry, and even threads of fear.
Their impression of Lia had leaped from "Hermione's cute companion" to "an unfathomable master of combat."
Lia felt extremely uncomfortable under those gazes; as soon as they returned to the dormitory, she immediately crawled into bed and covered her head with the quilt, leaving only a large, fluffy tail twitching uneasily outside.
"Alright, alright, you worked hard today, my 'tactical consultant'."
Hermione chuckled softly, sitting by the bed with the fresh scent of moisture after a bath.
Hermione chuckled softly, sitting by the bed with the fresh scent of moisture after a bath. Her fingers skillfully slipped into the quilt, running through Lia's silver hair, which was as smooth and soft as moonlight, combing from the top of her head down to the tense back of her neck, finally resting on the sensitive base of her tail and gently kneading it.
"Purr... purr..." Lia let out a series of satisfied sighs of comfort, her tense body gradually relaxing. She poked half of her flushed little face out from under the quilt, her sky-blue eyes watery, looking at Hermione with a hint of grievance and expectation.
Hermione understood the plea in those eyes. She leaned down and kissed her tenderly yet firmly, using her own scent to dispel the coldness and violence Lia had picked up from tapping into Tom Riddle's memories. "What? You want it already?" Hermione's lips pressed against hers, her voice low and tinged with teasing.
Lilia shyly averted her gaze, but her tail honestly wrapped around Hermione's wrist.
Hermione said no more. She first went to meticulously clean her hands with a Scouring Charm, then returned and pulled the heavy bed curtains shut.
In that tiny world, only their gradually merging breaths and heartbeats remained.
In the days that followed, the atmosphere at Hogwarts became increasingly eerie.
Dolores Umbridge was like a crazed, spreading vine of pink poison; her "Educational Decrees" were plastered all over the Castle like toxic fungus.
Perhaps because of Lia's merciless warning that time, she didn't dare lay a hand on the students herself anymore, so she insidiously used the students' power to restrain other students.
She officially established the "Inquisitorial Squad," a group of students personally selected by her, mostly from Slytherin.
They were granted the power to patrol, dock points, and even record disciplinary violations. For a time, the atmosphere in the corridors became tense and oppressive, as if someone might jump out of the shadows at any moment to give you a detention.
Draco Malfoy, as the leader of the Inquisitorial Squad, was arrogant to the extreme. A shiny silver "I" badge was pinned to his chest, and he strutted through the Castle like a crab patrolling its territory, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.
One day, in the corridor leading to the library, they blocked Hermione and Lia, who were on their way to look up some information.
Lia was lying lazily on Hermione's shoulder, her snow-white long tail hanging down leisurely, the tip of it swaying gently with Hermione's steps.
"Granger," Malfoy began in his usual drawl, his eyes maliciously sweeping over Lia's snow-white cat ears and tail. "According to the High Inquisitor's latest regulations, Hogwarts prohibits bringing aggressive magical creatures onto campus. I'm docking twenty points from Gryffindor, and this 'pet' needs to be temporarily confiscated for inspection."
Crabbe and Goyle let out a schadenfreude snicker, cracking their knuckles as they closed in.
Hermione didn't even lift an eyelid.
She didn't even stop walking; she simply pulled a book as thick as a brick, titled Magical Creatures Restraint Act, from her satchel full of books. Her fingers skillfully flipped through the pages with a "rustling" sound, finally stopping precisely on a certain page.
"Magical Creatures Restraint Act, 1965 Supplementary Regulations, Clause 3, Item B." Hermione's voice was as cold as the North Sea ice. "'Companion-type magical creatures permitted and registered by the current Headmaster of Hogwarts, namely Albus Dumbledore, enjoy the same campus access rights as their owners, and their safety is protected by both Ministry of Magic laws and school rules.'"
She finally looked up, her intelligent brown eyes looking at him as if he were a clown.
"Lia's official registration documents are in triplicate, kept respectively by the Headmasters Office, Professor McGonagall, and myself. Do I need to take you to Professor McGonagall's office to check them yourself, Malfoy?"
