Hermione's breath brushed against the curve of her ear.
Before the gritted-teeth warning of "I'll deal with you when we get back" could even fade, Lia's consciousness sank completely into the deep sea.
When she finally resurfaced, she was met with a parched mouth and an aching body.
A strange, lingering scent mixed with sweat hung in the air.
"Hermione..."
Her throat was dry, and the voice she forced out was hoarse and grating.
No one answered.
Lia struggled to sit up, but a distinct resistance came from the tips of her limbs.
She looked down.
Her vision finally focused into a clear picture.
She was stark naked.
Her limbs were tied to the four corners of the large, soft bed with soft Red Ropes.
Pinning her whole body spread-eagled against the white fabric.
Her memory rewound.
It stopped at the moment Hermione brought her back from the Department of Mysteries.
And then... she had been washed clean.
And after that, it was now.
Creak—
The door was pushed open.
Hermione walked in carrying a tray.
A glass of warm milk and a few slices of bread.
Seeing Lia awake, a faint smile actually appeared on her face.
"Hermione..."
Lia instinctively let out a soft, sweet call filled with dependency.
Hermione walked to the bedside and set the tray on the nightstand with a soft clink.
Then, she closed the door behind her.
Click.
After the sound of the lock, only the sound of their breathing remained in the room.
Hermione didn't say a word.
She untied the knots at the headboard, helped Lia sit up, and let her lean weakly against the head of the bed.
Lia didn't dare look at her.
She stared fixedly at her toes, looking at the faint marks left by the Red Ropes, like a brand declaring ownership.
Hermione picked up a slice of bread and brought it to her lips.
Lia obediently opened her mouth, mechanically chewing and swallowing.
Hermione's silence was like an invisible wall, trapping all apologies and explanations in her throat, fermenting into a burning panic.
After finishing the bread and milk, Hermione cleared the tray and finally spoke.
"When you ran away from home," her gaze fell on Lia's face, the sorrow in her eyes more piercing than the green light of the Killing Curse, "did you ever think about what would happen if I couldn't find you?"
Lia's body shuddered violently.
She had.
In the Forbidden Forest, in the cold rainy nights of London, she had thought about it countless times.
If Hermione didn't want her anymore.
She would just find a place and quietly bury herself.
Hermione leaned down, supporting herself with her hands on either side of Lia, completely enveloping her in her shadow.
"You treated yourself like a beast, punishing yourself with hunting and fighting."
Hermione's breath fanned across Lia's face, warm yet questioning.
"Did you ever think that your feelings, your insecurity, and your self-reproach would be transmitted to me in their entirety, without missing a bit?"
Lia's mind buzzed, going completely blank.
She snapped her head up, her sky-blue eyes instantly filling with tears, the rims redder than they had been during the fierce battle that night.
She shook her head desperately, broken syllables squeezing out of her throat.
"I... no... I didn't want to..."
"You did."
Hermione stroked her face, her thumb sliding into Lia's mouth to press down on her tongue.
Her gaze was fixed on Lia's smooth left shoulder.
There, a long-healed bite mark was darker than the surrounding skin.
An indelible mark that belonged to her.
Hermione reached out, her cold fingertips gently touching the mark.
Lia trembled violently.
"I thought," Hermione's fingertips slid slowly down her collarbone, her warm lips brushing against her ear as she whispered words that were both dangerous and seductive, "that between us, you would never leave me."
Her breath brushed against the sensitive curve of her ear.
"Ugh..."
She let out a suppressed, almost choking whimper.
She already knew she was wrong.
Before being found by Tonks that day, Lia had mentally given up on this life.
Even if her body hadn't perished, her spirit had already departed.
Because of this, she had gained a resilient spirit that could not be swayed by any temptation.
Under Hermione's renewed "rope justice."
Unable to move, she could only helplessly endure this gentle torment.
This feeling of total helplessness and being dominated finally gave Lia's guilt-ridden heart a harbor to anchor in.
She didn't need to think.
She only needed to accept.
Accept everything from Hermione—the punishment, or the love.
But Hermione didn't continue; instead, she let go.
Hermione stood up and walked into the bathroom.
Soon, the sound of splashing water could be heard.
A moment later, she came out with a warm towel and began to wipe down Lia's body.
From her cheeks to her neck, and then to her chest.
Her movements were very gentle, as if cleaning a peerless treasure stained with the dust of the Forbidden Forest and the malice of others.
When the towel passed over the fresh bite mark on her shoulder, her movements paused, and a flicker of complexity crossed her eyes.
There was heartache.
But no regret.
A faint, satisfied whimper came from Lia's throat.
To be possessed by Hermione, cleaned by Hermione, and re-marked by Hermione.
She liked it this way.
"Tap, tap, tap."
A clear tapping sound came from the window.
Startled, Hermione grabbed the quilt that had been kicked to the floor last night and, regardless of its dampness, quickly threw it over Lia.
As her sensitive sense of smell and touch met the quilt, Lia squirmed uncomfortably and turned her head away, blushing.
A gray owl was impatiently pecking at the glass with its beak. Tied to its leg was a letter rolled in parchment, bearing the Hogwarts wax seal.
Hermione gave Lia a lingering kiss.
She got up and opened the window; the owl dropped the letter and flew away without looking back.
Hermione unfolded the letter and scanned it quickly.
Her brow immediately furrowed deeply.
The letter was from Dumbledore.
The contents were simple, yet they made the atmosphere, which had just softened, turn heavy once again.
"Lord Voldemort's return has been announced to the world, and the Ministry of Magic is undergoing a major upheaval. Return to Hogwarts immediately; we need to discuss Miss Lia's 'current state' and the issue regarding the... 'Guest' inside her."
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