Chapter 494: Christmas Ball (Edited)

As a side note, aside from the always adorable Fish, Professor McGonagall and Hermione, who had also turned into cat-people, look very cute.

I don't know if it's Snape's optimized multi-juice potion, or if it's the fact that they've both used their own cat hair from their Animagus forms, but the half-human half-cat form they've adopted this time looks much more natural than the previous transformation.

The students around them even had the impression of seeing Fish for the first time.

"Stay here obediently and don't move!"

Professor McGonagall tapped Fish on the head, drew him to her side, and then strode down the hall to quiet the commotion.

A few moments later, the crowd was gathering, and Harry, Fleur, and Krum, the three champions, approached Fish with their respective partners.

"What are you?"

Fleur looked dumbfounded at Fish and Hermione's hairy faces.

"I think it's a multijuice potion." Her dance partner, Roger Davies, explained, "Hermione and Professor McGonagall used it once two years ago, only last time Professor McGonagall turned into a lion... er...."

As he finished, Davis noticed that Professor McGonagall was looking at him coldly, he quickly shrugged his head and stopped showing off in front of Fleur.

The doors to the Great Hall opened at eight o'clock, and Professor McGonagall looked away from Davies, leaving the four champions with their dance partners on either side of the door, before gesturing for the others to enter the Great Hall first.

Fish, who wanted something to eat first, pursed his lips, but didn't make a fuss at this point.

(?ω?)

Fish watched impatiently as the other students walked past him, their tails whipping pointlessly behind them, swiping at Hermione's and Professor McGonagall's legs.

Professor McGonagall looked at the cat and said nothing more, while Hermione gently stroked Fish's back, soothing Fish's anxiety.

Almost everyone who crossed Fish couldn't help but raise their arms slightly, as if to take the opportunity to touch him, even Fred did....

"Pop!"

(?ω?)?

Fish, who was in a bad mood, directly slapped the other's over-stretched hand.

Fred could only laugh and was dragged into the Great Hall by his dance partner, Angelina, under the stern gaze of Professor McGonagall.

"Fish!"

Gabrielle, accompanied by one of the Beauxbatons boys, was also at the ball tonight, and threw herself directly at Fish as she passed.

"How did you turn like that? Gabrielle wants it too!" the girl asked Fish.

"Gabrielle! What did you promise me?!" spat Fleur as she glared at her sister.

"Hmph!"

Gabrielle reluctantly let go of Fish and returned her gaze with a pout, but in the end she followed her "dance partner" slowly and went inside.

Once everyone was seated in the Great Hall, Professor McGonagall told the champions and their partners to line up two by two and follow her inside. They filed in, making their way to a large round table at the front of the Great Hall, where the judges were seated, and the students present in the Great Hall applauded enthusiastically.

The referees and other professors at the teachers' table did not applaud, as they had not been in the hall before and knew nothing about Fish and the others, so they all froze when they saw the first three with cat heads on their heads walk in.

It was the Hogwarts professors who were the first to regain their attention, their eyes full of laughter as they looked at Professor McGonagall at the front of the room, only two professors were in a slightly different situation....

Professor Moody also had a smile on his face, but his magic eye shot a quick glance at Snape, who was on the other side.

When Fish came to him to improve the multijuice potion, he didn't even ask him what it would be used for, but he didn't know it would be used at that moment, and he even dragged Professor McGonagall with him!

As soon as he saw the look on Professor McGonagall's face, which seemed to turn him into a toad, Snape knew that the "airtight" mouthed Fish must have told him everything.

Professor McGonagall led them to the teachers' table, where Dumbledore was seated in the center with a smile on his face, and the four judges were seated on either side of him.

Only instead of Barty Crouch there was a familiar face to Fish, Hermione, Harry and Parvati: Percy Weasley, the former Gryffindor prefect who had graduated and was now working at the Ministry of Magic.

Noticing Fish's look, Percy smiled and nodded in response.

