Who let this Dementor into Hogwarts!

Chapter 428 Education is passed down from generation to generation

Their dinner time in the Great Hall that evening was not very smooth, as Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw students would sneak over to the Gryffindor table to ask Cohen about the fall of Azkaban.

“That’s right, that’s exactly it.” Cohen gave the same answer to everyone.

“How did you know?” Zacharys Smith of Hufflepuff asked suspiciously. “I mean, if the Ministry of Magic really was hiding this, how could you, as a junior wizard, have found out about it before the Daily Prophet?”

“He’s right.” Another Ravenclaw student who had sneaked over agreed with Smith’s suspicions.

“You all know this is something the Ministry of Magic is trying to keep secret, and you still expect me to reveal how I got the information in public?” Cohen raised his eyebrows. “The news will come out on its own in a few days, what’s the rush?”

"Alas..." The students, who had failed to get any information from Cohen, slipped back to their college's long table in disappointment before Professor McGonagall arrived.

"Could this be Umbridge sending someone to trick you?" Hermione frowned after they left. "She definitely wants to find something on you that you broke the law... She said after class today that if we hear anyone spreading these kinds of rumors, she wants us to report it to her."

“I have great scholars to debate with me,” Cohen said calmly. “Besides, I’m starting to think that becoming Minister of Magic through studying is not a viable path—because the more I look at those wizards who get involved in politics, the more I dislike them, let alone learning to get involved in politics.”

“You can’t become Minister for Magic just by studying,” Hermione said firmly. “Those who follow the rules can’t climb to the top. I learned that when I was reading the books. The election of Ministers is very complicated—”

“Be careful,” Cohen warned, “Don’t make it so I don’t have a memoir to write.”

“But that’s too far off. We still have over two years until graduation,” Hermione said, waving her hand. “You and Harry’s most pressing concern is getting through her detention…”

“Cohen says he has a way,” Harry said with complete trust. “And I’m actually quite glad they’re not huddled around me whispering that I’m a fraud anymore—oh, Cohen, I don’t mean I wish you could…”

“It’s nothing,” Cohen said. “Instead of worrying about whether I’ll hold a grudge, worry about your homework. Hermione said she won’t let us copy it.”

"Considering you two have to deal with that woman's confinement, I'll let you off the hook," Hermione said, head held high.
-
After the meal, they returned to the common lounge.

Most of the Gryffindor students hadn't finished eating yet, probably because they were still gossiping—that's how rumors spread. When Cohen, the source of the topic, was unwilling to reveal more, the gossipers would imagine many things that didn't actually exist.

For example, Cohen's "relative from Azkaban" told him some inside information, or Cohen heard the news from the Dementors because he was actually a humanoid Dementor, which is why the Goblet of Fire named him the Champion of Azkaban... These kinds of absurd rumors are always popular with students, and they are happy to write letters to their families to convey the exciting news from school.

Hogwarts is a huge breeding ground for rumors—because almost all the children of British wizards attend school there.

The next day, the unregulated tabloids in the wizarding world were in an uproar, and no amount of sealing off the area around Azkaban by the Ministry of Magic could stop it.

But these things are temporarily irrelevant to Cohen and others who need to do homework.

"Let's write the Snape story first."

Ron spread the parchment on the table, dipped his quill in ink, and wrote a title:
"The properties of moonstone...and its...uses in...pharmaceuticals...okay!"

After finishing writing the title, Ron looked up at Hermione with anticipation.

Cohen and Harry were in a similar situation—Cohen was too lazy to look it up in the books. He only knew that moonstone could be used in those potions and alchemical experiments, but he was unaware of its complicated properties. And if he didn't follow the official documents, Snape would definitely find a way to give them, the Gryffindor students, low marks.

Hermione didn't write anything; she was thinking about other things. "What are the properties of moonstone and its uses in medicine?" Ron tried to remind Hermione.

“No…we need to think of something…” Hermione murmured, not listening to Ron at all.

"Thinking of a method shouldn't be its purpose..." Ron blinked.

“Stop it, Ron,” Hermione said impatiently. “I just realized something terrible—if she doesn’t teach us anything real all semester, we’re doomed for our OWL exams—”

“I know about moonstone; the followers of Serene can use it to make staffs and such,” Cohen replied casually.

Since Hermione wasn't working on the answer key, Cohen opted to rummage through his pile of spellbooks to prepare for tomorrow's "lockdown."

“These aren’t the games Mr. Norton plays, Cohen…” Harry said somewhat helplessly. He had been dragged into playing them a few times when he spent the summer at the Cohen’s house before—he had heard of the name Serene, a goddess in the game.

"To be honest, we haven't really received any solid training in Defense Against the Dark Arts, have we?" Ron said nonchalantly. "Everyone's the same, we can't all be—"

“OWL is a pass/fail exam, Ron,” Hermione said. “Even if everyone else does poorly, the one who doesn’t do so badly won’t pass.”

Ron had an indifferent expression on his face.

“We can’t get Dumbledore to find a different teacher either…” Ron said.

Hermione pondered for a moment—then suddenly looked at Cohen and Harry—a hint of surprise in her eyes.

"I have a bad feeling, I need to go to sleep first," Cohen said, immediately standing up.

“You can’t leave, Cohen.”

Hermione said in a very excited tone,
"Did Harry learn spells from the chimera in your trunk last year?"

“It seems like that’s true…” Harry said. “Cohen’s chimera can do everything—you mean you’d have it teach us Defense Against the Dark Arts?”

"Phew... I thought you were going to ask me to teach you Defense Against the Dark Arts." Cohen breathed a sigh of relief. "Don't be silly, I'm not going to teach you how to defend against me—as for the Chimera Beast, go ahead, you can keep the goats entertained."

“That’s the general idea.” Hermione ignored the last part of Cohen’s sentence. “If it’s just the few of us studying, then of course there’s no problem—but we also have to consider the other students…”

“We can’t let them know that the chimera is Cohen’s, can we? But if we can fake it as if it passed through the Forbidden Forest again…” Harry said worriedly.

“With so many students flocking to the illegal area, we’re bound to get caught,” Hermione said. “The best way is for us to learn from the Chimera and then teach the others…”

“It sounds like we’ve all become you,” Ron said, stroking his chin. “But what are the properties of moonstone and its uses in medicine?”

“Okay, okay…” Hermione pursed her lips. “If I don’t write it down, you’ll keep repeating this, right? Never mind, I’ll think about this for a few more days. I’ll do my homework first.”

(End of this chapter)