Chapter 497: The Great Discovery of Rita Skeeter (Edited)

Even Hermione could hear the sounds in the rose garden, so it didn't make sense that Fish, who had even keener senses, couldn't hear them, but Fish didn't care for them.

It's just hiding and playing the kissing game, he and Hermione have already played it countless times!

Fish has seen something more advanced than the kissing game on TV!

So Fish remained nonchalant the whole time, contentedly enjoying Hermione, Gabrielle and Fleur's massages.

Even when he overheard the conversation between Hagrid and Madame Maxime, Fish didn't think much of it, because Fish didn't think it was a big deal to be a half-blood giant, he had two other half-blood Veela with him, and he didn't even understand why Madame Maxime was angry....

But that was none of Fish's business.

Even though Gabrielle and Fleur had left, leaving Fish without two "masseuses," didn't he still have Hermione?

Fish continued to rest in Hermione's lap, until Hermione picked him up.

"Nya?"

(=?ω?=)

Fish looked at Hermione confused, a little curious as to what she wanted to do, but remained in her arms, only turning his little head to look around.

In this look, however, Fish caught something.

As Hermione moved along the path of roses, she suddenly caught a glimpse of a beetle that had landed on a bush not far away.

If it had been a normal beetle, Fish wouldn't have bothered to pay it any attention when it wasn't in a good mood, and every now and then it would have approached it and pounced on it, but in the end it wouldn't have killed it and would have let it go when it had had enough fun.

The beetle in front of me was different...it was so full of life that it was almost like an adult.

In short, it was an Animagus.

Fish, who had only experienced two Animagus incidents in the past year, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew, immediately let go of Hermione's arms and stared at the beetle.

Although he didn't know if the Animagus was good or bad at the moment, Fish wasn't going to let it go, either way....

Just like with Black and Lupin, catch first and talk later!

"Ha~!"

?(=`Д′=)?

Immediately after landing, Fish arched his back, ruffling his fur, and lunged at the beetle.

Rita Skeeter was a bit confused.... How had she become Fish's target?

Since Dumbledore had forbidden her from re-entering Hogwarts, she could only sneak in as a beetle if she wanted to gather news about the Triwizard Tournament....

And since the castle ball was crowded and Dumbledore was there, she didn't go in for fear of being discovered, but just wandered around the rose garden outside the castle to see if she could find any news or anything.

Since she had been wandering around the deeper part of the garden, she had not come across Fish and the others who had been outside.

However, Skeeter had at least heard a good story from Hagrid, and given the information she had gathered from her interview with Hagrid, it was easy for Skeeter, a veteran paparazzi, to produce an article that would sell.

After deciding on her next article, Skeeter wasn't about to leave, she wanted to continue to prowl the garden and maybe get a surprise.

And then...

The surprise came.

She found Hermione hugging Fish.

In fact, Skeeter didn't even recognize Hermione, after all she hadn't seen her transformation, but she did recognize the little tabby cat in her arms, the form Fish had taken, scampering about on the Fire Dragon.

When news of the first test broke, sales of tabby cats in pet stores skyrocketed.

As for whether the tabby cat in the arms of the black cat-woman in front of her is the real Fish...

Besides Fish, is there another tabby cat that makes people feel very affectionate at first sight?

But even after seeing Fish, Rita Skeeter didn't foolishly fly over to greet him, but landed quickly.

As a veteran Animagus, she knew that when a wizard transformed into an animal, he was affected by the habits of the animal he transformed into, and Fish was already arrived cat-like in human form, not to mention cat-like.

If it had been a normal cat or a normal Animagus, Rita Skeeter would have just flown away, but Fish could knock a fire dragon out of the sky and she didn't want to attract Fish's attention, so she looked for a place to rest as soon as she saw Fish and waited for him to leave.

She didn't know that, yet she was spotted by Fish.

Maybe Fish was just curious?

Rita Skeeter took a chance and slowly moved her feet, hiding her body behind the leaves.

"Nya~!"

? (=`Д′=)?

Then she was slapped to the ground by Fish who instantly pounced on her, and thankfully Fish knew she was human he didn't use much force, otherwise Skeeter would have been knocked unconscious.

Still, the beetle had to lie on the ground and squirm, and before she could recover, the little cat had landed next to her, pinning her down with its little paws.

"Nya!" (Say! Who are you?!).

(=ΦДΦ=)

Fish held Skeeter so she couldn't move and questioned her sternly.

A stunned Skeeter managed to understand what had just happened when she was startled by Fish's meowing.

Why can I understand Fish's meowing?

Skeeter was stunned again, and Fish's slightly firm paw quickly pushed her away.

The beetle's wings flapped rapidly, emitting a strange sound, but Skeeter had no vocal organs at all, and the sound of flapping wings was no more than a sound, not to mention a language that, when used to communicate with the beetle itself, could convey only a few very simple meanings.

Skeeter reacted quickly after the wingbeat, only fearing Fish would accidentally grab her, and in her haste she didn't think much of it.

"Nya?"(Rita?)

?ω?

Just as Skeeter was about to return to her original form and try to get Fish and the black cat-woman, whoever she was, to keep her secret, the claws on her body suddenly retracted.

He understood!

Once again, Skeeter was in shock.

Then she gave another two tentative flutters.

"Nyanya, nya, nya? Nyanya nya?" (So you're Animagus too, what are you doing here? The reason you appeared out of nowhere last time was to turn yourself into an insect, right?).

Now Skeeter was sure that Fish really understood....

Even though Fish said he could communicate with animals during the interview, and demonstrated it during the first event, Skeeter thought it was just vague communication like Newt Scamander....

Who would have thought Fish could talk normally with all animals?

Skeeter was trembling with excitement and thought that if it was reported, it would be huge news that would blow up the magical world. Although Fish's ability seemed similar to that of wizards like Newt Scamander, in reality it was far from it.

But she soon gave up on the idea, because if it came to light, Fish would not only be the target of some dark wizards, but also feared by many people....

Rita Skeeter herself, for example, had first thought of using the power to train a group of insects or whatever to spy, and dark wizards could only come up with more and more sinister uses.

While Fish could defeat even a fire dragon, it was still dangerous to face the endless forms of attacks from those dark wizards, so Rita Skeeter dared to decide after a while....

It was better to take advantage of the half-blood giant to attack Dumbledore.

After all, she had been hated by Fudge for the news of the Dementor, and she had to find a way to set things right.

And besides...

They wouldn't let her into Hogwarts!