Hogwarts, i am Dementor

"Cohen – get back here!" Hermione, seeing Cohen still leaning against the fence, quickly went over and pulled him back.

"Looks like Hagrid totally blew it on his first lesson," Ron said with a shiver. "They're terrifying – and that screech!"

"At least the other students haven't bolted yet..." Harry sighed, looking back at the students who were peeking out from behind nearby tree trunks.

Hagrid struggled to calm Buckbeak down. After feeding him a large fish from the lake, Buckbeak finally stopped trying to attack Cohen.

"Uh... what do I do now...?" Hagrid seemed a bit flustered because none of the students dared to approach the enclosure, even though Hagrid insisted they wouldn't do anything drastic.

"Maybe explain the creature's habits?" Hermione whispered to Hagrid, "In a safe way..."

With no other options, Hagrid had to give up on the idea of letting the students touch the creatures themselves. The rest of the lesson was conducted safely – though Hagrid's lecturing skills were nowhere near as good as his hands-on abilities.

"At least no one got hurt."

Hermione said to Hagrid reassuringly after the Care of Magical Creatures class ended.

Cohen and the others stayed behind for a bit because Cohen needed to talk to Hagrid about the unicorns.

"They are a bit dangerous, though, if we were to, you know, touch them..." Ron said.

"Only those who have earned the hippogriffs' respect can approach and touch them," Hagrid said, shaking his head. "They wouldn't suddenly attack you while you're petting them... but yeah, today was a bit strange... they seemed to smell something dangerous..."

"Maybe it's because I was handling some other dangerous animals a few days ago?" Cohen suggested.

"They know Norbert's scent, and they never got mad at me when I had Norbert..." Hagrid said.

"It's not Norbert," Cohen explained. "I brought a few other animals into my case too—"

"Other animals?!" Hagrid's previously low spirits were suddenly lifted by Cohen. "What—oh, right!"

Hagrid slapped his forehead.

"Almost forgot something – I've got a question for you. I've been so swamped getting ready for classes these past few days... The centaurs said you took the unicorns away?"

"Yeah, they insisted on following me and Allie," Cohen said. "So, the centaurs want them back?"

"Not really," Hagrid said. "The centaurs seemed pretty calm about it. They think you taking the unicorns away fits with the astrological omens. I'm just a bit worried if you can handle them all – I remember a few unicorns were close to giving birth last year..."

"They've already been born. That's actually why I came to see you. What kind of feed do baby unicorns eat? They haven't seemed to have much of an appetite lately," Cohen said.

"Ah, some alfalfa and clover," Hagrid said knowledgeably. "I've got some seeds here... hold on... let me find them..."

Hagrid found two large bags of seeds for Cohen. With the magic that helps unicorn plants mature quickly, the grass would grow in no time.

"So, what are those other animals?" Hagrid asked eagerly after they finished talking about the unicorns.

"Oh, Hagrid, you're gonna love this," Ron chuckled. "There's a Basilisk."

"A Basilisk!" Hagrid exclaimed in surprise. "I thought you guys killed it last year!"

"That was the official story. They're actually all in my case, behaving themselves," Cohen said. "Besides the Basilisk, I think there's another creature you'd be really interested in seeing..."

"A Sphinx?" Hagrid asked hopefully. "I've always wanted to try breeding one with a Fire Crab..."

"No funny business with breeding my animals!" Cohen warned in advance. "I was just thinking of cheering you up by introducing them – I've got a Chimera in my case."

"A Chimera!" Hagrid roared with delight.

"Please, please don't bring it to class..." Hermione said worriedly.

"Don't be daft, Hermione."

Hagrid waved his large hand dismissively.

Hermione thought Hagrid had finally realized the danger and illegality of a Chimera.

"Anyone with half a brain wouldn't want to study Knarls and pass up a Chimera! Once I get things sorted, I'll bring it to class for you all. It'll be perfectly safe, I promise!" Hagrid assured them.

---

But Hagrid's grand plan was doomed to fail. Cohen wouldn't lend the Chimera to Hagrid for class. First, none of its heads liked being around a lot of wizards. Second, the lion's head was a bit too enthusiastic, and the students might just end up with their heads licked off – literally licked off – or at the very least, covered in bloody scratches from its barbed tongue.

Cohen went back to Hagrid's hut in the late afternoon with his case and introduced Hagrid to the Thestral and the Chimera – which made Hagrid very happy.

"Doesn't this Chimera have a name?" Hagrid asked Cohen with some regret.

The newest novels are first released here!

"We don't need names," the goat head said. "It's enough to be called by our species."

"It's so beautiful..."

Hagrid stroked the lion's head, tears welling up in his eyes – though Cohen suspected it was because the lion had bitten his left hand.

"I've never seen a live Chimera before," Hagrid said to Cohen, deeply moved after they left the case. "Where did you get it? I've always wanted to get my hands on a Chimera egg... but I've never had the chance..."

Chimeras reproduced asexually – Hagrid had been begging Cohen for an egg ever since they left the case, but Cohen refused.

By the time Hagrid reluctantly let Cohen and his case go, it was almost evening.

The Dementors were floating around the edge of the school grounds, none of them entering the school's boundaries. Cohen had to go a long way around the edge of the Forbidden Forest to reach where the Dementors were.

[Hungry?]

A Dementor spotted Cohen and eagerly floated over.

[Not hungry right now, but I need your help with something,] Cohen told it. [Tell the other Dementors that if they catch that escaped prisoner, they absolutely must not eat him. Save him for me.]

They were naturally happy to give the little cub what he wanted – especially a little cub like Cohen with an empty stomach.

After Cohen made his request, it started floating around to spread the word to the other Dementors – but Cohen's previous reminder hadn't worked at all. Another Dementor still dragged a fresh, living person over and dropped him in front of Cohen.

"Help! Help me!" It looked like an innocent passerby from nearby Hogsmeade. "Are you a Hogwarts student? Please, save me!"

[I told you, you don't need to bring me these packed lunches...] Cohen said to the Dementor who had delivered the "meal," sounding helpless.