Chapter 792: Kung Pao Chicken and Mapo Tofu (End)
Most wizards woke up the next day wondering if they had fallen under someone's Confundus Charm.
Because today's Daily Prophet, in a twist from the past two years, informed the public that You-Know-Who had returned.
But before anyone could panic, it was reported that You-Know-Who had been taken care of by Dumbledore, led by Fish McGonagall, Harry Potter, and other wizards...
Wait, Dumbledore? Isn't he dead?
Most people who read this thought it was a silly joke, but the Daily Prophet seemed to know it, as they dedicated an entire page to the story of how Dumbledore faked his death, led Voldemort to attack the Ministry and Harry Potter, and was ultimately attacked by Dumbledore's own subordinates who were already there.
Still, many people remained unconvinced after reading the story and wrote to the Ministry or reached out to their contacts to confirm the truth.
The Ministry, at the urging of Mrs. Bones and Kingsley, admitted their mistake in the Daily Prophet and reviewed the officials who had been arrested, imprisoning all the Death Eaters and demoting or even dismissing those who had been under the Imperius Curse.
Pius Thicknesse, the Imperiused Minister of Magic, naturally Imperiused, and then the Ministry extended an invitation to Dumbledore to become the Minister of Magic, which he once again declined.
Once again, Lady Amelia Bones also declined, and the position passed to Kingsley, the senior Auror who had performed well in the operation.
On the other hand, the Order of the Phoenix did not sit idle, as they had to collaborate with the Ministry of Magic's Aurors to hunt down the fugitive Death Eaters, as well as deal with the giants, werewolves, and vampires that Voldemort had gathered.
With Fish's help, the dark creatures didn't put up much resistance and were captured, especially the werewolves, even Greyback's followers, who didn't hesitate to switch sides after learning that Fish could lift the curse that weighed upon them... If they could live as normal human beings, they would be happy.
As for the arrangements for monitoring these individuals, it was not Fish's concern, as Fish had been pestering Dumbledore to fulfill his promise of a fight after doing him the favor.
At this point, Fish didn't care much about the Sorting Hat anymore, as he could sneak into the Headmaster's office if he wanted to play with it, and no one would stop him.
But the fight with the old villain was something Fish wanted to do at all costs.
In the end, Dumbledore couldn't resist Fish and had no choice but to accept...
The result, of course, was no surprise, as Fish emerged victorious.
Apart from the fact that Dumbledore couldn't defeat Fish, and because Fish had already called him grandfather, Dumbledore had no intention of giving it his all, and after a little back and forth with Fish, forcing him to take on his Wild Lord form, the old villain immediately conceded defeat as Grindelwald...
This displeased Fish, who hadn't been able to fully enjoy it.
But Fish's mood soon brightened again because when the Ministry of Magic finally calmed down, they immediately began to reward everyone who had participated in the battle and restored Sirius and the honor of the Regulus brothers.
As the main protagonist of the battle, Fish was awarded a First-Class Medal of the Order of Merlin and was included in the Chocolate Frog card collection.
Fish didn't care much about the first-class medal; it was the fact that he was in the Chocolate Frog card collection that made him happy.
Apart from Fish, the person who benefited the most from Voldemort's defeat was the famous journalist Rita Skeeter.
As she had been the first to report on Voldemort's return, Rita Skeeter was now as popular in the press as Fish was in the Forbidden Forest and Dumbledore at Hogwarts, thanks to an occasional article in "The Quibbler" over the past two years.
It is said that the Daily Prophet paid a fortune to get her back.
Fish and Hermione knew that wasn't the case because now Rita Skeeter was not only one of the chief editors of the Daily Prophet but also owned a share of the newspaper.
Rita Skeeter had approached Fish for an interview as soon as she became the chief editor and proudly stated that there would be no more stories against Fish in the Daily Prophet.
Since Voldemort had been defeated, the curse on the Defense Against the Dark Arts position no longer existed, so Snape remained the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor this year, and Dumbledore announced at the opening ceremony that he would step down as Hogwarts headmaster next year and be replaced by Professor McGonagall.
The announcement didn't cause much uproar as Professor McGonagall had been handling Dumbledore's affairs regularly before, and there were few objections.
