Inside the door, a thick, almost tangible smell of decay permeated the air.
It was a mixture of years of damp dust, mildew, and a deeper, more spiritual sense of decline.
The light was dim, barely revealing a narrow corridor lined with faded portraits whose eyes seemed to turn silently in the shadows.
"Welcome to this old place," Tonks said with self-deprecation, closing the door behind her and shutting out the street outside.
The door shut with a "thud," and the gas lamp in the corridor, flickering with weak magic, wavered violently, stretching everyone's shadows into grotesque shapes.
Lia's hand instinctively reached out, only to be caught and pressed down by Hermione's fingers.
Her senses were infinitely amplified in this house; every inch of air was filled with a suffocating malice.
In her eyes, this house wasn't just rotting; it was like a trap full of poisonous thorns, every line interwoven with resentment and curses.
Strangely, amidst the darkness of the curses, there was a thread of noble gold, its scent somewhat similar to Harry's godfather.
"Keep it down," Tonks lowered her voice, pointing to a large portrait at the end of the corridor covered by heavy velvet curtains. "Don't wake the old lady, or we're all finished."
Before she could finish, a sharp, venomous woman's screech came from behind the curtains.
"—Scum! Filth! My pure and noble house of blood, defiled by the likes of you mudbloods, half-bloods, and werewolves! Get out! All of you, get out!"
The voice was filled with a madness like glass scraping, and the curtains shook violently, as if something were trying to break free from within.
The figures in the other portraits along the corridor also grew restless, hurling various insults and curses at them.
A figure rushed out from a door leading to the basement; it was Sirius Black.
He looked more haggard than when he was at Hogwarts, but those grey eyes remained sharp.
He rushed over skillfully, grabbed both sides of the curtains, and pulled them shut with force.
"Shut up, you venomous old hag!" he growled under his breath, engaging in a silent struggle with his mother in the painting.
The screaming was muffled behind the fabric, but the venomous atmosphere lingered for a long time.
"Welcome, Hermione," Sirius said, turning around after dealing with the curtains, a tired smile forced onto his face.
When he saw Lia, the smile instantly became much more sincere. "And Lia, my little hero, it's good to see you."
Lia tilted her head and smiled at Sirius in response.
But her attention was completely drawn by the more complex scents coming from the basement kitchen.
"Come on down, children, ignore her," a warm, kind voice called out. Mrs. Weasley poked her head out from the kitchen doorway, her apron stained with flour. When she saw Hermione and Lia, her face immediately lit up with a warm smile.
"Oh, Hermione, dear! And Lia! Come quickly, I've saved some meat pies for you!"
She walked over without a word, gave Hermione a firm hug, and then her gaze turned incredibly soft when she looked at Lia.
Molly Weasley genuinely adored this little girl who looked so well-behaved and lovable.
"My sweetheart, you must be exhausted from the journey. Come in and eat something." She naturally took Lia's hand and led them toward the kitchen.
Lia obediently let herself be pulled along, down a few stone steps and into the basement kitchen, which was also dimly lit but filled with the aroma of food.
A long wooden table was already filled with people.
Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny all smiled when they saw them enter.
Moody was scanning the ceiling warily with his magical eye, while Remus Lupin nodded to them with a smile.
"Hermione! Lia!" Ron waved his hand excitedly.
"The Cat Girl couple has finally arrived!" Fred and George cried out in unison.
Hermione pulled Lia to sit in the empty seats next to Ron and Ginny.
Mrs. Weasley had already brought over steaming pies and butterbeer.
Lia, however, didn't touch the food in front of her.
She just sat quietly, her snowy-white cat ears twitching slightly, her long silver hair flowing like moonlight in the dim light.
She was analyzing the scents here.
This room was filled with various complex emotions.
From Ron and the others, there was the joy of reunion, mixed with "secrets" and "tension" regarding the current situation;
From Lupin, there was gentle "protection" and a faint "worry";
From Moody, it was a mass of pure "vigilance" and "paranoia."
And from Sirius, besides the "joy" of seeing them, there was more of a "mania" and "suppression" from being trapped in a cage.
Lia could smell that this house was slowly devouring his vitality; that dark curse originating from his bloodline was eroding him bit by bit.
What made her most uneasy was herself.
Ever since entering this house, something inside her had been awakened.
It was the memory fragments belonging to Tom Riddle, the soul residue belonging to Lord Voldemort.
