The next morning, Fish met Hermione in the common room.
Hermione had a piece of parchment in her hand and waved it at Fish, saying with a stern face, "George and Fred are going overboard, you need to talk to them Fish."
"What's up nya?"
(?ω?)
Fish picked up the parchment, unsure of what to expect, and discovered that it was an advertisement, in the sense that the twins were looking for testers for their new product.
"What's wrong with that? Hadn't George and Fred paid for it?".
Fish read the parchment, still confused.
"But they can't guarantee safety!". Hermione took a deep breath and said seriously, "Have you forgotten how they almost sent the two of them to St. Mungo's over the summer because they ate the sweets they made?"
"But it's clearly written that they do so at their own risk." said Fish, pointing to the last line of the notice.
"That's not good enough!" Hermione said righteously. "It's our duty as Prefects to stop them from doing it!".
Fish wiggled his ears and said, "Well, then Fish will go talk to them later nya."
His opinion on the matter was optional, and he had discussed it with Hermione because he really wasn't sure why Hermione was so excited and wanted to understand.
As they reached the Great Hall, Angelina Johnson approached him.
"Fish, would you be interested in joining the quidditch team?". Angelina, who was the new captain after Wood's graduation, said right away, "With Oliver's graduation, we need a new keeper. Of course, you can play other positions if you want."
"No, Fish is not interested in Quidditch nya."
(?ω?)
Fish refused decisively, although he felt better with the Flying Broom, he had never been much of a fan of Quidditch as a sport.
Aside from the beating he got for accidentally breaking Professor McGonagall's Quidditch book, it was also a game where fights were completed with indirect attacks with a bat, which wasn't cool and didn't go with Fish's personality.
Sighing helplessly at the rejection, Angelina invited again, "Well, we're having tryouts for doormen on Friday at five in the afternoon, so you can come and see if you're free."
Her thoughts were the same as Wood's at the time: maybe Fish would be interested in Quidditch if he watched too much.
After a few moments, Professor McGonagall came over and handed the fifth year timetable to Fish and Hermione to hand out to the others.
"Well done on the train yesterday." She handed the timetable to Hermione and then patted Fish on the head, congratulating him, "You look like a Prefect, keep it up."
"Got it nya!"
(ΦωΦ)
Fish replied cheerfully, and then actively grabbed the schedule from Hermione's hand and ran to distribute it to the others.
"Look at what a day!" Ron sighed as he received the schedule from Fish. "Two History of Magic classes, two Potions, Divination and two Defense Against the Dark Arts classes...."
He scratched his red hair bitterly.
"Binns, Snape, Trelawney and that Umbridge girl, all in the same day! I wish Fred and George would hurry up and get those fever candies out of the way..."
"If you want, you can have some Turron sangarices, they're cheap."
Speak of the devil, George and Fred sat next to Ron and Harry.
And Fish, remembering what Hermione had told him to do, walked over to them.
"George, Fred." Fish patted the twins on the shoulder and said, "You mustn't experiment on other students, or Hermione will have to punish you."
(ΦωΦ)
"So even Fish isn't that funny after becoming Prefect." George said with a sad face.
"That's no reason to put tester ads on the Gryffindor notice boards!". Hermione walked over to them, looking at them angrily.
"It won't be long before you change your tune, Hermione," Fred said, buttering a piece of toast, "You're starting fifth year and you'll be begging us for Class Jumper Assortments."
"Why does being in fifth year mean I need Assorted Class Jumps?" asked Hermione.
"Fifth year is O.W.L. year." Said George.
"So what?"
"So that means you'll have to face exams non-stop, right? They'll be like an abrasive wheel grinding your nose so hard it'll break the skin on the end." said Fred gloating.
"But... Hermione loves exams, don't you? Fish doesn't like them though..."
(?ω?)
Fish suddenly intervened.
The gloating disappeared from the twins' faces in an instant.
"Oh, hell, I forgot, most Prefects are as dumb as Percy." Said George, patting his head.
"I don't think someone who has only passed three O.W.L.'s is in any position to call anyone else a fool." Snapped Hermione sarcastically.
"Grades aren't everything, Hermione." Fred raised an eyebrow and said, "We believe our future lies beyond academic achievement."
"I don't care about your future, that's Mrs. Weasley's business." Hermione crossed her arms in front of her chest and said coldly, "Now I demand that you stop recruiting test subjects."
She wasn't interested in arguing with the twins about these things and resumed the conversation.
"Okay, okay..." George stretched out his hands helplessly, relenting for Fish's sake, "We won't run any more ads."
Hermione frowned, catching his hint: no more ads, but a private search for test subjects.
But if the twins were really looking for someone privately, they wouldn't admit it unless she caught them in the act.
In other words, her actions were not hurting the twins at all.
Fish looked at Hermione, who looked depressed, patted Fred on the shoulder again and said, "You shouldn't be looking for anyone else, Fish can help you nya... at no cost."
(ΦωΦ)
"Fish!" Hermione was startled, and quickly stopped, "Don't be stupid!".
The twins shook their heads as well, saying, "We wouldn't dare let you try it."
If they did, Professor McGonagall and the other girls would give them a thrashing.
But Fish cocked his head, "Fish didn't say anything about being a test subject for you." He explained, "But while you're experimenting, Fish can be there to heal you nya." Fish raised his head triumphantly, "Whether curing or detoxifying, Fish is great nya!".
(?ω?)
"Yes!" George froze for a moment and then slapped his thigh, "I forgot about that!".
The twins were annoyed, if only they had remembered Fish earlier, they wouldn't have had to suffer so much over the summer.
Fred said grumpily, "Why didn't you remind us about it over the summer?"
"Who told you not to come see Fish? Fish doesn't know what you guys are doing hiding in your room all day!". Fish replied with a straight face.
(?ω?)
But soon George shook his head again and said, "No, we've actually passed a lot of our own tests, but we need to see how the others are doing."
"And Fish can help," Fish said, looking at Hermione. "Hermione, you're just worried about the others, aren't you? With Fish around, they'll be treated in time, so don't worry nya."
Hermione hesitated for a moment before reluctantly nodding and warning the twins, "Well, you have to talk to the students involved in the experiment and Fish has to be there to keep an eye out, or I'll write to Mrs. Weasley!"
The twins, who had not taken Hermione's warning seriously, paled instantly and vowed convincingly, "No problem, we'll never mess around!".