In the Gryffindor Common Room, the fire of celebration was burning brightly.
The glory of victory swept away the haze of doubt.
Everyone was sharing in this joy.
Harry was surrounded by excited classmates in the center, the heavy Golden Egg being passed around in his hands; everyone wanted to touch this symbol of victory.
George and Fred hoisted Harry up, one on each side.
"Great job, Harry!"
"I knew you wouldn't die."
The twins grinned at Harry.
"At most a broken leg!"
"Or an arm!"
"Taking your life?"
"No way!"
Seamus took the Golden Egg from Harry.
He planted a heavy kiss on it.
"Harry! Open it and look for the clue."
Looking at the eager eyes below him.
Harry also felt a bit proud.
"Do you want me to open it now?"
"Yes!"
Driven by the enthusiastic atmosphere.
Harry took back the Golden Egg and placed his hand on top, about to twist it.
However, the moment Harry picked up the Golden Egg, Lia's Danger Intuition suddenly sent a sharp, intense sting.
That egg was a bit off.
"Harry, don't open it!" Lia's voice was urgent, piercing through the noisy crowd.
But it was too late.
The highly curious Seamus Finnigan had already quickly twisted open the Golden Egg's hinge.
An indescribable noise, sharp enough to pierce eardrums, erupted from the Golden Egg!
A sound like fingernails scratching a blackboard exploded in the common room.
"Aaaaaah—!"
The nearest Gryffindor students screamed, covering their ears and crouching down in pain.
Harry also fell from the twins' shoulders.
Even the portraits on the walls covered their ears in agony.
The clamor of the entire common room came to a screeching halt, leaving only that demonic sound, which could drill into one's bones, raging wildly.
This sound was torture for ordinary Wizards, but for Lia, who possessed Feline hearing, it was hell.
"Aaaaah—!"
A shrill cat's cry burst from deep within Lia's throat, her pupils shrinking into dangerous thin lines.
Hermione was quick, snatching the Golden Egg from Harry's hand and snapping it shut with a "clack."
The world was finally quiet.
The common room was a mess, students pale and gasping for breath with lingering fear.
"merlins beard... what on earth was that?"
Ron rubbed his buzzing ears, looking like he'd just survived a catastrophe.
The fire in the Gryffindor Common Room crackled, but it could no longer reignite the previous fervor.
The piercing shriek seemed to still echo in everyone's eardrums, the celebratory atmosphere completely torn apart, leaving only awkward silence and the gasps of survivors.
The students dispersed in small groups, looking at Harry with eyes mixed with sympathy and a lingering sense of oddity.
Harry sat alone by the fireplace, the Golden Egg tossed casually at his feet like a hot potato.
In the shadows of the corner, Hermione gently massaged Lia's ears.
After massaging for quite a while, her ears—sensitive in every sense of the word—finally recovered.
The pair of soft cat ears now drooped, exuding a sense of grievance.
"The Merperson is singing..." Lia's voice was very soft, "The water is cold, they are tied up, and their most precious things are taken away."
Her Eye of Truth saw visions far beyond the sound itself; those were emotion-filled images, a prophecy.
Hermione's movements paused; she glanced at Harry's back by the fireplace, then at Lia, who was still getting her ears massaged.
"This is his own trial."
Hermione's voice carried a hint of a smile, "Since he brought back this egg, let him worry about it himself."
Especially since the "key" to this trial had hurt her Lia.
"Mm."
Lia nodded gently; what she didn't say was...
She began to smell the scent of death.
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