This Black family ancestral home was filled with traces of pure-blood supremacist dark magic, and these traces resonated with the darkness within her.
It felt like returning... home.
The thought gave Lia a shiver of disgust, and she instinctively leaned closer to Hermione.
Only the clean, warm scent of Hermione—a mix of books and a faint hint of shampoo—could give her a moment's respite from this quagmire.
"How is Harry?" Hermione took a sip of butterbeer and asked Ron in a low voice.
"Terrible."
Ron's face fell.
"He's locked upstairs, so angry he's about to explode. None of us are allowed to tell him anything about the Order of the Phoenix; it's Dumbledore's order. He feels abandoned."
"Dumbledore believes Lord Voldemort might be spying on Harry's thoughts in some way," Lupin explained gently. "For Harry's protection, and to protect the Order of the Phoenix's intelligence, this isolation is necessary."
"But he's going crazy!" Ron complained. "He thinks we've been having a great time all summer and just left him alone at the Dursleys'!"
Hermione's delicate eyebrows furrowed into a knot.
She could completely understand Harry's feelings—the fear of being abandoned by the world and facing the unknown alone.
Just then, Lia's body suddenly froze.
Her Eye of Truth was activated without warning, and the world before her instantly lost its color.
The kitchen, the people, the food on the table... everything turned into a black-and-white sketch made of magic lines.
Then, a completely new scene, one that didn't belong here, forced its way into her mind!
It was a dark corridor with snake-shaped sconces on the walls.
A figure in black robes, whose face was obscured, was kneeling before a high-backed armchair.
"Master... we failed... the prophecy orb... we couldn't get it..." the figure's voice trembled with fear.
From the chair, a cold, raspy voice devoid of any human emotion spoke.
"Lucius..."
Just hearing that name made Lia shudder from the depths of her soul.
It is never sheer power that causes fear.
Only sinister malice makes all life recoil in displeasure.
"You have... disappointed me."
"Master! Please give me another chance! I..."
"Cruciatus Curse!"
"Aaaaaaaagh—!"
A scream so shrill it didn't sound human pierced Lia's consciousness.
She felt as if she could personally experience the agony of nerves being burned through one by one and her soul being repeatedly torn apart.
She saw the figure named Lucius twitching and rolling frantically on the floor, in extreme pain.
The vision came to an abrupt end.
"Lia? Lia!"
Hermione's anxious voice pulled her back to reality.
Lia found herself gripping Hermione's arm so tightly her nails were almost sinking into the flesh.
Cold sweat soaked her clothes at the back, and her long silver hair clung to her pale cheeks.
"What's wrong? You look terrible!" Hermione hurriedly pulled her into her arms and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead.
Everyone in the kitchen stopped what they were doing and looked over with concern.
"I... I saw..." Lia's voice was dry and raspy. "I saw... Lord Voldemort... he was torturing... someone named Lucius..."
Sirius and Lupin's expressions instantly became incredibly grave.
"Lucius Malfoy," Sirius spat out the name, his disgust evident. "Draco's father, a die-hard Death Eater."
"She can see what's happening on Lord Voldemort's side?" Tonks's eyes widened in surprise.
"Not just see it," Lia shook her head, her fear still lingering. "I can feel... that pain..."
She took a sip of the pumpkin juice Hermione handed her, taking deep breaths to calm down.
"This is very similar to Harry's previous situation," Lupin analyzed calmly, "but clearer and more direct than his."
"Because of the Horcrux." Moody, who had been silent, fixed his wildly spinning magical eye on Lia. "The one you swallowed is more complete, and more... like him, than the fragment in Harry."
"Dumbledore told me that when you first entered school, you ate that fellow who was possessing Quirrell that year."
"This means," Moody's voice held a cruel reality, "from now on, you will become Lord Voldemort's unconscious eyes. His most secret atrocities and most venomous plans may appear before you without warning. You will share that endless nightmare with him."
A deathly silence fell over the kitchen.
"Does that mean she also needs to be isolated like Harry?"
Lupin asked after analyzing the situation.
A sudden commotion came from outside the door. Harry's angry shouts and Mrs. Weasley's attempts to soothe him intertwined, announcing the arrival of another storm.
But for Lia, the real storm had already begun in her mind.
When she closed her eyes, she could see those scarlet snake-like eyes staring coldly at her through the endless darkness.
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