Hogwarts Castle lay slumbering in the night.
Moonlight streamed through the tall windows, casting mottled patterns of light and shadow onto the corridors.
A small white figure darted swiftly through these shifting patterns, not making a single sound. Relying on her Feline night vision and memory of the Castle's layout, Lia deftly avoided suits of armor that might clatter and staircases that might creak.
Lia's Danger Intuition allowed her to sense the patrol routes of Filch and Madam Norris ahead of time. Before they turned the corner, she had already blurred into a streak and vanished into the next patch of shadow.
Everything was going surprisingly smoothly.
Lia soon reached the Castle's main doors, which were tightly shut. However, this didn't pose much difficulty for her. Her small frame allowed her to easily slip out through an inconspicuous air vent near the door, intended for owls.
A cold night wind blew against her face, carrying the distinct scent of damp earth and humus.
Lia shivered, but her Constant Body Temperature quickly adapted her to the external chill. Standing on the Castle steps, she gazed towards the distant forest, a dark beast lying dormant under the moonlight.
The Bosque Prohibido.
For Hogwarts students, it was an absolute forbidden zone, full of unknown dangers. But for Lia, a part of it had once been her home—a home filled with hunger, cold, and fear, yet one she knew intimately.
Lia remembered the plant. It grew not far from the hollowed-out tree where she used to hide. When she was still a stray kitten, she had seen it countless times at night. Its silver petals would emit a soft glow under the moonlight. They were beautiful, but they couldn't fill an empty stomach.
Lia hesitated no longer. Dropping onto all fours, her body shot forward like a white-feathered arrow from a bowstring, racing towards the edge of the Bosque Prohibido.
The forest was even darker inside. Tall canopies blocked most of the moonlight, and the air was thick with the unsettling smell of rotting leaves mixed with damp moss. Lia slowed her pace, her ears swiveling alertly, picking up the faintest sounds—the rustle of wind through leaves, the distant whoosh of Thestral wings, and the faint scuttling of some creature beneath the leaf litter.
Suddenly, a nearby bush shook violently! Lia's fur instantly stood on end, but her Danger Intuition did not sound an alarm. A moment later, a plump Gnome grumbled its way out, glanced at her, and disappeared back into the darkness.
A false alarm, but enough to make Lia's heart race. Following her memory of the direction, she proceeded with even greater caution.
After walking for about ten minutes, she stopped. Before her was a massive hollowed-out tree, its entrance half-concealed by vines. This had once been her shelter from wind, snow, and hunters. Lia did not approach. She just stood a short distance away, her blue eyes carefully scanning the darkness.
Then she saw it. Beside a patch of damp moss, a cluster of low-growing plants was quietly thriving. Under the sparse moonlight, their petals had unfurled, revealing a dreamlike silver hue. Their surfaces seemed to flow with liquid moonlight, emitting a faint, cool fragrance.
moonpetal flowers. Exactly like the ones in Hermione's book.
Lia's heart pounded with excitement. She cautiously approached, extended a paw with its soft pad, and used the very tip of her sharpest claw to hook the base of the fullest, freshest petal. With a gentle flick...
The petal fell silently. Lia immediately caught it with her other paw. She repeated the motion, gathering five or six petals, each shimmering with a captivating silver light. Not daring to be greedy, she tore off a broad leaf from a nearby fern, carefully wrapped the petals inside, and gently held the bundle in her mouth.
Mission accomplished. Lia turned, ready to retrace her steps.
At that very moment, a chilling, malevolent intent—cold as venom—injected itself into her mind from behind! Danger Intuition screamed frantically in the depths of her soul, so sharp it nearly tore her consciousness apart!
Lia's fur instantly bristled, and a low, threatening growl rumbled in her throat.
She whipped her head around and met a pair of greedy, glowing red eyes in the darkness. No, eight pairs!
It was a massive Acromantula. It had lowered itself silently from the trees. All eight of its eyes were filled with a hunger for fresh meat, and its grotesque fangs dripped viscous saliva as they aimed at Lia, who held the leaf bundle in her mouth.
Run! That was the only thought left in her mind.
She clenched the leaf bundle tighter in her teeth, lowered her body, and pushed off with all four limbs. Like a bolt of white lightning, she sprinted desperately back the way she came.
