Chapter 603: Snape's Conjecture (Edited)

When Dumbledore received the Ministry owl's letter, he was dumbfounded.

Certainly, he wasn't surprised that Fish attacked Umbridge, as Dumbledore had planned it from the beginning to exonerate Fish.

In Dumbledore's prediction, Fudge might have thought that Dumbledore had given instructions to do it or make things difficult for him due to his mismanagement. Dumbledore was prepared for it and had even planned to take the blame for Fish if necessary.

But he didn't expect Fish to blame Umbridge without him having to do it himself.

Dumbledore's current mood was not so much surprise as astonishment.

Actually, he wasn't worried about taking the blame because most of the time, Dumbledore was under the Ministry's surveillance. Although it was for Fudge's peace of mind, it was also to divert the Ministry's attention so that the rest of the Order of the Phoenix could carry out their tasks more smoothly.

So as long as he didn't take the initiative and admit his guilt, the most the Ministry could do was bother him for his mismanagement.

And it wouldn't be easy for Fudge to blame Dumbledore, even if he knew he was innocent, because Dumbledore had been wandering lately, talking to old friends and having tea, and there was someone who could prove he hadn't been at Hogwarts the previous night.

Of course, Dumbledore wasn't just chatting and distracting the Ministry; he was also searching for clues about Voldemort's other Horcruxes, but he was careful to keep his true intentions hidden during those small conversations.

"It seems I'll have to leave now, Tiberius." Dumbledore waved the parchment he held in his hand and said, "There has been a minor incident at the school."

"Do they need assistance?" Tiberius Ogden asked.

He used to be one of the elders of the Wizengamot simply because he expressed his support for Dumbledore at the Ministry of Magic. Then Fudge kept making excuses to make things difficult for him, and he finally resigned from his position in the Wizengamot in a fit of anger.

"Thank you for your trust, my friend." Dumbledore smiled and shook his head, saying, "But it's not necessary; it's a minor matter, and I can handle it myself."

Dumbledore stood up, gave a slight bow to Mr. Ogden, and left Ogden's house through Apparition.

As Dumbledore headed to the Ministry to deal with Fudge, Fish and Hermione were summoned to Professor McGonagall's office to face, along with Snape, her furious scolding.

"You promised me you wouldn't get into any trouble this year!" Professor McGonagall's first target was Fish, the culprit, and she shouted angrily, "I just praised you the other day for being sensible! I told you that you were a good Prefect, and this is how you respond?!"

Fish lowered his head without saying a word, preferring to play dead.

"And you, Hermione!" Professor McGonagall said with a disappointed expression. "Didn't I tell you to keep an eye on Fish? Why did you get involved with him?"

Hermione also lowered her head and murmured in a mosquito-like voice, "I'm sorry..."

After scolding the three of them, Professor McGonagall had not yet lost her temper. She grabbed the teacup from the table and poured herself some tea, then crossed her arms, her chest heaving violently.

"Minerva, don't be angry, nya~."

(?ω?)

Upon seeing that Professor McGonagall had finally calmed down, Fish, with his drooping cat ears, put on a sad face and approached her, whispering, "Fish was careful last night, Umbridge didn't remember what happened, and with Severus helping to stage the scene, they couldn't trace it back to Fish!"

"What good is being careful?!" Professor McGonagall said, worriedly pulling Fish's cheek in disgust. "The Ministry of Magic will surely bother Dumbledore about this, and they'll have more than enough excuses to meddle in Hogwarts' affairs!"

"Nya..."

(≥△≤)

This was something Fish and Hermione hadn't thought about, or rather, Hermione hadn't thought about it. After all, Fish had wanted Dumbledore to take the blame in the first place, but he hadn't considered how it would affect Hogwarts...

So Fish hung his head in defeat, and Hermione asked anxiously, "Eh?! What's going to happen then?"

"I don't think so, Minerva." Snape, who had remained silent, suddenly spoke up. "Fudge's desire to interfere with the functioning of Hogwarts won't change, so even without Fish's actions, they'll surely find some other excuse."

"Right nya, right nya." Fish nodded before Professor McGonagall gave him a strong tap on the head.

After lecturing Fish, Professor McGonagall glared at Snape and growled, "That's not a reason for you to help or even encourage Fish to attack Umbridge!"

And Snape calmly shook his head, saying, "Instead of letting Fish do it secretly and leave clues, we should have checked it for him from the beginning, and besides, it wouldn't have been entirely bad..."

And then he explained his theory about using it to claim credit from Voldemort.

"Dumbledore isn't so easy to manipulate," Snape said, "And we can take this opportunity to see the Ministry's reaction, which will help us all later."

Professor McGonagall remained silent, not because she was truly convinced by Snape's rhetoric, she knew Snape was just making excuses for his and Fish's actions, even if it made some sense, but the essence remained the same.

The reason for her silence was...

What could she do now that it had happened? She couldn't expel Fish and Hermione, could she?

Professor McGonagall looked at Fish, who was rubbing his face with a grimace.

∑(ノ)`Д(ヾ)

Fish met Professor McGonagall's gaze, blinked, and angrily said, "Fish didn't want to get in trouble with her either! She's been making Minerva's life miserable for days, so Fish couldn't resist!"

Professor McGonagall rolled her eyes, she believed Fish when he said he was getting back at her... but how could she believe... that he hadn't wanted to get in trouble with Umbridge!

But anyway, Fish had attacked Umbridge partly for his own sake, and Professor McGonagall, though still angry, was somewhat satisfied.

She reached out and ruffled Fish's silver hair, and said with a grimace, "Even if Umbridge hadn't given me a hard time, would you really have let her go, you little rascal?" She tapped Fish's head again. "Don't think I'm going to let you off the hook just because you say that!"

Despite what she said, Fish knew that for now, he was in the clear since Professor McGonagall had just given him a much softer tap than before.

"Eh heh heh~"

Fish rubbed the back of his neck and stuck out his tongue with a silly smile.

"Hmph!"

Professor McGonagall tapped Fish on the head again, but this time with a gentler touch.

"Besides the attack on Umbridge, you haven't gotten into any other trouble lately, have you?" Professor McGonagall asked nonchalantly, just in case.

"I don't think so, nya,"

(?ω?)

Fish's eyes shifted slightly as he answered.