"Lia is not an object! Not a weapon that can be studied!" Hermione stood up abruptly like a lioness protecting her cub, shielding Lia completely behind her, every word squeezed from between her teeth as she declared, "She is mine!"
The tip of Lia's tail, wrapped around Hermione's waist, hooked slightly.
She looked up at the back of Hermione, whose shoulders were trembling slightly with anger; a surging warmth rose in her cold heart, and the corners of her lips curled into a very slight smile uncontrollably.
As long as Hermione was there, she feared nothing.
"Of course, I refused them."
Dumbledore raised his hand, a gentle magic soothing the agitated air, signaling Hermione to calm down.
"But, Hermione, we must face a more severe problem."
His gaze turned to Lia; before he spoke, waves had already risen in Lia's heart.
She could feel that since that day, the memories, knowledge, and even the thought patterns belonging to Tom Riddle in her mind had become clearer and more active than ever before.
They were no longer occasional, painful fragments, but like a vast and gloomy library organized overnight, with all the books categorized and sitting quietly in the depths of her consciousness.
She felt she had become the sole owner of this library, able to walk into any area at any time and flip through those forbidden texts on the Dark Arts, social maneuvering, and strategy, while the ghost among the pages could no longer whisper seductive words.
Dumbledore seemed to see through her changes, his voice kept very low: "Your duel with Lord Voldemort, that clash of Killing Curses, was like a thunderclap, completely awakening that sleeping soul fragment within you."
"Lord Voldemort must know by now that a part of his soul has been consumed by a powerful magical creature and is deeply bound to the soul of another human Wizard."
Dumbledore's expression became more solemn than ever.
"What will he do? He will do whatever it takes. He will either find a way to take you away and strip that part of the soul to use for himself again;"},{
"Or he will do whatever it takes to completely destroy you, to prevent you from becoming the ultimate weapon used against him by me or anyone else."
He looked at Harry, who had suffered for years under the weight of the prophecy, then at Lia, who was as calm as water, and said something that caused the temperature in the entire office to plummet.
"From now on, Miss Lia, you have truly replaced Harry as Lord Voldemort's number one target."
The entire office fell into a suffocating silence.
Harry felt the burden he had just put down weighing on his friend in another form, making it hard for him to breathe.
Ron's face was as white as paper; a traditional Wizard like him seemed to have a natural fear of Lord Voldemort.
Hermione's face instantly turned deathly pale; she gripped Lia's hand, her knuckles turning bluish-white from excessive force.
She wasn't afraid of Lord Voldemort, but that bone-deep fear was that Lord Voldemort would hurt Lia again.
She could feel her heart pounding wildly in her chest, every beat striking a drum of despair.
At this very moment, Lia clearly tasted that overflowing bitterness called "worry" from Hermione through the soul link between them.
She didn't like this taste.
A crisp, calm, and even [somewhat pleasant] voice suddenly rang out.
"Defense is useless; offense is the only way."
Everyone looked toward the sound and found that the one speaking was actually Lia.
She slowly stepped out from behind Hermione, not seeking Hermione's protection, but instead walking to Hermione's side to stand shoulder to shoulder with her.
She held Hermione's cold, trembling hand in return, warming her with her own body heat, her thumb even gently stroking the back of Hermione's hand—a silent reassurance.
She looked directly at Dumbledore, those sky-blue eyes showing not a hint of fear or confusion, only a calm smile as if she were in control of everything.
These words carried a heavy, cold style belonging to Tom Riddle.
But the blue in Lia's eyes remained clear, and the will behind these words clearly belonged to Lia herself.
One could hear a pin drop in the office.
Dumbledore gazed at Lia for a long time; behind his half-moon spectacles, a flicker of true astonishment flashed for the first time in those all-seeing blue eyes.
What he saw was no longer a magical creature in need of protection, nor a poor soul tainted by darkness.
But a nascent, calm, and dangerous player in the game.
The kitten found with the Book of Admittance at the edge of the Forbidden Forest years ago had become this powerful.
Appreciation and worry clashed fiercely in his eyes, finally turning into a complex sigh that no one heard.
[Everyone who finished reading, give me a reminder to update!]
[Otherwise, I'll tie you up just like I tied up the Cat-girl!]
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