Because Fish's movements were too fast, Filch and Ron were stunned for a moment before they reacted and then hurried after him.
But by the time they were out the door of the prize showroom, Fish had disappeared.
The three looked at each other and after a few moments of silence, Filch spoke first, "If you're full, hurry back. Probably some student's pet ran away, so don't worry about Fish's side."
Ron and Wood thought about it, Fish was someone who could go in and out of the Forbidden Forest at will, so what danger could he be in at Hogwarts?
Now that Fish was gone, they weren't interested in having dinner with Filch, so they nodded and went upstairs.
Back in the Gryffindor dormitory, Ron and Wood said goodnight to each other and went back to their respective dormitories, where Neville and the others had fallen asleep and Harry seemed to have just returned and was changing out of his pajamas.
"Ron" Harry called softly as he put on his pajamas so as not to wake Neville, "I just had a strange encounter."
"Can we talk about it tomorrow?"
Ron, already exhausted, didn't even bother to put on his pajamas and collapsed breathlessly on his bed, having added a meal to his hard work, which was now making him terribly sleepy.
He groaned, "Filch made me polish a Quidditch trophy fourteen times before I was satisfied...my muscles are stiff."
But the mysterious voice he heard earlier made Harry feel really bad, he ignored his friend's dream and lowered his voice to tell Ron what he heard.
"Well..."
Ron, who was about to fall asleep in a daze, responded with a grunt and took a while to react.
"Did you hear a mysterious voice?"
He sat up abruptly from the bed, confirming to Harry, "And Lockhart said he didn't hear it?"
"Did you hear it too?" Harry asked, a little surprised.
"No, it wasn't me" Ron frowned, "But Fish probably heard it too... He suddenly said someone was provoking him, and then he left his food and ran off to fight the owner of the voice."
Ron also told Harry about his experience, making him slightly envious....
He also wanted Fish to treat him to a late night snack....
Bah, now is not the time to think about that!
"You mean Fish heard that voice too?"
"I'm not sure, all Fish said was that someone was provoking him, and then he ran away, I don't know exactly how."
Ron shrugged and leaned back again, suddenly feeling like it was no big deal either.
"Maybe it's like Filch said, maybe it's just someone's pet running away, it's not the same as the noise you heard" Ron yawned and said, "Don't worry too much, even if you heard the same thing, Fish can beat an Acromantula in the Forbidden Forest, so we'll ask him tomorrow."
Harry thought better of it and put his worries aside, closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
...
After running out of the prize showroom, Fish turned into a cat and followed the source of the voice as it ran through the castle.
The snake that had been screaming seemed to be hiding inside the walls, and Fish could only hear its voice but not see it, or even smell it.
Fish chased it for a while and got tired.
The snake ran so fast that even if Fish wanted to use the [Soft Stone] spell to break through the wall and dig it out, it would be too late.
And if he made holes in the wall, Minerva will definitely scold him to death, so the priority now is to make this guy stop.
"Meow!" (=`д′=)
Unable to hold it in any longer, Fish meowed at the snake that was running around inside the walls.
The walls were silent for only a second or two, and immediately the very slight murmur of the snake's movements resumed, but his steady, provoking voice disappeared....
The snake escaped without replying!
"Meow!" (Don't run!)
Fish rushed after it, but the snake moved so silently and through the wall that Fish soon lost track of the other party.
Puzzled, the kitten stopped and turned the triangular ears of his head to listen carefully, but heard nothing.
How had this happened? ∑(=φдφ=)
Fish, who felt he had been tricked, was very angry, how could he run away without a word after provoking him?
Then he remembered that he had a spell called [Animal Tracking], which allowed him to pick up the scent of nearby animals.
But when the spell was activated, all the animals around him, from small reptiles to humans, were perceived by Fish, which was not a very pleasant sensation.
In addition, the range of perception of this spell is not far away and it is impossible to distinguish the specific target. In general, the spell was not as good as his own sense of hearing and smell, so he hardly used it and naturally forgot about it.
When he tried to use the [Animal Tracking] spell, there was a faint smell within the walls, not of the snake he had been chasing, but of ants, spiders and other small insects.
Fish did not give up and wandered around again, but still could not find anything that resembled a snake.
By now, Fish had become annoyed by the messy scent around him, so he turned off his spell with resentment.
The next time he encountered the snake, he would activate [Animal Tracking], find it and fight it.
Sensing the current time, Fish walked slowly towards the Gryffindor Common Room.
Then, as he walked, he stopped again, shrugging his nose and sniffing.
It was Ginny's scent, and it had a strange stench to it...
Hadn't she had a bath recently?
Fish flicked his ears and wondered.
Now that he had met someone familiar, the polite kitten had to come over and say hello.
So Fish followed the scent up the stairs and soon found Ginny, who was also heading upstairs.
"Nya~"
Fish called out to Ginny, only to see the girl's body shudder, then freeze in place.
"Nya?" ?ω?
Ginny's strange reaction caused Fish to tilt his head in confusion, then walked to the front step and looked at her.
Ginny's eyes were unfocused and her face expressionless.
"Nya?" (=φωφ=)?
Fish meowed at Ginny again and reached out a paw to tug at her robe.
It was then that Ginny's eyes came back into focus, and she looked around in surprise before glancing at Fish, who was tugging at her robe.
"Fish? What are you doing here? And... Where is this place? how did I get here?" Ginny asked in surprise as she looked around.
"This is the staircase to the sixth floor nya."
Fish regained his human form and sat nonchalantly on the steps, looking at Ginny with a puzzled expression.
"I was going back to my dorm to go to sleep, and then I ran into you here nya."
"What?!" Ginny was obviously surprised by Fish's response, she said with a puzzled look, "But you should have been sleeping in my dorm a long time ago..."
"Fish knows, it's called sleepwalking nya! I've heard Seamus and the others talk about it nya."
"Sleep... Sleepwalking?" Ginny repeated the sentence uncomprehendingly and then whispered, "But, I've never sleepwalked before..."
"Then Fish doesn't know nya."
Fish waved his hand and said to Ginny, "We'd better get back, if the other teachers see you, you'll be sentenced to the third floor to clean trophies like Ron and the others nya."
"You're right!"
Ginny immediately put aside her doubts and followed Fish up the stairs, after her surprise, she went back to being the shy introvert she was.
"By the way, Ginny" Fish advised Ginny seriously as he walked, "It's best for girls to bathe often nya, Minerva is very clean, even if you don't bathe, remember to use a cleansing spell on yourself nya."
"Me... I'm clean too!"
Ginny argued, her face red with embarrassment.
Although the Weasleys were poor, they weren't so poor that they couldn't afford a bath.
"I just had a bath yesterday!"
"But... you stink nya..." said Fish, wrinkling his nose.
Ginny hurriedly raised her arms and then sniffed hard at her own body....
There was indeed a faint stench, and she also discovered that the bottoms of her pants and the end of her robe were a little wet.
"How, how did this happen..."
Ginny was pale.
Seeing that she didn't look like she was lying, Fish thought for a moment and said, "Could it be that you snuck off somewhere stinky while sleepwalking nya?"
"I'm going to see Madam Pomfrey tomorrow!" Ginny said firmly, she had to be cured of her sleepwalking!