Hermione gently tapped the tip of Lia's nose with her fingertip, watching as the Cat-girl narrowed her eyes comfortably at the action, a faint and satisfied purr vibrating in her throat.
"I'm full." Lia put down the small round-headed spoon and haphazardly wiped her mouth with a napkin.
The next second, she flopped onto the chair and turned back into that snowy, fluffy Ragdoll Cat.
With a light leap, she jumped accurately into Hermione's warm embrace and familiarly found the most comfortable position to curl up in, her long, fluffy tail sweeping across Hermione's arm now and then with a lazy itchiness.
Hermione skillfully held the cat with one hand while using the other to carefully wipe Lia's mouth with a tissue, only standing up to leave after confirming she was clean.
"Leaving already?" Ron asked indistinctly, his mouth still stuffed with a piece of pudding. "The feast is far from over! Dumbledore hasn't even told any jokes yet!"
"Not everyone has two stomachs like you, Ron!" Hermione rolled her eyes at him, though her lips couldn't help but curve upward; the warmth and softness in her arms put her in an excellent mood. "We have to go back and pack our luggage. If you don't want to be on the train tomorrow with dark circles under your eyes, you'd better eat faster too."
"Got it, Mom," Ron made a face, drawing a muffled laugh from Harry.
On the way back to the Gryffindor Common Room, the three of them joked and played around. The previous friction seemed to have been completely melted away by the revelry of the House Cup, and the atmosphere was lively.
"Seriously, Hermione," Ron said loudly as he dodged Hermione's feigned blow with a book, "you really look like the owner of that old cat my mom keeps now. Oh, wait, Lia is ten thousand times prettier than that old and ugly Crookshanks!"
"True, I've never seen a cat prettier than Lia." Harry followed beside them with a smile, watching as Hermione instinctively tightened her arms to hold Lia closer while bickering with Ron. That strange sense of harmony made him feel warm inside. This year's adventures seemed to have made their friendship even more indestructible.
Though he still didn't know why there were things needing adventures in Hogwarts, the safest place in the world.
At the dormitory door, the three finally parted reluctantly.
Hermione spent most of her time on Lia. As she took out the velvet jewelry box and solemnly placed the cleaned, exclusive utensils inside, Lia, who had already changed back into her Cat-girl form, leaned in curiously, her head tilted and silver hair cascading down.
"These are yours," Hermione whispered to her. "Use these for meals from now on. They've been enchanted with magic and will never hurt you."
Lia nodded half-understandingly, then reached out a small hand to gently touch the rounded little fork, her eyes fixed intently on what Hermione took out from the bedside table—the glass jar of Dried Fish. It was as if she were looking at the love of her life.
Hermione laughed and poured two pieces into her palm. Lia immediately curled them away with her pink tongue, narrowing her eyes happily. Her two cat ears twitched slightly as she chewed, a look of total satisfaction on her face.
The next morning, the hogwarts express roared amidst the steam.
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