"Lia, come back."
Hearing Hermione's call, Lia immediately lost interest in Malfoy and trotted back into Hermione's arms.
"Purr..."
A wronged guttural sound came from the furball as her small head rubbed hard against Hermione's chin. It was as if she hadn't been the one tearing into someone's flesh just moments ago, but rather as if her soft paw pads had been hurt by the rough school robes.
The corridor was dead silent.
Malfoy even forgot to shout his usual "My father will hear about this." He looked at his nearly destroyed hand, gasping for air with a wheezing sound in his throat, and fled toward the Hospital Wing on all fours, supported by Crabbe and Goyle.
"Hermione..." Ron's voice was trembling. He pointed at the expanding pool of blood on the floor, then at the cat in Hermione's arms who was innocently licking her paws. "She... she just tried to kill him! That wasn't a warning!"
"I've seen that look before!" Harry's voice was hoarse and dry. The lightning scar on his forehead throbbed with a burning pain, dragging him back to an ominous memory filled with green flashes. "On the back of Quirrell's head!"
Hermione's reaction was to tighten her arms.
A gesture of ownership.
She pressed Lia's face into the crook of her neck, cutting off all prying eyes.
"So what?" She looked up, her brown eyes filled with a coldness and hardness that Harry and Ron had never seen before. "He drew his magic wand, Harry. In Hogwarts, when a Wizard draws their magic wand and utters the first two syllables of a spell, according to the 'Wizarding Trial Law', it's called 'attempted lethal threat'. Lia simply neutralized the threat before he could complete it."
Her logic was like a blade quenched in ice, precise and devoid of any emotion.
"And," Hermione's gaze swept over her two pale-faced friends, "he called me a 'mudblood'. Am I supposed to thank him?"
Harry and Ron were instantly silenced.
"Get one thing straight." Hermione's voice lacked its usual gentleness. "I have never treated Lia as a pet that needs to be tamed."
She paused, emphasizing every word.
"She is mine..."
The rest of the sentence was left unsaid.
Hermione gave the two no further chance to argue. Holding Lia, she walked straight toward the Great Hall. Harry and Ron exchanged a look, both seeing shock and confusion in the other's eyes.
The two boys could clearly sense that something was wrong with Hermione, but they just assumed she hadn't yet recovered from the near-death experience.
They followed silently, a heavy and awkward silence enveloping the three of them for the first time... In the Great Hall, the silver and green banners of Slytherin hung high, silently mocking the efforts of the other houses throughout the year.
The feast began, and Dumbledore stood up, announcing with a chuckle that some last-minute points were to be awarded.
After Ron earned fifty points for a perfect game of chess and Hermione earned fifty points for breaking a magic spell with logic, bringing their score level with Slytherin, the entire hall's anticipation focused on Harry.
"...and to Mr. Harry Potter, for unparalleled courage, sixty points!"
Gryffindor went wild! They had overtaken Slytherin! A sea of red and gold erupted into deafening cheers.
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