The clamor at the Gryffindor table was like a stone thrown into a lake, creating new ripples as Lia sat down.
Just as the thunderous applause died down, a tall, red-haired boy wearing horn-rimmed glasses and a prefect badge on his chest stood up. He cleared his throat and extended a hand to Lia with a slightly stiff, friendly gesture.
"Welcome to Gryffindor, I'm Percy Weasley, the fifth-year prefect." His voice was clear and formal. "If you have any questions about classes, house rules, or the Castle's layout, you can come to me."
Lia looked timidly at his outstretched hand and hesitated to respond; human social etiquette was still foreign and complex to her.
"Hey, Percy, don't scare our new member with your official talk!"
"Exactly! She doesn't look like a troublemaker who would wander the corridors at midnight!"
Beside Percy, two identical boys with the same flaming red hair spoke up with mischievous grins. They were Fred and George Weasley, Ron's older brothers.
Fred leaned in closer, a wide, curious smile on his face, and asked in a low, mysterious whisper, "Hey, Cat Girl, I'm just purely curious, do you... really like eating dried fish?"
George chimed in from the other side, adding with mock seriousness, "Or yarn balls? We've saved all the leftovers from my mom's knitting! We have all sorts of colors!"
Lia was overwhelmed by this sudden double-sided pincer attack. Her snow-white cat ears flattened back in nervousness, and she shrank toward Hermione like a startled little animal.
"Fred! George!" Hermione immediately put on a stern face, like a lioness protecting her cub, shielding Lia slightly behind her. "You're going to scare her! Don't make fun of people's traits!"
Seeing Hermione's protective stance, Fred and George raised their hands in mock surrender, but the smiles on their faces only deepened.
At that moment, Headmaster Dumbledore stood up at the High Table. His silver-white beard sparkled under the candlelight, and a kind smile played on his face.
"Welcome to Hogwarts for the start of the new school year! Before the feast begins, I would like to say a few words. And they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"
After a polite and sparse round of applause, Dumbledore spoke again. His smile remained, but a hint of seriousness appeared in his blue eyes.
"Additionally, I must remind everyone that the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side and the Forbidden Forest are off-limits to all students this year. Those who do not wish to die a most painful death, please keep this in mind."
As soon as he finished speaking, he gave a light wave of his hand. "Now, let the feast begin!"
In the next second, the previously empty gold plates and goblets were instantly filled. Mountains of roast chicken, sizzling steaks, and golden crispy pies appeared; the aroma swept through the Great Hall like a physical wave.
"Whoa!" Ron let out a moan of happiness and unceremoniously grabbed a chicken leg, stuffing it into his mouth.
Gurgle—
Lia's stomach let out an honest protest at that moment. The delicacies before her were an irresistible temptation. She swallowed carefully, her blue eyes shining with a pure light of joy she had never felt before.
"Go ahead and eat, Lia, you must be starving." Hermione noticed her longing and thoughtfully pulled a plate closer for her, picking up her own cutlery and demonstrating with a smile.
So... this is what it feels like to eat with friends? Warm, lively, and filled with the scent of food.
A faint warmth rose in Lia's heart. Following Hermione's lead, she reached out with a slightly trembling hand, wanting to pick up her own set of utensils.
However, the moment her fingertips touched the cold metal handle of the knife, time seemed to freeze.
The long, cold glint reflected by the knives on the table under the candlelight was like a key, violently unlocking the darkest gates in the depths of her soul.
No... it's not... she wanted to tell herself, it's just cutlery.
But as she grasped it, the cold sensation crept up from her fingertips, and she seemed to hear the ear-piercing screech of a blade slicing through bone.
The memory of her third death—being pinned to an experimental table by a black-robed Wizard, the agony and despair as a cold scalpel sliced through her flesh inch by inch—rushed in like a bursting dam, instantly crushing all the security she had just built.
"No..." A whimper, so faint it was almost inaudible, squeezed out of her throat.
Lia's smile froze on her face. The roast chicken, the steaks, the laughing classmates... everything began to fade, twist, and deform. Her world shrank until only the glinting knife in her hand remained.
It magnified, becoming the scalpel that dissected her flesh, becoming the blade that repeatedly pierced her heart!
The dark, damp basement, the heavy scent of blood, the sound of iron chains dragging on the floor, and the cruel, satisfied chuckle of that black-robed Wizard... all the sensory memories came flooding back.
Extreme terror seized her throat. Her heart felt as if it were being squeezed by an invisible hand, twitching frantically.
"Lia? What's wrong? You look awful!" Hermione's worried voice came from far away, muffled and unclear.
Lia's body began to tremble uncontrollably, her teeth chattering. She wanted to run, to hide, to curl herself into the smallest possible ball and hide in a warm, safe place without any sharp objects.
Survival instinct and the terror deep within her soul drove the out-of-control magic in her body to make the most direct response.
Under the curious or confused gazes of those at the Gryffindor table—
There was no loud bang, only a circle of soft white light that suddenly contracted inward with her at the center, as if even the light was being sucked in.
A second later, the light dissipated.
The white-haired cat-eared girl who had been sitting next to Hermione was gone.
In her place was a pure white Ragdoll Cat, shivering in the seat.
It didn't run away; it just curled into an extremely tight furball on the seat, burying its head deep into its body as if it could shut out the entire world. That beautiful, fluffy long tail was wrapped tightly, desperately around its trembling body, as if embracing its last bit of security.
The entire Gryffindor table fell into an instant silence.
Ron, who had been munching on a chicken leg, had his mouth hanging open in an 'O' shape, the chicken leg falling back onto his plate.
Percy Weasley's prefect-like smile froze. He subconsciously pushed up his glasses, his eyes behind the lenses filled with incomprehensible shock—the school rules said nothing about what to do if a student turned into a cat at the opening feast!
And Fred and George, who had just been joking, had their smiles frozen as if iced over. They exchanged a look that no longer held any playfulness, only pure bewilderment.
Hermione, who was closest to her, gasped in shock at the sudden change.
The undisguised fear and despair were clearly transmitted, even through a layer of fluffy fur.
Without any hesitation, Hermione immediately leaned over and reached out with both hands.
Her movements were as gentle as if she were touching the most precious glass, carefully pulling this warm, soft, yet violently shaking furball into her arms.
As soon as the furball entered her embrace, it instinctively burrowed toward the source of warmth, its tiny claws unconsciously gripping Hermione's Wizard robes.
Hermione looked down, feeling the rapid heartbeat of the little life in her arms. She leaned her lips close to those slightly trembling white cat ears and whispered reassurances over and over in a voice only the two of them could hear, as if reciting a gentle incantation.
"Don't be afraid, Lia."
"Don't be afraid, I'm here."
---------------------------------
Hope you enjoy this fanfiction if you do and would like to read the next 30 chapters in advance, pls do check out my Patreon.
patreon.com/TLScarlet
Also don't forget to give me a Power Stone if you do like this fiction. Your support really motivates me to continue doing my best in translating, Thanks!!