Who let this Dementor into Hogwarts!

Chapter 422 In Cohen's Name

The next morning, Simo left the dormitory before everyone else had gotten up.

Harry couldn't understand it at all.

"If he thinks he'll go crazy if he stays with us too long, why doesn't he just tell Professor McGonagall that he wants to change dorms?"

“Maybe he’s already done it,” Cohen said. “Neville and his friends’ dorms aren’t full yet.”

“Don’t take it too hard, Harry,” Ron reassured him.

Ron was putting on his socks, and in his confusion, he put his left sock on his right foot. But then he realized that socks don't actually have left and right sides, and he quickly and awkwardly put his shoes on, afraid that Cohen and Harry would find out.

"Do you think that toad woman will go crazy today? I mean, after what happened last night..." Ron asked.

“We don’t know what happened to her yet. Just like Cohen said, she does seem to have some kind of mental illness,” Harry said.

When they arrived at the common room, the bulletin board, which used to display various school announcements, was covered by a huge promotional notice.

Lots and lots of Galleons!

Is your allowance not enough to cover your expenses?
Want to earn more gold?

Please contact Fred and George Weasley in the Gryffindor common room, or Cohen Norton.
Find a simple, almost painless part-time job outside of class.

(We apologize, but all job seekers assume all risks.)

“Guess what I see on this flyer?” Hermione popped up behind them and asked calmly.

"Did you see tons of Galleons?" Ron asked.

"You saw a part-time job?" Harry said.

“Maybe they saw Fred and George,” Cohen replied, feigning ignorance.

“It’s your name!” Hermione said sternly. “You’re a prefect! How can you join them in their nonsense—Professor McGonagall has warned countless times that students can’t post things on the bulletin board; it confuses the freshmen!”

Hermione stepped forward and tore the notice down. The notice underneath read that the first Hogsmeade Weekend of the year would be in October.

“Those who go to Hogsmeade are at least third-year students, not freshmen—” Ron defended Cohen and Fred.

“That’s not the point! We need to talk to Fred and George later—yes, Cohen, you have to go too, and you need to act like you really regret this violation…”

“But I don’t regret it at all,” Cohen said, his eyes wide, “Good children don’t lie—”

Hermione pursed her lips and stared at Cohen.

“Okay,” Cohen said helplessly. “I’ll advise them to post the notice somewhere else.”

“To be honest, the act of recruiting test subjects is likely already against the rules—” Hermione tried to dissuade Cohen from getting involved, but she was interrupted by a bombshell from Harry.

"Hermione, have you heard about what happened last night?" Harry asked. "That new professor from the Ministry of Magic, Umbridge, is furious..."

"What?" Hermione exclaimed, alarmed. "What happened? I haven't received any news from you..."

On their way to the Great Hall, Harry and Ron embellished the story of Umbridge barging into their dormitory to check on Korn the previous night.

“Why are you looking at me? I didn’t do anything,” Cohen said, raising his hands.

"I know it wasn't you," Hermione said ironically.

She was almost certain it was Cohen who did it, but since Cohen hadn't been exposed, she wouldn't cause him any trouble. There were many ears on the way to the auditorium.

“She’ll definitely target you even more now, Cohen,” Hermione said. “I bet she said, ‘I knew it was you.’”

“You guessed right.” Cohen nodded.

Hermione wanted to say a few more words, but a group of chattering girls walked by, so Hermione immediately steered the conversation elsewhere.

"Did you two have a falling out with Seamus?" Hermione asked, picking a topic randomly. "I remember you used to leave the dorms together..."

“He thinks Harry is a fraud, Dumbledore is a crazy old man, and Cohen and I are idiots who believe in madmen and frauds,” Ron concluded Seamus’s opinion.

“Then I used my newly acquired power to exert a lot of pressure,” Cohen said. “Sometimes the prefect badge is still very useful.”

“You don’t want to take on any responsibility you should, but you don’t let any corner of the power you shouldn’t squander go unchecked, right…” Hermione sighed. “But it’s pretty much the same for the girls, Lavender thinks so too.”

"..." Harry didn't say anything, but Cohen could tell that he was feeling very bad.

Ever since he got back on the train, those suspicious eyes have never left him.

“Do you remember what Dumbledore said at the end of last term?” Hermione said. “About the Mystic: ‘He is very skilled at creating conflict and hostility, and we can only fight him if we show the same unbreakable friendship and trust.’”

“You can remember this?!” Ron asked incredulously.

“Because I listened carefully, Ron,” Hermione said, her tone slightly harsh. “But Mysterio has only been back for two months, and we’ve already started fighting amongst ourselves, just as he wanted.”

“Actually… I don’t think this was part of Voldemort’s plan,” Cohen said. “It’s simply a chain reaction caused by the Ministry of Magic’s reluctance to acknowledge Voldemort’s resurrection…”

After arriving at the auditorium, they found a seat. Hagrid was still not in the teachers' section, but to Cohen's surprise, Umbridge was not there either.

Cohen had initially thought this woman would be watching him all day, looking for any flaws.

“Hagrid isn’t back yet,” Harry said, looking at the teachers’ table. “Dumbledore didn’t say how long that Professor Grapple would stay.”

“Dumbledore certainly wouldn’t try to predict things that are hard to predict.” Cohen took two slices of bread, put a piece of steak in the middle, and spread some sauce on it. “Hagrid will come back when he finishes his work, no need to rush.”

"Good morning." A tall Black girl with long braids walked towards them. "How was your summer vacation?"

She looked radiant, as if she had encountered something wonderful.

“Hello, Angelina,” Harry greeted her.

“You know what? I’ve been chosen as captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team,” Angelina said. “Oliver is gone, and we need a new goalkeeper. The selection process starts at 5 p.m. on Friday, and I hope the whole team can be there. Harry, is that alright?”

“Of course.” Harry nodded.

After Angelina left, Harry asked Cohen and Ron:

"Are you interested?"

“No,” Cohen said decisively. “Don’t even think about pressuring me. I know you’ll put pressure on me every day if I join the team.”

"Well... let's forget about it," Ron said awkwardly.

He still really wanted to join the Quidditch team, but he didn't have the money to buy brooms.

(End of this chapter)