Chapter 772: Before the Funeral (Edited)

While Voldemort and the Death Eaters tried to figure out what had really happened to Dumbledore, and Voldemort secretly followed the trail of the Elder Wand, Fish and the others received one, or rather two, good news.

Lupin's werewolf curse had truly been lifted by Fish, and then he and Tonks naturally got together.

Although Fish still thought that Lupin losing his werewolf powers had made him less fun, he now understood the discomfort werewolves faced in the wizarding community and was happy for both of them when he received the news, although Fish wasn't as excited as Harry and the others.

Dumbledore was equally thrilled when he confirmed the news.

"Excellent, Fish! That way we can easily convert the majority of the werewolf pack later!" he said cheerfully. "We just have to be careful not to alert Voldemort, otherwise he would have already made Lupin contact the moderate werewolves."

However, Fish wasn't interested in those matters; he only cared about one thing...

"When the hell are we going to defeat Voldemort?"

(´ω´)

Fish's claws kept extending and retracting from his fingertips, and he asked impatiently.

"It must be when I'm 'dead' and Voldemort has learned that I possess the Elder Wand..." Dumbledore said helplessly, shrugging. "Voldemort is unlikely to make a move until the issue of the wand is resolved and my death is confirmed."

"Voldemort is too cowardly, nya! He's much worse than Gellert, nya!"

(?ω?)

Fish muttered disapprovingly.

Speaking of which," Dumbledore asked with a serious expression, "Can your mark really sense Gellert from such a distance?"

"Of course it can, nya! Fish is amazing!"

(´н´)

Fish pouted in disgust at the question but explained to Dumbledore, "Distance makes the perception a bit blurry, but the general direction remains correct, nya... well... it should be in that direction."

Fish pointed southeast and said, "As long as the mark in that direction hasn't vanished, it proves that Gellert is still alive, nya... or that the mark's time has expired."

"That's good..." Dumbledore felt relieved as he was reassured by Fish.

Although he and Grindelwald couldn't return, Dumbledore still wanted to keep him alive if he could, and...

After dealing with Voldemort, he would retrieve him at Nurmengard.

Despite Fish's disdain for Voldemort's audacity, he patiently waited for Dumbledore to lay out his plans. As a hunter, Fish had some patience... although it had been a long time since Fish used ambush tactics after becoming human.

After all, why sneak around and set up ambushes when you can win the battle head-on?

And with the arrival of summer, the weather had turned sunny, and Fish's favorite time under the sun had increased, which distracted Fish.

On the other hand, Harry not only studied hard but also asked Fish to train him in the field, and his behavior began to influence others.

At first, only Ron and Neville in their dormitory, then all of Gryffindor, and later, through the Order of the Cat, the other two houses.

The Slytherin students weren't sure what was happening, but somehow they followed suit.

Most surprisingly, when his actions were reported to Voldemort through Snape and others, it further convinced him that Dumbledore was dying...

It was understandable. If Dumbledore wasn't dying and was concerned about the students' ability to defend themselves, then why would he make them study magic so diligently?

That's what Voldemort and the Death Eaters, like Barty Crouch Jr., thought when they didn't know the truth.

Voldemort was pleased because Dumbledore was likely going to die for real; the professors at Hogwarts were happy too, as there wasn't a teacher who didn't like hardworking students. Pius Thicknesse, at the Ministry, was also content because the quality of young wizards this year was quite high, and there were probably a few who would pass the Apparition Charm exam.

The only thing he regretted was that Fish, who had mastered the Apparition Charm, wasn't old enough to take the first Apparition exam.

"It's only a month away, and obviously, the others aren't as good at Apparition as Fish, and yet they can take the exam... Fish really hates the Ministry of Magic!"

(ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻

Fish, who couldn't take the exam, grumbled in anger.

"Didn't I fail the exam too?" Harry, who wasn't of age either, reassured him. "By the way, Hagrid said there will be a funeral for Aragog at sunset today. Are you planning to attend?"

Seeing that Fish was still upset, Harry swiftly changed the subject.

"Aragog?"

(･ω･)

Fish tilted his head for a moment. "Oh! The leader of those giant spiders... Is it dead nya?"

"Yes," Harry took out a piece of parchment. "Hagrid wrote a note to inform me."

The note was scribbled and had large ink stains that made the writing illegible.

Obviously, Hagrid must have been crying a lot when he wrote it.

"I'm not interested nya..."

(･ω･)

Fish said disinterestedly, "It's not like Fish has a good relationship with giant spiders."

Perhaps because Hagrid knew that, he didn't invite Fish to Aragog's funeral.

"Well, I guess I'll have to go alone then." Harry sighed reluctantly.

He had also invited his friend Ron, but when he found out it was for a funeral for an Acromantula, Ron had no hesitation in saying no.

In fact, Harry wasn't really eager to go himself. He had only heard Fish talk about Acromantulas a few times and had seen one during the Triwizard Tournament in his fourth year, but he didn't know the leader, Aragog, and had only recently found out about his impending death when he spoke to Hagrid.

But Hagrid's note was so sad, and Hagrid had been so down because of Aragog, that Harry decided to attend the unconventional funeral out of friendship.

The students who had gone to take the Apparition exam didn't return until dinnertime.

Hermione, who had learned the Apparition Charm in second place after Fish, of course passed the exam without a doubt, which meant she could legally use the Apparition Charm to go wherever she pleased starting today.

Ron, on the other hand, had the misfortune of failing the test, and the examiner noticed he had lost half an eyebrow.

"That's tough," Harry exclaimed, astonished.

"Who said it wasn't?" Ron shrugged, not feeling too disappointed.

He was in good spirits because Charlie had also failed the first time, and because Lavender had given him a nice "consolation" when she found out he hadn't passed.

Aside from Ron, Seamus also failed this time.

Well, they say there was an explosion at that moment, and the Gryffindor students were nonchalant about it.