Chapter 652: Excited Beetle (Edited)

In the blink of an eye, half of January had passed, and many things had happened at Hogwarts in that first half of the month.

Firstly, Hagrid was placed on probation. Not everyone felt sad about it, and even Hagrid himself wasn't too concerned.

"To be honest, it was to be expected," Hagrid said easily to the worried Harry and others. "Umbridge just wants to get Dumbledore's supporters out of the school, but it doesn't matter. Even if I leave the school, I can still help the Order of the Phoenix, and I'm relieved that they'll take care of Grawp."

This was followed by a new Education Decree, which prohibited teachers from providing any information to students that was unrelated to their subject.

This sparked outrage among the students, and many (especially Gryffindors) began to confront Umbridge in various ways, even if they were punished by her.

Weasley's Wizard Wheezes benefited the most, and George and Fred's orders skyrocketed to the point where there was already a two-month backlog.

Then there were Harry's Occlumency lessons, and the mental exhaustion was nothing compared to Snape's bad attitude.

The only exception was on January 9th when Fish asked Harry to bring Snape a birthday present. That night Snape remained cold, but only slightly mocking.

Harry actually had a problem with Fish giving Snape a birthday present, but it was because Fish had given it to Snape that he was in a better position... which made Harry's feelings very complicated.

On the morning of the second Saturday after the Christmas holidays, Harry was doing homework in the library with Ron.

Even after everything that had happened, the fifth-year curriculum remained busy with homework, Quidditch training, and Order of the Phoenix activities, not to mention the fact that tonight he had to go to Snape's house to practice Occlumency...

As Harry grimaced and caught up with his homework, Hermione approached with Fish in one hand and a thick book in the other and sat down across from them.

She placed Fish on her lap, spread the book, which was as thick as a brick, and whispered without looking up, "This afternoon, after one o'clock, avoid the others and go to the Room of Requirement."

"What?" Harry and Ron looked at her in surprise.

However, Hermione kept her head down, pretending to read. "Don't look up!" she quietly warned, "I saw Umbridge on the way, and she could arrive at any moment."

Harry and Ron quickly looked away, picking up their quills and hastily writing on the parchment.

"What the hell is going on?" Harry asked, lowering his voice.

"You'll find out when you get there," Hermione replied briefly, and then fell silent.

Harry wanted to ask more, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Umbridge's plump pink figure, and he had to close his mouth resentfully.

Madam Pince, the librarian, was displeased with Umbridge walking around the library since she had entered, and she didn't stop glaring at her, but Umbridge didn't care and continued to stroll around the library as she pleased.

All the students in the library made disgusted faces, and one by one they got up and left, including Harry and Ron, except for Hermione, who continued to look at her book and occasionally stroke Fish on her lap.

After this, Umbridge simply took the seat where Harry had been sitting, her toad-like eyes fixed on Hermione with a critical gaze.

Hermione ignored her and silently flipped through the thick book in front of her.

After a while, Umbridge snorted and left the library haughtily.

Shortly after eating, Fish went to the open space outside the castle, which was not very crowded due to the recent low temperatures and the cleared snow, but there were many people ice skating on the frozen Black Lake.

Fish had transformed into a cat and climbed up a tree to lie down, lazily swaying its tail as if it were simply sunbathing as usual. Umbridge observed from the window for a while before turning her attention back to George and Fred.

What she didn't notice was that a beetle had flown from afar and landed on the cat's head.

After a while, Fish jumped down from the tree and returned to the castle, carrying the beetle with it to the Room of Requirement.

"It's been a long time, Fish." Skeeter returned to her human form and greeted Fish with a smile. "How is the quill I gave you working?"

"It works well... but it's a shame that Minerva confiscated it, nya..."

(〃｀3〃)

Fish pouted and complained unhappily, "She says I have to write my own assignments to learn, and she won't let Fish use the quill you gave him."

"Well, I can't do anything about it." Skeeter smiled and extended her hands, then asked, "Where is your little girlfriend?"

"Hermione went to see Luna, nya."

"Luna?" Skeeter didn't know who Luna was, but she didn't ask any more questions. Instead, she started to worry about how Fish was doing.

"Umbridge hasn't bothered you afterward, right?" she asked, concerned.

