After the task was over, Cohen got his Undetectable Extension pouch back from Harry, then slipped away to the lake where no one was around.
Edward stayed behind to keep watch near the shore.
Most students had rushed back to the castle to interrogate the "hostages" about what had happened underwater. No one was lingering by the lake—they couldn't even chat up the mermaids if they wanted to.
"This feels like we're doing something illegal…" Edward muttered, hiding behind a magically conjured bush with a frown.
"That's because it is illegal," Cohen replied, transforming into a Basilisk—mostly because the creature's dark green scales made it easier to blend into the grass. "You need a license to raise a Horned Serpent, but honestly, no one in my family would bother going through the paperwork. Too much trouble. So I figured, why not just ignore the law?"
Cohen dove underwater. He wasn't gone long before he resurfaced, dragging a bag between his teeth.
"Got it?" Edward asked.
Once Cohen was back on shore, he turned back into his human form, holding a heavy sack made of Graphorn hide.
"Stop jostling me… I'm falling apart here…" grumbled the old water serpent from inside.
"You go ahead to the castle," Edward said. "If anything comes up, have the Count let us know. Want to go out for dinner tonight? I'm thinking of cooking us a proper victory feast—to celebrate your first place win."
"Cooking yourself?" Cohen raised an eyebrow. "I thought once you had house-elves, you'd never lift a spatula again."
"That's what makes it special," Edward said with a grin, running a hand through Cohen's damp hair. "Also, go shower. The lake's not exactly sanitary…"
---
The trip back to the eighth floor was anything but smooth. As soon as Cohen stepped into the castle, he was swarmed by a group of unfamiliar students—mostly Ravenclaws and Slytherins.
They were desperate to hear what had happened underwater. With the other champions and hostages already surrounded by crowds, this was their best shot.
"We went into the mermaid village, rescued the hostages, then surfaced," Cohen said, growing impatient after repeating the story to several rotating groups of onlookers.
"No, I didn't kill the giant squid. If you don't believe me, feel free to jump into the lake yourself—it'll still toss you back to shore…"
"And I didn't kill any mermaids, either—"
"Yes, the Azkaban rumors are way outdated now—"
"No, my dad's not a humanoid Dementor, and neither is my mum—"
"I guess there's some connection, but no, I didn't threaten the mermaids with Azkaban—"
"Mermaids aren't attractive. If you're really into weird creatures, go find an Acromantula. They've got huge mouths—"
"Alright, alright, I've reached the dormitory. I'm going to sleep."
Cohen finally stopped in front of the Fat Lady's portrait.
The crowd had gotten way too close—especially some of the overly curious girls. For mere classmates, they were far too touchy-feely.
Several of them even bumped into Cohen when he stopped walking, failing to brake in time.
Of course, they were the ones who fell. Cohen didn't move an inch.
After the commotion, the group quickly dispersed in embarrassment.
"Someone dropped something," Cohen said to the few girls still picking themselves up. He pointed to a stack of small pamphlets on the floor. "Might belong to you—or your overly friendly friends…"
But something on the pamphlets caught Cohen's attention.
A Hogsmeade Student Job Guide? Since when was this a thing?
"Madam Snailing's Hair Boutique…" Cohen picked one up and gave it a look.
"Oh, that's mine!" a flustered third-year Ravenclaw girl quickly snatched it out of his hands before crouching to gather the rest.
Cohen glanced at her hair. It had clearly been trimmed recently—not for style, though, since long hair was more popular among Hogwarts girls.
"You're working that hard for money?" Cohen asked, clicking his tongue in surprise.
"N-No! They're just flyers…" she stammered, ears turning bright red as she hurried away.
The wealth gap at Hogwarts…
Cohen sighed. At least he was on the fortunate side of it.
With everyone gone, there was no longer any need to pretend to enter the common room.
Instead, he slipped down a side corridor and headed for the Room of Requirement. Once inside, he pulled the old water serpent out of the Graphorn hide bag.
"Ugh…" the old snake groaned, woozy. "Wha… where am I?"
"Another snake?" the Count tilted his head. "Where'd this one come from?"
"Chimera's cousin," Cohen answered casually.
He walked over to the table holding his trunk and flipped open the lid.
"This is my storage room," Cohen explained. "The Chimera's inside the trunk. I'll take you to her."
"You turned her into booze?!" the old serpent cried out in horror as a faint whiff of alcohol hit him.
"I'm not that cruel…" Cohen replied dryly, showing him the magically expanded space inside the trunk. "It's bigger on the inside."
"Oooh, wizard tricks!" the old snake exclaimed. "My daughter can do that too—or at least, part of her can…"
"When you say daughter… you mean biologically?" Cohen asked as he pushed the snake inside.
"Does it matter?" the serpent said with a sideways glance once he landed. "I hatched her, so she's my daughter! The other two heads are just… accessories."
"Well, now you've got company. Happy?" Cohen turned to the Count who had followed him in. "This snake hatched a weird egg too—and seemed quite pleased about it."
"Spare me," the Count muttered flatly. "That brings back some bad memories…"
"The Chimera's over there." Cohen looked around until he spotted it—it was batting a giant ball of yarn in front of the castle. The goat head had enlarged the ball to satisfy the lion's instinct to hunt big prey.
"Ah…" the old water snake hesitated, not rushing over for an emotional reunion like Cohen had expected. Actually, he wasn't even sure if it was father-daughter, father-son, or… something else.
"What's wrong?" Cohen asked. "Not the right one?"
"No, that's her…" the serpent said shyly.
Before it could approach, the Chimera had already spotted the familiar figure.
Its tail whispered something to the goat, who then mumbled to the lion.
The lion rolled the yarn ball away and padded over, all three heads locking eyes on the old snake.
"Ha! I came to see you all!" the water serpent declared dramatically.
"All the way from Greece to… wherever this place is! Flew a long, long way. Happy to see me?"
"Rrr?" the lion growled questioningly.
"Who's chasing you this time?" the goat asked suspiciously.
"What mess did you cause now?" the snake tail muttered lazily, clearly used to this routine.