Chapter 53: Good Boy (Edited)

Fish couldn't resist the mean old man, but in the end offered him half the dried fish in exchange for candy and the promise of more snacks in the office.

The old man and the young woman sat at the top of the revolving staircase, eating the dried fish handmade by Filch, and by the time they finished the dried fish, the staircase had reached the top.

At the bottom of the spiral staircase was a shiny oak door with a brass ring in the shape of a lion and an eagle's head....

It looked a bit like the door to the Ravenclaw dormitory.

So Fish got up from the steps excitedly and reached out to knock on the ring on the door.

The ring was hit hard by Fish, but the lion-headed, eagle-headed beast above it didn't budge.

"Meow?" Fish turned to Dumbledore, "It's broken."

"It's not, Fish," Dumbledore rubbed Fish's little head before fish avoided his hand in disgust, "My door isn't like Ravenclaw's, it doesn't talk."

As he spoke, Dumbledore walked over to the door and gave it two gentle knocks, the oak door opened with a click, but Fish was not happy....

Fish stared at the lion-headed, eagle-headed beast on the door with a fierce look on his face, "Why doesn't it open when I knock?" (?ΦˇˇΦ?).

"Aren't you looking for the hat on the branch?" whispered Dumbledore.

Just as Fish was about to remove the ring from the door, Dumbledore's hushed words instantly diverted his attention.

"Come on, meow!", Fish dropped the brass knocker on the door, which he suspected was glaring at him, and leapt into the Headmaster's office.

As soon as he entered the spacious circular room, Fish spotted the Sorting Hat he was thinking about, which was sitting on a huge, very conspicuous table.

"Meow~" (=ΦωΦ=)?

Fish jumped onto the table, pouncing on the hat like a gray shadow.

"Ouch, it's you again, boy!", In a twisted voice, the Sorting Hat, who was pinned down by Fish, shouted, "Don't pin me down, I can't even open my mouth!".

Fish stepped away and fiddled with the Sorting Hat with his paw several times to straighten it out, but the already crumpled Sorting Hat looked even more crumpled because Fish had just pressed on it.

"Listen, little guy," the Sorting Hat squirmed a couple of times to make him look a little more upright, then turned to Fish and said earnestly, "I'm glad you like me, but you have to treat me with the respect I deserve."

The Sorting Hat made a motion that was probably meant to puff out his chest and said proudly, "I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat, the smartest magical hat that gathers the thoughts of the Founding Four!"

"Meow?", Fish thrust his paw into the big open mouth of the House Hat and gave it a couple of curious taps.

"Listen to me!", The Sorting Hat, with the cat's paw in its mouth, shouted.

Fish withdrew his paw and then bit the tip of the hat, shaking his little head and shaking it.

With no ability to fight and so much talk, Fish had to teach him a lesson, to show him who was boss!

"Dumbledore! Stop him now," The Sorting Hat with only one mouth could only ask Dumbledore for help.

Dumbledore, who had been watching, said cheerfully, "By the way, Fish, this is Fawkes, come and meet him."

Dumbledore gestured and a large red and gold bird flew from a tall golden perch behind the door and landed next to Fish.

"Meow?", Fish let go of the Sorting Hat and looked at the large bird curiously.

Its feathers were beautiful, but not very bright, and the bird's mood seemed a bit subdued.

The bird's breath of life also seemed faint to Fish's senses, a sensation he had felt in older cats, humans, and other animals.

Not the mean old man, of course, whose vitality was too strong for an old man.

"Caw...," Fawkes' voice sounded a little breathless as he greeted Fish and then lowered his head to snuggle close to Fish's neck.

"Meow~," Fish gently touched Fawkes' beak with the tip of his nose and responded in kind.

Normally, if Fish had seen such a dying bird, he would have asked Dumbledore to let him eat it.

However, the large bird named Fawkes had such a weak vitality, but at the same time had such a comforting and intimate smell to him that he had no desire to eat Fawkes.

The reason Fish felt so comfortable and close was because of the nature of the phoenix's nirvana, the fragment of the world tree that is sensitive to the breath of life, and he naturally likes phoenixes, which influenced him.

After a brief exchange, Fawkes looked tired, and Fish thought about it and put his paws on his wings.

[Stabilization]

This spell does not prolong a creature's life, but it makes the dying feel better.

A faint green light shone on Fish's paw, and the sickly Fawkes was instantly refreshed and his feathers glowed a little.

"Caw...!", Even Fawkes' chirp was filled with energy.

With a glint in his blue eyes behind half-moon glasses, Dumbledore confirmed that Fish was more than just a natural animagus.

At this point, however, Dumbledore had no desire to pursue the matter further.

Dumbledore had already been wary of Fish, not only because of the mystery of his identity, but also because of the danger Fish occasionally displayed as a predator.

But just now, the compassion Fish had shown, and the magic filled 'love', had reassured Dumbledore.

The young, innocent Fish, though occasionally mischievous, was not of the same nature as Tom Riddle's entrenched villain and, with the right guidance, with Fish's talent, would become a great wizard in the future.

With his guard down, Dumbledore gave up trying to resist the affection of animal affinity and opened a cupboard, pulling out all of his snacks and filling the table with them.

"Here, Fish, thanks for all you've done for Fawkes, these are my gifts," Dumbledore smiled like a grandfather who just welcomed his grandson.

"Meow!" ?●ω●?

The mean old man had a bit of a collection, and Fish jumped excitedly at the pile of snacks in front of him.

After choosing a bit, Fish was surprised to find a snack in the pile that he had always wanted to try, but that Minerva had never bought him.

Fish flipped the box open and a few dark cockroaches quickly crawled out through the cracks in the box.

Only Fish who was quicker, waving his little legs, grabbing two of the cockroaches and then bending his head down to pick one of them up, snorting happily as he ate it.

Dumbledore scooped up the other fleeing cockroaches in his hands, his blue eyes flashing, "You like cockroach cones too, don't you? what a good boy with vision!"

The Sorting Hat, Fawkes and the group of portraits of former headmasters on the wall pretending to be asleep, "..."