Who let this Dementor into Hogwarts!

Chapter 349 Giving You a Complete Underwater Breathing Experience III

The golden egg can only be opened underwater, and the only waterway in Cohen's box is an artificial stream that runs through the Unicorn Forest.

Fortunately, the water was deep enough to fit the golden egg and allow the two people to stick their heads down.

On the way to the stream, some other new items in the box also caught Harry's attention.

For example, that huge castle that's already taking shape.

"You're going to build another Hogwarts here?!" Harry exclaimed in surprise.

“Pretty much, the box can’t stay empty forever,” Cohen said. “Having a portable castle is really cool—this is the first step in building my Dementor empire.”

"What kind of minister position will you arrange for me then?" Harry joked. "Are you planning to let Sissoko and the others move in? And the Chimera, it seems to live outside all the time..."

"The goats don't like staying in the little hut, and the basilisk has been clamoring for a hole as big as Norber's for ages. A castle would solve everything in one go," Cohen said. "And if we ever run into a lost Dementor, we can bring them in..."

Besides the castle, Harry was also lucky enough to witness Norbert's mother coming out to forage for food—leaving the cave, sticking her head out of the sheepfold to snatch a few sheep, and then strolling back into the cave, wagging her tail as if taking a leisurely walk.

"Is that...the dragon from the competition?" Harry asked blankly, watching the old dragon nod and greet them. "Why does it seem so...experienced?"

“It was like this as soon as I came in,” Cohen clarified. “It has nothing to do with me—it only proves that providing food and lodging can change the habits of any kind of creature…”

"Won't Norbert fight it?" Harry noticed that a smaller stone hill had been built next to the original cave. Since the old dragon lived in Norbert's cave, this new dwelling must be where Norbert is now living.

“Theoretically, two female dragons would fight if they met, especially if one of them was incubating an egg—but a mother and daughter wouldn’t—I also thought it was a bit unrealistic, but that’s exactly what happened…” Cohen said, somewhat nervously. “Nober is the old dragon’s child, and they recognized each other as soon as they met.”

"?" Harry looked at him with a "you're kidding me" expression.

“The magical world, isn’t it amazing?” Cohen shrugged and opened the golden egg underwater.

A gurgling song came from the golden egg, but the sound was muffled by the water, making it difficult to understand what was being sung.

“It really works!” Harry’s attention was drawn to the underwater singing.

“Mermaids in the sea use this to attract sailors,” Cohen said. “The vague but beautiful underwater singing can easily attract people on the ship—luring them to stick their heads to the surface so they can pull them down and steal their belongings.”

"Are there mermaids in the Black Lake?" Harry thought of Colin's brother Dennis, who seemed to have fallen into the lake but hadn't been attacked. "I don't think I've ever heard of anyone encountering one..."

“Freshwater mermaids aren’t as warlike as saltwater mermaids, otherwise Dumbledore wouldn’t have let them live in the Black Lake—you haven’t even turned a single page of your ‘Fantastic Beasts and Their Places’, have you…” Cohen said helplessly. “But freshwater mermaids aren’t as pretty as saltwater mermaids either, otherwise there would definitely be a bunch of wizards who would want to date mermaids, just like those who date Veela.”

"Do I have to stick my head underwater to hear it?" Harry pressed his face close to the water's surface but still couldn't make out what the song inside the golden egg was saying. The distant and indistinct singing kept tempting him to stick his head underwater.

“There are no mermaids underwater here, what are you hesitating for?” Cohen dived into the water.

Harry also stuck his head down.

The singing inside the golden egg suddenly became clearer, with some voices singing in unison:

Look for us, where our voices can be heard.

We cannot sing on the ground. Think carefully as you search:

We stole your most beloved treasure.

You only have one hour.

To find and reclaim the items we took,
After an hour, all hope was lost.
It has vanished completely and will never reappear.
The sound stopped, and both Cohen and Harry looked up.

Cohen patted his wet hair.

The second project went smoothly; it was still a hostage rescue mission from Black Lake.

Although Cohen himself cannot breathe underwater, he doesn't need to think about "breathing" at all once he transforms into his Dementor form.

Moreover, since the entire activity takes place underwater, the audience outside can only watch something rather pointless—Cohen is currently only focused on one thing.

What exactly is my "most beloved treasure"?
A basilisk? A chimera? A nightmare? Or perhaps a miniature Dementor, Mik?
Are there really any other creatures in the school that Cohen cares about and could be kidnapped?
No, none of these things seem like they could be kidnapped...

It's absolutely mind-blowing to bring a giant beast to the surface—and the Ministry of Magic shouldn't know about it.

"Where the song is going... my dear... an hour..." Harry shook his head, brushing the water droplets from his hair, and wiped his glasses with the hem of his clothes. "Does that mean we need to go to the lake to find something? From the mermaids?"

“Not too difficult.” Cohen nodded.

"Not too difficult?" Harry asked, looking troubled. "How can we breathe underwater...?"

“Enchant a helmet with Underwater Breathing III,” Cohen said seriously.

"???" Harry frowned in confusion. "Is it some kind of spell?"

“Or you could use the head-diving spell, if you can learn it,” Cohen said. “You could also use tools—the song doesn’t say you can’t bring items, so you could prepare a wetsuit or something beforehand…”

“Wetsuits must be expensive…and I don’t have any Muggle money…” Harry said dejectedly. “I guess I can only try it out—what was that spell you mentioned called again?”

“The head-soaking spell,” Cohen said. “You can go to the library and look it up first—then try to learn it. If you can’t, I have a way…”

"Are you planning to use the Bubble Head Charm too?" Harry asked.

“Me?” Cohen raised his eyebrows. “When I become a Dementor, I don’t need to breathe, and I don’t need to use spells.”

“Sigh…” Harry said enviously, “For the first time, I’m starting to think that being a Dementor isn’t so bad after all…”

“If you can accept constantly being chased and beaten by Patronus Charms,” Cohen shook his head. “I wish I were a normal person—that way Edward and the others wouldn’t have to deal with all that mess…”

“You’re perfectly normal,” Harry reassured him. “The abnormal ones are those silver-key lunatics and Death Eaters… nobody wants to be bothered by them…”

(End of this chapter)