The Acromantula let out a piercing shriek, its eight long legs scuttling furiously in pursuit. A strand of white silk shot past Lia's ear like a whip. Danger Intuition made her dodge a fraction of a second earlier, and the sticky web splattered onto the tree trunk right where she had just been.
Lia didn't dare look back. She could only run with all her might. Her body weaved through low shrubs, her small size now her greatest advantage. She plunged into a gap formed by the massive, tangled roots of a great tree. The Acromantula's huge bulk was blocked outside, angrily striking the roots with its forelimbs. Lia seized the chance to scramble out the other side, buying herself a few more seconds.
Sharp branches scraped across her fur, leaving a stinging, bloody gash on her flank, but she paid it no mind. Intense pain flared, but her Super-speed Regeneration immediately kicked in. The wound healed rapidly even as she fled, leaving only bloodstains on her fur as proof of the recent peril.
The leaf bundle in her mouth was her conviction. This was a gift for Hermione. She absolutely could not lose it!
Relying on her familiarity with the terrain and the guidance of Danger Intuition, she danced repeatedly on the edge of death, finally leaving the giant spider far behind. When she burst out of the forest's edge, covered in mud, the sky was already lightening with the first hint of dawn. She was nearly exhausted. Glancing back at the forest, still sinister-looking in the morning light, she panted, heart still racing. Not daring to linger for a moment, she gripped her'spoils of war' and, limping slightly, ran along the familiar route back to Hogwarts Castle.
***
Meanwhile, back in the Gryffindor girls' dormitory, Hermione had not slept a wink all night.
Her face pale, she paced anxiously back and forth in the room, her brow furrowed with worry. Lia was gone. From the moment she discovered Lia wasn't in bed late at night, her heart had sunk. She had searched every corner of the common room and even risked going to the boys' dormitory to ask Harry and Ron, but Lia was nowhere to be found.
'Merlin's beard, where could she have gone...' Hermione's voice trembled. She didn't dare imagine any of the bad possibilities.
What if someone discovered her true identity? What if she was in danger? That silly little thing was so afraid of pain, so timid... The thought of Lia trembling alone in some dark corner made Hermione's heart feel gripped by an invisible hand, aching so much she could barely breathe.
Just as she was about to be overwhelmed by fear and guilt, ready to rush off and find Professor McGonagall, the dormitory door was pushed open a crack.
A small, dirty white figure squeezed through the gap. It was the very cat she had been worrying about all night.
'Lia!' Hermione's eyes instantly welled up. She rushed over in a flash and carefully scooped the 'battle-damaged' white cat into her arms. 'Where have you been? You didn't tell me! I've been worried sick!'
Seeing the dried bloodstains and muddy smudges on the once-snowy fur, Hermione's heart clenched. She immediately started checking Lia over. 'You're hurt? Does it hurt? I'm taking you to Madam Pomfrey right now!'
Seeing Hermione on the verge of tears, Lia quickly struggled free from her embrace. Mid-air, she shifted back into her human form and landed with a soft thump on the carpet. But a proud, eager-to-please smile lit up her face.
'Hermione, wait, look what I brought you!' she panted, presenting her treasure like an offering. She held out the saliva-dampened but well-protected leaf bundle.
The leaf unfolded. Lying within were several Moonlight Petals petals, shimmering with a dreamy silver light, looking as fresh as if they still carried the dew of the Bosque Prohibido.
Moonlight Petals petals! And of such perfect quality! Hermione's initial surge of joy was instantly followed by a lightning-bolt realization.
The Bosque Prohibido.
Only in the Bosque Prohibido could one find wild moonpetal flowers.
Her head snapped up. She looked at Lia, who was sitting on the carpet, head tilted, bright blue eyes fixed on her, her entire face screaming 'Praise me!'
Her clothes were torn, her face and arms smudged with dirt and blood. She looked utterly disheveled, yet radiated a kind of foolish bravery.
For an offhand complaint she had made, for a stupid Potions homework assignment... This kitten, who was normally terrified of death, had actually ventured into the Bosque Prohibido alone.
How could Hermione possibly bring herself to scold her?
Anger, fear, guilt, overwhelming joy, and endless tenderness... A torrent of complex emotions instantly breached the dam of her rationality, making Hermione's eyes burn hot.
She didn't ask Lia how she'd done it. She didn't scold her for the risk. She simply opened her trembling arms and pulled the dirty, brave little kitten into a tight embrace, as if trying to meld her into her very bones.
'You... reckless little fool of a cat.'