Chapter 688: Albus Dumbledore (Edited)

After saying goodbye to everyone, Fish and the others returned home.

"Albus, how are you?" Professor McGonagall asked with concern.

Dumbledore extended his right hand and saw that his arm had fully recovered, but the palm of his right hand remained as black as coal. The palm and other fingers had become slightly fleshier, but the ringed index finger remained as dry as a dead branch.

"I have recovered quite a bit," he said optimistically. "Tomorrow, I will go see Severus for restorative potions, so I should be able to adapt gradually. Also..."

He smiled at Fish and said, "Thank goodness Fish is here, because if Voldemort were to attack at this time of year, I would be too old to be of much help by now."

"Leave Voldemort to Fish! Fish is good at fighting!"

(´・ω・`)

Fish, who was about to say something, was immediately distracted and raised his head triumphantly with crossed arms.

Professor McGonagall glared at Dumbledore with a stern look before reaching out and tapping Fish on the head, warning him, "If you want to fight Voldemort, I won't stop you, but be careful with his tricks! Last time you had a fair fight with him, it won't happen again."

"Fish is not afraid of any tricks!" Fish placed his hands on his head and growled defiantly, "And Fish is much more powerful now than before! Even if Voldemort asked for help, Fish wouldn't be afraid nya!"

"I know you're a good fighter, but be careful. Voldemort was also a good fighter, but he was too proud and arrogant, which led to his defeat by Harry when he was a baby," Dumbledore said.

"But... wasn't it Harry's mother who defeated Voldemort in the first place?"

?ω?

Fish tilted his head, puzzled. "Fish remembers Albus saying that it was Harry's mother who used a protection spell to keep Harry alive nya... and she became a Horcrux."

"Well... you could say the same, but Voldemort always lost to someone much less powerful than him, right?"

"So..." Hermione, who had been silently listening to their conversation, suddenly intervened, "I was actually going to ask... What is this Horcrux you're talking about?"

"It's a very ancient and evil spell," Dumbledore explained to her, "It is said to have been created by the famous and ancient Greek dark wizard, Herpo the Foul. Voldemort can remain immortal thanks to this magic..."

Hermione listened in astonishment to the explanation of Horcruxes and Harry's current situation.

"Does Harry... does he know about this?" she stammered and asked, the surprise still evident on her face.

"Not yet," Dumbledore shook his head, "I haven't explained the situation to him before, fearing it would be too stressful for him, but... I plan to talk to him about it at some point."

"Albus?" Professor McGonagall looked at him in surprise.

"Harry has the right to know," Dumbledore gestured for her to take it easy. "But, of course, the fact that he himself is a Horcrux... is something I probably won't tell him yet. Furthermore, Severus has told me that Harry has made great progress in Occlumency during the time before the holidays, and I believe he is capable and needs to know something about these things..."

Dumbledore finished with a long sigh, there was no need for him to be so anxious if he himself had not fallen into Voldemort's trap.

And Professor McGonagall felt that Dumbledore had been a bit too eager, but due to the trust she had always placed in him, Professor McGonagall said nothing more.

"Well," said Dumbledore, standing up, "It's late, and I must leave now."

However, Fish suddenly called out to Dumbledore, "Wait, nya!"

"What's the matter, Fish?" Dumbledore looked at him surprised.

"When you go to see Severus tomorrow, take Fish with you! Fish hasn't been home yet!"

(ΦωΦ)

Fish demanded, staring fixedly at Dumbledore.

Dumbledore pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "Yes."

...

The next morning, after breakfast, Fish followed Dumbledore outside of Hogsmeade.

"Albus, can Severus really cure you?"

(??ˇ?ˇ??)

With Hermione and Professor McGonagall out of the scene, Fish finally found the opportunity to ask the question that had been lingering in his mind.

Although Dumbledore seemed to be doing better, Fish could still sense that his breath was like a candle in the wind, ready to flicker out at any moment.

"Indeed, I cannot hide it from you..." Dumbledore smiled ironically and shook his head. "I don't know if Severus' potion can cure me," he said casually. "If it doesn't work, we'll find another way."

However, Fish had little faith in magical healing methods. If they were so effective, there wouldn't be so many patients at St. Mungo's who couldn't be cured, right?

"Is Albus going to die?"

(?ω?)

Fish tilted his head and looked at him unhappily.

Despite the old troublemaker harassing him and refusing to give him the Sorting Hat, Fish actually liked the "grandfather" who always gave him gifts and helped him avoid punishments from Professor McGonagall.

Seeing how concerned Fish was for him made Dumbledore, who hadn't worried too much about it, feel even happier.

He reached out, stroked Fish's head, and said gently, "Death is just a new journey, so don't worry about me, Fish."

"But Fish doesn't want Albus to die, nya," Fish said with a depressed voice.

"People die someday, and besides, it's not like there's really nothing that can be done about the curse I have." Dumbledore smiled and continued to stroke Fish's head. He didn't usually have the chance to do so, and if he delayed a bit longer, Fish would bite him.

"Not even Severus could prevent it, but you're here, aren't you?" He gave Fish an encouraging squeeze on the ears. "Don't you often wake up with strange spells out of nowhere? Perhaps one day, you'll learn something more powerful than Serenity and cure me."

"Yes, nya!"

∑(ΦДΦ)

Dumbledore woke Fish from his slumber, and Fish patted his chest and said with a serious expression, "I'll take care of it! I'm sure Fish can cure you!"

"Then I'm counting on you," Dumbledore said with a smile on his face, his hands moving even more vigorously...

"Grr!"

Fish viciously bit Dumbledore's remaining intact left hand and growled indistinctly.