"No, of course not!"

(`´)

Fish shook its head cheerfully. "Fish is careful! She can't catch Fish!"

"You better be careful," Skeeter warned, "From what I've found out, she's no pushover. She has done some pretty nasty things to climb up in the Ministry of Magic... And she's in a desperate situation, so be careful with her."

Rita Skeeter had been aware of some of Umbridge's dark secrets for a long time, and when she learned that Fish was going after her, Skeeter came out to collect them. Rita Skeeter played a decisive role in helping the Ministry's investigative team easily uncover what Umbridge had done.

But Fish wasn't worried. If Umbridge was truly desperate, Fish could justify hitting her again! The last time Umbridge used Veritaserum on him, there was no response.

Well... it's definitely not because Umbridge provides good snacks!

As they spoke, the door to the Room of Requirement suddenly swung open, and Hermione entered with Luna.

"Hello, Miss Granger." Rita greeted Hermione with a smile, then looked at Luna, who was dressed strangely, and asked, "Would you like to introduce yourself?"

"Luna Lovegood, a fourth-year student from Ravenclaw..." Hermione said after a moment, "And her father is the editor-in-chief of The Quibbler."

"The Quibbler?!" Skeeter's voice rose two octaves. "So, are you going to let me publish the story in that ridiculous magazine? Even if I did, would anyone believe that magazine, which is known for its nonsense?"

"My father's magazine doesn't say nonsense!" Luna protested, staring at her with her big eyes.

Hermione didn't want to go see Luna if she could help it because she also didn't believe The Quibbler was a good magazine, but The Daily Prophet had been taken over by the Ministry of Magic, and she couldn't find any other newspaper that dared to publish the truth.

Or maybe... it was the only one that dared to publish the truth about Voldemort.

Of course, here's the translation:

Hermione couldn't say the same when it came to Rita...

"Some won't believe it," she analyzed calmly, "But the Daily Prophet's article about the Azkaban escape is so flawed that I believe there will be many who wonder if there's a better explanation. If there were another article, even in a..." she glanced at Luna, "Well... a special publication, I think they would want to read it."

Rita nodded thoughtfully, "It seems like you didn't let Fish contact me on a whim."

"Well, assuming I agree to write it," she asked after a moment of silence, "How much will they pay me?"

"I don't think Dad pays people to write articles," Luna said with an ethereal voice, "They do it because they feel honored and, of course, to see their names in the newspapers."

Rita frowned, "You want me to write for nothing?"

"Do you want money? Fish can give it to you."

(ΦωΦ)つ

Fish took a handful of coins out of his pocket and handed them over, "Is this enough, nya?"

"Ah... that won't be necessary..." Rita waved her hand, thanking Fish for his kindness.

At that moment, the door swung open again, and Harry and Ron rushed in.

"Ha! Here comes the other part!" Rita said with a smile.

Harry and Ron were surprised to see Rita.

"Rita Skeeter?! What are you doing here?"

If Harry had to rank the most annoying people, Rita would be in the top five, and he wasn't sure who was more annoying than his Aunt Peggy.

"Rita is interviewing us, nya!"

(≧≦)

Fish cheerfully replied. Then Hermione added in detail.

"To report the truth about Voldemort's resurrection that night?! Of course, I would!" Harry, after hearing Hermione's explanation, agreed without hesitation.

Although everyone at school believed them, the Ministry was still hiding the truth from many others, which made Harry furious. He had wanted to bring everything to light for a long time, if only to get rid of Umbridge.

"Well, Rita?" Hermione looked at Skeeter and said, half excited, half suggestive, "If you're worried about Ministry reprisals, you can also choose to use a pseudonym."

"The person whose name can't even be mentioned... has truly returned?" Rita confirmed with a serious expression.

"Of course!"

"Fish doesn't lie, nya!"

"Well then... I'll write the story, and..." Rita nodded, opened her crocodile bag, took out a piece of parchment, and raised a quill pen. "It will be published under my real name."

She raised an eyebrow at a surprised Hermione and explained enthusiastically, "I might lose my job for a while after the article is published, but when You-Know-Who announces his return, I will undoubtedly receive a great fame boost, and no one will think I'm talking nonsense... compared to what I will achieve... it doesn't matter if I get paid or not."