In the Gryffindor common room, the fireplace crackled, dispelling the winter chill.
Lia strode ahead, sulking.
Hermione followed behind her, her face a mix of apology and unmistakable satisfaction.
"I'm going to change first!"
Leaving those words behind, Lia practically fled into the dormitory bathroom, shutting Hermione out.
A moment later, the sound of splashing water came from the bathroom.
Hermione paced outside the door before finally leaning against it, waiting patiently.
When Lia emerged wrapped in a towel, carrying the damp mist of the bath, her cheeks still bore a lingering flush.
She changed into dry, fluffy pajamas and threw herself onto the soft bed, rolling up in the quilt.
She poked her head out, pretending to be a cat-pillar who was at peace with the world.
Hermione gave a light chuckle and lay down beside her, habitually and gently wrapping her arms around Lia's waist from behind.
She rested her chin in the warm hollow of Lia's shoulder, her nose nuzzling Lia's still-warm cat ears.
"I was wrong," she whispered, her warm breath brushing against Lia's ear.
"I promise, next time I'll do it somewhere with fewer people, okay?"
Meaning there would be a next time!
Lia's body stiffened for a moment, and she gave Hermione a sharp but light nudge with her elbow, though she didn't truly try to break free.
She remained silent, feeling the warmth of Hermione's embrace and her familiar fragrance; the previous shame and confusion from being publicly "bullied" gradually began to settle.
Her senses, once muddled by desire, became unprecedentedly sharp and clear within her lover's arms.
Countless previously incomprehensible or overlooked "scent clues" rapidly connected in her mind.
At the ball, that aura of death that had enshrouded Harry, Fleur, Krum, and Cedric all at once.
Moody in his office, giving Harry seemingly crude but actual hints about the Golden Egg.
The gillyweed Harry swallowed by the lake today, with its strong, fishy scent of magical plants.
Mr. Barty Crouch's neurotic excitement by the lake and his dazed state upon seeing Moody.
And Moody.
The scent of lies on him was so thick it was almost tangible, clearly mixed with the complex and unique magical odor of Polyjuice Potion.
Most importantly, just now, when Mr. Crouch had scrutinized Moody's scarred face inch by inch as if inspecting a counterfeit, a flash of extreme fear had emanated from "Moody."
And beneath that fear, the scent of another person was exposed.
That person's scent... she had smelled a trace of it on Mr. Barty Crouch before.
It was very faint, almost entirely masked by Mr. Crouch's own intense anxiety, unease, and fear.
But now, on "Moody," this scent was incredibly clear, as if carved from the same mold.
"Lia?" Hermione tightened her arms worriedly. "Are you okay? What are you thinking about?"
Lia slowly turned her head, her deep blue cat pupils reflecting the firelight from the hearth in the dim room, appearing exceptionally bright.
"Hermione," she said softly, "they have the scent of family on them."
Hermione was stunned.
"Family? You mean... Mr. Crouch and Professor Moody?" She tried to grasp the meaning. "They aren't family."
"No," Lia shook her head, struggling to organize her thoughts and translate the abstract information perceived through her sense of smell into words Hermione could understand.
"Mr. Crouch has his own scent, and another person's scent, which is very faint. But Professor Moody has his own scent, the scent of lies, and... the same scent as the one on Mr. Crouch, that other person's scent, and it's very strong."
Hermione's brow furrowed deeply as her mind raced.
"Bloodline!" Hermione blurted out, finally understanding Lia's meaning. "Only a blood relation could cause two different people to carry the same primal'scent'! Are you saying the person impersonating Professor Moody is related to Mr. Crouch?"
Lia nodded vigorously.
"Who is he?" Hermione pressed.
"I don't know his name," Lia's nose twitched slightly as if recalling that complex scent, "but in that scent, there is years of fear, and the smell of those Dementors from last year."
Dementors!
Azkaban!
Barty Crouch's son! The Death Eater who supposedly died in Azkaban, Barty Crouch Jr.!
Everything was connecting!
It was Barty Crouch Jr. masquerading as Mad-Eye Moody!
He was the one who put Harry's name into the goblet of fire!
He was the one who had been guiding Harry through the tournament!
And Mr. Crouch's abnormality today was because he recognized his own son!
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