"Isolation?"
Hermione's voice rose as she pulled Lia tighter into her arms.
"Why? Just because she can see what Lord Voldemort is doing? That should be an advantage! We can know the enemy's movements in advance!"
"But it's also a huge risk, Hermione."
Lupin explained patiently, his tone remaining gentle.
"Lord Voldemort can sense emotions through Harry, so it's possible he could sense more specific information through Lia. If he notices this connection, Lia will become a direct target, or even a tool for him to spread false information."
Sirius irritably ran a hand through his messy Black hair, pacing the floor.
"Dumbledore already has Harry as bait, and now he wants to lock Lia away too? What's this? Locking all the useful weapons in a safe?"
His voice was filled with the frustration of imprisonment and dissatisfaction with Dumbledore's arrangements.
"It's protection!" Mrs. Weasley looked at Lia pityingly, waving the spatula in her hand. "Lia is still a child! She shouldn't have to bear this!"
The air in the kitchen froze instantly, and everyone's eyes focused on Lia, who was being protected in Hermione's arms.
She had just recovered from the agonizing pain of her soul being torn apart, and now she had to face the possibility of "protective" imprisonment.
"I don't want to."
Lia's voice was soft, but exceptionally clear.
She looked up, her sky-blue eyes scanning everyone present.
Hermione stood by Lia's side without hesitation.
"I won't let her be isolated. I'll stay with her, I'll help her analyze everything she sees, and we'll turn it into a weapon instead of a weakness."
"Miss Granger, this is not a game!" Moody's magical eye spun wildly, locking onto Hermione. "Do you think the Dark Lord's thoughts are books in a library that you can analyze at your leisure?"
"It's better than sitting around waiting to die!" Hermione didn't back down an inch.
Just then, a loud bang came from upstairs, accompanied by Harry's uncontrollable roar.
"What are you hiding from me! Why won't you let me know!"
The storm had finally broken.
Mrs. Weasley let out a gasp and hurried upstairs to soothe Harry.
The argument in the kitchen was also interrupted by this sudden interlude.
Sirius glanced upstairs, then at Lia, and finally slumped into a chair, burying his hands in his hair with a pained groan. He
was worried about both his godson and this little girl.
Lupin sighed, walked over to Hermione, and lowered his voice.
"Hermione, let's not discuss this for now. Let Lia rest. This matter will ultimately be decided by Dumbledore."
Hermione nodded, temporarily accepting the suggestion.
Hermione could feel that Lia's spirit was in an extremely tense state.
"Let's go back to the room," Hermione whispered to Lia, pulling her to her feet.
"I'll lead the way," Ginny stood up, thoughtfully guiding them. "The room arranged for you is right next to mine."
Passing through the dark corridor and once again passing the portrait covered by a curtain, vicious curses echoed from within.
But this time, Lia only gave it an indifferent glance.
Compared to Lord Voldemort's pure malice that sought to crush her soul, this bit of family resentment was hardly worth mentioning.
After entering the room, Hermione immediately closed the door and checked for eavesdropping devices with a spell before sighing in relief.
The room was small, with only a bed and a dusty desk.
Lia climbed onto the bed without a word, curling up under the covers, revealing only a pair of wary blue eyes and twitching cat ears.
"Don't be afraid, I'm here." Hermione sat on the edge of the bed, gently stroking her long hair.
Lia didn't respond, but only reached out and tightly grabbed the corner of Hermione's clothes.
She closed her eyes, but her mind uncontrollably replayed the scene of Lucius being tortured; the pain was so real that her nerve endings began to ache faintly.
Under the dual effects of Danger Intuition and the Eye of Truth, she saw not just images, but the flow of energy and the wailing of souls.
Lord Voldemort's magic was a darkness that fed on hatred and pain.
For the next few days, the atmosphere at 12 Grimmauld Place was suffocatingly oppressive.
The date for Harry's hearing was set, and members of the Order of the Phoenix came and went, their faces etched with solemnity.
Harry was finally allowed to come downstairs, but he was like a powder keg ready to explode at any moment, full of resentment toward everyone, especially Ron and Hermione.
Lia spent most of her time in the room with Hermione.
She tried hard to control the sudden "visual connection," but with little success.
Scenes of Lord Voldemort would always intrude into her mind unexpectedly, each time accompanied by a strong surge of negative emotions.
Hermione, meanwhile, tirelessly flipped through the dangerous Dark Arts books in the Black family library, trying to find any traces of information about soul connections and Horcruxes.
Adopting the stance of a researcher, she recorded every one of Lia's visions in detail, including the time, content, and the intensity of Lia's emotional fluctuations.
"Look, his anger is cyclical," Hermione pointed to the records on the parchment, analyzing them for Lia. "After each time he punishes a subordinate, his emotions have a brief period of calm.
This shows his power isn't infinite; performing torture also exhausts him."
Lia nodded as if she understood; as long as Hermione was by her side, listening to her clear analysis, the fear originating from her soul would mostly dissipate.
Finally, the day to start school arrived.
Mrs. Weasley insisted on personally seeing them off at King's Cross Station.
Moody and Tonks were responsible for the escort.
The platform was bustling with people, and the whistle of the steam train echoed through the air.
Hermione pulled Lia along, Ron pushed the luggage cart, and Harry walked ahead with a sullen face.
Sirius, in his Animagus form as a large Black dog, followed quietly beside them.
Just as Lia was about to step onto the hogwarts express, her footsteps suddenly faltered.
She snapped her head back, looking toward the flowing crowd.
At that very moment, her Eye of Truth was triggered passively.
The whole world faded, leaving only a gaze full of spite and hatred that pierced through the crowd and fixed onto Harry's back.
Following that gaze, Lia saw a man.
He wore a well-tailored suit, his face flat and pale.
Lord Voldemort.
He had actually appeared here in person.
Lia's heart suddenly stopped beating, and the blood in her body froze.
She wanted to scream a warning, but the suppression originating from the depths of her soul left her unable to move or make a sound.
Those eyes noticed her prying, slowly turning to meet her gaze in mid-air.
There was no anger, no surprise, only a cold indifference as if he were looking at a dead object.
Then, he gave her an extremely slight upturn of the corner of his mouth.
It was a silent, mocking smile.
The next second, the illusion vanished.
The world regained its color, and the platform was as noisy as ever.
The man had already disappeared.
"Lia? What's wrong? Get on the train!" Hermione pulled her, asking in confusion.
Lia turned her head stiffly, forcing a smile.
She shook her head and didn't speak, following Hermione's lead onto the train.
Hermione looked at her worriedly. Although she didn't know what had happened, she keenly sensed that Lia's stiffness just now was definitely not for nothing.
She guessed that Lia had seen something terrifying again.
But she didn't press her, only silently tightened her grip on Lia's hand and led her to an empty compartment.
Neither side spoke of it.
Hermione thought Lia didn't want her to worry.
While Lia was indeed worried.
She was afraid that saying that name would immediately draw the gaze of those crimson eyes.
For the first time, she realized so clearly that the connection between her and Lord Voldemort was two-way.
She could see him, and he... perhaps could also sense her.
Lia didn't want her friends to suffer because of her.
She didn't know if it was the influence of Tom's fragment.
Lia suddenly found that, facing such a complex crisis...
She was unexpectedly calculating... how to win.
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