Malfoy's brain, accustomed only to bullying, completely failed to notice the hidden implication in the phrase "kept by myself."
He only knew that his father, Lucius, had told him to cooperate with the Ministry of Magic to weaken Dumbledore's authority. He had intended to use this excuse to cause trouble for the eyesore Hermione, but he hadn't expected to be shut down by the "mudblood learning" he most despised.
His face instantly turned the color of pig liver, choked by the fluent legal jargon to the point where he couldn't say a word.
In the education of pure-blood families, only mudbloods would study such tedious and boring regulations!
They were the ones who created the regulations.
Driven to rage by embarrassment, he gave up the futile debate.
"Enough talk!" he roared viciously, reaching out to grab Lia on Hermione's shoulder. "I suspect it poses a potential threat to students right now!"
His palm lunged forward with the sound of wind, aiming straight for Lia's soft neck.
"Swish—!"
An almost invisible silver shadow flashed by.
Lia's body barely moved; just as Malfoy's hand was about to touch her, she leaned back at an inconceivable angle, deftly evading the grab.
She jumped down from Hermione's shoulder, reverting to human form in mid-air. Her fair palms opened slightly, and from the ends of her five fingers, sharp nails an inch long popped out with a "shink," gleaming with a cold light!
Landing soundlessly, she swung her hand back, and a sharp sound of tearing air followed.
"What?!" Draco only felt a chill on his arm, followed by a weird numbness mixed with sharp pain that shot straight to his brain.
He didn't even have time to react. Looking down, he saw that the sleeve of his Wizard robes had been sliced clean through, and five deep-to-the-bone bloody gashes had appeared on his arm, blood instantly staining the fabric! His wrist went numb, and his precious wand, made of Hawthorn and Unicorn hair, slipped from his hand.
Lia's long fluffy tail, like a living snake, coiled forward and precisely caught the wand in mid-air, displaying the trophy.
Then, with a sudden surge of power from the tail, came a crisp sound that would make any Wizard's hair stand on end—
"Snap!"
The wand broke on command.
The two broken pieces of wood fell powerlessly onto the cold stone floor.
The entire corridor was deathly silent.
The goofy grins on Crabbe and Goyle's faces froze as they stared in horror at the ruined wand on the ground.
For a Wizard, breaking their wand was a humiliation more severe than being stripped naked in public.
Lia walked with elegant steps, noiselessly approaching the pale-faced Malfoy.
She stood slightly on tiptoe, leaned into his ear, and in an innocent and curious tone, breathed out the most malicious whisper.
She leaned into his ear and, in an innocent and curious tone, whispered a warning.
"I smell the scent of Crucio on you..."
Malfoy's body stiffened abruptly.
Lia's voice, mimicking the mirth of a certain Dark Lord, continued to drill into his ear, every syllable carrying cold malice.
"When your father's wand was broken, did it make a sound like that too?"
"Hey, tell me, does your Lord Voldemort... like that sound?"
The color drained from Malfoy's face in an instant, turning it as white as paper.
"Aaaaah!"
A shrill, inhuman scream pierced the silence of the corridor.
Malfoy, as if he had seen the most terrifying demon, scrambled away in a panic, turning and fleeing wretchedly, even knocking over Goyle behind him.
Lia retracted her claws and shook her hand in disgust, as if she had touched something filthy.
She turned back to Hermione, naturally taking her arm, and transformed back into the soft Cat-girl, complaining aggrievedly: "He gets scared off like a Niffler every time, so why does he always have to lumber over like a Troll?"
"Oh! My darling, that's not how you use metaphors." Hermione didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Next time, try reading some useful books."
---------------------------------
I hope you enjoy this fanfiction! If you're having fun and want to read 30 chapters in advance, feel free to check out my Patreon: patreon.com/TLScarlet
Your support means a lot so if you like the story, don't forget to drop a Power Stone.