Chapter 739: Gellert (Edited)

In the end, Lupin didn't respond positively to Tonks, leaving her so depressed that her hair quickly returned to its mousy brown color, and she didn't say another word for the rest of the meal. She was the first to leave the table, escaping with her head bowed.

The other women scolded Lupin with their eyes, including Mrs. Weasley, who had been trying to get Tonks to marry Bill. Fleur and Ginny went straight after her, trying to console her.

Lupin only smiled bitterly. As Sirius had said, it wasn't that he didn't feel anything for Tonks; it was just that Lupin knew exactly how difficult it was for a werewolf to survive in the magical society, so he didn't want to drag Tonks down.

The male members of the party, especially Mr. Weasley, Mr. Granger, and Newt, who had families, understood Lupin's feelings better than the emotional women. However, it wasn't appropriate for outsiders to interfere in such matters, so everyone remained silent.

Only Sirius, Lupin's close friend, took him aside after the meal to talk to him, while the others gathered in pairs and groups of three...

Several of the mothers exchanged ideas about raising their children. Mr. Weasley, as usual, pestered Mr. Granger about all sorts of interesting Muggle items. Bill worried about Percy's work, and the twins approached Rolf, wanting to sell their products to Ilvermorny through him.

By that time, Harry and Ron finally had the chance to ask Fish and Hermione about that memory from Professor Slughorn.

"Voldemort has created a total of six Horcruxes... and there might be more in the future..." Harry and Ron felt the cruelty of Voldemort once again upon hearing the news.

"By the way, Harry," Hermione asked cautiously, "Have you had any more dreams about Voldemort's side lately?"

"No, why?" Harry shook his head.

"Well," Hermione explained, "When Voldemort was creating the Horcruxes, didn't he need to split his soul? His mind would have been in a vulnerable state at that time, so it's likely that you would have felt something... Although this is just my speculation, I think it's quite probable. So if you haven't felt anything, it's most likely that Voldemort hasn't started making a new Horcrux yet."

"But that's not the point," Hermione added. "The point is, if you see him making a Horcrux, remember not to reveal yourself to avoid attracting Voldemort's attention."

Harry understood and solemnly nodded, rushing to say, "I know."

After a quick visit to the plants he had planted there, and confirming that Sirius had taken good care of them, Fish found an empty flowerpot and started to fall asleep.

The afternoon passed without incident until Hermione came to wake him up for dinner. Fish jumped out of the flowerpot, shook himself off, and returned to his human form, following Hermione to the dining room for dinner.

Before reaching the dining room, he could smell the aroma of the food and quickened his pace toward the refreshing dining area. Fleur and Ginny had teamed up to decorate the place so colorfully and extravagantly that it looked like there had been an explosion of paper-wrapped flowers.

The flames in the fireplace danced merrily, reflecting the red of the Christmas tree next to it, and on a small table next to the dining room, there was a beautiful wooden radio from which a woman's voice was singing.

Fish's eyes were firmly fixed on the table, loaded with food, but none of this was on Fish's radar.

Almost all of Fish's favorite dishes were on the table, and in the center of it all was a huge Christmas turkey, with its golden skin still sizzling and oozing fragrant fat.

"Good evening, everyone, nya!"

(?﹃?)

Fish insincerely greeted as he ran towards the table with shining eyes.

He was then caught by Professor McGonagall again.

"How many times have I told you! Wash your hands before eating!"

"Awwww!"

(≥△≤)

Fish could only cast a reluctant glance at the food on the table before being reluctantly dragged by Professor McGonagall to the nearby restroom.

Shortly after washing his hands, Fish quickly returned to the table with a leap, grabbed a knife and fork, and dove into the center of the turkey.

Professor McGonagall opened her mouth but gave up on the lecture, allowing Fish to serve all kinds of food onto his plate, and the others had affectionate smiles on their faces.

Then Newt raised his glass, made a brief toast, and the evening began with a "Merry Christmas."

As everyone mingled, a tall and dusty figure entered.

