Chapter 534: Talking about Fish's life (Edited)

After Fudge left, Dumbledore let out a long sigh, then gave orders to those present.

"There is work to be done," he began, looking at Professor McGonagall, "Minerva, Molly is at your house now, isn't she? We need Arthur to inform those, who are not as short-sighted as Cornelius, of the Ministry of Magic."

Dumbledore ordered, "Tell Molly everything that has happened here, tell her to relay it to Arthur, and tell her that I will be in direct contact with him shortly as well. But tell her to be careful, lest Fudge thinks I'm meddling in the Ministry of Magic."

Despite his disagreement with Fudge, Dumbledore was still avoiding confrontation with the other man. At a time like this, he didn't want to cause any more trouble than necessary.

Professor McGonagall nodded and left without a word, carrying Fish in her arms.

"Pomona," Dumbledore turned his attention back to Professor Sprout, "I want to see Hagrid as soon as possible. Y... Madame Maxime... if you'd like to come as well."

"I see."

Professor Sprout had long since risen, and upon receiving instructions she walked briskly out the door.

"Harry," Dumbledore looked at him apologetically and said, "I know you're tired now, but there's one more thing I need your help with."

"I'm not tired, Professor!" replied Harry vigorously.

"Go and write Sirius a letter immediately, and tell him everything that has happened tonight."

When Dumbledore spoke of Sirius, an unsuspecting Professor Flitwick looked surprised, but didn't interrupt, besides, Fish had mentioned Peter Pettigrew before, so there was obviously something he didn't know.

And at this point, Dumbledore had no time to explain himself to Professor Flitwick, he continued towards Harry: "One more thing, tell him and Lupin to inform Arabella Figg, Mundungus Fletcher...".

He gave some very unfamiliar names to Harry.

Harry jotted the names down quickly and ran off towards the owl hut.

"Severus, "said Dumbledore, turning to Snape, "You know what I'm going to ask of you. If it's all right with you... if you're ready..."

"No problem." Snape said.

His face looked paler than usual, and his cold, dark eyes glowed with a strange light.

"Good luck, then." Dumbledore said, a hint of concern on his face as he watched Snape leave without a word.

"We'll have to pick up the pace, Filius." Said Dumbledore to the last remaining Professor Flitwick. "We need to get Alastor out of there as soon as possible."

"Of course," Professor Flitwick turned his attention back to the chest with seven locks, "But then you'll have to tell me at length about Sirius Black."

"No problem, you'll be surprised when the time comes."

Dumbledore said with a smile, then bent down and joined Professor Flitwick as he continued to work on how to open the magical lock on the chest.

...

"Pfft..."

(`ω′′≡`ω′)

The next morning, after a good night's sleep, Fish woke up on a dark green velvet cushion, stood up, shook out his flattened fur and stretched with a pout before hopping off the padded bedside table.

The room before him looked familiar to Fish, it was the cubicle in Professor McGonagall's office where he used to sleep and where he rested from time to time.

Fish cocked his head to the side and sniffed around, taking in the comforting aroma through the door.

Then Fish sat up and began licking his fur and rubbing his face.

(=????)

"Nya!"

∑(=?ω?)

After a couple of licks, Fish was surprised to see that his paws, which had been burned, had grown back silky soft fur, and he turned his head to take a good look at his body, and the bumps were gone.

"Nya~!"

?(=?ω?=)?

Fish rolled happily on the floor.

It was a while before Fish's excitement subsided, and he sat back down....

Fish resumed his important work of licking his fur and rubbing his face.

After slowly finishing the most important part of his fur, Fish took a light step and opened the cubicle door with his little head.

As soon as he stepped out, Fish saw Professor McGonagall sitting at her desk, frowning at a letter and occasionally picking up a quill to write something on the parchment, while the cat-headed flying Snitch that Fish had first given to Professor McGonagall rested quietly on its base.

"Nya~"

?●ω●?

Fish walked quietly to Professor McGonagall's feet, stood up straight, put both front paws on her legs, and looked up at her as he meowed.

"Fish, you're awake!"

Professor McGonagall let out a startled yelp and her frown immediately relaxed.

She dropped the letter she was holding and bent down to carry Fish to the table.

"Well? Are you still feeling unwell?"

Professor McGonagall asked softly, gently brushing her fingers over Fish's chin.

Fish shook his head, squinted and purred in a way that meant comfort, and shook his head, rubbing it against Professor McGonagall's hand.

(=?ω?=)

After letting Professor McGonagall pet him for a while, Fish jumped off the table and returned to his human form.

"Minerva, Fish wants to talk to you about something."

(??ˇ?ˇ??)

Fish looked at Professor McGonagall with a serious face, a seriousness that surprised Professor McGonagall slightly, because....

Fish wasn't even saying "nya" anymore.

"What is it you want to discuss with me?" Professor McGonagall asked curiously.

"It's just that..." hesitated Fish, but said, "Fish isn't really human, he's a cat..."

He said with concern, "Voldemort said that if Fish's identity was revealed, Hermione wouldn't like me, and Minerva would be less fond of Fish because of the trouble he caused..."

"Nonsense!" Professor McGonagall slammed the table and said sharply. She hugged Fish in her arms and comforted him, "Don't mind his, didn't Mum already tell you? It doesn't matter if Fish is a cat or a human, I'll love you just the same. And...".

She hit Fish on the head and said, "Have you caused me more trouble?".

"Eh heh heh ..."

(??ω??) ?

Fish rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment, then wrapped his arms around Professor McGonagall's neck and rubbed his cheek against hers a few times.

Soon, however, Fish again wore a worried expression.

"What about... Hermione? Can she not care about her too?" Fish deflated and said, "She doesn't seem to like Fleur and Gabrielle very much..."

"Hermione doesn't like the Delacour sisters, not because they have Veela blood I think... er... that doesn't seem to be the case..." said Professor McGonagall with a dumbfounded smile, "It's not what you think anyway, as to whether Hermione can accept you for who you are..."

Professor McGonagall hesitated, sighed, and said truthfully, "I don't really know, but I trust Hermione, and she and Hagrid have a good relationship, don't they?" She kissed Fish on the cheek and added, "And our Fish is very dear, Hermione would never hate you for something like that if she wasn't stupid."

Actually, Professor McGonagall hadn't been particularly worried about Hermione from the beginning, she was mostly worried about the Granger's who were Muggles, especially after what had happened yesterday, Professor McGonagall could feel the pair regressing....

It just didn't make sense to talk about such things now to upset Fish.

"But... what if?"

(??ω??)

Fish changed from his old, unruly personality and became cautious.

"Is it better for Hermione to know from other people or from the papers?". Professor McGonagall patted Fish's head and said softly, "There's no point in running away, Fish, don't forget, you're a Gryffindor."

She squeezed Fish's shoulders and turned him towards the door. "It's always up to you to sort this out... go talk to Hermione."

Professor McGonagall gave Fish a gentle push, and Fish took two steps forward, frowning, hesitant, unable to take a step.

"Be confident, Fish, aren't you fearless?". encouraged Professor McGonagall. "Give Hermione confidence too - do you dislike Hermione just because she's not a cat?"

"Of course not!" replied Fish without hesitation, "I like Hermione very much! Just a little less than I like Minerva!". He gestured with his index finger and thumb, "Just a little less than Fang nya ticks!".

?(?ΦДΦ?)?

"Well I don't think Hermione does either." Professor McGonagall said with a smile.

With Professor McGonagall's encouragement, Fish finally found the courage to leave her office and run towards the Gryffindor dormitory.