Chapter 595: Night Talk (Edited)

"Fish, we should go."

Hermione closed the book, pushed the little cat sleeping soundly in her lap and said softly.

"Nya~"

?(?=?=?)?

Fish nuzzled Hermione's hand with his paws and stuck out his tongue to lick it twice.

Hermione rubbed Fish's soft tummy a few times before getting up with him in her arms and heading for the portrait hole.

Ginny, who was playing Weasley Magic Chess with her friends, shot Hermione an envious look and suddenly decided that she would rather have a small Animagus form, and that a doe or something...it was too flashy.

She wasn't like Fish, who turned into Animagus to fight in animal form. To the average mage, Animagus form is more practical in small animal form.

By this time, the two "practical" kittens had slipped up to a stone gargoyle, opened the secret door with their usual meow, and followed the revolving staircase to the Headmaster's room, where Dumbledore was waiting for them.

In front of him, there were two chairs set out, several sandwiches on the desk, and a beautiful teapot from whose spout a faint warmth wafted, and Fish, with a good nose, smelled the aroma of tea and fruit mingling.

"Minerva is not here?"

(°ω°≡°°ω°)

Pushing open the door, Fish turned his head from side to side, looking for Professor McGonagall.

"Don't you always reproach me for leaving all the work to Minerva? That's why I didn't call her this time." Dumbledore explained with a smirk, and poured tea for him and Hermione.

"That's right," Fish nodded thoughtfully, coming over to sit at his desk, and said, "I don't know if Fish's Patronus has changed nya.... Albus do you remember what Fish's old patronus looked like?"

"Er... no," Dumbledore shook his head, "what's the problem?".

Fish told him what he had found, and then asked, "Can't you use the Pensive of to see nya?"

"Yes, of course," but Dumbledore had a different idea, "It's been almost two months since I last saw your Patronus, who knows if it's grown some more for other reasons, it's safer to summon it again today and have a look."

"So what are you waiting for?"

?(ΦωΦ)?

Fish rose abruptly from his seat and said excitedly, "Let's go to the Forbidden Forest!".

"No rush," Dumbledore picked up a piece of candy from the table and popped it into his mouth, "Eat something first, and while you're at it tell me about your dream, did you discover anything new in it in the last two days? And..."

He looked softly at Hermione again, and said, "It looks like Hermione has something to tell me as well..."

"Nya?"

?ω?

Fish looked curiously at Hermione beside him.

Hermione, in turn, nodded and said, "Yes, Professor, it's about the Dueling Club...".

She took a moment to organize her words, and then recounted the problems she was having at the moment, and the difficulties that were likely to arise.

"... So, I wanted to ask you, is there a better solution?" Hermione asked.

"For a student who hasn't even graduated yet, you're amazingly good, Hermione." Dumbledore didn't answer her question right away, but clapped his hands softly in genuine admiration.

If Fish wasn't so special, he would have wanted to groom Hermione to be his successor.

But... it doesn't seem to make any difference.... I am so wise!

Dumbledore smiled smugly at the two young wizards before him.

Hermione, who had received the compliment, had a shy and slightly proud smile on her face, while her eyes were still firmly locked on Dumbledore, waiting for him to give her his answer.

Dumbledore didn't keep her waiting long, stroking his beard, "The safest way, naturally, is the Unbreakable Vow, but the consequences of that are so dire that few people would be willing to do it."

He paused, took a sip from his teacup and continued, "So my suggestion is to sign a less strict contract with the participants, so that they take it to heart and, with Fish around, it can be kept as secret as possible."

"As for scheduling...," Dumbledore said with a slight smile, "Why do they all have to practice together? Hogwarts classes are also all scheduled separately, you could have let them choose whether they wanted to participate or not, those who don't have time can wait until next time, and those who do, will come naturally."

"Right!"

Hermione woke up like a dream, as she had contacted several Prefects, including the Seventh, who could be in charge of teaching the younger students.

"Thank you, Professor!" said Hermione excitedly to Dumbledore, she already knew what she had to do.

And after a moment of frowning and thinking, Fish said, "Isn't that what you usually do, Albus? Leave the work to others!"

∑(ΦДΦ)

Dumbledore: "..."

Although what you say is true, I don't want to look bad!

The Headmaster glared at Fish who glared at him.

Dumbledore's expression became even more depressed when he heard the intermittent muffled laughter coming from the portraits of the previous Headmasters.

"Er... that's right," Hermione nudged Fish and said quietly, changing the subject, "There's something else I feel I should tell you, Professor."

"Oh?" Dumbledore made the same listening gesture.

"It's Sirius, Professor." said Hermione with a serious countenance, "He used the Red Flu last night and tried to come to Hogsmeade to meet Harry."

"Ah, he told me together when he informed me that Fish was looking for me." Dumbledore said, "That, you've done well, I've warned him, and if there's any more of this, you need to come tell me first."

Hermione nodded.

And Fish suddenly remembered something. "Ah, yes, Albus!" he said. "What should I do if I want to see you again? It's too much trouble to bother Minerva or anyone else every time!"

(ˇˇ)

"About that," Dumbledore reached into his pocket, pulled out a small mirror and handed it to Fish, "You can use it to contact me."

"A two-sided mirror?" Fish took the mirror and instantly recognized it. He said with some annoyance, "But it doesn't work at all, nya!"

Professor McGonagall had given him a pair of two-sided mirrors before he started school. However, at that time, his habits were almost identical to a normal cat, so whenever he tried to contact Professor McGonagall using the mirrors, she was usually asleep or on patrol, and there was no one on the other side of the mirror.

This experience left Fish with a very negative impression of the mirror, which claimed to allow him to "talk to his mother anytime, anywhere."

"Between ten and ten-thirty at night, I'm usually in front of the mirror." Said Dumbledore, "If you need to see me, use the mirror at that hour."

"Okay..." Fish then nodded, putting the mirror away.

"Next," Dumbledore said as he clapped his hands, smiled, and stood up, "Shall we go to the Forbidden Forest?"