Morning sunlight streamed through the tall arched windows, spilling into the Great Hall of Hogwarts and gilding the four long tables with a warm golden edge.
The magical sky on the ceiling was as blue as if it had been washed clean, with a few white clouds drifting lazily by.
However, this moment of tranquility was completely shattered by the rustling of wings.
The owl army arrived as scheduled, circling and dropping letters and newspapers to their respective owners.
A dusty Scops owl dropped a rolled-up copy of The Daily Prophet beside the dinner plate in front of Hermione.
Hermione habitually unfurled the newspaper, ready to see what stupid new Educational Decree the Ministry of Magic had issued.
However, the moment her gaze hit the front page, the composure on her face instantly froze.
The front-page headline, in a near-menacing bold black font, occupied the entire page.
"Granger's Monster: How a mudblood Controls Dangerous Creatures and Threatens Pure-blood scions!"
The photo was enchanted and moving.
In the image, after the battle at the Department of Mysteries, Lia was in her Cat-girl form, covered in blood.
At her feet lay the Death Eater she had killed in an instant.
The photo's tones had been deliberately adjusted; Lia's fair skin appeared excessively pale, making her look like a demon crawling out of hell.
Hermione gave a cold, angry laugh.
Her eyes swept rapidly over the article's content.
"...Hermione Granger, a so-called 'top student' from a Muggle family, has ambitions far beyond imagination. According to reliable sources, she has used unknown dark means to control an extremely dangerous and highly aggressive unidentified magical creature. In the recent conflict at the Ministry of Magic, this 'pet' brutally murdered a Wizard in public..."
"...This creature, referred to by Miss Granger as 'Lia', is protean in form and emotionally unstable. According to witnesses, it has displayed dark powers identical to those of You-Know-Who. We have reason to suspect that Miss Granger is attempting to use this out-of-control beast as a tool for her upward grab for power..."
"...That a mudblood could lay hands on such a powerful dark creature is undoubtedly a blatant provocation and threat to all pure-blood families! Even more concerning is that this monster is inseparable from Miss Granger and is currently roaming freely within Hogwarts Castle. Our children, those pure and noble Pure-blood scions, are sharing a room with a murderous beast that could go on a rampage at any moment!"
Between the lines of the article, it was filled with malicious incitement and twisted accusations.
It depicted Hermione as a calculating and ambitious schemer and described Lia as a bloodthirsty, insane 'monster' that could bring disaster to the entire wizarding world at any time.
Harry and Ron leaned in as well, their expressions turning as grim as Hermione's after seeing the newspaper's content.
"This... this is absolute nonsense!" Ron's face turned red with rage. "Draco's father! It must be him!"
"How dare they..." Harry's voice was thick with suppressed anger.
The murmurs from the surroundings surged in like a tide.
"Look, it's her... that Granger girl."
"My god, is what the paper says true? She's keeping a monster?"
"Terrifying. My mom told me to stay away from her..."
At the Slytherin table, Draco Malfoy was holding up a copy of The Daily Prophet, loudly reading the most malicious passages to Crabbe and Goyle beside him, letting out bursts of harsh laughter every now and then.
Their gazes shot toward Hermione one by one.
Hermione's hand gripped the newspaper, the paper deforming under her squeeze.
Her anger almost materialized into physical magic, causing the milk cup in front of her to vibrate slightly.
However, what truly chilled her to the bone was the short paragraph at the end of the article.
"...It is worth mentioning that this ambitious Miss Granger's parents are ordinary Muggle dentists. Their clinic is located at..."
Below, the detailed address of her parents' dental clinic was printed clearly.
This wasn't an insinuation.
This was a naked, blatant death threat.
Lucius Malfoy didn't just want to destroy her reputation with public opinion; he wanted to bring the war to her family, using her most cherished loved ones to force her into submission.
"Hermione..." Harry looked at her with concern.
Hermione stood up abruptly, grabbed the newspaper, and turned to leave.
Lia followed behind her. As she stepped out of the Great Hall's doors, she gave her wrist a casual flick.
Amidst the cries of the Slytherin students, the Slytherin table flipped completely upside down.
Hermione didn't return to the dormitory; instead, she headed straight for the library.
