Cohen offered two options: one, the Chimera and the old water serpent could go to Greece with the griffin first, and he'd join them after the summer break; or two, everyone could wait for summer and travel together.

After all, revenge didn't have to happen right this second.

Everyone voted for the second plan—especially the griffin, who felt much more at ease after the old water serpent agreed to let it tag along.

Their discussion didn't go unnoticed—soon, a certain big friend came lumbering over.

"Cohen?" Hagrid called out in surprise, lugging a huge bucket of pike meat. "And that's a Chimera—and where did this horned water serpent come from?!"

The shock in Hagrid's eyes quickly turned to pure delight.

"An ungrown giant!" the old water serpent hissed in alarm. "Run! There must be an adult giant nearby too!"

"Do you even look at faces before panicking?" Cohen sighed. "How on earth did you decide this big, bearded guy is an 'ungrown giant'? This is Hagrid, my friend. He's half-giant, half-human—don't ask about the mixing process."

"They're all from Greece, Hagrid," Cohen explained. "This water serpent is kind of like the Chimera's, um... adoptive father. And the griffin came looking for the serpent."

"Ohhh!" Hagrid exclaimed with a nod, sloshing the bucket a bit. "Does the serpent eat fish? I brought loads, figured the griffin might scare the merpeople in the lake if it went hunting…"

The griffin, catching the scent, perked up and bounced over to Hagrid.

Even grief can't compete with the joy of a good meal.

"What about the serpent?" Hagrid asked, holding up a fish. "I'll find something for the Chimera next—still got a few bits of dragon meat left from when I was patching up a Thestral…"

"Hagrid's asking if you want some food," Cohen translated for the old water serpent.

"I don't steal food from little ones," it replied solemnly.

…

Leaving the water serpent and the griffin happily munching beside the bucket, Cohen left the Chimera there too and followed Hagrid back to his hut to fetch the dragon meat.

Hagrid, naturally, was curious. "How'd you end up with so many magical creatures?" he asked enviously. "Seems like every creature just loves you…"

"It's my irresistible charm," Cohen joked. "Kidding—I'm actually the top incubus of the magical creatures world."

"Even Aragog likes you," Hagrid said. "Every time I visit, he always asks if you came too."

"Pretty sure that's not because he likes me…" Cohen muttered. He had a sneaking suspicion Aragog was just checking whether the apex predator of his species was around before making a move.

On the way, Cohen told Hagrid the griffin's story.

When Hagrid heard that the griffin had come to find the serpent because its father had been killed by a poacher wizard, his face twisted in sympathy. "Greek authorities are supposed to protect rare magical creatures… but there's always poachers. Good thing the centaurs in the Forest are starting to take their protector role seriously—Hogwarts used to have poaching problems too, back in the day…"

Hagrid still had two hefty pieces of dragon leg meat left—those went to the griffin.

"Don't take any leftovers back into the case," Cohen warned the griffin. "Norbert and his mum might freak out again."

Last time, the griffin had snuck back some dragon meat, and Norbert was so scared he refused to leave his cave.

Not that it mattered—those two pieces barely made a dent in the griffin's appetite.

Before leaving, Cohen let the still-conscious unicorns out of the case and told them to stay in the Forest for a while. Hagrid repeatedly promised the unicorn chief that he'd protect them—though Cohen distinctly heard the unicorn chief demand a daily barrel of brandy in return.

---

With a new water serpent and a griffin living in the case, not much really changed.

The sheep and pigs were still being eaten regularly, the old dragon still brought back a sheep to the cave every day like clockwork, and Cohen figured the dragon eggs would hatch soon—the area near the cave was noticeably warmer.

The old basilisk, after returning to the case, had been helping Sissoco with the baby basilisk. Unfortunately, the baby had entered a dramatic, rebellious phase after suffering heartbreak. It had become melodramatic and stubborn, making it harder to manage.

Cohen handed over the abandoned castle and the mindless undead to the baby basilisk, letting it play out its fantasy of becoming the "World's Most Powerful Basilisk King."

Of course, given how few basilisks were left in the world—and how much Sissoco and the old basilisk doted on the baby—that fantasy might've already come true.

As for the Chimera, now that it had both a father and a "little brother," it had far less alone time. The goat head spent several hours a day chatting with the old water serpent, cutting deeply into its reading time.

But while life in the case was relatively peaceful, trouble was brewing at Hogwarts as the third Triwizard Task loomed.

Voldemort had planted a Death Eater spy in the Ministry of Magic to tamper with the final task's Triwizard Cup—turning it into a Portkey to drag Harry and Cohen straight to him.

He even sent Cohen a letter, insisting that he must win the tournament alongside Harry.

Maybe Voldemort was just too excited at the idea of finally catching Harry, because during late February and early March, Harry began to suffer from intense nightmares.

One gloomy March weekend morning, Hermione looked at Harry with deep concern.

"Harry, you should tell Professor Dumbledore," she said gently. "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named might be planning something awful…"

"I have nightmares all the time…" Harry muttered, rubbing his scar and sneaking a glance at Dumbledore, who was chatting with Professor McGonagall. After a pause, he seemed to give up on the idea.

"Did you at least tell Sirius?" Hermione pressed.

"I'm guessing Sirius told you to tell Dumbledore," Cohen chimed in, sounding amused.

"…" Harry sulked, rubbing his scar again and staring blankly at the golden goblet on the table. "Let's not bother Dumbledore…"

"Bother him? He's the Headmaster. This is literally his job," Cohen said firmly. "You're cornering him after breakfast. Can't have him collecting his paycheck for doing nothing."

So after breakfast, Cohen, Hermione, and Ron flanked Harry and herded him toward Dumbledore on his way back to the office.