Chapter 755: Tom the Coward (Edited)

Once again, the three of them stood in front of the rock wall that required blood to open.

This time, there was no way for Dumbledore to give blood, so without saying a word, Fish extended a sharp claw and cut the palm of his hand, staining the wall with blood.

The arch received the blood offering and immediately opened again. Fish stepped forward, leading the group.

"Fish, be careful." Harry, holding onto Dumbledore, warned him from behind.

"Yes," Fish replied softly and continued on his way towards the exit.

Fish's paws didn't stop, but his triangular ears stood erect, rotating alertly, and his nostrils twitched slightly as his mouth was slightly open, capturing sounds and scents from the outside.

But Voldemort knew enough about Fish's abilities, so Fish was unable to locate him.

Just as Fish was about to activate his animal tracking to find out where Voldemort was hiding, a familiar black gelatinous mass suddenly emerged from under Fish's feet.

"Ha! Fish is no longer afraid of this!"

(ΦΦ)

Fish stretched out his hands and made a pushing motion, causing the black substance to collapse and soften like snow hit by hot water, leaving only a black puddle on the ground.

Just as Voldemort had prepared an anti-Patronus spell after seeing Fish's Patronus, Fish, when trapped by Voldemort with the black substance, immediately sought out Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore to ask for a solution.

The two analyzed several possibilities based on Fish's description, and Fish learned them all, practicing each one with the rare effort of not needing to use his wand or recite the spell.

The first spell Fish unconsciously chose, after drinking the Felix Felicis potion, managed to break the Black Slime.

"We've made it out alive! Why don't you come out? Coward Tom!"

(ΦДΦ)

Fish taunted him once again by activating the [Animal Tracker] after dealing with the black slime.

It was a bit risky to activate the [Animal Tracker] at that moment because once the spell was activated, the influx of information would cause Fish to lose concentration for a while, and since Fish was not in good condition, if Voldemort attacked, Fish might not be able to react.

However, with Voldemort in front of him, Fish didn't want to miss the opportunity to mark him with the [Savage Mark], and as felines are always good at acting, Fish's previous two provocations and his current state of vitality, which revealed nothing, were enough to deter Voldemort from making a move.

After a brief moment of dizziness, Fish soon caught sight of a powerful yet weakened strange being retreating from the waterway at the foot of the stairs and about to run towards the outside.

Fish immediately abandoned the idea of pursuing him because as soon as he left the passage, Voldemort would disappear with the Apparition Charm, and he wouldn't have time to mark him.

It was a pity, but it was good enough to drive Voldemort away, at least without worrying about Dumbledore's safety.

But just in case Voldemort had left any traps here, Fish didn't relax and told Harry to take care of Dumbledore while he carefully explored the cave.

"Huh?"

∑(ΦωΦ)

Fish picked up a small wooden stick from the ground.

To be precise, it was half a wand.

There were obvious burn marks and splinters that had flown out from inside the wand due to the breakage.

Fish looked closer...

"This isn't Lucius's wand?!"

"I think... I know why Voldemort escaped..." Dumbledore weakly smiled, turned his head to look at Harry, who was holding him, and said with a stutter, "The last time... he and Harry dueled, a situation arose... that made him aware that both were using twin wands... so Voldemort took Lucius Malfoy's wand... to prevent this from happening again..."

After taking a breath, he continued, "But... his fight with Harry led to Lucius Malfoy's wand bursting... and another failure... and with the loss of his wand, he was frightened..."

"But why did Lucius's wand explode? Did it do something?"

?ω?

Curiously, Fish asked while returning to Dumbledore's side after confirming that there were indeed no traps here, while also casting a healing spell on him.

Then he remembered, "Albus, didn't you ask Severus to prepare an antidote for you? Why don't you use it?"

"Ah... I forgot..." Dumbledore hesitated as he took out a red potion from his robe, asked Fish to help him open it, and poured it into his throat.

After a few moments, Dumbledore's condition improved slightly, and he looked at Harry again. "Harry, on the night of the Triwizard Tournament... you and Voldemort traveled together through a magical territory that was previously unknown and unexplored. Since there are no precedents, I can only make some conjectures..."

As Fish continued his healing spells, Dumbledore's speech became more fluent and slightly more energetic, no longer as lifeless as before, and even with a hint of humor. "But fortunately, my conjectures are usually not too far off, not to mention the fact that I've consumed a vial of Felix Felicis today."

He playfully winked at Fish and Harry as he presented his suspicions, "Voldemort used your blood when he regained his human form, further strengthening your connection with him. Then, he attacked you with a wand that had the same core as yours. And then, as we all know, something very strange happened."

As he couldn't afford to waste much time, Dumbledore concealed the fact that Harry was another Horcrux for the moment, and then explained as quickly as he could in brief words, "That night, you won, and your wand overpowered his. Meanwhile, something happened between the two wands, the winning wand absorbed some of the power and qualities of the defeated one."

Dumbledore took a brief pause and continued, "That is to say, it contained a bit of Voldemort himself. So, when you fought again, and your wand recognized this man who was both relative and mortal enemy, it spat out some of Voldemort's own magic, magic that was much more powerful than Lucius's wand."

"And as you can see, Voldemort failed once again, at the hands of Harry, the boy who, according to the prophecy, had the power to defeat him."

"Does that mean Harry will be able to make his wand explode every time he duels Voldemort?"

Fish frowned, concerned that his "prey" would be taken away from him by Harry.

"It's not that simple, of course," Dumbledore said, worried about Harry's pride and arrogance. "After all, it's just my speculation, it might not happen next time. Even if my speculation is correct, Harry attempting to make Voldemort's wand explode would require both of them to reach a stalemate. And if Voldemort finds a wand strong enough, he can prevent that from happening again."

Probably thinking this was too demoralizing, Dumbledore added, "However, Harry, your wand has a great advantage against Voldemort, as it not only opposes you but also a part of his own power."

With the situation clarified, the three didn't linger any longer.

With Dumbledore on his back, Fish swam with Harry through the exit channel of the cave to the slippery reef, where Fish, holding Dumbledore on one hand and Harry's shoulders on the other, focused on using the Apparition Charm.

After an uncomfortable squeezing sensation, the trio managed to return to Fish's house in Hogsmeade.