Chapter 401: Combing the cat (Edited)

As the three adults left the McGonagall house, Hermione, who had been left alone, took a copy of the Daily Prophet from the coffee table and read it in the living room.

"Sirius Black Appears in France!"

The headline on the front page was written in bold letters.

As soon as Hermione saw the headline, she immediately guessed that this was a deliberate attempt by Sirius to divert the Ministry of Magic's attention away from Hogwarts....

Otherwise, Hermione couldn't bear the thought of having Dementors stationed outside the school every year.

Not interested in the news report, Hermione turned her attention to another news item that appeared on the front page in big, bold letters, "Gringotts has been invaded again!"

This news piqued some interest in Hermione, for she remembered the Philosopher's Stone from her first year and wondered what the target of the thieves who had broken into Gringotts might be.

She read on with interest, but found in the text many speculative words like "suspicion" and "possible," and a lot of verbiage about what had been stolen and whether the thieves had succeeded.

Hermione curved her lips and looked at other contents of the paper.

The other stories were even less interesting than the previous two, and Hermione looked at them casually for a while before putting the paper back down.

After putting the paper down, Hermione looked around for a moment and looked at the pattern on the little table....

After sitting there for three or four minutes, Hermione's cheeks flushed at the thought of something, and then she squirmed in the chair as if she had fleas on her body.

"Is there something you need, Miss Granger?"

Comey poked his head in from the next room and asked in a booming voice.

"Ahh!" Hermione, who was in a trance, jumped out of the chair in fright, then waved quickly at the enthusiastic Comey, "No, not necessary, thank you..."

"Then Comey will continue cleaning, if you need anything, please just ask!"

"Ok, ok, got it."

Comey nodded to Hermione and retreated to the bedroom.

Hermione let out a long sigh of relief and then fidgeted nervously around the living room.

After a few moments of wandering, she finally stopped and took a deep breath, as if she had made up her mind.

Hermione looked around like a thief before tiptoeing upstairs.

Elf Comey, who was cleaning nearby, poked his head out and looked at Hermione, who was creeping up the stairs, and scratched his head in confusion, wondering what the little visitor would be doing.

Hermione, who seemed to have forgotten that there was a house elf here, crept up the stairs and continued tiptoeing around the second floor, managing to find a room with a sign of a cat's paw and the name Fish.

He stopped at the door and took several more deep breaths, then carefully pushed the door open....

And met the big green eyes behind the crack.

"Ahhh!"

Hermione exclaimed, and jumped back two steps.

And Fish looked at Hermione with a confused look on his face.

"Hermione, you're here." The cat greeted Hermione, then scratched its head and asked, "What were you trying to do at Fish's door?"

(●?ω?●)?

"Ahem... I was, just checking to see if you were awake."

Hermione answered with her head down and her face flushed, only then remembering how sensitive Fish's ears were....

The girl was so embarrassed that she wanted to cut a hole in the floor and crawl inside.

But Fish didn't think too much of it and replied with a big smile, "Oh, Fish just woke up too, he hasn't had a chance to lick his fur yet."

When the cat finished speaking, he cocked his head to one side for a moment and suddenly stomped off to his bed and then back in front of Hermione again.

"Why don't you come and brush Fish's fur?" He held out a small silver comb to Hermione.

Hermione was still in a daze when Fish transformed back into his cat form and jumped into her arms.

"Nya~!"

?(=ΦωΦ=)?

Seeing Hermione stand stunned in the doorway of her room, the little cat reached out and gave her a couple of paws on her arm before Miss Granger came to and cheerfully carried the cat to his room.

There wasn't a girl at Hogwarts who wasn't good at combing the cat's hair, and Hermione was no exception as she carried the cat to the bed and sat down, grabbing the comb and expertly combing the cat's hair.

Fish stretched out comfortably in Hermione's arms, then purred and rolled over from time to time in response to Hermione's movements.

After being combed, Fish jumped out of Hermione's arms and rubbed his face before returning to his human form.

"Shall we have breakfast together nya?"

As he led Hermione downstairs, Fish invited...even though it was almost ten o'clock.

Hermione shook her head, "No, I've already had breakfast."

"Then you're out of luck, Comey's breakfast is delicious nya."

The kitten shook his head and walked over to the dining table to sit down, and the little elf Comey quickly served breakfast.

"Are you sure you don't want some nya?"

Fish shook the fried dough stick in his hand and asked again.

Hermione shook her head again, then leaned her elbows on the table, cheeks between her hands, and watched Fish devouring with happiness on her face.

The cat finished his breakfast quickly and left the house with Hermione, heading for the Three Broomsticks as well.

Along the way, people were waving to Fish, and most were also heading to the Three Broomsticks, so it wasn't long before twenty or thirty people were gathered around Fish and Hermione.

People entered the bar and Hermione saw her parents sitting at the bar, as well as....

Hogwarts professors, even the headmaster, Dumbledore.

Hermione put on a stiff smile and curtsied to the professors looking at her, more when she thought she had walked in with Fish, and that her parents were beside her, she stiffened.

But when the professors saw Hermione, almost all of them smiled kindly at her, even Snape just nodded at her with a cold face, which made Hermione feel a bit flattered.

"Hello everyone nya!"

?(?ΦωΦ?)?

Fish greeted everyone at the bar with a cheerful smile.

"Hi, Fish, happy birthday!"

Everyone smiled, many raised their glasses and pointed at the kitten.

The Grangers, who were talking to Professor McGonagall, heard the commotion and turned their heads.

"Oh, Fish you're here!" Mrs. Granger was much calmer than the nervous Hermione, and she quickly ran out from the bar, unconcerned by the stares, and took the cat in her arms. "Come and give Auntie a hug, it's been almost a year since we've seen each other!"

Mrs. Granger hugged Fish tightly and stroked her cheek, rubbing it firmly, then turned her head to the side to give the cat a kiss on the cheek.

The whole operation went smoothly and seamlessly, completely ignoring Hermione at her side, and even Mrs. Granger pushed her daughter aside intentionally or unintentionally.

Hermione, who did not like her mother: "..."