Who let this Dementor into Hogwarts!

Chapter 406 The Golden Sheep

“Percy has cut ties with his family,” Ron explained to Cohen. “He feels that if Dad and Mom betrayed the Ministry of Magic, then he wants everyone to know that he no longer belongs to our family… Mom has been crying and sobbing. When she came to London, she wanted to talk to Percy, but he slammed the door shut in front of her…”

“I can’t imagine what would happen if I shut myself in front of my mom and didn’t talk to her…” Cohen clicked his tongue.

“He’s a fool,” Ron said unhappily. “He took the Daily Prophet seriously and thought we were all idiots who had been fooled by Dumbledore and Harry—we don’t even mention him in front of anyone anymore.”

Ron took another slice of bread, wrapped it around a fried egg, and took a big bite as if he were Percy.

After the drinks arrived, Cohen began to try the mixed drinks.

It's hard to say whether the outcome is good or bad. Cohen felt that adding five sugar cubes didn't actually make the taste that strange, but neither Harry, Ron, nor Hermione wanted to drink the dark brown, viscous liquid.

“It should have been black tea,” Cohen said regretfully. “It tastes a bit bitter.”

“It feels like no amount of tea can save us.” Harry moved away in awe, as if afraid that Cohen would force the mixed drink into his mouth.

Not long after, Sirius came downstairs for dinner. He had dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept much at all last night.

"Good morning," Sirius said with a yawn, then noticed someone else sitting down at the table. "Cohen? When did you get here? Harry and the others were thinking of picking you up today—but I can't move, I'm going to take a nap..."

"What did you do last night?" Cohen asked curiously. "It looks like you overindulged—"

“You son of a bitch…” Sirius’s retort faltered slightly. “I went to Azkaban—because I’m the only one here who knows that place well…”

"Because the Dementors have turned against us?" Cohen asked.

"How did you all know? I was planning to tell you during the meeting today—" Sirius asked, his eyes wide.

"The Dementors told me that one of them came to my house looking for me," Cohen said.

“You should have gone,” Sirius said sadly. “I’m better suited to fighting than to travel all the way to a prison to see if the guards are still there—those guards are my old acquaintances…”

"Wait... what if all the Dementors leave..." Harry suddenly realized a very serious problem.

“That’s right, the Death Eaters have all run away. This matter is not even allowed to be discussed in the Ministry. They’ve also made Arthur a key target for suspicion. Otherwise, we would have gotten the news long ago…” Sirius said. “The Ministry of Magic is trying to keep it a secret—but the truth will eventually come out. In a few days, the wizarding world will probably be in an uproar.”

"What else will be on the agenda for tonight's meeting?" Harry asked Sirius eagerly.

"I guess it's an investigation into other races that have served Voldemort..." Sirius said tactfully, "If I say any more, Molly is going to pull my ear—wait, where is she?"

“He’s in the kitchen because of Percy,” Ron explained.

"Sigh... silly boy, completely fooled by the Ministry of Magic." Sirius sighed, "Just like my little brother..."

“But I believe he’ll come to his senses eventually,” Sirius added. “Do you have any activities planned for today? We can’t just keep cleaning the house—to be honest, after getting rid of the pests, there’s absolutely no need to clean it anymore; the shadows and grime have become one with it…”

"Want to wander around London?" Cohen asked. "I can't go out," Harry said sadly. "Nobody will let me out because Voldemort might be looking for me everywhere."

“I’ll put you in a box and no one will find out,” Cohen said.

“Hey, hey, your godfather is right here listening,” Sirius reminded us. “Going out is out of the question. I don’t want to wake up to the news that Harry has been taken away by Voldemort. You guys can play some ball—there’s a big open space in the backyard. Don’t worry, the Muggles can’t see you.”

“Or perhaps you could see the golden sheep I brought back from Greece?” Cohen suggested. “And the scorpion, the leopard cat, and the two-headed lynx…”

"You've brought all the animals from Greece back with you?" Harry asked in surprise.

“They wanted to follow me,” Cohen waved his hand. “But it’s a shame I didn’t see the Hydra. It seems to only surface on rainy days. Hagrid even wanted me to take one back with me—”

"Keeping them in the lake at Hogwarts? Dumbledore would definitely kill you both then," Sirius scoffed. "He's busy enough as it is—but Dumbledore's coming tonight, you can go ask him."

After finishing breakfast, Sirius went upstairs to sleep. Harry and Ron were very interested in Sirius's suggestion to play ball, while Cohen chose to watch from the sidelines—Cohen preferred to fly on his own rather than on a broomstick.

Hermione, as always, found a place in the backyard to read, trying to entice them to study in this way, but with little effect.

In the afternoon, because they were so curious about the Greek golden sheep, they asked Cohen to take them to see it in the box.

At first, they were almost deterred by the commotion of two dragon cubs fighting in front of the dragon cave.

Unlike Norbert, these dragon cubs still retain a wild nature that hasn't been tamed by the life of being fed and housed, and they look exceptionally fierce.

Cohen had to lock the only three golden sheep in the castle to save their lives—otherwise, these animals, who had little ability to protect themselves, would turn into piles of dragon dung the next day.

Are they really magical creatures?

Harry asked, puzzled, after seeing the golden sheep and even touching it.

Apart from their golden wool, they seem no different from normal sheep.

“They are lucky,” Cohen said.

"Baa—" The sheep that Harry was petting let out a long baa.

“I read in the book that they bring extraordinary luck, and that tuft of hair on their heads is an important ingredient in Felix Felicis,” Hermione said with interest, circling a golden ram. “And their blood is a powerful antidote. Greece should have strictly controlled their circulation… Cohen, how did you get so many?”

"The little basilisk caught it," Cohen said. "He said he couldn't resist taking a bite and found it tasted really good—"

As he spoke, Cohen pointed to the snake bite marks on the rump of one of the sheep.

"Hermione, do you know how to brew Felix Felicis?"

(End of this chapter)