Chapter 728: The 10 Members of the Order of the Cat (Edited)

"How did it go?"

When Harry returned to the dormitory, Hermione and Ron, who had been waiting for him in the common room, greeted him immediately. Although Fish by the fireplace still had his eyes closed, the pair of triangular ears on his head turned towards Harry.

"I didn't ask," Harry shook his head and said, "The potion told me it wasn't the right time. But..." he said with a twist, "I know what I have to do to get the true memories from Professor Slughorn."

Harry said confidently, even though the effects of the potion had worn off.

"So, now we'll have to figure out a way to get Professor Slughorn drunk, right?" After hearing Harry, Ron scratched his head and said, "But how are we going to do that?"

"The Slug Club's Christmas party!" Harry and Hermione said in unison.

"This party is once again for Slughorn's favorites, right? Doesn't seem like my business," Ron shrugged, trying to appear as unconcerned as possible.

Although Fish had made him feel better by taking him to Dumbledore's office earlier, Ron still couldn't get along with Professor Slughorn, who looked down on him.

"Well... actually, members are allowed to bring guests to that party, but only one per person... except Fish, of course, but it's not good for him to bring anyone without restrictions." Harry scratched his head and said, "So, my plan is that we bring as many members of the Order of the Cat as we can and make them toast to Professor Slughorn... Anyway, if Fish asks, he doesn't even have to come up with a reason, everyone will be there to help."

"Ahem... since it's related to Dumbledore's mission, then, then I'll also go and help..." Ron cleared his throat, quite awkwardly searching for a complement.

He had a problem with Professor Slughorn, but he couldn't help feeling curious and envious of the Slug Club itself.

"But even if you get Professor Slughorn drunk, how are you going to extract information from him in plain sight?" Hermione asked.

"Well..." Harry smiled satisfied and looked at Fish, who was still lying by the fireplace, carefully stating in advance, "It's the inspiration from the potion... and when I do it, we'll have to give Fish some wine too..." his voice grew lower, almost inaudible towards the end.

Ron and Hermione looked at Harry with disbelief, their eyes wide open.

"That's what the potion told me." Harry was so uncomfortable with their gaze that he couldn't help emphasizing it again.

"But..."

Hermione's words were cut off by Fish, who had jumped next to them at some point.

"Fish wants to drink, meow!"

(?ω?)

Fish said with a sparkle in his eyes, as he had been curious about Professor Slughorn's collection of fine wines for some time.

After all this time, Professor Slughorn's taste for food had been recognized by Fish, so he was eager to try the wine the professor had been boasting about.

Only Fish knew that he was a terrible drinker, and Professor Slughorn hadn't brought him wine since then, so Fish had resisted trying it...

Of course, the main reason was that Fish was worried that if he started drinking, Professor McGonagall would scold him again.

But now it's different.

With Dumbledore backing him up, he had an excuse... no, a valid reason to drink!

As for the possibility of getting a headache after drinking, Fish didn't mind. He was already curious and eager to eat well.

...

Snowflakes were swirling again outside the window, hitting the icy glass, and Christmas was rapidly approaching.

Hagrid had already brought in the twelve trees that adorned the Great Hall every year; the stair railings were wrapped in holly and tinsel; the helmets of the suits of armor gleamed with long-lasting candles, and sprigs of mistletoe hung in every other section of the hallway.

The news that Professor Slughorn was organizing a Christmas party before the holidays had spread throughout the school through the members of the Slug Club, and most of the students were interested because of the supposed celebrities they would meet there, so the Slug Club members were especially popular at that time: everyone wanted to attend the Christmas party.

The most popular one, of course, was Fish, as there was no limit to the number of guests he could bring.

Of course, as Harry said, Fish couldn't bring everyone, so after discussing it with Hermione and the others, it was decided that Fish would bring ten members of the Order of the Cat.

As for who the ten people were...

"Fight nya! The winner gets to go to the party!"

(?ω?)

Inside the Room of Requirement, Fish excitedly announced to all the members of the Order of the Cat.

"That's not fair!" protested the lower-year students. "How can we win against the upper-year students?"

"Nya? Hermione, is it difficult to beat the seventh-years nya?"

(?ω?)

Fish asked, turning his head to look at Hermione with confusion.

Hermione looked at Fish suspiciously as he stood and spoke, and she said to the protesting first-year students, "Then we will choose one from each year and draw lots for the remaining three..."

She didn't reject Fish's proposal for everyone to fight; after all, it would be a form of exercise, and with Fish around, there was no need to worry about anyone getting hurt.

And so, the Order of the Cat began the process of selecting guests with a burst of energy.

Apart from the Slug Club members and those who had been invited by others, everyone else was eager to secure a spot.

At this point, it was not so much about accepting the invitation but about the honor of being "the best of their year."

Although they were already familiar with each other and essentially aware of the strength of those few individuals, how would they know unless they tried? Besides, after training in the Order of the Cat, no one felt that their actual combat abilities would be worse than those of their fellow members.

For Fish, it didn't matter who won, as long as there was something to see.

Of course, he was only spectating... because whether it was a battle among the younger students or the more advanced ones in the upper years, it didn't matter to Fish, and it couldn't be more exciting than the duel between Dumbledore and Grindelwald.

In the end, seven students, including Neville, were selected, along with three lucky winners, to attend Professor Slughorn's Christmas party.

All the members of the Order of the Cat who could attend the party were left behind, and Fish asked them to toast Professor Slughorn at the party until he got drunk.

Fish's excuse was that although he had gotten drunk several times himself, he had never seen anyone else as drunk and wanted to witness it.

Such an absurd and unconvincing excuse wouldn't have fooled anyone else, but everyone more or less sensed that Fish and Harry were up to something, so they agreed not to expose him but to laugh and joke about it.