That day, Fish went to Professor McGonagall's office for his usual "confinement".
After Fish left, most left the Common Room and headed for their dormitories, while a few lingered around the fireplace, playing the various board games.
In the old days, Harry and Ron would have bonded, but since they had hired the girl Hermione Granger to join the fight against Snape's machinations, those lazy days had passed them by.
Hermione had borrowed a large number of books about famous wizards from the library, handed some of them to Harry and Ron, and said that if she didn't find Nicolas Flamel when they were done, she had another list of books.
From that day on, Ron and Harry's free time was occupied by countless heavy and boring books, and if it weren't for Quidditch practice three days a week, they wondered if they would assimilate with nerdy Hermione.
Today was no exception, and after finishing their homework with Hermione's supervision and help, the three of them stood in a secluded corner and began to flip through their books.
It wasn't until Fish left the Common Room that Hermione took half of the books and went back to her dormitory.
"Ahh... ¿Who the hell is Nicolas Flamel? ¿And how come we can't find him anywhere?"
As soon as Hermione left, Ron tossed aside his copy of the "Directory of Contemporary Wizards" and slumped in his chair, groaning in pain.
"Hagrid didn't say that name to trick us, did he?"
As soon as Ron's words left his lips, he shook his head in denial himself, "No, no, Hagrid is not capable of such a thing...then who the hell is that bloody Nicolas Flamel?"
As Ron rambled on and on, Harry, beside him, put down his copy of "Research on the Development of Modern Witchcraft," rubbed his temples with both hands, frowned and said, "I've definitely seen that name somewhere, but I can't remember..."
"Then you'd better remember fast..."
Ron looked askance at the books he and Harry had tossed aside... and the other, thicker books on the table that they hadn't had time to read, his tone full of despair.
"Or else our Miss Mouseteeth will find more books for us to read... Seriously, I've read as many books in this time as I have in my entire life...and I mean to include fairy tales!"
Harry looked at the thick stack of books on the table and let out a long sigh as well, because he was in a similar situation and because of his own family of uncles, Harry had never read a storybook.
"Maybe... can we find out what's hiding under the trapdoor first?"
Harry, who had been a bit sick of flipping through books lately, had a sudden flash of inspiration.
"The reason we want to meet Nicolas Flamel is to find out what Snape is going to steal, isn't it? If we can find out directly, then it wouldn't really matter who Nicolas Flamel was, would it?"
"But the question is, how are we going to find out?" Ron rolled his eyes angrily, "That three-headed dog called Fluffy, he bit Snape, how can we... wait! You mean.... go ask Fish?"
Ron, who finally reacted, straightened up, feeling excited for a while.
If there was anyone Ron knew who had a better chance of getting through the trapdoor, it was Fish, who had introduced Fluffy to him and Harry... and to Malfoy and his two henchmen.
"That's a good idea!"
Ron gave Harry an excited pat on the shoulder and then swept the pile of books off the table with his arm.
"Finally we don't have to go through these damn books anymore!"
With that, Ron felt refreshed before honestly picking up the books he had swept to the floor and patting the dust off them....
They were books that Hermione had borrowed from the library, and if they got dirty or damaged, Ron was pretty sure he'd be killed by an angry Miss Ratteeth.
After sorting through the pile of books that had tormented them for so long, Harry and Ron found one of the girls still in the common room and asked her to help them call Hermione.
As partners in the fight against Snape, they felt the need to inform Hermione.
Of course, the main reason was that.... Harry and Ron wanted the aggressive Miss Ratteeth to stop torturing them with books in the first place.
"I disagree!"
The two eagerly informed Hermione of their solution, only to receive a resounding no.
"It's too dangerous! We can't involve Fish in this!"
Hermione lowered her voice and shouted, "What if he gets hurt by that big dog and Snape?"
"No, it's impossible for Fluffy to hurt Fish." said Ron confidently as he thought back to the time when Fish had introduced them to Fluffy.
On the other hand, Harry added, "Besides, if Snape's intention was to steal whatever was hidden behind the trapdoor, there's no way he wouldn't have thought to start with Fish."
Harry's mind had never been so clear, and all because he didn't want to keep reading boring books.
"If Fish has a way past Fluffy, we can prepare to protect him in advance!"
Hermione was immediately convinced, to the point that she was so worried about Fish that she was going to inform Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore.
Harry and Ron quickly stopped her.
"Snape hasn't been exposed yet, the other professors won't believe us as much as Hagrid, you'll just scare the snake away!"
It took some convincing for a worried Hermione to calm down, but she was still fidgeting, twisting the hem of her robes with her hands and circling the common room like a headless fly.
"That was a great excuse you just used...she made my head spin..." whispered Ron in Harry's ear.
Harry shook his head, "Actually, it just occurred to me, and it wasn't an excuse .... Snape might attack Fish."
"You're right," Ron nodded grimly, "We need to find a way to make Fish alert." He said, scratching his hair anxiously, "But then there's a risk of exposure, after all, Fish doesn't look like he can keep a secret..."
So the three of them met again, to discuss how to tell Fish later.
As the three waited, time passed quickly, and one by one the other Gryffindors left the Common Room and returned to their rooms.
It was after twelve o'clock when, with a gruff snap, Fish appeared in the Gryffindor Common Room with cat ears, and as soon as he did, Harry rushed to greet him.
"Meow!" ∑(●ΦДΦ●)
Fish, who hadn't expected anyone to be in the Common Room at this hour, was startled to see the three approaching him.
"What do you want?!" Fish took two steps back, the fur on his tail slightly bristling, his hands covering his magic bag, "Fish is running out of snacks, meow!"