Fingertips hooked into the crooked knot at the edge of the bath towel, giving it a gentle tug.
The white bath towel, like a snowflake losing its support, quietly slid down and pooled around Lia's fair ankles.
The damp moisture instantly enveloped Hermione's fingertips, carrying Lia's unique scent—a blend of bath milk fragrance and the warm aroma of a Feline.
The cool air touched her exposed skin for the first time, making Lia subconsciously flinch, her hands fruitlessly wrapping around her chest in an attempt to hide her newly matured curves.
But this action appeared so futile before Hermione; instead, it seemed more like a silent invitation, highlighting all her beauty in a way that only made it more apparent.
In those brown eyes, the towering rage that had previously flared up due to the broken ribbon was being replaced by a deeper, hotter, and more aggressive molten lava.
It was a completely undisguised possessiveness.
"No... no..."
Lia's voice carried a sob, almost pleading.
Her cat ears drooped limply, pressed tightly against her wet silver hair.
She could feel Hermione's gaze like a tangible branding iron, patrolling every inch of her skin and leaving scorching marks behind.
"There's no time... they... they're still in the meeting... we'll be discovered..."
"I know."
Hermione's voice remained calm, but beneath that calm was the dead silence before a volcanic eruption.
She raised her other hand, gently tucking a strand of wet silver hair from Lia's cheek behind her ear.
The movement was light and soft, yet it carried a different kind of meaning.
"So," Hermione leaned forward slightly, her warm breath fanning across Lia's sensitive ear, triggering a slight shiver, "we have to be quick."
The moment the words fell, Lia felt the world spin as she was swept up by an irresistible force.
The last thing reflected in her sky-blue eyes were Hermione's bottomless brown eyes, burning with madness and love, and a whisper, barely audible, crushed between her lips and teeth:
"This is your... reward... for being... disobedient."
...When Lia next regained clarity of consciousness, she knew not how much time had passed.
The light outside the window was still dim, and the roar of war seemed to be isolated by a thick barrier, becoming distant and blurred.
She struggled to open her eyes, and the first thing she felt was a burst of soreness and swelling in her lower abdomen.
Every corner of her body retained the memory of being completely possessed, and deep within, there was even a strange sensation of frequent, involuntary contractions after being overfilled.
The air was thick with a scent unique to the two of them after their intertwining, mixed with the fragrance of Hermione's hair on the pillow, forming an invisible web of desire that gently enveloped her.
She turned her head and saw the broken red ribbon on the bedside table; it had been restored by Hermione's magic to its original state and was neatly folded into a beautiful square.
It was like a treasured trophy, silently recounting the intensity of the storm from not long ago and the absolute victory of its master.
Lia stared blankly at the ribbon, reaching out her fingertips to touch it gently, as if she could still feel the scorching temperature of Hermione's fingertips from yesterday.
A moment later, she finally couldn't help herself, and a happy smile—a mix of bashful sweetness and endless satisfaction—appeared on her face.
However, recalling the madness from not long ago, she still couldn't resist burying her burning cheeks deep into the soft pillow, complaining in a voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz.
"Honestly..."
"That was just too indulgent!"
...Several hours earlier, inside the sinister old Castle.
Lord Voldemort suddenly snapped his eyes open, his crimson pupils reflecting the silhouette of Hogwarts Castle outside the window.
Just a moment ago, an invisible shriek had exploded in the deepest part of his soul!
His last remaining soul fragment—Nagini—that connection to him had been swallowed alive again!
Suffering the damage of two successive Horcrux destructions forced him to slow down the pace of his offensive once more.
Over the past few days, some of his Death Eater subordinates had already begun to grumble.
Neither attacking nor retreating—were they to perform under the walls of Hogwarts like a pack of clowns?
Lord Voldemort forcibly suppressed the soul-shattering pain that was nearly driving him mad, along with the subsequent mortal-like terror.
That fear was so real that his fingers gripping the armrest trembled slightly, uncontrollably.
He managed to appease the restless army and promised that "Hogwarts will definitely be conquered within the week."
But at this moment, completely different from the calm on his face, were the anger and alarm churning in his mind.
That little thing... that soul-swallowing cat creature... she had actually found Nagini so quickly and... destroyed it!
All his Horcruxes, except for himself, had all... all been destroyed!
But he had a faint feeling that there was still one Horcrux inside Hogwarts, yet strangely, he could not sense what it was at all.
He suppressed his wandering thoughts.
For the first time, he felt the cold touch of death so clearly, crawling up his spine and seizing his throat.
"Master?" a nearby Death Eater, keenly sensing his abnormality, spoke up cautiously.
Lord Voldemort's chest heaved violently, his crimson eyes churning with the desire to destroy everything.
But he did not roar and berate his servant as he had in the past.
Lord Voldemort slowly sat back on his throne, his long fingers rhythmically tapping the armrest, using the movement to hide the remaining tremor in his fingertips.
He had calmed down.
Calmer than ever before.
Fear, instead, had birthed the most extreme rationality.
The two successive soul traumas had completely jolted him awake from the euphoria of Dumbledore's death.
That cat's abilities had already exceeded his understanding.
Conventional means of warfare had lost their meaning against her and that clever mudblood.
"Pass on my orders," Lord Voldemort's voice was cold and steady, with only a nearly imperceptible hoarseness betraying the weakness deep in his soul.
"Have the Giant Legion stop battering the front of the Castle and flank towards both sides of the Forbidden Forest to create pressure. I want them to test the magic resonance nodes of the Castle's foundations."
"Lead the core squad to prepare for a decapitation strike with me. The target is Gryffindor Tower."
"Have the Dementors blockade all passages leaving Hogwarts, including the air; not even a bird is to fly out."
"All units, stop the ineffective attacks. Use low-intensity spells to continuously probe; I want to know the weak points of every node in that Castle's defensive array."
One by one, clear and cold commands issued from his mouth.
The Death Eaters looked at each other; though they did not understand why their master had suddenly become so cautious, they immediately bowed and accepted their orders, departing quickly.
In the hall of the old Castle, only Lord Voldemort remained.
He looked toward Hogwarts, a serpentine light flickering deep within his crimson pupils.
He decided to wait for two days.
[Seeing this, give me more nudges to update so I can get my motivation back! Being at home every day makes me so lazy!]
[Also, please forgive me for not knowing how to write war; I really don't understand this stuff! Gomenasai!]
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Greyhounds
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"