Who let this Dementor into Hogwarts!

Chapter 343 Bug-Type Pokémon Master

“I’m going out for a stroll. You guys do as you please—remember to come back here when the bells strike ten,” Cohen said. “I’ll take you back then.”

"Don't worry, I'm not going to get lost in this familiar place," Sissoko waved his hand dismissively. "Let's go out and have some fun, see if we can find a little female snake..."

Then there was the unicorn. Cohen approached it and repeated the same words, reminding it that from now on, no matter what anyone asked it, it should shake its head instead of nodding, lest it keep nodding and get lured away by some unfamiliar students.

After leaving the castle with Harry, they came to the fully grown rose garden outside, where they could see pairs of students chatting and laughing every now and then, as well as many professors.

The area was filled with low bushes, ornately decorated winding paths, and enormous stone statues. Cohen and Harry walked along the path, Harry thinking about Ron and Hermione, while Cohen looked around for the beetle with the strength of a human soul.

Cohen even specially drank a can of happiness for this purpose, and cleared out an empty bottle to hold a certain Beetle reporter.

“Severus…I’ve heard some whispers…” Karkaroff’s voice came from a secluded corner of a garden.

Upon hearing Snape's name, Harry quickly pulled Cohen behind the shadows of a bush.

"Regarding that monster and that person you know, I don't think I can go back—the marks have become more and more obvious over the months, and now I'm caught in the middle..."

“Then run away,” Snape said. “If that kid knew your position, I can’t say whether your fate would be better or worse.”

"Doesn't Dumbledore do anything about it?" Karkaroff asked. "Is he really that careless...?"

“Dumbledore believes him,” Snape said sarcastically. “Or do you have a better way? This time, even if you spill the secret to someone else, you won’t save your life. No one can escape unscathed.”

"Maybe you're just overestimating his importance..."

“You could help with the testing too,” Snape said coldly, “to make the most of a fool. I’m not going to help you, and I’ll stay at Hogwarts.”

“Or should I… change my stance?” Karkarov said. “I can’t say whether their plan will succeed…”

“If you really want my help, you should tell me what the plan is, instead of just bringing it up and keeping it a secret,” Snape said. “You don’t want to change sides, you’re just afraid of dying.”

“Everyone is afraid of death, Severus—who!” Karkaroff suddenly looked at the cedar tree blocking Cohen and Harry’s view.

"Taking a walk to digest my food." Cohen poked his head out from behind a pine tree. "Did I disturb you, Professor Karkaroff?"

You could see the color draining from Karkaroff's face rapidly. He stared intently at Cohen's face, breathing heavily, his fingers trembling slightly at his sides.

"Let's continue our walk—" Karkarov looked away, left with those words, and departed as hastily as if fleeing a disaster.

Snape stared at Cohen and Harry for a moment.

"Is it illegal to take a walk?" Harry asked. "Ten points deducted?"

Harry's provocative words surprisingly did not cause Snape to lose any more Gryffindor points. Snape simply snorted and strode away with Karkaroff.

"You've been possessed by your dad?" Cohen turned to Harry and asked. "I've never seen you talk back to Snape like this before."

"Sirius told me to fight back fiercely as long as I didn't break any school rules," Harry said with a sigh of relief. "But thankfully he didn't mention anything about detention or points deductions... Why is Karkaroff so scared?"

“He has something to hide,” Cohen said. “Even a Death Eater who's swayed between three sides, a fence-sitter at least only has two sides.” “Has Voldemort made some new move?” Harry frowned. “Maybe he really did orchestrate our vote—otherwise, why would he look at you so suspiciously…”

They continued walking deeper into the garden, and Harry had already deduced from "Karkaroff killed himself to help Voldemort" to "Snape was also Voldemort's mole, we should tell Dumbledore."

"Shh..." Cohen gestured for Harry to be quiet from around a corner.

Hagrid and Ms. Maxim were sitting on a stone bench by a fountain, talking. Thanks to Cohen's reminder, Hagrid didn't drink much this time. The conversation ranged from the Bombtail to the unicorns in the forest, and he didn't dare to bring up his origins at all.

“Hmm… Rattlesnake—no, blast-tailed snail…” Hagrid said, his face slightly flushed.

“You’ve taken very good care of my divine horses,” Ms. Maxim said, with a slight chuckle in her voice. “I’m sure you’re excellent in other areas as well.”

Hagrid's face turned even redder.

However, there was always something they couldn't let go of. Whenever they tried to delve deeper into the topic, Hagrid would forget what to say and start stammering. Each time, Ms. Maxim had to take the initiative to find a topic.

Harry was eavesdropping with a worried expression, while Cohen was focused on a patterned beetle with a soul strength of 28 points.

"Stun it!" Cohen whispered, casting a stun spell at the beetle.

"What are you doing?!" Harry asked Cohen in surprise, his voice trembling.

"Catching Pokémon." Cohen crouched down and moved furtively under the bushes, picking up the beetle and tossing it into the jar.

With his mission accomplished, Cohen was eager to return to the castle, but Harry remained completely bewildered.

"What are Pokémon?" Harry asked after Cohen pulled him away.

“You’ll find out in 1996.” Cohen waved his hand. “Now I’m going back to rest, and while I’m at it, I’ll send Sissoko and the others away—do you still want to keep hanging around with the little basilisk? I can help you persuade Sissoko—”

“Then let’s forget about it…” Harry got goosebumps just thinking about Sissoko’s terrifying basilisk form.

As soon as they returned to the auditorium, the little snake monster grabbed two chicken legs and rushed up to Cohen.

[Dad! Can I take the chicken leg home?]

“Bring him, why not? It’s free.” Cohen looked around and, seeing that Dumbledore wasn’t there, readily agreed to the request.

The food at Hogwarts is blown in by the wind (I'm sure of it).

"..." Harry looked at the little basilisk who kept calling Cohen "Dad" with a complicated expression, and a hint of sadness began to appear between his brows.

"Really not interested in being my son-in-law?" Cohen tempted. "I can be any kind of face model you want, just call me Dad—"

"Don't even think about taking advantage of me," Harry replied swiftly.

(End of this chapter)