With a "thud," she slammed the filthy newspaper onto a table, her chest heaving violently.
Rage coursed through her veins like lava.
She wasn't the kind of girl who would hide and cry.
Malfoy had crossed her line.
She was going to fight back.
Hermione forced herself to calm down.
She spread out a fresh piece of parchment, took out her favorite quill, and unscrewed the ink bottle.
A cold fire burned in her eyes.
She was going to draft a logically rigorous, well-cited, and unassailable legal rebuttal.
She would cite Article 7 of Chapter 3 of the Basic Wizarding Law regarding the definition of defamation, list the exemption clauses for companion creatures in the Dangerous Magical Creatures Management and Control Act, and sue Lucius Malfoy and The Daily Prophet together in the Wizengamot until their reputations were ruined!
The tip of the quill, already dipped in ink, was about to touch the parchment.
Just then, Lia's hand gently pressed down on her wrist.
Hermione looked up and met Lia's blue eyes, which were as calm as a deep pool.
Lia had appeared beside her at some point.
She didn't look at the newspaper, only watched Hermione quietly.
She shook her head.
"Hermione," Lia's voice was soft, yet it reached Hermione's ears clearly, "it's useless."
"What are you saying? Lia, let go!" Hermione tried to pull away. This near-'Doxxing' method had almost caused Hermione to lose her mind.
"I'm going to sue him! Sue him until he can no longer set foot in the wizarding world!"
Lia continued to shake her head, her blue eyes showing no ripples of emotion.
"Hermione, Lucius Malfoy isn't afraid of the law."
Lia's gaze moved slowly from Hermione's angry face to the newspaper on the table, filled with malicious words.
"Laws are rules you humans use to maintain order, but rules are only effective for those who follow them. Lucius is one of the people who makes the rules.
No matter how perfectly your rebuttal is written or how precise your citations are, once it reaches the Wizengamot, he will use Galleons and power to turn it into a pile of scrap paper."
Her words, like a precise scalpel, sliced open the hypocritical shell of the world of fairness and justice that Hermione had always believed in.
"He only fears two things."
Lia's voice grew even calmer, carrying an insight into human weakness derived from the depths of Tom Riddle's memories.
"He fears a power greater than his own."
"And he fears his temperamental master."
Hermione was stunned.
She looked at Lia, at that face which still held a trace of childishness, yet spoke such cold and realistic words.
This was no longer simple imitation, but complete understanding and application.
"What... what do you want to do?" Hermione's voice held a dependency she hadn't even noticed herself.
Faced with a dead end where conventional means failed, the unconventional thinking Lia displayed had actually become her only hope.
Lia let go of Hermione's wrist.
She didn't answer directly, but calmly stated a fact, one enough to make any Wizard's skin crawl.
"I know what happened to him after his recent failure at the Department of Mysteries."
Lia's tone was casual, as if she were talking about a trivial matter.
"He knelt on the ground like a dog. Voldemort didn't kill him; instead, he used Crucio on him, over and over again. I can'smell' that memory, right there in the echoes of his soul.
That bone-deep pain, that fear of death, and the humble desire to make amends at any cost just to survive."
Hermione's heart clenched.
Through Lia's calm narration, she seemed to see that proud, arrogant pure-blood noble struggling in pain and wailing for mercy at the Dark Lord's feet.
This was Lia's power.
What she gained from the Horcrux wasn't just knowledge and power, but also Voldemort's most private memories—the bloodiest secrets of his inner circle.
"He's like a hound now, desperate to prove his worth to his master." Lia's lips curled into a mocking arc.
"He needs a contribution significant enough to offset the punishment for his failure, to keep his status and the lives of his whole family."
Lia's finger tapped lightly on the name "Malfoy" printed in the newspaper.
"He is secretly looking for something—something his master wants back very, very much."
Lia paused, fishing the key name out of that vast and chaotic sea of memories.
Then, she threw her head up and stared straight into Hermione's eyes.
"Ravenclaw's diadem."
---------------------------------
I hope you enjoy this fanfiction! If you're having fun and want to read 30 chapters in advance, feel free to check out my Patreon: patreon.com/TLScarlet
Your support means a lot so if you like the story, don't forget to drop a Power Stone.