Dumbledore looked at Professor McGonagall with a smirk, intending to tease her, but seeing the cold glint in her cat-like eyes, the headmaster wisely decided against it.

He then looked behind Professor McGonagall at Fish and gestured to the cat, "Fish, sit next to me with Hermione."

"No." Fish flatly refused, "Fish wants to sit with Minerva."

"Well..." Dumbledore shook his head regretfully, "Champions, please take a seat."

Fleur and Krum took a seat next to their headmaster, while Harry sat next to Percy, and Fish and Hermione followed Professor McGonagall to the other side of the guest table, with Fleur and Davies sitting right next to Madame Maxime on the other side.

When Fish sat down, the empty plate in front of him was not filled as quickly as before, and Fish tapped the plate with his fork, confused, as Comey and the others had not yet served him food.

(?ω?)

Just as Fish was upset about the lack of food, Dumbledore grabbed a small menu they all had in front of them, glanced at it, and then yelled at the empty plate in front of him, "Pork chops!"

The pork chops appeared immediately, the others at the table suddenly took notice and followed suit, ordering their favorite food on the plate.

Fish also took his menu, looked at it from start to finish and, with knife and fork held high, shouted, "One of everything on there for Fish!".

Ψ(=???=)

The table in front of Fish was instantly filled with all kinds of food, but this was only part of the menu, the rest of the food was too much.

However, the Hogwarts elves didn't just leave things like that, they kept an eye on Fish and, as soon as there was a gap, they filled it with new food.

Since Dobby had brought Fish's Christmas present to the kitchens, Fish had become as much of a priority for the elves as Dumbledore was as Headmaster.

Everyone ate and talked with their dance partners or friends, and although Fish ate quickly, he didn't forget to feed Hermione and Professor McGonagall from time to time.

Gradually, everyone stopped eating with knife and fork, except Fish, who kept putting food in his mouth, and as soon as one of the plates in front of him was emptied, a new one was served.

Suddenly, the Great Hall became a bizarre scene of a group of people watching Fish gorge himself.

Hermione, sitting next to Fish, had her head down, refusing even Fish's occasional offer of food, and if it weren't for the black fur on her face, her face would now be flushed.

"Nya~ I'm so full nya~!"

(=?ω?=)

When he finally finished all the food on the menu, Fish threw the knife and fork on the table and plopped down on the chair, squinting his eyes and stroking his bulging belly.

"Would you like some more, Fish?" asked Dumbledore with a smile as he approached.

"Well... Fish can't eat any more nya..."

?ω?

Fish replied with a regretful frown.

Dumbledore then stood up and motioned for the students below him to stand up as well, then waved his wand and all the tables swirled against the wall, leaving an empty space in the center.

Next, he conjured a tall stage, attached to the right wall, with a drum set, some guitars, a lute, a cello, and other musical instruments.

Several thick-haired magicians in torn black robes stepped onto the stage and occupied the stage instruments.

The audience erupted in thunderous applause, shouting out the band's name.

"The Weird Sisters?" Confused, Fish looked at Hermione, "But are they obviously men?"

(=?ω?=)?

"Whatever, it's our turn to go upstairs and dance."

Hermione didn't bother to think why all the members of that band called "The Weird Sisters" were male, she grabbed Fish's hairy hand and dragged him to the center of the dance floor.

The other three champions joined their partners and made their way to the dance floor, as the lanterns went out elsewhere, except in the center of the Great Hall, which was illuminated.

Fish knew how to dance, or rather, Hermione had taught him how to dance as soon as she heard about the dance, and although Fish didn't really like slow dancing, it was easy, so Fish picked it up quickly.

The two entered the dance floor to the sound of a slow, melancholy tune played by The Weird Sisters.

Fish wrapped an arm around Hermione's waist, as he remembered, and clasped his other hand with hers, their bodies almost pressed together, then Fish lowered his head and gently rested his cat-like head against Hermione's, and the two of them slowly swayed to the music, as they twirled around the dance floor in small steps.