The firelight in the fireplace flickered, casting long shadows of the three.
That wand belonging to Bellatrix, twisted like a withered branch, lay quietly on the table, emitting an ominous aura.
"Infiltration is the only way," Hermione's voice broke the silence, her slender fingers tapping on the tabletop. "But Gringotts isn't just about magical defenses; its core is the Goblins, and the rules and contracts accumulated over hundreds of years. Conventional disguises won't fool them."
"What about Polyjuice Potion?" Harry spoke up, looking at the wand, his eyes suppressed with anger. "We could turn into one of the Death Eaters."
"Not enough." Hermione shook her head, rejecting the proposal. "Polyjuice Potion can only mimic appearance, not the soul. Bellatrix keeps the goblet in her vault; the guards must know her, and might even sense that madness deep in her bones."
"Compete with a Death Eater to see who's crazier?" Ron shuddered. "Having that thought is the real madness."
Hermione shifted her gaze out the window, looking at the gloomy London sky.
Bellatrix and several other Death Eaters were being held by the Order of the Phoenix.
Obtaining their body tissues wouldn't be difficult.
The difficulty was that once they revealed this plan, it would essentially have nothing to do with them anymore.
Everyone in the Order of the Phoenix would blast them back to Hogwarts and go get the goblet themselves.
The next day, after everyone else woke up, they gathered to discuss their strategy.
After a full night's rest, Lia had finally recovered.
Unsurprisingly, she met with opposition when she told the others about this method.
"This won't do!" Lupin frowned deeply. "How can we let you do something like this!"
Sirius agreed as well: "That's right, leave this kind of thing to us."
"We must act without delay; it hasn't been long since those fellows raided Hogwarts."
Moody's magical eye spun incessantly as he tapped his cane on the floor to gather everyone's attention.
"Perhaps Lord Voldemort doesn't have precise news from this side yet."
With the decision made, everyone began to act with great haste.
Lia lay quietly on Hermione's lap, her pair of azure cat eyes scanning the busy crowd.
Before long, Bellatrix and two other Death Eaters walked out of the room side by side.
"How is it?"
As she spoke, she even spun around to give a full display.
"To be honest, Mrs. Molly," Hermione shook her head with a complicated expression, "aside from the appearance, the difference is simply too great."
The others looked at the Bellatrix who lacked any of the original's traits and also felt a headache coming on.
"Maybe I should try," Lia patted Hermione with her paw.
"I'll graft her'scent' onto you."
"What did you say?" Sirius's emotions were instantly triggered upon hearing this horrifying sentence.
"Put Bellatrix's madness onto Hermione? Lia, do you know what you're saying? That will ruin her!"
Lia poked her head out from behind Sirius, looking stubbornly at Hermione: "It won't. Hermione is the reins; she can control it. Besides, it's not just a scent, it's a 'Soul Disguise'."
"Soul Disguise?" Hermione repeated the unfamiliar term, her eyes sparkling with an inquisitive light.
"Using the Eye of Truth, I'll extract the soul resonance left in this wand, analyze it, and then stick it onto the outside of your soul like a sticker."
Lia tried her best to explain, "This way, from the inside out, you will smell and feel like Bellatrix."
"Absurd! How can a soul be used as a sticker!" Sirius roared.
"It can." Lia's voice wasn't loud, but it was firm. "I can do it."
Hermione ignored Sirius's fury; she just looked deeply at Lia, confirming the truth in her words.
"What's the price?" Hermione asked the most crucial question.
Lia's cat ears twitched uneasily.
"It will be a bit uncomfortable," she said vaguely. "You'll see what she saw, feel what she felt. And, it can't be used for too long, or the filth will seep in and dirty your soul."
The living room fell into a dead silence.
Grafting a madman's soul resonance onto oneself to experience her madness and brutality.
This was more sinister than any Dark Arts.
"Is it possible to attach it to me?" At this moment, Molly, in the form of Bellatrix, raised her hand.
To be honest, those present found it a bit hard to accept seeing such a polite Bella.
Lia shook her head: "No, I can only link with Hermione."
Everyone looked helplessly at Hermione.
"I agree." Hermione spoke, her tone terrifyingly calm.
"Hermione!" Harry and Ron cried out at the same time.
Hermione raised her hand to stop them. Her gaze swept over Sirius and finally landed on Lia.
"Prepare. We have no time to waste."
The Room of Requirement once again turned into that cold metal Chamber of Secrets.
Bellatrix's wand was placed on the stone platform in the center.
"Harry, Ron, you two stand guard outside." Hermione commanded them, then turned to Sirius, "You as well. If I lose control, follow Lia's instructions."
Sirius wanted to say more but ultimately chose to grip his wand tightly and exit the room with Harry and Ron.
The heavy metal door closed, isolating the inside and outside into two worlds.
Hermione took a deep breath and walked to the stone platform.
"Let's begin, Lia."
Lia nodded; she walked in front of Hermione and reached out her hands.
This time, she didn't touch Hermione, but instead pressed her hands onto that cold wand.
In the next second, deep within Lia's azure pupils, a halo began to spin rapidly.
The twisted wand was no longer a physical object in her eyes, but had turned into a mass of chaotic energy entangled by countless black, gray, and blood-red lines.
Countless shrieking curses and mad murmurs emanated from that mass of energy, turning into invisible shocks, yet they were all absorbed in front of Lia.
White light lit up at Lia's fingertips, probing into that mass of chaotic energy with the precision of a scalpel.
Her small face instantly turned pale.
Too much.
Too much residue.
The wails of those tortured to death, the pleasure of casting evil curses, the pathological worship of Lord Voldemort, the hatred for the House of Black... countless mixed and filthy soul fragments were forcibly stripped and screened by her.
Finally, she extracted a wisp of the most core and pure essence, representing the mad nature of the existence known as Bellatrix.
It was a wisp of black-red aura, like a living viper, twisting and struggling at Lia's fingertips.
"Hermione, get ready."
Lia raised her hand, and that wisp of aura slowly drifted toward Hermione...
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