"Ha! It seems I haven't missed the party tonight," Dumbledore said with a smile.

He then waved his wand, and the dusty robe he was wearing flew over to a small table and neatly folded itself.

"Newt, Tina, long time no see." He approached the table and first greeted the Scamanders, then turned to Rolf. "And you, Rolf, Merry Christmas."

"Albus, why did it take you so long to arrive, nya?"

Ψ(??~??)

Fish momentarily shifted his attention from the food in front of him and looked at Dumbledore curiously. "Remus was looking for you earlier."

Although Fish hadn't intentionally eavesdropped, his sharp ears had caught part of the conversation between Lupin and Sirius earlier. Lupin seemed to have brought some important news that he wanted to tell Dumbledore.

Dumbledore probably wanted to keep it hidden from the few students who hadn't yet joined the Order of the Phoenix, so instead of asking Lupin what it was about, he served himself a bowl of hot soup while explaining, "I went to visit an old friend whom I hadn't seen in a long time, so it took me a bit longer to talk."

He seemed to be in a good mood, obviously pleased with the outcome of the meeting according to Dumbledore.

"An old friend?" Fish tilted his head, thoughtful, and suddenly asked, "Grindelwald, nya?"

?ω?

Everyone at the table who knew Grindelwald was stunned by Fish's words, and Professor McGonagall scolded, "What are you talking about? Grindelwald is a dark wizard more dangerous than Voldemort! How can he be an old friend of Albus?"

But Newt said, "Actually, Albus and Grindelwald used to be friends."

But before anyone could express their surprise at Newt's words, Dumbledore himself revealed an even more terrifying secret.

"To be precise... Gellert was once my lover."

This was a secret that not even Newt knew, and he, like the others, was shocked by the news, looking at Dumbledore in astonishment.

But Dumbledore ignored the astonishment, looked at Fish with interest, and curiously asked, "How do you know about my relationship with Gellert?"

"Because you call him Gellert."

?ω?

Fish blinked, taking it for granted.

"Is that all?"

"Or what?"

(?ω?)

Fish scratched his head in puzzlement.

As far as Fish knew, only close people called each other by their first names, and for Fish, who was still relatively simple, that detail was enough to make a judgment.

As for why Dumbledore and Grindelwald fought when it was obvious they were friends...

Isn't that perfectly normal?

Fish himself was known for fighting with Professor McGonagall daily, and he certainly didn't see the problem.

"Well..." Dumbledore shook his head in disbelief, "Then how did you guess that I was going to visit Gellert today?"

This time, Fish's answer was even simpler.

"Because he's a good fighter, nya!"

(`´)

Fish tilted his head, reasonably.

Fish's logic was simple: since Grindelwald was a good fighter, Fish was impressed by him, and the first person that would come to mind would be him, so he simply invited him out.

"You actually went to Nurmengard, didn't you, nya? You didn't bring Fish! Fish wants to play too!"

(`н´)

Just as Dumbledore laughed at this jokingly, Fish expressed his discontent with him once again.

Earlier, Fish had wanted to go with Dumbledore to Grindelwald at Nurmengard, but Dumbledore hadn't agreed, and now the old villain was sneaking off to see Grindelwald without him...

It's too much!

Especially during the day, Fish wanted Lupin to take him to play with other werewolves, but he refused.

So Fish was in a bad mood, looking at Dumbledore with a ruthless gaze, even with his cat ears flattened.

"Ahem, actually, if you don't mention it, I'll take you to meet him someday. Gellert is also interested in you." Dumbledore hurriedly reassured, while gesturing to Professor McGonagall to take it easy. "Don't worry, Minerva, Fish is not in danger with me."

"Then when can Fish go fight with him?"

(?ω?)

Fish immediately asked.

"Just to see him..." Dumbledore weakly explained, "Gellert is not allowed to use his wand, and I have his wand all the time."

"Yawn! That's not fun..."

(?ω?)

Fish's interest instantly diminished.

But soon, Fish suddenly had a thought...

Anyway, I don't use my wand when I fight, so why not lend my wand to Grindelwald?