Who let this Dementor into Hogwarts!

Chapter 357: None of the Dementors from Azkaban came to support me (annoying).

“It’s always better to have things go smoothly than to live in fear…” Herbert said. “Was it still cold after coming out of the lake?”

“I’m not cold.” Cohen shook his head. “I don’t feel anything.”

Herbert put his arm around Cohen’s shoulder, and at the same time, Dumbledore and the other judges returned to their seats.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Fudge, as the organizer and referee, began his announcement, "we have finally made a decision. Merkus, the mermaid leader, has told me everything that happened at the bottom of the lake..."

"'Told me'? He doesn't know Mermaid language at all." Sirius said disdainfully, "Only Dumbledore and Crouch can communicate with Mermaids."

“It doesn’t feel as good as… Edward…” Cohen said.

"Don't talk nonsense, I don't speak mermaid language." Edward leaned past Herbert and whispered to Cohen, "You're just like those kids on Privet Road arguing about whose dad is braver..."

“That reminds me,” Cohen’s eyes lit up. “I’ve never compared myself to anyone else in this regard before—”

"What are you comparing?" Harry asked curiously as he came closer, drawn by the smell.

Before coming to Hogwarts, he only had one friend, Cohen—Dali and the others never played with him, and on a few occasions, they would gang up on him and bully him.

"Let's compare whose dad dares to do XX things, like sleeping with caterpillars or eating..." Cohen gave Sirius a meaningful look, "Harry, you have a godfather, I'm not comparing with you—"

"What do you mean by that?!" Sirius grabbed Cohen by the back of the neck, his face deliberately fierce. "Didn't you say you wouldn't make fun of me with that dog-man?"

"What—" Harry was even more curious, looking like he was going to press Sirius for an answer after the game.

“I didn’t say ‘dog man’,” Cohen said, feigning ignorance.

"Alright, alright, Fudge's finished with his nonsense. Let's hear the announcement," Herbert said softly, gently swatting away Sirius's hand that was gripping Cohen's neck. "We're going to start announcing the scores now, out of fifty."

"...While Fleur Delacour demonstrated excellent use of the Bubble Head Charm, she was attacked by Grindylow as she approached her target and failed to rescue the hostage. We give her 25 points."

A round of applause erupted from the stands.

“Consider it a sympathy point,” Ron said, politely clapping along. “Hopefully, Harry, you'll get one too…”

“Cohen Norton used… a complete Transfiguration Charm.” Fudge paused slightly. “He successfully rescued the hostages within the allotted time, was the first warrior to return, and even took the time to lure away the giant squid that had suddenly attacked the mermaid village, so we give him fifty points.”

Upon hearing the perfect score, a loud cheer erupted from the crowd—as if they were also on Azkaban's side.

But in reality, the students don't care about factions or schools; they only care about who is the strongest.

“No shady dealings!” Ron exclaimed in surprise, his applause seemingly louder than the others, his excitement as if he himself had won an award. “You’re amazing, Cohen—a perfect score!”

“If I didn’t give you full marks for this, no one would stand to see it,” Herbert said with a chuckle.

“Then I’ll raid the bedroom of the referee who didn’t give you a perfect score,” Edward said.

“You’re not allowed to do anything that will stain your reputation,” Cohen warned sternly. “You need to know your place—you’re going to be the Minister of Magic someday.”

"When did I say I was going to become Minister of Magic?" Edward reacted in a flash.

“Grandma’s predictions have never been wrong,” Cohen said. “Think about it…”

Edward's face suddenly turned pale and then red. He remembered that Cohen had just told him about "having a Dementor grandson" in the cave.

Martha seems to have actually said that she would have a great-grandchild in the next few years...

"You have this plan?" Herbert asked Edward with interest.

“I don’t have that kind of schedule—I can’t even find time to play games with people.” Edward shook his head. “It’s unrealistic…unrealistic…”

“Cedric Diggory also used the Bubble Head Charm and was the second to successfully bring back the hostage, although he was a minute over the allotted time…” Fudge continued, “so we give him forty-five points.”

The Hufflepuff students cheered loudly, their voices deafening.

“Viktor Krum used Transfiguration, not completely, but very effectively. He was the third to bring back the hostages, so we give him 40 points.”

“Krum’s head turned into a shark,” Harry said to Cohen, because Cohen had already been taken away by the giant squid when Krum came to rescue the hostages.

"Turning into a shark head in freshwater? That's interesting..." Cohen said.

"Harry Potter used the Oxygen Domain Alchemy Urn and achieved remarkable results..."

"Is that its name?" Harry asked Cohen in surprise.

“I still prefer to call it Fishbowl Head,” Cohen said. “So it’s called Fishbowl Head.”

“He was the last to return, well past the allotted hour…” Fudge said. “But the Mermaid Chief said that Mr. Potter and Mr. Norton were the first to find the hostages, and he couldn’t return in time because he needed to ensure all the hostages returned safely, especially after Mr. Norton lured away the giant squid that had come to attack…”

Ron and Hermione glanced at Harry with regret, while Sirius Black nonchalantly grabbed Harry's hand, comforting him that character and life are always more important than grades.

“Most referees believed this fully demonstrated high moral character,” Fudge said.

Even without knowing who the referee other than "most referees" was, everyone knew it was Karkarov, because the goatee-bearded man looked unhappy.

"So... Mr. Potter's score is forty-three."

The people around were stunned for a moment, then they applauded Harry—Ron and Hermione applauded even more enthusiastically.

"So you weren't being silly after all!" Ron shouted at Harry amidst the commotion, clapping his hands. "You were setting a moral example!"

“It sounds more like he’s doing something stupid…” Harry glanced at Cohen, somewhat embarrassed.

Meanwhile, Cohen was watching the drama unfold elsewhere with great interest.

Krum looked even more gloomy now, because he wanted to talk to Hermione, but Hermione was only interested in clapping for Harry.

"The third and final project will take place on the evening of June 24th," Fudge said. "The warriors will know the details of the project a month in advance. Thank you for your support."

"Where's the support?" Harry asked, momentarily confused. "Applause?"

“I didn’t feel anything,” Cohen said disappointedly. “Nobody sent me flowers or anything, and the Dementors from Azkaban didn’t even come to applaud me…”

(End of this chapter)