Chapter 619: Return (Edited)

When Fish was escorted out of the office by a devastated Umbridge, he still held a large quantity of snacks that he had taken from her.

"Fish has had a good meal today, I'll play with you again next time~".

?(ΦωΦ)?

Fish returned Umbridge's greeting in the office and then bounced away with his "trophy."

He considered the possibility of striking Umbridge, but since Veritaserum didn't show any external signs, Fish thought that if he did it, Umbridge would deny it, potentially revealing that he was actually immune to Veritaserum...

Fish lay on the table for a while, deciding to let Umbridge go for the moment.

Of course, he had to tell Hermione about today's incident. The rest of the Order of the Cat were not like him; they were more afraid of Veritaserum, and it would be bad if Umbridge tried it on them again.

Fish stored all the pastries Umbridge had given him in his magical bag and then hopped back to the Gryffindor common room, where the Quidditch match had ended and Harry and the others seemed so happy that they must have won...

Only Ron didn't seem very happy.

But Quidditch had never mattered to Fish, so he simply looked at Ron curiously and then slipped away to Hermione.

"Hermione!"

?●ω●?

Fish hugged Hermione and rubbed against her as he usually did before sitting beside her and sharing the pastries he had just obtained from Umbridge with the group.

"Where have you been?" Hermione intertwined her fingers with Fish's with one hand and grabbed a pastry with the other, examining it as she casually asked, "In the kitchen? But these pastries don't look like the ones made by Comey and the others."

"Fish was in Umbridge's office. She invited Fish for a snack." Fish pointed to the pastries on the table and replied, "These are the ones Fish brought from her, Hermione, try them. They taste good, nya."

(Φω≤)

He didn't mention the Veritaserum for now, as there were many people around who were not part of the Order of the Cat. So Fish simply winked at Hermione.

Hermione immediately understood that something else must be going on. She looked around wisely and didn't ask any more questions. Instead, she took a bite of the snack she had in her hand.

"Well, they do taste good," Hermione said.

But the others had a different opinion.

"But suddenly, I feel like they're not as tasty..."

George looked at the half-eaten pastry in his hands and said with a complicated expression.

Apart from him, many others seemed displeased, and after finishing the pastry, they stopped grabbing more...

This was strange because Fish would usually eat the food that was given to him, and only Hagrid's rock cakes had been treated this way before.

"It's delicious... What's wrong with them?"

?(?ω?)?

Scratching his confused head, Fish also took a piece of the treat and put it in his mouth. After confirming that the taste hadn't changed, Fish looked at Hermione with a puzzled expression.

"Because it's from Umbridge..."

With Hermione's patient explanation, Fish finally understood what was happening.

"Are they all idiots, nya? They don't even enjoy good food."

∑(ΦДΦ)

How could something taste different just because it came from a different person?

Fish made a face and saved the remaining snacks.

It would be better if they didn't eat them. He could save them for Hermione and Minerva.

After the Gryffindors celebrated for a while, they dispersed, and Hermione had the opportunity to ask Fish about it.

"What happened this morning? Why did Umbridge invite you for a snack?"

It wasn't unusual for someone to offer Fish a sandwich, but what was strange is that the person's name was Dolores Umbridge.

Fish pondered for a moment and then, instead of immediately answering Hermione's question, called Harry over, who was consoling Ron on the other side of the room, to join them.

"What's up, Fish?" Harry asked curiously as he joined Ron next to Fish.

"This morning, Umbridge invited Fish to her office..." Fish told them what had happened this morning and then cautioned, "Fish thinks Harry might also be on her radar, so you have to be careful, nya."

(ˇˇ)

"She used Veritaserum! It's illegal!" Hermione said, surprised and furious.

"Have you forgotten about that Willy Widdershins who was stalking Fish?" Ron sighed and said, "The Ministry of Magic is desperate to target Dumbledore now."

"We have to tell Minerva and Dumbledore about this." Hermione pursed her lips and said seriously to Fish.

"Alright, nya." Fish shook their head indifferently.

It wasn't like they were getting themselves into trouble, so it was okay for Professor McGonagall to find out.

Besides, Fish was going to ask Professor Snape if there was any way to make others not fear Veritaserum.

...

"How dare she do that?!"

When Fish and Hermione found Professor McGonagall and told her about Umbridge's actions, Professor McGonagall became so angry that she drew her wand.

Fish, on the other hand, seemed calmer.

"Fish also gave her the potion, so isn't it normal that she defends herself from Fish?"

┑(ΦωΦ)┍

Fish extended their hands, seeing no problem with Umbridge doing that since she was an enemy. It was not surprising what she was doing.

The only thing Fish regretted was that Umbridge hadn't done anything to them; otherwise, they could have defended themselves.

"The important thing now is, what if she uses Veritaserum on everyone else? Especially Hermione, Harry, and the others who know about the Order of the Phoenix." Fish patted Professor McGonagall's back and asked, "Can Severus invent an antidote?"

"There's no antidote for Veritaserum, except Occlumency, and it's not a spell that can be learned quickly." Professor McGonagall shook her head and said gravely, "You'll just have to be careful not to eat anything she gives you."

"Nya~"

(≥△≤)

Fish wrinkled their nose and resentfully said, "But Fish just grabbed a bunch of pastries..."

"... These are no problem!" Professor McGonagall slapped the gluttonous cat on the head. "But don't eat anything she gives you again."

"That's fine, nya!"

(≧≦)

Fish happily agreed as they stored their food away.

And Professor McGonagall, seeing that Hermione still seemed a little worried, reassured her again, "I don't think Umbridge will dare to trick you into drinking Veritaserum, especially after giving it to Fish, so she should stop doing it for a while..."

But Professor McGonagall felt a little weak saying that, so she added, "I'll tell Dumbledore about it, and Hermione, you shouldn't worry too much."

"Yes." Hermione nodded, her expression softened a bit.

"Another good news for you," Professor McGonagall smiled and said, "Hagrid should be returning this afternoon. He will need Fish's help then."