The rest of the summer vacation flew by under Hermione's methodical planning.
Secretly investigating what Lia was hiding did not go smoothly.
But Hermione was not discouraged; she set the puzzle aside for the time being and threw herself wholeheartedly into mastering the vanishing cabinet.
In the form of an anonymous donor, she provided Borgin with all the Dark Arts materials needed to repair the cabinet, even including some precious collectibles "borrowed" from the Malfoy vault.
Driven by absolute fear, Borgin became the most efficient craftsman, and the repair progress advanced by leaps and bounds.
Everything was proceeding in secret.
On September 1st, the Hogwarts Express let out a long whistle, announcing the start of the new school year.
Hermione and Lia found a compartment toward the back.
Lia curled up next to Hermione, her head resting on her lap, enjoying the scenery flying backwards outside the window.
To her, where they went didn't matter as long as she was with Hermione.
The compartment door was pulled open, and a round figure squeezed in.
It was the new Potions Professor, Horace Slughorn.
"Oh, Hermione, my dear child!"
He greeted her warmly, but his gaze swept inconspicuously over the curled-up Lia, looking as if he were admiring a collection piece about to be acquired.
Being rejected by Hermione in public last time clearly hadn't dampened his thoughts; instead, it had stirred an even stronger desire for conquest.
"And Harry, I heard he was on this train too... Aha! Found him!"
He saw Harry in the next compartment and immediately issued an invitation.
"I've prepared another little gathering; they're all promising young people. Harry, you must come, of course. And you, Hermione, let's let the last misunderstanding pass; I still greatly admire your talent."
He pointedly ignored Lia, as if she were just a piece of insignificant luggage.
Hermione's eyes turned cold.
She was about to refuse again when her hand was lightly hooked by Lia's tail.
She looked down and saw Lia blinking at her, those sky-blue pupils flickering with a cunning light.
Hermione understood immediately.
Avoiding him wasn't the way.
With people like Slughorn, the more you refuse, the more they pester.
Better to enter the tiger's den and see exactly what tricks he wanted to play.
"My honor, Professor," Hermione stood up, a proper smile on her face.
She leaned down and picked Lia up, her movements natural and intimate.
"However, my companion magical creature, Lia, is a bit shy. Wherever I go, I have to take her with me."
companion magical creature was their public explanation after Umbridge had caused trouble.
"Of course, of course, lovely little thing," he complimented insincerely.
Slughorn's target had been Lia all along.
Several students were already sitting in Slughorn's compartment, all from pure-blood families or people with a bit of fame in certain fields.
Harry was there too, looking somewhat ill at ease.
Slughorn enthusiastically distributed butterbeer and pumpkin juice to everyone; the atmosphere was lively and... ostentatious.
He took out a bottle of mead that looked very old, sealed with a golden wax seal, and poured it into several goblets.
"Come, this is good stuff I've kept in my collection for years."
He handed one glass to Hermione, placed another in front of himself, and pushed another toward a Slytherin student sitting opposite him.
Hermione was about to reach out to take it when Lia, in her arms, suddenly moved.
The Cat-girl's nose wrinkled imperceptibly toward the golden liquid.
An extremely subtle but exceptionally sharp scent pierced her sense of smell.
The scent was very sweet and fragrant, perfectly masked by the rich aroma of the mead.
But Lia's Danger Intuition and beastly instincts captured a discordant, deadly noise beneath that sweet fragrance.
Like rotten almonds.
Poison.
Lia looked up, leaned close to Hermione's ear, and quickly breathed out a few words in a voice only the two of them could hear:
"The wine is poisoned."
Hermione's hand holding the wine glass paused for a split second in mid-air.
Her face still wore a polite smile, and her eyes didn't change in the slightest.
She believed Lia's judgment. One hundred percent.
But she couldn't refuse directly; that would arouse suspicion.
Just then, from the corner of her eye, she spotted a thick stack of advanced potion-making piled on the corner of the table.
Hermione lifted the wine glass, her body seemingly inadvertently tilting to the side, and her elbow "accidentally" bumped into that stack of books.
"Crash—"
The books collapsed like dominoes, knocking over the three wine glasses in front of Hermione, Slughorn, and the Slytherin student.
The golden liquid splashed onto the tablecloth, releasing a rich aroma.
"Oh! My goodness!" Hermione let out a perfectly timed exclamation, her face full of apology, "I am so sorry, Professor! I was so careless!"
"Oh, merlins beard! My collection mead!"
Slughorn cried out in distress, hurriedly using his wand to clean the tabletop.
Though he was annoyed, he didn't suspect anything, treating it as just an accident.
Hermione's gaze, however, fell coldly upon the splashed wine.
She knew that the original target of this wine was likely Dumbledore.
Draco or some Death Eater wanted to use the hand of this old muddle-head, Slughorn, to poison the Principal.
And today, she and Lia had almost become innocent scapegoats.
She tightened her arms around Lia a bit more.
Back at Hogwarts for the first Potion Class, a familiar scene played out again.
Slughorn took out a small vial of shimmering golden Felix Felicis as a reward for brewing the "Draught of Living Death."
Hermione followed every step in the textbook strictly, measuring the weight of every ingredient precisely with scales and timing every stir with a stopwatch.
On the other side, Harry relied entirely on that old, worn-out textbook filled with notes from the "half-blood prince."
Last time, Hermione had felt angry and resentful because of this.
But this time, her heart was completely calm.
She knew the owner of that book was Snape, a true Potions Master.
Harry's behavior was nothing more than copying a top student's homework.
When the perfect pale purple steam rose from Harry's cauldron and Slughorn announced Harry the winner, handing him the Felix Felicis, Hermione didn't even look up.
She just looked indifferently at the Potion in her own cauldron, which, while also excellent, was still one step away from "perfect."
Losing to Snape, she could accept.
But relying on this kind of "shortcut" was definitely not the right path.
After class, Harry happily showed off the vial of Felix Felicis to her and Ron, his face full of the pride of having "cheated."
"Hey, Hermione, you lost to me this time!"
Hermione stopped and turned around. She didn't argue with him like last time, but just looked at him calmly.
"You trust that 'Prince' a lot, don't you?" she asked.
"Of course! He's a genius!" Harry replied without hesitation.
"Is that so?" A mocking curve hooked the corner of Hermione's mouth.
"Harry, remember one thing. Every gift gained without effort has a price tag marked in secret. You have no idea who the owner of that book in your hand is, nor do you know what kind of mood he was in when he wrote those notes."
Her words were like a bucket of cold water, dousing Harry's enthusiasm.
"What do you mean?" Harry frowned, feeling a slight sense of offense.
Hermione didn't explain further. She just glanced at the Felix Felicis in his hand, then at the old textbook in his arms, and shook her head.
"It's nothing."
She turned and left, Lia following close behind.
Harry stood in place, watching Hermione's resolute back, an inexplicable irritability rising in his heart.
He felt Hermione had changed. She had become someone he somewhat didn't recognize.
"She's just jealous."
Ron muttered quietly from the side, trying to comfort him.
But Harry didn't think so. He looked at Hermione and the white cat that never left her side, and suddenly spoke out:
"At least I'm not hiding things!"
His voice wasn't loud, but it was enough for Hermione, who had walked a few steps away, to hear.
"Unlike some people, who hide secrets away like treasures!" He looked pointedly in the direction of Hermione and Lia.
Hermione's footsteps faltered.
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