Chapter 757: R.A.B. (Edited)

Fish, in his cat form, yawned widely and groggily rose from the soft bed.

He took two steps forward, straightened his front paws, arched his back, stretched, and sat down, licking his paws and rubbing them over his head.

After the usual fur cleaning, the kitten turned his head and looked around.

He was no longer in Snape's office, but this place was no less familiar to Fish, or maybe even more so: it was Professor McGonagall's cubicle bedroom.

And Minerva knew...

Fish tilted his head and shook his ears helplessly, but this situation was also expected by him. When he couldn't bear it anymore and gradually wanted to fall asleep, he supposed Hermione and the others would probably inform Professor McGonagall.

Fish sensed his state; the exhaustion he had felt after sleeping had completely disappeared, and the transformative energy in his body was full and ready to activate his new form.

Furthermore, Fish checked that the effects of Felix Felicis potion were still present in his body, which meant he hadn't been asleep for long... and it was still dark outside.

But neither Professor McGonagall nor Hermione were nearby... Was there something else to do?

Feeling neglected, Fish pouted, feeling a bit aggrieved, before jumping off the bed and slowly leaving the cubicle.

There was no one in the office outside, and Fish saw the Firebolt he had given Professor McGonagall hanging high on the wall, along with the other birthday gifts, including the cat-headed lamp on the desk and the adjacent wardrobe.

Fish wandered around the office, scratching here and there, and then returned to his human form, sitting in front of the desk, resting his head on it, unwilling to go see Professor McGonagall and Hermione...

Who allowed them all to leave!

Fish was grumpy and grouchy.

But he didn't linger; Fish didn't want Professor McGonagall to worry, and Dumbledore's situation was not something that should be delayed too much. So after sulking for a while, Fish left Professor McGonagall's office and headed to the Headmaster's office.

Most of the students were still playing in Hogsmeade, so Fish didn't encounter anyone else along the way. He opened the secret door behind the gargoyle and climbed the spiral staircase to the top of the building, where he could hear Harry speaking through the oak door, recounting his experiences in the cave.

Fish knocked on the door and, without waiting for a response, burst in to find Professor McGonagall, Hermione, Snape, and Harry, along with a pale Dumbledore, whose breath of life was slightly stronger than before Fish fell unconscious.

"Fish! You're awake! Is something wrong?"

Professor McGonagall asked worriedly as she rushed over with Hermione.

"No, Fish was just tired and fell asleep, so he's fine now."

Fish shook his head and then moved his arms and legs to demonstrate that he wasn't lying, asking, "How long did Fish sleep?"

"Less than two hours," Hermione looked at her watch, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Really! Fish has a lot of recovery power, nya!" Fish said proudly, pounding his chest.

"You've come just in time, Fish." Dumbledore's voice faltered. "You have the locket from the basin, right? Take it out."

"Yes, nya."

Fish reached into his pocket and pulled out the locket he had intercepted in the air.

But as soon as Fish took it out, he realized something was wrong because it didn't look like the locket he remembered. This one wasn't as big as the other, nor did it have the floral markings or the ornate "S" symbol exclusive to Slytherin.

"This locket is not right! It's not the one I remember!"

∑(ΦДΦ)

Fish immediately shouted.

"What?!" The others were startled.

Dumbledore wasn't surprised; he just furrowed his brow slightly and calmly said, "Did you really think... since when did Voldemort trust people?"

"You already knew?!" Snape's eyes widened.

"It's only a guess..." Dumbledore shook his head and briefly explained to the group what the Order of the Phoenix had been investigating and his own analysis.

Then, with a still puzzled expression on his face, he muttered, "Voldemort would actually volunteer to tell someone else how to obtain his Horcrux, and that someone was Greyback... This is incredible... in my prediction, the probability of him using a real Horcrux as a trap was actually higher. Greyback was nothing more than a means to lure me there."

"I don't believe the Dark Lord would entrust something so important to Greyback either." Snape furrowed his brow and said, "You know, not even the Lestranges, who used to be in charge of guarding the Horcruxes, knew what they were guarding. Otherwise, that diary wouldn't have ended up in Lucius's hands in the first place."

"From what I know of the Dark Lord, he would never trust anyone, even his most loyal followers, let alone a werewolf they brought in to exploit." Snape said firmly, "So it's absolutely impossible for Greyback to go after the remaining few Horcruxes... for him!"

"But this locket is obviously fake! It doesn't even have the Slytherin symbol!" Hermione retorted unconsciously.

Snape snorted disdainfully, not bothering to argue with her, nor was he capable of doing so.

Because Hermione was telling the truth, the locket was obviously fake, so whatever the truth was, Dumbledore had suffered in vain, and they had lost the Horcrux locket once again.

"No! Voldemort mustn't know that the locket is fake!" But in a surprising turn of events, Harry spoke up on Snape's behalf.

In response to the questioning look from Miss Know-It-All, Harry said, "Voldemort tried to retrieve the locket, but Fish stopped him, so it's possible that, as Professor Dumbledore suspected, Greyback didn't take the Horcrux, but someone else had stolen it from Voldemort before that!"

"That still doesn't make sense," Hermione replied, shaking her head, "Why would someone put a fake Horcrux if that person had already stolen it? Isn't that redundant?"

"Uh..." Harry was at a loss for words.

"What's the point of pondering over it? Just open it and find out!"

(?ω?)

Fish looked at both of them incredulously and proceeded to break the fake locket in his hand.

"Wait!"

"Be careful!"

"Stop!"

The nearest Hermione tried to reach out and stop Fish, but he was too fast, and before they could stop him, Fish had broken the fake locket.

"Don't worry nya!" Fish gave the agitated ones an expressionless look.

Of course, Fish knew what they were concerned about, whether it was another trap left by Voldemort or something of the sort. But it's not like Fish opened the locket without thinking about it.

"The effect of Felix Felicis potion hasn't worn off yet, and Fish doesn't perceive any danger," Fish said, shaking the open locket in his hand. "See? Nothing happens, right?"

Then Fish looked at the opened locket and found nothing more than a folded piece of parchment neatly tucked inside, where the portrait had been placed.

Fish took out the parchment, unfolded it, and saw several lines of writing on it, immediately sliding it to Hermione.

There weren't many words, but Fish had always been inclined to not read words, so it was better for Hermione to read them.

Hermione looked at Fish in astonishment and then read aloud what it said:

"To the Dark Lord,

I know I will be dead long before you read this,

but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret.

I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can.

I face death in the hope that when you meet your match, you will be mortal once more. - R.A.B."