"Hermione..."
Lia's voice was so soft, so faint, that no one could make out what she was saying.
But Hermione, from a distance, could tell just from the sight of those two slightly trembling lips.
It was Lia calling out to her.
The days of worry with no news finally settled into reality at the moment of their meeting.
But not everyone was overjoyed to see the person who had suddenly burst in.
For instance, Lucius Malfoy.
From the very second he recognized the newcomer, the memory of the day he was dominated by Lia's terror flooded his mind.
"Kill her! All of you, attack! Kill that monster!"
Lucius let out a hysterical shriek, his elegant aristocratic demeanor shattered completely in the face of absolute fear.
The remaining eleven Death Eaters snapped out of their daze, raising their wands, using only one hand to restrain their hostages.
However, just as they were about to utter their curses—
"Boom!"
"Crash!"
Several doors around the circular chamber were simultaneously blasted open by violent magical force!
Streaks of pure white spell light slammed into the Death Eaters who had raised their wands!
A nimble figure was the first to charge in—it was Sirius Black, his face a mask of fury and anxiety.
Close behind him were Remus Lupin, Mad-Eye Moody, Nymphadora Tonks, and Kingsley Shacklebolt.
The Order of the Phoenix reinforcements had arrived!
Combat erupted instantly.
The entire circular chamber became a deadly dance floor crisscrossed with spells.
The addition of five top-tier combatants instantly reversed the numerical disadvantage. The Death Eaters were immediately locked in their own individual struggles.
"Lia!" Hermione's voice was choked with tears. She broke free from Harry and Ron's attempts to hold her back and ran desperately toward Lia.
Her gaze, from beginning to end, was locked fiercely on one person.
Lucius Malfoy.
The moment the Order members charged in, this cunning aristocrat immediately made the most correct judgment—run!
He had not the slightest intention of lingering for a fight. He turned and sprinted toward a corridor at the far end of the hall leading to the "Time Room."
Her body instantly dropped low, limbs touching the ground. She moved like a white bolt of lightning skimming the earth, making no sound, yet so fast she left an afterimage in the air!
She ignored the exploding spells around her, ignored the collapsing rubble. Her eyes were fixed only on that fleeing platinum-blond figure.
Lucius glanced back in terror, seeing only a pair of sky-blue eyes, burning with infernal fire, closing in on him at a horrifying speed.
He had never felt such pure killing intent.
It wasn't the hostility of a Wizard's duel, but the primal instinct of an apex predator locking onto its prey—an instinct that would not rest until the target was torn to shreds!
"Cruciatus Curse!"
He frantically flung a curse backward.
Lia didn't even dodge.
Her body twisted at an impossible angle during her high-speed charge. The green light grazed past the tip of her ear and struck the wall behind, blasting a large hole.
So fast!
Too fast!
Lucius was scared out of his wits. He desperately pushed his magic to its limits, fleeing madly down the corridor.
Lia pursued relentlessly.
Her [Danger Intuition] was buzzing.
A scent of death.
It was strange.
This scent wasn't emanating from Lucius himself. It was more like a thin mist, hanging over a certain corner of this area.
Lia's pursuit speed slowed slightly. Her instincts told her that pouncing directly might trigger some unforeseen danger.
Like an extremely patient leopard, she trailed Lucius at a steady distance, using her icy gaze to inflict maximum psychological pressure, waiting, observing.
Meanwhile, the battle had reached a fever pitch.
Sirius was locked in a frenzied exchange with his most hated cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange.
Bellatrix's spells were maniacal and deadly, while Sirius was fueled by vengeful fury.
"Haha! Still so weak, my dear cousin!"
Bellatrix let out a sharp, crazed laugh. After dodging a spell, she seized an opening in Sirius's defense.
Her wand traced a vicious arc.
A curse, black-green and radiating an aura of ultimate death—a form any Wizard could recognize—shot toward Sirius like a venomous snake seeking its prey!
That's it!
The moment the curse was unleashed, Lia abruptly halted her chase.
The source of the "scent of death" she had been tracking was precisely this curse fired by Bellatrix Lestrange!
In that split second, Lia didn't even turn to look.
Her body remained poised in its pursuit of Lucius. Only her right hand, which had been hanging at her side, lifted in one fluid motion. Her fingers splayed, and she gave a powerful swipe in the direction of that black-green curse!
