The Count wasn't too resistant to the idea of delivering a letter in the middle of the night.
"Because you're a nocturnal bird, you know," Cohen said dryly. "Don't act like I'm taking advantage of you—what else is a store-bought owl for if not delivering mail?"
"Hey, I chat with you every day," the Count retorted, full of confidence. "Can other pets do that?"
"Mr. Fluffy," Cohen said.
"Nah, no way," the Count scoffed. "Mr. Fluffy would annoy you to death. You wouldn't want to chat with him."
"My point is, if you don't get going, I'll bring Mr. Fluffy to Hogwarts," Cohen said, his face expressionless. "You're the one who spends the most time in the Room of Requirement anyway."
...
Mr. Fluffy was still more effective. The Count took off with the letter as soon as he heard that.
The weekend had a somewhat tense atmosphere because Scabbers had gone missing.
Thanks to Hermione's newly purchased cage, Ron, surprisingly, didn't immediately suspect her.
"Scabbers probably just found another mouse," Fred reminded Ron when he was searching the fireplace woodpile in the common room for the eighth time. "He's, like, what, thirteen? You can't deny him the right to have little mouse babies."
"Scabbers is a *boy*!" Ron said, sweating. "He doesn't need to go into labor—"
"He might just be a homebody," Cohen said. "Like that snake I used to have. It would let its daughter coil around its head all day long."
"Really?" Ron slumped back into his armchair, dejected.
"He'll come back," George reassured him. "If he really is gone, we can get you a new rat—huh? Did Cohen see Scabbers?"
"Oh, I just remembered I need to go ask Professor Lupin something, about whether he's taking a sick day for tomorrow's class," Cohen fibbed.
"If you find out, let us know," Ron said. "I really can't handle all this bad news one after another—if Snape teaches Defense Against the Dark Arts again next week, I'm skipping class immediately and won't go back until Professor Lupin returns..."
Cohen slipped out of the Gryffindor common room through the portrait hole—he had just seen a familiar soul through the wall.
Hogwarts didn't have any souls with a soul strength of 28. The professors were higher, the students were lower, only Sirius Black, who had been devoured by Dementors for twelve years, had that level.
He couldn't enter the Gryffindor common room in broad daylight, so he was probably waiting for Cohen outside specifically.
"Woof! Woof!"
Cohen had just stepped out when he heard the bark of the large black dog, and then he was fiercely knocked over by it.
"What are you doing!" Cohen growled.
But Sirius could only express himself with barks, biting Cohen's trouser leg and trying to drag him somewhere else.
However, anywhere else was definitely not safe, so Cohen brought him to the Room of Requirement.
"You wouldn't risk being discovered just to barge into me at Hogwarts, would you?"
Cohen looked at Sirius suspiciously after closing the door of the Room of Requirement.
He had already swiftly transformed from the large dog back into his grimy human form.
"You said you'd bring Harry over next week!" Sirius said in a low voice. "How many weeks has it been now?"
"I meant the next Hogsmeade weekend. It was supposed to be this week, but there's a Quidditch match this week, so Hogsmeade weekend was canceled—didn't you even go watch?"
"That's another reason I came to find you." Sirius rushed towards Cohen, breathing heavily, and grabbed Cohen's collar—just like a thug.
But considering this guy used to be a school bully, this action didn't surprise Cohen.
Cohen dodged out of the way.
"Aren't you a Dementor? Why did they still attack Harry—he almost died!" Sirius demanded.
"Protecting students is Dumbledore's job," Cohen countered. "I didn't see you, his godfather, stepping in either."
"That's because..."
"Besides, how could I have saved him? They were too loud at the time; I couldn't even shout them down," Cohen said. "You expect me to turn into a Dementor and float over to stop them, right under the noses of all the teachers and students? Harry passed out the moment the Dementors appeared."
"..." Sirius's chest heaved, but he couldn't continue speaking.
"Get your priorities straight, dog-person."
"I don't have that nickname," Sirius huffed.
"Okay, dog-person," Cohen said, completely unwilling to change his mind. "I hate it when people try to pass the buck to me. If I'm responsible for the Dementors making mistakes, then are all you wizards responsible for Voldemort's crimes? If it weren't for the fact that you're Harry's godfather, I wouldn't even be in the mood to help you right now—"
"I'm sorry," Sirius said suddenly.
"?" Cohen didn't expect Sirius to back down so quickly.
"I said, I'm sorry," Sirius said through gritted teeth.
"Did Peter possess you?" Cohen raised an eyebrow.
"Don't lump me in with that cowardly traitor," Sirius said, his face flushed with anger. "I admit I was wrong. You need to bring Harry over and help me explain things—I'm not very good at talking to people anymore... especially not to him..."
Was this lightning-fast apology just to be able to get along harmoniously with Harry...?
"Do we really have to go through these sentimental moments?" Cohen wanted to complain a bit more. He had just thought of dozens of rebuttals to Sirius's accusations. "I still had more to say..."
"Now that I'm here, can you bring Harry and them over?" Sirius asked Cohen, his back hunched.
"No," Cohen said.
"Why?" Sirius asked, completely bewildered.
"Because Peter Pettigrew ran away," Cohen said matter-of-factly. "I don't know why, but Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, has been chasing him constantly, as if someone was secretly urging him to drive Peter away..."
Faced with Cohen's finger-pointing, Sirius fell silent.
Those who point fingers at others will eventually have fingers pointed at them. Sirius didn't dare mention that he was the one who asked Crookshanks to catch Scabbers.
"I'll find him," Sirius said hoarsely.
"Want to hear some good news?" Cohen asked.
"What good news?" Sirius looked at Cohen.
"I know who he's going to look for next," Cohen said with a smirk. "And I even overheard those two people's plan."
"Who?! What plan?" Sirius asked anxiously.
Of course, it was the plan to kidnap Harry after Christmas!
But telling Sirius about this felt equivalent to Voldemort knowing as well—because Cohen wasn't sure if Voldemort would be watching Peter Pettigrew. If Sirius knew the original plan, he might reveal the fact that "Cohen betrayed Voldemort" in front of him.
"Hold on, you're too impatient. I can't tell you the plan right now," Cohen said.
"That's exactly what Dumbledore used to say to me," Sirius said, extremely dissatisfied.
"Then I definitely can't tell you," Cohen nodded. "I trust Professor Dumbledore's judgment. You just play dumb for now. I have my own arrangements after Christmas."
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