The seventh year at Hogwarts was also the most peaceful one Fish had experienced, and the only significant event was the expansion of the Order of the Cat to include Slytherin students.
When the class graduated, Harry had joined the Ministry of Magic as an Auror, as expected, along with Neville Longbottom, and Hermione had joined the Department of Magical Creature Control, working towards her ambition to improve the situation of house-elves.
As for Fish...
"Why can't I make money selling Lochlin's unwanted hair?!"
(`н´)
Fish, who didn't want to work, angrily protested to Professor McGonagall.
"Because it's forbidden to sell many materials," Professor McGonagall replied smugly. "You better go to Hogwarts and be a teacher obediently! As it happens, Hagrid and Grawp are responsible for settling those giants and protecting them. Care of Magical Creatures class is relatively easy."
This was Professor McGonagall's final decision. Originally, she wanted Fish to take over her class, but given the amount of work Transfiguration entailed, Professor McGonagall had to settle for second best, fearing it would scare Fish away.
"Hermione, you have to get the Ministry to allow me to sell materials from now on!"
(??ˇ?ˇ??)
Fish, unable to resist Professor McGonagall, patted Hermione on the shoulder and said seriously, "I asked Fred and the others to look into it, selling materials makes more money than being a teacher!"
Hermione: "..."
Professor McGonagall: "..."
...
Three years later, the McGonagalls and the Grangers were all together.
This is the house that Fish and Hermione bought together a year ago, so Fish decided to make it their new home in a Muggle neighborhood to be able to watch TV shows all the time.
The reason for the family gathering at Fish's house was simple... Hermione was expecting a baby.
Due to Fish's special nature, Hermione couldn't go to a Muggle hospital to give birth, and wizards, on the other hand, were accustomed to being in their own homes, with the help of an experienced person at most.
Naturally, Fish had asked Madam Pomfrey to come, and she was in the room helping Hermione with the delivery.
Listening to Hermione's screams in the room, Fish paced restlessly in the living room, wagging his tail behind him.
As they anxiously waited, a baby's cry was heard from the room, and before Fish could ask, a second cry sounded and Hermione's screams subsided.
"What's happening? Granny Poppy? Can we come in now?" Fish jumped towards the door of the room, ears perked up, not daring to ask too loudly through the door.
"Just a moment..." replied Madam Pomfrey, and after a few moments, the screams in the room ceased, and she could be heard saying, "You can come in now."
Fish pushed the door and rushed in, casting a series of healing spells on Hermione in bed, instantly revitalizing her sweaty, pale face, before looking at Madam Pomfrey.
"Two babies, a boy and a girl, both healthy." Madam Pomfrey smiled and handed the two diapers she had in her hands to... Professor McGonagall.
Professor McGonagall carefully held the two sleeping babies for a moment, smiling, before handing them to Jacqueline Granger.
"Thank goodness we didn't send Hermione to the hospital to give birth..." Chris Granger said, looking at the cat ears on the heads of the two babies with a mixture of unease and a bit of melancholy.
Jacqueline looked at him without understanding. "How cute is a baby like this!"
"Fish, have you thought of a name for the baby?" Professor McGonagall asked Fish, who was gently rubbing Hermione's forehead.
"I've already thought of one!" Fish nodded and answered seriously, "Kung Pao Chicken for the boy and MaPo Tofu for the girl."
Hermione couldn't stop him, but she pinched his soft waist flesh in disgust.
"Yuck!"
And Professor McGonagall stepped forward and patted Fish on the head, barking, "Are you joking at a time like this?!"
"I'm not joking..." Fish replied, aggressively rubbing the back of his neck, "The Blacks are named after stars, what's wrong with naming a child after food? My name is Fish, isn't it? How about Bacon for the boy and Olive for the girl?"
But his voice faded as he met Professor McGonagall's gaze, and he finally muttered, "Okay, okay... I've thought of other names..."
The Grangers, who had been nervous, felt relieved by this, Jacqueline smiled and excused Fish, "Olive is not a bad name, Bacon is not really a Christian name, as it is quite common."
"Well... then the boy will be named that..."
Fish pondered for a moment, and a name came to his mind.
"How about Camelot?"
---------------------------------------------------END------------------------------------------------------