Chapter 718: The Meaning of the Existence of the Order of the Cat (Edited)

When Harry was informed by Fish, he became very excited, not to mention the fact that it had to do with the fight against Voldemort, but just the opportunity to learn about Voldemort's past was highly intriguing to him...

To put it bluntly, like Fish, he wanted to read the story.

So on Saturday night, Harry and Ron put on the invisibility cloak again and followed Fish and Hermione to the headmaster's office.

As in the two previous occasions, Dumbledore was already seated at his desk, waiting for them, with his Pensieve on the table, steaming black tea, and various types of desserts on the side.

"Here you are." Dumbledore greeted Fish and the others with a smile, pointing to the empty chairs arranged on the other side of the table. "Please, have a seat."

"Albus, what are we going to see today? Any memories of your battle with Voldemort?"

Excited, Fish asked as he trotted towards the table and rested his hands on it.

"I'm sorry, there aren't any." Dumbledore shrugged, extending his hands.

"But you said today's memory was important!"

According to Fish's judgment, the memory of the battle was, of course, the most important.

Hermione tugged at her coat's corner and said with a smile, "Only you believe that the memory of the battle is important..."

"Isn't it, nya?" Fish happily exclaimed, "We can learn Voldemort's fighting style from his battle memories, and then we can plan our counterattacks, nya! That's what Fish did when he challenged Minerva, nya!"

In this matter, Fish was very vocal.

He lifted his head proudly and said confidently, "So once I've seen Voldemort's fighting memory, Fish will soon find a way to confront him, nya!"

"But... aren't you already capable of defeating him?" Hermione looked at Fish with a bewildered gaze and pointed out the truth mercilessly, "Actually, you just want to see people fight, don't you?"

"No, that's not it, nya! Fish is trying to find a way for others to defeat Voldemort too, nya!"

Fish retorted with a growl, as if he had been offended.

"Tonight, we will continue with the story of Tom Riddle," Dumbledore interrupted loudly, relieving Fish from the situation, "Last time, we saw him on the verge of entering Hogwarts. You probably remember how excited he was when he found out he was a wizard, and how he refused to let me accompany him to Diagon Alley, and how I warned him not to continue stealing once he was at school..."

Dumbledore briefly recounted Voldemort's life since enrolling at Hogwarts.

"Being an exceptionally gifted and handsome orphan, he naturally attracted the attention and sympathy of the staff almost as soon as he arrived. He seemed polite, quiet, and eager for knowledge. Almost everyone was highly impressed by him."

"Didn't you tell them what he was like when you saw him at the orphanage?" Harry asked.

"No. Although he has shown no remorse, perhaps he is regretful of his past actions and determined to make a fresh start, which I have chosen to give him," Dumbledore responded firmly, showing no signs of regretting his decision.

"But you don't truly believe in him, do you?" Hermione was fully aware of Dumbledore's true attitude towards Riddle.

"Yes." Dumbledore clapped his hands and said, "I didn't believe he was worthy of unconditional trust. So, I decided to keep a close watch on him. However, he was suspicious of me. I believe he sensed it and revealed a bit more than he intended due to the excitement of discovering his true identity."

"He was cautious not to disclose too much, but he couldn't retract what he had let slip in his excitement, nor what Mrs. Cole had confided in me. He was prudent, though, not to try and confuse me as he had confused so many of my colleagues," Dumbledore said, half in anguish and half with appreciation.

At the same time, there was a hint of regret in his words, lamenting that such a talented wizard like Tom Riddle could end up becoming as dangerous a figure as Voldemort.

Then, Dumbledore told Fish and the others about the formation of the Death Eaters and the composition of the original Death Eaters.

"They were a complex mix of the weak seeking shelter, the ambitious craving prestige, and the naturally cruel drawn to a leader who could teach them a superior form of cruelty..."

"Right..."

Dumbledore's comment seemed to jog Fish's memory. Scratching his head in confusion, he turned to Hermione, Harry, and Ron and asked, "What are the criteria for recruiting members to our Order of the Cat, nya?"

Fish certainly remembered the purpose of the Order of the Cat, but he was curious about the recruitment criteria, not the reason for recruitment.

In fact, for Fish, the purpose of the Order of the Cat was to gather friends to play with, teach them to fight, and watch them fight. But why they joined the Order of the Cat, Fish hadn't really thought about it.

Perhaps because they wanted someone to fight alongside as well?

Fish suddenly remembered Zacharias Smith, who had sought a fight with Fluffy.

Hermione's response was similar, but not identical, to what he had guessed.

"Anyone who wants to fight together against Voldemort in the future can be our companion!"

It was the same fight, but with a different audience than Fish had expected.

"But..." Fish said, dismissing it, "You're too weak to fight against Voldemort, even in a few years."

Hermione didn't react, but Harry and Ron felt a bit embarrassed.

"That takes a lot of courage," Dumbledore smiled and reassured them, "And isn't it our job to deal with Voldemort? We still have members of the Order of the Phoenix, it's enough to confront Voldemort's followers."

"That's right, when many animals fight for territory, it's leader against leader and subordinate against subordinate, nya."

(=^･^=)

Fish nodded, acknowledging the statement in his own way of understanding.

"I didn't find many memories of Riddle at Hogwarts," Dumbledore continued, after clarifying Fish's confusion, "Not many people who knew him then spoke about him, they were too afraid. Those who reminded me of him told me that Riddle was obsessed with his origins. It's understandable, of course, he grew up in an orphanage and naturally wanted to know how he ended up there..."

He briefly recounted how Tom Riddle had traced his wizarding lineage in the first place.

"...In the summer of his sixteenth year, Riddle left the orphanage he returned to every year to find his Gaunt relatives. Now, everyone, please stand up..."

Dumbledore also stood up and handed a glass jar filled with pearly memories.

Fish's eyes lit up; Dumbledore had rambled for a long time, and now it was finally time to get to the point.

"I'm very lucky to have collected this," he said as he poured the shiny object into the Pensieve, "You'll understand once we've gone through it..."

Without waiting for his words, eager Fish had already immersed himself in the Pensieve.

(?ω?)