Chapter 695: Collectibles (Edited)

"Um... actually, the salary I just offered is not low enough," Dumbledore quickly added. "Even for the Ministry of Magic, except for those few directors and chiefs, only Aurors earn more than Horace... Being an Auror is the most demanding job at the Ministry of Magic, hunting down prisoners, protecting important people, retrieving dangerous objects... They have to do basically everything!"

Harry, aspiring to be an Auror, rubbed his nose.

"Auror? Do you mean those who tried to stop Fish when he was drunk, and Fish beat them up with his friends?"

(??ˇ?ˇ??)

Fish nodded thoughtfully, "I think so... They seem to be everywhere... So, they're the errand boys of the Ministry of Magic, right?"

"Yes! That's right!" Dumbledore affirmed firmly.

Harry reached out and touched his earlobe again.

"With so much work, no wonder they get paid more."

Simple-minded Fish was easily convinced by Dumbledore, but...

"Fish still doesn't want to work, nya..."

(?ω?)

"Um... that's a question you should discuss with Minerva later." Dumbledore wasn't going to be foolish enough to get involved in that, he just needed to make sure Fish would choose to be a professor at Hogwarts if he wanted to work.

So, he decisively changed the subject and said, "You did well today; otherwise, I would have had to put in a lot of effort to convince Horace."

"But we didn't do anything," Harry said, dismayed.

Dumbledore smiled mysteriously, not answering the question but asking, "What do you think of Horace?"

Harry needed to think about this because he hadn't had much contact with him and hadn't interacted much.

Fish, on the other hand, didn't hesitate and bluntly said, "Fish doesn't really like him, nya!"

(`ω´)

"Oh? Why?" Dumbledore asked with interest instead of reprimanding him.

"Fish can't really explain it... It's just that he looks at Fish in a strange way, and that makes Fish uncomfortable, nya..."

(?ω?)

Fish scratched his head, a little confused, and responded.

"And what do you think of him, Harry?" Dumbledore turned his gaze to Harry.

"Well..." Harry said, after thinking for a bit, "I think he's quite friendly and would make a good teacher..."

He wasn't influenced by Fish but responded based on his internal feelings.

Dumbledore nodded and smiled, "I see Fish is a bit more discerning after all..."

Seeing the surprise on Harry's face, he hurriedly explained, "Horace is not a bad man, he just enjoys material pleasures and the company of famous, successful, and powerful people. He likes to feel that others are at his complete disposal."

He pointed at Fish and Harry, "And coincidentally, you two are the most famous students in the magical world in recent years, which is like a rare treasure to Horace. That's why he agreed to my invitation as soon as he saw you."

Harry recalled Horace's earlier performance and sighed softly as if waking up from a dream.

"So why didn't he join the Ministry of Magic?" Harry asked again, "According to you, he would have the skills and contacts to do well in the Ministry, right?"

"Indeed," Dumbledore nodded approvingly, "But Horace never wanted to be in charge; he preferred to take a secondary position, that way the world would be broader, and he would be more comfortable. He had an unusual gift for choosing people who would succeed in all walks of life. And Hogwarts is the perfect place for him to use that ability."

"Horace had founded a club at an early age, with himself as the core, and he chose his favorite students from school to join him. He made them get to know each other, established useful contacts, and always ended up with some kind of benefit, whether it was a free box of his favorite candies, the opportunity to recommend an employee to the Goblin Liaison Office, or access to a bottle of good wine that was difficult to sell in the market."

Harry immediately had the vision of a big, fat spider spitting thread here and there, spinning a web around his body, attracting big, juicy flies towards it.

And Fish blinked, waved his arms with enthusiasm, and said, "Just like Fish's Cat Order, nya?"

(?ω?)

"Cat Order?" Dumbledore said, slightly astonished, and then exclaimed, "Is that the name of that little group you've been leading in secret?"

Although Dumbledore intentionally guided Hermione to form the Cat Order, he didn't pay special attention to how it was going; he continued to trust Hermione's abilities because in the girl, Dumbledore saw a shadow of Professor McGonagall.

"Great! You have the Order of the Phoenix, so it's natural for Fish to start a Cat Order!"

(`´)

Said Fish, raising his head in triumph.

"Well... it's a nice name..." Dumbledore reluctantly praised, and then said, "But Horace's club is of a different nature than the Order of the Phoenix and your... well... Cat Order. It's a much looser organization, whose main function is to allow its members to help each other, and Horace's role in the club is more of a facilitator than a leader."

Fish was still a little confused, but Harry understood what Dumbledore was saying and also understood why Fish had said that Horace's gaze made him uncomfortable.

Harry frowned, displeased with the idea of being treated like some kind of "collectible object."

"I told you this not to make you feel disgusted with Horace... we must now refer to him as Professor Slughorn..." Dumbledore saw the expression on Harry's face and continued explaining, "There's nothing wrong with joining his club, on the contrary, there will be many benefits, but I want everyone to remain vigilant. The natural Animagus, the Boy Who Lived... you will be the gem in his collection, so undoubtedly, he will come to lure you."

Harry raised his eyebrows but still felt a little unsure about Slughorn and his club.

Fish, on the other hand, had a slightly different perspective, tilting his head for a moment...

"Fish won't be anyone's collectible object! Even though that fat old man has a bald head and no hair, Fish will make him a part of the Cat Order and turn him into Fish's collection!"

(`Д´)