Chapter 734: The True Gryffindor (Edited)

"Chapter 734: The True Gryffindor (Edited)"

Dumbledore sighed, unsure if it was out of excitement or relief, after listening to Hermione and Fish's narration.

Hermione, in her own excitement, asked, "Professor, besides Slytherin's locket and the giant snake named Nagini, what other Horcrux could there be?"

The four Horcruxes, Riddle's diary, Hufflepuff's golden cup, Ravenclaw's diadem, and the Gaunt family ring, had been destroyed. The locket had not been found, and the Great Serpent was with Voldemort, but apart from that, there seemed to be no further clues about the Horcruxes in those memories related to Voldemort.

"Could it be Gryffindor's sword?" Hermione exclaimed.

Knowing the bearers of the other Horcruxes, the know-it-all Miss Granger would have gone to the library to search for them and would have discovered the existence of Gryffindor's sword.

Dumbledore shook his head and said, "Gryffindor's sword is safe, I have it under my protection, and Voldemort has no access to it. Furthermore, there are not seven Horcruxes, but six."

He omitted Harry, the most important Horcrux, and explained, "The seventh part of his soul, though fragmented, still resides in his resurrected body. It is the part of him that existed in ghostly form during his years of exile, without which he would not be complete. This seventh part of his soul will be the last thing that those who seek to kill Voldemort must target: the piece within him."

"For now? Should we?" Hermione didn't feel as relieved as she was sharply aware of the uncertainty in Dumbledore's words.

"Yes..." Dumbledore said with another sigh, "Do you think Voldemort would have replenished the six Horcruxes knowing that the diary and the golden cup had been destroyed?"

"But, but... can't there be only six Horcruxes?" Hermione asked, stuttering as her eyes widened in horror.

It's not that only six can be made, it's that Voldemort wants to maintain the most magical number of 'seven'..." Dumbledore continued with a sigh. "Of course, dividing the soul multiple times is not an easy task for Voldemort, so he may not necessarily be creating new Horcruxes at the moment, but we must remain vigilant against that possibility."

"So, after all of this, we can't be sure about the number of Horcruxes? Why don't we do what Fish did, capture Voldemort and give him Veritaserum?"

(??ˇ?ˇ??)

Fish crossed his arms and nodded, his expression serious.

"Indeed, that's one way," Dumbledore chuckled lightly, "As long as we can catch him."

"If he appears in front of Fish, he will never escape, nya!"

(??ˇ?ˇ??)

Fish tilted his head confidently.

When Voldemort had been resurrected, he hadn't expected him to escape so decisively. That's why he hadn't marked him with the Dark Mark. And when he saw Voldemort again, he would mark him first.

That way, no matter how Voldemort fled, he would be able to sense him.

However, there was still one problem to solve...

"So, when will they teach Fish Apparition? Once he learns it, Fish will be able to catch the fleeing Voldemort!"

(?ω?)

The atmosphere, which had been somewhat heavy, suddenly lightened as they realized that the so-called Dark Lord didn't seem so intimidating when mentioned by Fish.

"Don't worry, when the holidays are over, the Ministry will arrange for someone to come to Hogwarts and teach you Apparition," Dumbledore said with a reassuring smile.

He wasn't sure of the exact name or effect of the Wild Mark spell, but following Fish's lead earlier, Dumbledore had learned that Fish had a spell to detect a specific target.

"Well, regardless, this memory has progressed a lot, so why don't we have something to celebrate?" Dumbledore decided to set aside the topic of Horcruxes and instead conjured a teapot and three tea cups, saying to Fish and Hermione.

"Sure, wine is out of the question, I don't want to be like Horace and get scolded by Minerva," he smiled and squinted at the two. "I know all about last night, you did a good job."

However, the recently fed Fish wasn't interested in a drink or anything, he leaned on the table and leaned his whole body towards Dumbledore, his eyes shining as he asked, "Albus, that Gryffindor sword you were talking about, can you show it to Fish?"

Fish had seen several beautiful swords on Muggle television shows, but in a school that taught magic and was filled with wizards, the only way to see a cold weapon for close combat was basically to look at the armor statues.

So when Fish heard that there was a sword used by the school's founder, he immediately felt intrigued.

Dumbledore smiled enigmatically, grabbed the Sorting Hat that was nearby, and handed it to Fish.

"Just a moment, Dumbledore!" exclaimed the Sorting Hat. "What are you doing? I can't control whether Fish can pull out the sword or not!"

"What do you mean? Is the sword hidden inside you?"

(´ω´)

Fish asked, grabbing the Sorting Hat and pulling it from side to side.

"I haven't hidden it!" the Sorting Hat argued loudly. "Gryffindor magically bound me to his sword. If Fish were a true Gryffindor, he would have been able to pull it out from me! But it's not something I can control!"

"Is that so, nya?"

(´ω´)

Fish gave Dumbledore a skeptical look.

"Of course," Dumbledore smiled and nodded.

"Then you show it to Fish!" Fish handed him the Sorting Hat.

However, Dumbledore didn't bother taking it. "Actually, I'm not a typical Gryffindor, so I can't pull it out through the Sorting Hat."

He said this with a smile on his face, as if he was open to the fact that he wasn't a "true Gryffindor."

Of course, given Dumbledore's usual behavior, it could be a lie on his part.

But Fish didn't care whether Dumbledore was a Gryffindor or not...

"You said you've been keeping the sword all this time, nya!"

(ΦДΦ)

Fish glared at the old man with a snort.

How dare he try to lie to him again!

"I didn't lie to you," explained Dumbledore, shrugging his shoulders. "I couldn't pull the Gryffindor sword out of the Sorting Hat, but... I know where it's hidden."

(?ω?)

"...So you couldn't give it to Fish, nya?!"

(`Д´)

Fish dangerously eyed Dumbledore's hands, opening his mouth and showing his teeth.

"Ahem..." Dumbledore, concerned about being bitten again, hid his hands behind his back and apologized with a flattering smile. "I was just trying to see if you could retrieve the sword."

Fish tilted his head and pondered for a moment, then reached into the Sorting Hat and rummaged...

The result, of course, was nothing.

Fish didn't feel bad about not being able to retrieve the sword. After all... he didn't think a school with a large cat that couldn't even climb a tree as its symbol was any good.

And Dumbledore felt slightly relieved to see this and a little down at the same time...

The reason he had lied about not being able to unsheathe the sword was because he was worried that Fish would be upset if he didn't unsheathe it, but it turned out he was wrong.

Fish didn't care about Gryffindor, he was just curious to see what the sword was like.

Of course, Fish's curiosity had been awakened, and he wasn't going to give up so easily.

He grabbed the Sorting Hat and brought it close to his face, shaking it while threatening, "Come on! Hand over the sword! Or Fish will not only smear you with oil but also tear you apart with his claws!"

(`ω´)

Sorting Hat: "..."