"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!
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