Harry looked at Ron lying on the ground, then at Hermione's determined eyes; he nodded heavily and turned to rush toward the stone door that had just opened.
The stone door slammed shut behind him with a boom.
In the room, only Hermione, the unconscious Ron, and Lia the Cat, held tightly in Hermione's arms, remained.
Hermione gently rested Ron's head on her lap, her hands trembling as she wanted to check the wound on his temple, yet afraid of hurting him.
Just then, Lia the Cat in her arms suddenly began to thrash about restlessly and violently.
"Meow—!"
A deeply suppressed cry of pain, as if her throat were being strangled, came from deep within Lia the Cat's throat.
Her snow-white fur stood on end like a startled hedgehog, and her body tensed in Hermione's arms like a cold stone.
"Lia? What's wrong? Are you hurt too?" Hermione looked down at her immediately, her voice thick with worry.
But Lia the Cat didn't look at her. Her sky-blue eyes stared fixedly at the stone door where Harry had disappeared, her pupils narrowing into dangerous slits from extreme fear.
Lia the Cat was trembling all over; the presence behind the door made her feel a bone-chilling shiver from the depths of her soul.
[Danger Intuition] was sounding a frantic alarm with unprecedented intensity!
It wasn't just a premonition; it was a tangible sensation that had already arrived.
The freezing temperature bypassed [Constant Body Temperature] and acted directly on her soul!
The acrid smell of a scorched soul penetrated the thick stone door and crudely flooded her nose; a pure, solid, and unavoidable declaration of "death" caressed her skin, evoking a greasy, nauseating sensation.
Behind the door was hell.
Lia could clearly "see" Harry walking step by step toward a fatal end.
What terrified Lia even more, almost to the point of her soul scattering, was the feeling that Hermione... Hermione would soon follow!
The determination to chase after him was growing wildly in Hermione's heart!
Lifting a paw, she toyed with the small bell on her collar; the tinkling sound echoing in the room made Lia relax slightly.
Thinking of the round-headed wooden utensils in Hermione's home, the handmade cat bed by Hermione's pillow in the dormitory, and the day the collar was first tied around her neck... No!
Hermione couldn't go!
Even if someone had to go, it had to be her.
"Lia, don't be afraid, it's okay... we'll wait here for Harry to come back," Hermione soothed softly, thinking Lia was frightened by the scene of Ron falling.
She reached out and stroked Lia's bristling back fur, offering some comfort.
Lia turned around and affectionately rubbed her head against Hermione's palm, gave her hand a gentle kiss, and then leaped away with a kick of her hind legs.
"Lia!"
Hermione cried out, watching helplessly as the white figure rushed toward the closed stone door like an arrow from a bow, without any hesitation.
"Come back! Lia! It's dangerous there!" Hermione's shouts echoed in the empty room.
But Lia the Cat turned a deaf ear.
Lia had only one thought in her mind: stop Hermione! If Hermione was going, then she had to go first! She would rather die a thousand or ten thousand times more than let Hermione step into that death trap!
She rushed to the door and slammed her tiny body against the stone with a dull thud.
The giant stone door detected a new challenger and creaked open, revealing a gap just wide enough for her to squeeze through.
Lia the Cat didn't hesitate for a moment and darted inside like lightning!
The stone door slammed shut behind her again, cutting off Hermione's heart-wrenching cries... The moment she passed through the door, Lia the Cat entered a narrow corridor, at the end of which flickered ominous black flames.
Harry was standing before the flames, looking at a piece of parchment on a small table, his face full of confusion and anxiety.
Seven bottles of various shapes were arranged on the table.
"Meow."
Lia let out a soft cry.
Harry was startled by the meow and turned to see Lia, his eyes widening in surprise: "Lia? Why did you follow me? Where's Hermione? Is she okay?"
Lia didn't answer; she just walked quickly to the table and looked up at the bottles.
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