Who let this Dementor into Hogwarts!

Chapter 386 The snake is depressed; just arrange a few cups and it will be fine.

Cohen had intended to hide inside the box, but Newt stopped him.

Because flight attendants come to check from time to time, and Newt is still not good at dealing with checks.

“I really want to open the window and fly out…” Cohen said, lying in his seat.

Flying on a plane gives him the feeling of being trapped in a small box—like when a person is still in a bottle.

Once the plane landed at Athens airport, Cohen couldn't wait to pull Newt off the plane—finally, they wouldn't have to stay in the bottle anymore.

After getting off the plane, the dizziness subsided considerably.

The airport in Greece was rather lax; Cohen felt he was let in without even being checked much.

When Cohen entered the Acropolis in Athens, he realized that it wasn't just the airport that was relaxed—the whole of Greece was relaxed.

"Are there that many tourists?" Cohen asked Newt, unable to understand the Greek the people were speaking.

Why do I get the feeling that people here don't actually go to work...?

“Most of them are actually local Greeks,” Newt said. “They are more relaxed here—but this is indeed the peak season for tourism in Greece, and there are more tourists than usual.”

Cohen was visiting for the first time, but Newt was not. He skillfully led Cohen through the city and found a small hotel.

From the outside, this place doesn't look like a respectable place—the walls outside the hotel are covered in graffiti, most likely the work of some street thugs.

The shop owner was an elderly man, also quite old, who was dozing off in his chair.

"Ajax?" Newt called out as he entered, startling the old man named Ajax.

“Aμv—Newt!” The old man jumped up with a start, glancing at Newt’s hands on either side as if to make sure Newt had brought that damned box with him.

At first, Ajax was relieved to find that Newt hadn't brought anything with him.

Ajax's expression changed instantly when Cohen emerged from behind Newt and the conspicuous briefcase pierced his eye like a needle.

“I’m here on vacation with a friend’s child. Don’t be nervous, Ajax,” Newt said helplessly. “This is Dumbledore’s student.”

“Oh, student, I thought your little grandson had sneaked back with the Polyjuice Potion again—he was just here a few days ago.” Ajax breathed a sigh of relief after hearing that Cohen wasn’t a Scamander child—maybe the suitcase was just an ordinary suitcase…

"Rolfe's room hasn't been checked out yet, has it?" Newt asked. "He might be coming back in a few days—"

"Again?!" Ajax's eyes widened. "He's already let that three-headed serpent escape twice in three days, both times in the middle of the night... If this keeps up, even the Greek Minister of Magic won't be able to save him..."

“Midnight…no problem.” Newt said, not too worried. “Second floor, left, room two or three.” Ajax pursed his lips and tossed two keys to Newt.

“Ajax is a Greek friend of mine who opened a hotel here to retire because he was very dissatisfied with the closed nature of the wizarding community.”

“But what he said isn’t actually that serious. Rune snakes are not very aggressive—of course, I mean not aggressive towards humans. They are quite aggressive towards their rightmost head…” As they went upstairs, Newt explained to Cohen, “A rune snake has three heads, each with a different function. The left head is responsible for decision-making, the middle head for imagination, and the right head for criticism. I’ve kept a few before. Dumbledore said you have a Parseltongue voice, so maybe you could help listen to what they talk about. I can only infer a little from their behavior…”

“It sounds like a very difficult serpentine relationship to manage…” Cohen said. “I can’t even imagine arguing with myself and then biting off my own other head…”

“If we just put a hood on the right head, the other two heads will become a little more peaceful. It’s actually not difficult to handle,” Newt said, unlocking the door to the second room on the left on the second floor. “But doing so will make the right head a little depressed—”

“It’s because not enough glue was applied,” Cohen said. “I can recommend a few brands of cups—that’s what I did when my snake was depressed.”

"?" Newt paused for a moment, then looked at Cohen with a very surprised expression.

No wonder Dumbledore specifically reminded him before he arrived that "Cohen may have many differences from the other children."

Is this one of the differences...?

“Do snakes really use this thing…” Newt said uncertainly. “You can stay in this room. I’ll stay next door. Call me anytime if anything happens.”

But Newt didn't leave. Instead, he went into the room with Cohen and seemed eager to continue talking to Cohen about magical creatures—and maybe more than just magical creatures.

"Is this box still made of bird and snake feathers like that one?" Newt asked with great interest, pulling Cohen to sit down at the small round table in the room. "Dumbledore said you brought in all the magical creatures related to you by blood..."

“I can take you to see it; after all, Rolf let me into your box before,” Cohen said. “And you didn’t charge me for the bird snake.”

“I just want those magical creatures that are poached by wizards to live more freely,” Newt said. “You’re a very kind kid, and you deserve this encouragement and support.”

Driven by Newt's intense thirst for exploration, Cohen felt as if Newt was leading him into the box, not the other way around.

"The basilisk in my case is wearing some safety 'glasses,' so I don't have to worry about it being killed by a stare," Cohen said. "But it would be good to have an extra layer of protection; I don't want to be chased down by Rolf unexpectedly..."

Newt readily accepted the glasses Cohen offered him. He had never actually seen a basilisk before—because it was a dangerous creature created by wizards and it was difficult for it to live peacefully in the wild, as wizards would exterminate it once they discovered its presence.

Once inside the box, Newt's attention was drawn to the basilisks and longhorned water snakes in front of the castle, the chimeras dozing on the grass, the mother and daughter dragons out hunting for food, and the griffins staring longingly at the fish in the lake, waiting for them to jump into their mouths.

They lived in perfect harmony—Newt was increasingly convinced that Cohen was a good boy.

Animals are often much more sensitive than humans, and their instincts are also harder to control. It's already incredible that a griffin that eats snakes can live with a bunch of snakes, let alone those two seemingly harmless fire dragons...

(End of this chapter)