Chapter 573: Passwords to enter the director's office (Edited)

In the evening, back in the common room, Fish was trailed by the twins, who had already found several test subjects and were waiting for Fish to take the final safety precautions.

Hermione, who had naturally followed them, looked at the group of people following the twins, all first years except his best friend Lee Jordan, who clearly didn't understand what the Weasley twins stood for.

"Do they really know what they're doing?" Hermione asked the group of new students, ignoring George and Fred.

"Trying out the new product from the Weasley's magic joke store?" a dark-haired girl replied cautiously.

"So, do you know what will happen after you eat them?", Hermione continued to ask.

The first years looked at each other before a freckled boy said, "George and Fred said it might give us nosebleeds or something."

Hermione immediately glared at George and Fred, while the twins looked away in embarrassment.

"We weren't really lying, were we?" whispered George, then watched helplessly as Hermione told the group of new students the information they had withheld.

But Hermione wasn't being alarmist and told them that the twins had tried the candy themselves and that Fish was watching them.

The freshmen were furious with the twins for not telling them, but after George doubled their commission, they opted to continue with the experiment.

Fred then pulled a handful of normal-looking candy out of a large paper pocket and handed them out to the freshmen.

Soon the first years were passed out in their seats as if they had been hit over the head with an invisible mallet.

George pulled out a notepad with a spring-loaded clipboard and watched the unconscious freshmen closely, taking note of their reactions.

Next, the twins and Lee Jordan popped a purple candy into the freshmen's mouths, and within minutes they were waking up one by one.

"Are you feeling all right?" asked George kindly to the little dark-haired girl.

"I... I think so." Said the girl shakily, still a little groggy.

"Great!" The twins cheered happily, before being pushed roughly aside by Hermione.

"Fish, come and see, is something wrong with them?" She dragged Fish towards the group of new students.

"It's okay nya!"

(ΦωΦ)

Without further ado, Fish activated his toxin detection spell and took a closer look at the vitality of the newbies.

After a few moments, he shook his head and said, "They're all healthy nya, nothing's wrong."

"I told you not to worry," George said, proudly putting away his notepad, "We have a reputation for the quality of our products!".

On the other hand, Fred lifted the newbies up one by one, then patted them on the back and laughed, "That's all for today, tomorrow we'll continue testing another effect of another candy, for the same commission as today."

The new students let out a murmur of excitement and then dispersed as they commented on their experiences with the candy they had just eaten.

"Hmph!" Hermione shot a disgruntled look at the smug twins and ran back to her duties for the day.

"And remember to warn Fish about the next experiment." Fish reminded the twins before leaving with Hermione.

...

As night fell, all of Hogwarts fell silent and many of the portraits on the walls had fallen asleep.

Just then, two kittens emerged one after the other from the hole in the wall behind the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Come back soon."

The Fat Lady muttered as she was woken up and drifted back into a deep sleep, as the doorkeeper of the Gryffindor dormitories, she was used to being woken up at night.

Especially since Fish had come to Hogwarts, now even if no one woke her, the Fat Lady sometimes woke up in the middle of the night of her own volition.

Instead of the usual scratching here and there, Fish led Hermione to the stone gargoyle of the Headmaster's office.

"Nya!"

At Fish's mewl, the stone gargoyle jumped aside, revealing the hidden door behind it.

"Come on, Hermione."

Both cats returned to their human forms and climbed the twisting staircase, holding hands.

"What do you want with Albus?"

(ω)

Fish asked curiously.

"It's about Umbridge, I wanted to ask her what the hell she was thinking hiring someone who wouldn't let us do magic at all to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts." Hermione replied, not trying to hide it.

"Hermione doesn't like Umbridge, either?"

"That you don't like her is one thing, but mostly because, well, she doesn't seem to be trying to teach us anything."

"Just like Lockhart?" Fish also thought of the conning professor.

"There's something useful in Lockhart's stories," Hermione shook her head in disgust, "And Umbridge's lessons, they're all useless nonsense."

She then took it upon herself to explain to Fish the reason for her displeasure.

"This is our year for the O.W.L. exams, and You-Know-Who is resurrected and hiding in the shadows and could strike at any moment..." said Hermione with a solemn frown, "Having a teacher like that won't help us at all."

Fish, who had no worries about it, wiggled his ears, not really understanding Hermione, but he also knew that Hermione just liked to read and learn anything new, so it was only natural that she would have problems with this 'non-teacher' Umbridge.

Thinking about it, Fish was more than sure that he would find an opportunity to punch Umbridge.

As he spoke, the revolving staircase came to an end and Fish knocked on the oak door, waiting a moment before pushing his way inside.

"Albus isn't here..."

(°ω°≡°°ω°)

Entering the room, Fish looked around to make sure Dumbledore wasn't in his office, then ran to the golden hanger by the door and greeted Fawkes and Uroboros.

"Hey nya, long time!".

(ΦωΦ)

Fish pulled Fawkes down from the perch, and the basilisk curled up on his arm.

"Caw~"

"Hiss!"

Both magical creatures affectionately touched Fish's cheek, since they didn't see him this summer, as Dumbledore had tricked Fish into going to Ancestral Black's house.

After rubbing up against Fawkes and Uroboros, Fish returned them to their perch.

"Do you know where Albus has gone?".

?ω?

"Caw~"

Fawkes knew more about Dumbledore's whereabouts than the basilisk who spent most of his time sleeping, but he only had a general idea of where he was headed.

"Hmm, so you don't know when Albus is coming back either nya?"

"Caw~"

"Well, Fish understands, thank you."

(ΦωΦ)

Fish reached out and stroked Fawkes' back, then turned to Hermione and said, "Fawkes said Albus was out of school for the afternoon and he didn't know when he'd be back, but he'd let you know when he came back for us."

Hermione was both disappointed and relieved to hear Fish say that.

After all, she was here to question the Headmaster, and even though she already knew Dumbledore well, and had Fish's connections, she was still a little nervous.

"Then let's go find Minerva." Hermione thought about it, not wanting to give up.

After thanking Fawkes, she dragged Fish, who still wanted to play with his two friends for a while, towards the door.

"Fish will take you guys to the Forbidden Forest in a couple of days nya~" greeted Fish to Fawkes and Uroboros, before closing the door behind him.

(ΦωΦ)ヅ

The two reentered the third floor, and just as Hermione was about to open the secret door and walk out, Fish pulled her back.

"Wait nya," Fish whispered holding his index finger to his mouth, "That fat frog is out there."

Hermione cautiously glued her ear to the wall, and then she heard the actual sound of Umbridge's worn, girlish voice.

After listening for a moment, Hermione realized that Umbridge was muttering a few phrases, including the names of some snacks, in a fluid motion, and knowing Dumbledore's habit of putting passwords for sweets, her mouth opened slightly in surprise.

"Are you... testing the password to get into the Headmaster's office?"

"Nya?" Fish cocked his head to the side, "But shouldn't all teachers know the password nya?"

"It seems that the relationship between the school and the Ministry of Magic is more strained than I thought." said Hermione with a sigh.

At the same time, she wondered why Dumbledore had asked Umbridge to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts when she was so distrustful of the Ministry.

He didn't think Dumbledore was really incapable of finding a suitable candidate...there were so many people in the Order of the Phoenix.

As the sound of Umbridge's curses and the heavy footsteps of her fading came from outside, Fish and Hermione opened the door and slipped into their cat forms.