Who let this Dementor into Hogwarts!

Chapter 321 Cohen's Box

Cohen was once a very free-spirited Dementor...

It wasn't until his mother said, "You know it's class time, why aren't you going to class?"

"Weren't you supposed to be guarding Herbert?!"

Cohen complained as Arnold "escorted" him to the herbology classroom.

"How did you suddenly become my guard? Herbert is clearly in much more danger than me..."

Arnold sighed and gave Cohen a look that said, "Do you think I'll believe that?"

“No wonder your dad was worried about letting you go to class by yourself.” He patted Cohen on the back and pushed him toward the door of greenhouse number three. “Go to class.”

Arnold only left after confirming that Cohen had pushed open the door and entered the greenhouse.

“Mr. Norton, you are fifteen minutes late,” Professor Sprout said with a displeased expression.

“There’s been a little mishap with my family, Professor,” Cohen said.

Professor Sprout's expression softened considerably after learning that Cohen's lateness was not without reason.

“Please find an empty seat,” Professor Sprout said. “Today we’re going to learn how to distinguish between Christmas cactus and devil’s net, as well as the uses of Christmas cactus. We just talked about…”

"What happened?" Harry asked impatiently in a low voice after Cohen sat down in the empty seat that had been reserved for him. "That memory eraser?"

“He’s an Auror now,” Cohen said. “It was just that my parents and my uncle had a little misunderstanding after they met, but it’s all cleared up now.”

“I thought—” Harry exclaimed in realization.

“You’ve changed ever since you started hanging out with Sirius,” Cohen sighed. “That dog has made you lose some of your pure and beautiful thoughts; now your head is full of filthy ethics and dirty jokes…”

"?"

“Prune the branches, prune the branches,” Professor Sprout reminded Harry and Cohen. “Get them moving, or they’ll shrink back into their pots.”
-
After the herbalism class, everyone was inevitably covered in splattered dirt, because pruning the fleshy branches of the Christmas cactus would make it shrink back into the soil in pain, so they had to painstakingly dig out this plant that looked like a devil's web but actually had completely opposite habits.

"Shall we practice this afternoon?" Harry asked Cohen on the way back to the castle. "I wrote to Sirius, and he said we could use the Eye-Blinding Charm because dragons' eyes are very vulnerable. If it's a female dragon, could we have Norbert practice with us?"

“I have to take the box to my mom for a check this afternoon,” Cohen said. “But it shouldn’t take long. Norber can help you practice this afternoon—but go easy on him, just to toughen him up, no need to actually poke his eyes.”

"Shouldn't I have told Norbert to be careful not to burn me to a crisp..." Harry said weakly. "Don't worry, I won't actually use it on its eyes, because I'm afraid it will suddenly get angry if I poke its eyes."

After dinner, Cohen went to get his suitcase, while Harry went ahead to the newly built tent area on the field to wait for Sirius.

When Cohen returned to Herbert's tent, several more tents had been added to the area.

“No, is Hogwarts really not making room for you in the castle?” Cohen looked at Mr. Diggory and Sirius, who had already set up their new tents, and asked Edward with some doubt. “I need to talk to Dumbledore about this…” Not only Harry and Cohen, but Cedric also left the castle and came here. He was talking to his father, Amos Diggory, about the competition. Mr. Diggory seemed very proud of his son.

But the middle-aged man with the reddish-brown beard wasn't particularly happy, probably because the first and second pages of the Daily Prophet featured Cohen and Harry, not Cedric—they were too young to participate in the Tournament, and Cedric should have been Hogwarts' only champion.

“That’s because your father insisted on experiencing camping on the Hogwarts grounds,” Arnold explained. “Actually, only Herbert and I needed to set up tents, since Herbert is still a prisoner—Dumbledore has to ensure the students’ safety.”

"What nonsense are you spouting about me in front of my son? It's not like I'm the only one." Edward gave Arnold a hard elbow on the ribs. "Amos and Sirius both pitched tents, didn't they?"

“That’s because you set up a tent here, making them think that Hogwarts’ arrangements are for the families of warriors to stay here…” Arnold retorted without any politeness.

"You two, hurry up and go inside." Rose poked her head out of the tent. "Cohen's here too? We were planning to go to the castle to find you."

“It’s the same if I come out, so you won’t run away.” Cohen waved the box in his hand, then followed Edward and Arnold into the tent.

Herbert sat in a chair in the living room. The bruises on his face had completely disappeared, but his withered and dejected appearance hadn't improved much.

Being with Edward and Rose made him feel even more helpless, even though Edward and Rose no longer blamed him after learning the truth.

Not knowing where to put his hands, he clasped them together and placed them between his legs, his calves shaking nervously in his seat.

“That explains why Cohen takes this suitcase everywhere,” Rose said to Edward as she inspected Cohen’s suitcase. “And you wouldn’t let me touch it—”

“You’ve said this three times today.” Edward scratched his head. “I thought you should have figured it out by now…”

“I’ll forgive you if you come with me to Vienna next month,” Rose said, opening the box correctly as Cohen reminded her. “What happens if I don’t open it correctly?”

“If you don’t knock three times, Sissoko will crawl out and scare you,” Cohen said. “Sissoko is…”

“That basilisk, Herbert and your father told me about it and how your father was frightened by it.” Rose nodded. “I remember the basilisk’s stare was quite dangerous, wasn’t it?”

“I took some protective measures for them,” Cohen explained, “I learned them from Nico and Dumbledore…”

"Honey, want to go in and take a look?" Edward urged. "You're so much braver than me, you definitely won't be afraid of these things, right?"

"Why don't you go in and take a look too?" Cohen pulled Herbert along.

"Me, me?" Herbert was unsure whether to interrupt the Cohen family's "family gathering."

“Didn’t you say you wanted to see Sissoko again?” Cohen urged. “And you might be living here in the future.”

“What?” Herbert frowned after hearing Cohen’s last sentence. “Don’t let me cause trouble—”

“I won’t mess with the Ministry of Magic,” Cohen said. “Don’t worry, I’m not stupid enough to kidnap you while you’re incarcerated—go in, go in.”

(End of this chapter)