Chapter 677: Return of the Fire (Edited)

Professor McGonagall and Harry anxiously waited in the headmaster's office.

On the other side of the two-way mirror, Sirius and Moody hadn't left, and even Lupin and Tonks, who had also stayed at Ancestral Black House, had appeared in the mirror.

On the walls of the office, the portraits of the previous headmasters had stopped pretending to sleep and were whispering all together.

A flash of fire appeared out of nowhere, and with a cheerful chirp, Dumbledore appeared with the phoenix in one hand and a cat in the other.

"Meow!"

(=`=)

Fish immediately pounced on Professor McGonagall...

Then Professor McGonagall grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and lifted him up.

"Meow~"

(=?ω?=)

Fish sincerely snuggled, with his ears drooping and his large eyes casting a pitiful look at Professor McGonagall.

Professor McGonagall, who knew all about Fish's character, wasn't fooled by that look.

However, she knew it wasn't the right time to give Fish a lesson, so she gave him a fierce look and said, "I'll deal with you later!"

Professor McGonagall placed Fish on the table, then turned to Dumbledore and asked, "What is the situation?"

Harry, Sirius, and the others in the mirror, as well as the headmasters on the wall, all turned their attention to him as well.

Dumbledore shook his head with a bitter smile and said, "Voldemort has put us in a tight spot...".

He briefly described the trip to the Ministry, then looked at Harry and said, "Voldemort guessed that I would likely send someone to the Ministry after Harry's warning, so he instructed the Death Eaters to inform Fudge in advance... He probably only wanted to weaken the Order of the Phoenix, and me going there would have been the best thing he could have hoped for..."

Dumbledore shook his head again and smiled bitterly, "If Fudge hadn't been so desperate to reach me tonight that he jumped as soon as Fish and I stepped out of the elevator and waited for us to be inside the Department of Mysteries before showing up, things would have been much more difficult. But as things stand now... there is room to maneuver... it's just that in the future, we'll have more trouble trying to prevent Voldemort from infiltrating the Department of Mysteries."

"If Fudge had been delayed, he wouldn't have caught us, meow!"

(`ω´)

Upon hearing that, Fish immediately surrendered.

"Fish found Fudge and the others as soon as we got out of the elevator, and Fish warned you in time! It was you who didn't react!"

"Ah... he's right," Dumbledore agreed, nodding approvingly, and then said with a smile, "Fish hit the nail on the head this time, and I'll need him to help me later in the Wizengamot trial."

Fish's eyes lit up, "So Fish did the right thing by going?"

(?ω?)

"That's right," Dumbledore nodded, "I'll count on you as a witness if I want to defend myself against Fudge's accusations later."

Fish immediately turned his head to look at Professor McGonagall.

Professor McGonagall glared at him and then reluctantly made a small nod, promising not to pursue Fish's previous actions.

It was then that Harry, who had remained silent all this time, finally spoke.

"What's in the Department of Mysteries? Why does Voldemort want it?" He stared at Dumbledore and asked in a soft voice, "That thing still has something to do with me, doesn't it?"

Dumbledore sighed and replied, "Yes... It started sixteen years ago... It was a cold and damp night when I was in an upstairs room at the Pig's Head pub, meeting with someone who had applied for a Divination teaching position..."

Professor McGonagall grumbled upon hearing it. She had never held much regard for Divination, especially not for Professor Trelawney.

Dumbledore looked at her and continued, "That person is your current Divination professor, Sybil Trelawney, granddaughter of a very famous and gifted seer. But the interview was highly disappointing, and it seemed to me that she had no real talent herself, so I rejected her application..."

"But isn't Professor Trelawney now...?" Harry asked uncertainly.

"Because just as I was about to leave, Sybil made a prophecy, one that was completely different from her lackluster performance in the interview." Dumbledore looked at Harry. "I don't think you are unaware of that scene."

Harry instantly remembered the strange state of Professor Trelawney during the final exam of his third-year Divination class.

"There was also a spy present, but he was discovered right in the middle of the prophecy and was subsequently expelled." Dumbledore continued, "But Voldemort also knew the first half of the prophecy, and that's why he tried to kill you in your infancy, which backfired and caused him to lose all his powers."

He didn't tell Harry the details of the prophecy, and Harry didn't ask. After all, he could be monitored by Voldemort at any moment, and it was only natural for Dumbledore to keep silent.

"So when Voldemort returned, he wanted to find out the contents of the prophecy in order to find a way to kill you." Dumbledore sighed again as he finished.

"And what does this have to do with the Department of Mysteries?" Harry asked, now having a clearer understanding of the overall picture.

"The Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic is a magical place. When a real and definitive prophecy emerges in England... I mean the type of prophecy that truly matters, a prophecy sphere forms in the Hall of Prophecies at the Department of Mysteries, and only the subject of the prophecy can retrieve the prophecy sphere from the shelf in the Hall of Prophecies." Dumbledore explained.

"Voldemort is a fool, nya? All prophecies are lies."

(?ω?)

After hearing the story, Fish scratched his head in confusion.

Fish and Professor McGonagall shared a similar attitude toward prophecies. While Professor McGonagall at least approved of prophecies within the Department of Mysteries, Fish denied all prophecies...

Especially after he and Professor Trelawney teamed up to deceive Umbridge.

"Actually, that prophecy was quite accurate," Dumbledore shrugged, defending Professor Trelawney to some extent.

But he didn't dwell on the matter too much, clapped his hands, and said, "Well, that's it. It's getting late, so let's all go back to bed."

He then reminded once again, "Don't forget your Occlumency practice, Harry."

Harry solemnly nodded, bid goodnight to Sirius and the others in the mirror, and left the headmaster's office with a serious expression...

The information he had received tonight was overwhelming and complex, and he needed to go back and sort out his thoughts.

Behind him, Fish transformed into a cat and followed him, then jumped onto Harry's shoulders and allowed him to carry him back to the dormitory.

Unlike Harry, who was in a bad mood, Fish was in a good mood tonight.

Because not only did he gain a new territory, but he also heard an interesting story told by Dumbledore, and most importantly...

He had gotten himself into trouble, but he wasn't going to be lectured by Professor McGonagall.

Nothing would make Fish happier than that.