The golden egg could only be opened underwater, and the only body of water inside Cohen's magical trunk was a man-made stream that ran through the unicorn forest.
Thankfully, it was deep enough to submerge the egg and allow both of them to dip their heads beneath the surface.
As they made their way to the stream, a few new additions inside the trunk caught Harry's eye.
Like the enormous castle that had clearly taken shape.
"You're building a second Hogwarts in here?!" Harry asked, stunned.
"Something like that," Cohen replied. "Can't just leave the trunk empty forever. A portable castle sounds pretty cool—and it's the first step in founding my Dementor Empire."
"Reserve me a spot as some sort of minister, then," Harry joked. "Are you planning to move Xisoco and the others in? What about the Chimera? It's usually lounging outside the house…"
"The goats don't like staying cooped up indoors, and the little basilisk has been begging for a lair as big as Norbert's. Building a castle solves everything at once," said Cohen. "And if I come across any lost Dementors, I can bring them in too…"
Besides the castle, Harry was lucky enough to witness Norbert's mum come out to hunt—she emerged from her cave, snatched a few sheep from the pen with a quick snap of her jaws, then strolled back like she was out for a casual walk, tail swaying.
"That's… the dragon from the tournament?" Harry asked, watching the old dragon nod in their direction like a friendly neighbor. "Why does she seem so… chill?"
"She was like that from the moment she arrived," Cohen clarified. "Has nothing to do with me—it just proves that full board and lodging can change the nature of any creature…"
"Won't Norbert try to fight her?" Harry had noticed that another, smaller stone mound had been built next to Norbert's original cave. If the old dragon had taken over Norbert's lair, then the new one must be where Norbert lived now.
"Technically, two female dragons should fight if they're in close proximity—especially if one's brooding—but not if they're mother and daughter. I know it sounds ridiculous, but that's exactly what happened…" Cohen said with an awkward smile. "Turns out Norbert is her daughter. The moment they met, they recognized each other."
"Seriously?" Harry gave him a look that said you've got to be kidding me.
"The magical world's full of surprises," Cohen said with a shrug, then dunked the golden egg into the stream and cracked it open.
A gurgling song rose from the egg, though the water muffled it, making the lyrics impossible to discern.
"It actually works!" Harry's attention snapped to the strange song coming from beneath the water.
"Merfolk use this trick to lure sailors," Cohen said. "That blurry, enchanting singing underwater makes people curious—they lean in, trying to hear more, and that's when the mermaids pull them in and loot their boats."
"Are there mermaids in the Black Lake too?" Harry recalled how Colin's younger brother Dennis had once fallen into the lake but hadn't been attacked. "I've never heard of anyone seeing them…"
"Freshwater merfolk aren't as aggressive as the saltwater kind. Otherwise, Dumbledore wouldn't let them live in the Black Lake. You really haven't read Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, have you…" Cohen said with a sigh. "Freshwater mermaids aren't as pretty either. Otherwise, a bunch of wizards would be trying to date them—just like those blokes chasing after Veela."
"So we have to put our heads underwater to hear it clearly?" Harry leaned close to the surface, straining to catch the lyrics. That distant, haunting tune kept tugging at him to dip his head beneath.
"There aren't any mermaids in my stream, so what are you waiting for?" Cohen said before plunging straight into the water.
Harry followed and ducked his head under.
Instantly, the egg's song rang out clearly:
> Come seek us where our voices sound,
> We cannot sing above the ground.
> And while you're searching, ponder this:
> We've taken what you'll sorely miss.
>
> An hour long you'll have to look,
> To recover what we took.
> But past an hour—the prospect's black,
> Too late, it's gone, it won't come back.
The song stopped, and both Cohen and Harry lifted their heads out of the water.
Cohen slicked back his dripping hair.
No surprises there—the second task still involved diving into the Black Lake to rescue hostages.
Cohen couldn't breathe underwater himself, but as a Dementor, that didn't really matter—breathing wasn't exactly on his to-do list.
Besides, the whole thing would happen underwater, so spectators above wouldn't be able to see much anyway. Cohen only had one real question left:
What exactly was his "most treasured thing"?
The basilisk? The Chimera? His nightmare creature? Little Dementor Mick?
Were there even any other beings at school that meant that much to him?
On second thought, none of those could be easily "kidnapped"…
Surfacing from the lake with a giant beast in tow would definitely be a scene—but the Ministry probably shouldn't know about that.
> "Where our voices sound… most treasured thing… one hour…"
> Harry shook his head, flicking droplets from his hair, and wiped his glasses on the hem of his shirt. "So we have to go into the lake and find something? From the mermaids?"
"Doesn't sound too hard," Cohen nodded.
"'Not too hard'?" Harry frowned. "How exactly are we supposed to breathe underwater?"
"Enchant a helmet with Water Breathing III," Cohen replied seriously.
"???" Harry blinked, completely lost. "Is that… a spell?"
"Or use the Bubble-Head Charm, if you can manage it," Cohen said. "You could also use tools—the song didn't say you couldn't bring gear. You could prep a diving suit…"
"Diving suits are expensive… and I don't have Muggle money…" Harry said, disheartened. "Guess I'll have to try that spell—what did you call it again?"
"Bubble-Head Charm," Cohen said. "Check the library first—see if you can learn it. If not, I've got a backup plan."
"You're planning to use the charm too?" Harry asked.
"Me?" Cohen raised an eyebrow. "I just turn into a Dementor. No need to breathe."
"Man…" Harry sighed, envy in his voice. "First time I've ever thought being a Dementor might actually have its perks…"
"If you're okay with being constantly hunted by Patronuses," Cohen said dryly. "I'd rather be a normal guy—then Edward and the others wouldn't have to deal with all this nonsense…"
"You are normal," Harry said earnestly. "The weird ones are those Silver Key lunatics and the Death Eaters… No one wants to get dragged into their mess."