A surge of magic, sharing the same origin as Bellatrix's curse but more concentrated and violent, shot forth.
It collided mid-air with Bellatrix's black-green death curse.
There was no explosion, no sound.
That curse, potent enough to kill any top-tier Wizard, simply vanished into thin air.
As if it had never existed.
The crazed grin froze on Bellatrix's face.
Sirius stood there, wand raised, momentarily stunned, but quickly recovered and sent a spell that blasted Bellatrix away.
The instigator on the other side paid no mind to what she had just done.
She only knew that after she released that burst of magic, the scent of death in the air dissipated.
Now her mission, her target, from the very beginning, had only ever been one.
Lucius looked back. That beast was still chasing him!
"No—!"
He let out a despairing howl of agony.
Fortunately, Lia had been distracted for a few seconds by her friends' safety.
It was during this brief gap.
He finally reached the end of the corridor.
There, standing tall, was an ancient stone Archway draped with tattered Curtains.
Lucius stood before the Archway, raised the Prophecy Orb high in his hand, and gasped out an incantation filled with reverence and terror.
"My Lord! Your loyal servant offers to you—"
Before he could finish his words.
A pressure, more terrifying than the combined dark magic of everyone present multiplied a thousandfold, descended like a tsunami from behind that stone Archway!
The air in the Department of Mysteries instantly turned icy and piercing.
A figure, black as ink, slowly emerged from behind the Curtains.
It was a noseless, wax-white, serpentine face.
Vertical pupils, flickering with madness and brutality, swept across the room.
All the Death Eaters instantly ceased fighting, dropping to their knees with a 'thud,' their bodies trembling violently with fear and excitement.
"My Lord!"
The Order members instantly formed a defensive formation, shielding Harry and his friends tightly behind them. Every face was etched with unprecedented gravity. He saw his kneeling, subservient servants, saw the Order of the Phoenix on high alert, saw the terror and hatred on Harry Potter's face.
Finally, his gaze fell upon the white-haired girl who remained in a slightly crouched, low-to-the-ground attack stance.
Lord Voldemort's gaze lingered on Lia for a long time.
He could sense that within that seemingly fragile, slender body lay a chaotic, powerful force that even he found astonishing.
More importantly, he smelled something... familiar.
The scent of his own soul fragment.
"So it's you."
Voldemort spoke. His voice, hoarse like a serpent's hiss, resonated directly within the soul of every person present.
"The little thing... that devoured a piece of my soul."
His words sent a chill to the bone of all those in the know—Harry, Hermione, Lupin, Sirius.
He knew everything!
"A fascinating form of life."
Voldemort didn't seem in a hurry to act. He circled Lia like a connoisseur, examining her with interest. "A pure magical creature, yet deeply bound to a human soul. You are far nobler than those filthy mudbloods and blood traitors."
A bizarre "appreciation" flickered in his crimson eyes.
"You should not consort with these insects. Your power, your uniqueness, destines you to stand in a higher place."
Voldemort's voice was full of temptation, seeming to bypass Lia's brain entirely and resonate directly with the black crystal deep within her soul.
"Submit to me, little thing."
"I will grant you supreme glory. You will no longer be anyone's pet or appendage."
"You will share power with me, become the Queen of the new world. Everyone will prostrate themselves at your feet, kiss the tips of your shoes. Everything you desire, Dried Fish, or the entire fishing grounds of Scotland, will be yours."
Queen... power... Lia's body stiffened for an instant.
Deep within her sky-blue pupils, a faint, eerie green halo uncontrollably surfaced.
It was Tom Riddle's will, stirred and tempted by the power of Voldemort's true self!
A craving born from the soul, a yearning for absolute power, began to stir restlessly within her.
She could even see the illusion Voldemort painted for her—herself sitting on a high throne, Hermione... no, everyone looking at her with awe, offering their most precious treasures.
That feeling... didn't seem bad.
If it were before, Lia might have been directly taken over by Tom's consciousness.
But now, the tempting words fell on deaf ears. Her eyes remained clear and vigilant as she stared directly at Voldemort.
"I refuse."
[Treasures, please send some reminders to update!]
[Seeing people urging for updates, whether genuine or not, makes me really happy, meow!]
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