Who let this Dementor into Hogwarts!

Chapter 399, "Doro's Tragic Little Story"

Everyone tacitly moved on from the bloodshed that occurred at the Ministry of Magic.

Even the Greek Ministry of Magic only issued a symbolic obituary and a warning about a dangerous creature on the run; no personnel from the Department of Magical Creatures Control were dispatched to pursue it.

Even though they could return to their original home, the old griffin insisted on living in the Cohen Box with its children and the other magical creatures.

"Would you really do anything for free food and lodging?" Cohen looked at the old griffin who was eating and drinking with his son as soon as he entered the box, and felt as if he had been deceived by the old griffin's originally upright and serious appearance.

It was expected that a guy who raises a son who "goes around saying his father is dead" wouldn't have a normal personality...

Although the poachers and the silver key issue have been resolved, Cohen and Newt will have to stay here for a while longer.

They were going to attend the last festival that Newt's old friend Flick would preside over.

So the time before the festival arrived became Cohen's travel time.

The little basilisk that had been clamoring to go to Greece was finally released. It was led by Sissoko and the old basilisk to cause trouble in the reserve. Cohen had specifically reminded them not to overhunt the local creatures, lest they be labeled as invasive alien species.

Aside from their deadly stare, basilisks don't actually look that different from normal snakes from a distance—especially these three wild-to-domesticated basilisks…

The goats also went out to visit some old friends.

Norber and its mother are still raising their cubs in the cave; the whole litter of Norwegian Ridgebacks has hatched and is eagerly awaiting their feeding.

And Cohen...

"You mean you want me to play the victim with the old water snake so he'll come and visit you, right?"

Inside the temple, Cohen touched a bag of pocket money and asked.

“Yeah, that’s it,” Newt’s friend Frick said sheepishly, stroking his beard.

In order to secretly pull Cohen into a small cubicle to discuss this matter, Flick went to great lengths to lure Cohen there, using methods including, but not limited to, the lure of "snake food" and snacks.

At first, he thought that Cohen, as the "grandson" of the old water snake, would also like to eat fish—but Cohen refused his invitation to grill fish, saying that he didn't like to eat fish.

The next round of invitations was changed to snacks that young people like, but Cohen still couldn't be lazy and didn't come.

Finally, Flick managed to win Cohen over with two bags of pocket money.

"So... what can you do?" Flick put his arm around Cohen's shoulder and leaned his head close to Cohen's to ask.

“Of course, it’s no big deal,” Cohen assured, patting his money bag. “He’ll definitely come.”

Actually, if the money is right, even if Flick wanted to spend an afternoon with the old water snake, Cohen wouldn't necessarily object...

“There’s no need to force it…” Frick looked at Cohen’s straightforward manner and said hesitantly, “I just hope…”

"I hope it came because it was moved and not because I forced it, right? I understand, I understand." Cohen patted the old man on the back with practiced ease. "Don't worry, I promise I'll make it cry its eyes out—"

"Do snakes have tear glands?" Frick frowned, realizing something was amiss, and asked.

"..."
-
[...Doro didn't know what a deep-sea octopus was, nor did she know what a sea bass with few bones was. Doro only knew that giving you a delicious fish would make you happy, so she worked hard every day to grow Orenji, thinking that one day she would save up enough Orenji to buy you one. But her owl could no longer find you. Those Orenji and Doro's dreams, as well as herself, were buried together on the beach...] Cohen pointed to a picture on a parchment and told the old water snake a very long story.

[Hmm...] The old water snake began to make some strange noises. [Is this little fanboy so nice to a snake...?]

"Sigh." Cohen sighed.

Is it too late for me to go see it now?

"Isn't this a fictional story?" Chimera Beast returned at some point, its water snake tail watching Cohen recount some kind of tragic tale, and somewhat unable to bear it any longer, it reminded him, "Besides, neither dogs nor snakes eat oranges..."

"Waaah... No one has ever been so kind to me before..." the old water snake wailed.

"That's a bit emotional. Haven't the goat and I been good to you?" the water snake said helplessly. "We've always been the ones who cleaned up the messes you caused before..."

"I feel really down," said the goat.

"Roar." The lion tried to whimper, but still couldn't control the volume.

"It probably didn't understand anything at all..." The old water snake sighed at the lion's head. "I was just fantasizing about having a cute little guy like that who would be nice to me... Cohen's drawing of the puppy looks so appetizing."

"Actually, there are people like that," Cohen said gradually. "Didn't that old wizard in the temple prepare sacrificial fish for you his whole life? He's been a priest for so many years just to see you once..."

"Him?" the old water snake said awkwardly. "I'm not going—wouldn't that make me seem like the kind of snake that'll roll belly-up as soon as it's given food, a very casual snake?"

"No...isn't that right?" Cohen asked, as if he were meeting the old water snake for the first time.

……

There were some minor setbacks, but overall it went smoothly. Although the old water snake was still a bit reluctant, he agreed to go with Cohen to see the old priest on the day of the festival.

It's possible that it had actually planned this all along, since it still couldn't forget about the fish in the temple.

Cohen hasn't taken it out to steal food these past few days because he doesn't understand one thing: now that he knows no one in the temple will stop it from eating, why does the old water snake still want to take the sneaky route?

Perhaps they enjoy the thrill of committing crimes, or perhaps snakes simply prefer this kind of petty, thieving behavior.

“It just treats them as friends for entertainment, just like it treats the griffins,” the goat told Cohen. “The prey it catches is always fresher than the meat that’s brought to its mouth. The longer you live, the less novelty there is in life, and this is one of the few things that gives it novelty…”

“No wonder it was so interested in me,” Cohen said, stroking his chin.

"It was also very interested in us," the water snake said. "But this interest only lasted a few decades. Perhaps we were too well-behaved, and it got bored..."

"My dear grandson, look at the fish I snatched from that brat!" The old water snake excitedly dragged a large fish towards Cohen. "The first bite is for you—"

Behind it, a group of magical animal cubs that had followed the griffin father and son into the box were relentlessly chasing after it.

“You two have very similar ways of doing things,” the goat said.

"Is it too late for me to start repenting for taking the lollipop from the kid?" Cohen pursed his lips.

(End of this chapter)