Chapter 724: Professor, I Want to Ask You Something (Edited)

On Sunday morning, Fish woke up unusually early.

"¡Nya!"

(=ΦωΦ=)

He leaped onto the sleeping Harry in his cat form, then raised his paws high and stamped them against the lightning-shaped scar on Harry's forehead.

Harry opened his eyes, dazed.

It didn't hurt because Fish had deliberately controlled his strength and retracted his claws, but the high frequency of slaps made Harry's brain buzz as if his head had been shoved into a big bell and then struck forcefully.

He had double vision in front of his eyes!

"What, what's happening, Fish?"

Harry sat up and shook his head, the double vision finally fading away, but his vision remained a bit blurry...

So he reached for the bed, grabbed his glasses, and put them on the bridge of his nose.

"Nya~"

(=`=)

Fish meowed again, then turned around and left the bed.

Harry scratched his head inexplicably but lifted the curtain, and they jumped off the bed together.

Everyone else in the dormitory was still asleep, and Harry looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it was barely six o'clock...

But by then, Fish had already reached the dormitory door and was looking at him.

"Wait, wait a moment." Harry hastily changed his clothes and chased after Fish out of the dormitory.

As he descended the stairs to the common room, Fish had already resumed his human form and was nibbling on a ham in his hand.

"Harry, what do you want to eat? Ham? Bread? Jerky? Or chocolate?"

(??~??)

Fish turned to Harry and asked.

"Uh... bread will do." Harry scratched his head, grabbed the bread offered by Fish, and said as he nibbled, "Are we going to see Professor Slughorn? Isn't it a bit early?"

They hadn't gone to bed immediately after returning from Dumbledore's office the previous night. They had discussed it in the common room, as they often did.

Hermione thought it would be best for only Fish and Harry to visit Professor Slughorn. After all, it was a dark story that he had to keep hidden, and the fewer people present, the better.

So Harry, now a bit more sober, naturally guessed what Fish was plotting.

"There aren't many people in the morning," Fish replied astutely. "And it's easier to ask Horace when he's still a bit groggy from sleep."

With that, Fish picked up the pace of eating and soon had the prosciutto down to the bone in his hand. Seeing this, Harry also took a big bite of his bread and...

choked.

"Ugh..."

Harry pounded his chest forcefully and croaked, "Water... water..."

(?ω?)

Fish looked at the idiot in front of him speechlessly, then pulled out a bottle of milk from his magical bag and handed it to him.

"Phew... I'm back to life..."

Harry finally escaped the danger after a few good gulps of milk and finished the last remaining piece of bread.

"Come on, there will be too many people with Horace if we arrive late, nya."

Fish sighed helplessly and headed towards the portrait hole in the wall.

The two quickly arrived at the door of Professor Slughorn's office, and without hesitation, Fish knocked on the door.

A moment later, the door opened, and Slughorn, dressed in lavender silk pajamas and a sleep cap with pom-poms, appeared yawning in front of them.

"Fish and Harry? What do you want from me so early?" Professor Slughorn seemed pleased to see them, but his eyelids were still halfway closed from sleep, as if he could fall asleep at any moment.

"May we come in and talk, professor?"

Fish had slipped through the rotund body of Professor Slughorn and entered his office just as Harry politely asked.

Professor Slughorn cast a bitter look at the whimsical Fish, shrugged, and said, "It doesn't seem like... I have much space to refuse... your entrance." He glanced at Harry sideways.

Harry smiled apologetically and then entered as well, following Fish to a seat next to a coffee table.

"What would you like to drink? Coffee? Tea? Or something else?"

Professor Slughorn sat down across from Fish and Harry, and with a wave of his wand, a beautiful ceramic teapot and a silver coffee maker appeared on the coffee table, along with three matching ceramic cups.

He poured himself a cup of coffee, gently swirled it in his hand, and pursed his lips to blow on the cup.

"Here's the thing, professor. I want to ask you something." Harry ignored the drink on the table and looked directly into Professor Slughorn's eyes, speaking softly but firmly.

Hardly had he finished speaking when he realized that... what he had just said didn't resemble anything he remembered Voldemort saying.

On the other hand, Fish took the teapot and poured himself a cup of tea, then followed Professor Slughorn's example, carefully trying to cool down the tea.

Harry had agreed with Fish the night before that he would make the initial negotiation, while Fish would observe, and when Harry failed, Fish would continue negotiating with Professor Slughorn as he saw fit...

The main reason was that Fish's mind was sometimes different from the norm, and Harry was concerned that if he spoke first, something unpredictable might happen.

And of course, Fish was eager to leave everything to Harry. He wouldn't have minded if Slughorn hadn't lied, as long as he wanted to get rid of Voldemort and then fight Dumbledore.

"Ask, dear boy, whatever I may know..."

Said Professor Slughorn nonchalantly, still unaware that something was wrong. He brought the cup in his hand to his mouth and took a small sip. Then he seemed to think that the coffee was still too hot and continued to blow on the cup while stirring it.

His response didn't differ much from what he remembered. Dumbledore was right.

Harry took a deep breath and simply continued with Voldemort's sentence: "Professor, I wanted to ask if you know about Horcruxes..."

"Damn it!"

Professor Slughorn jerked violently, his teacup fell onto the coffee table, spilling steaming coffee all over his pants. However, he let it soak into his pants as if he felt nothing, his half-lidded eyes staring blankly at Harry.

"What did you say?" He asked hoarsely, licking his lips.

"I asked if you knew about Horcruxes, sir."

"Did Dumbledore send you?" Slughorn asked in a low voice.

His tone had completely changed, no longer cordial but filled with shock and fear. Unconsciously, he patted his chest for a moment, realizing he was still in his pajamas. He then simply took off his sleeping cap and used it to wipe his sweaty forehead.

"Dumbledore showed you that memory, didn't he?"

"Yes." Harry nodded, there was no point in lying about such things.

"Of course," Slughorn said quietly, wiping his pale face with the sleeping cap as he did so. "Of course... If you had seen the memories, Harry, you would know that I know nothing about Horcruxes! I know nothing!" He repeated the words forcefully.

"Professor," Harry said impatiently, "I just thought there might be something in the memories..."

"Is that so? Then you're mistaken, aren't you? Mistaken!" Professor Slughorn stood up and shouted at Harry.

He then gave his incoherent farewell, "It's early, I'm still sleepy, yes, I'm sleepy, I'm going back to bed..."

He waved his wand as he said this, clearing all the drinks from the table, including the teacup that Fish had in his hand.

"Nya!"

∑(ΦДΦ)

Fish, who had managed to cool down the tea and was about to drink it, glared angrily at Professor Slughorn.