Cohen returned to the castle with Harry, carrying his trunk. There was less than a day left before the first task of the Triwizard Tournant. Even Sirius agreed that Harry should practice with a dragon in advance—it might help him avoid mistakes due to nerves during the real event.
But in truth, this practice might not be much help at all.
"Sirius was wrong about one thing," Harry sighed after spending an entire afternoon practicing the Conjunctivitis Curse on Norbert. "Even if I get really good at the spell, it's useless if the dragon I face tomorrow doesn't wag its tail at like Norbert does."
Norbert lowered his head and gently nudged Harry with his snout.
Harry had been firing blue flashes at the dragon's eyes all afternoon, with no noticeable effect. It looked more like so odd ga played by a bald monkey than actual spellwork.
"At least you can aim at a dragon's eyes now," Cohen offered, trying to comfort him. "Didn't you miss seven tis in a row when you first started?"
"What about you? How are you planning to take on the dragon tomorrow?" Harry asked curiously. "Are you going to use that trick you taught ?"
"I thought about it, and using the Chira wouldn't be fair," Cohen shook his head. "And summoning a broomstick with Accio isn't flashy enough—not my style."
"So what are you planning?" Harry's curiosity deepened.
"I'm giving the dragon a worthy opponent," Cohen said, scratching Norbert's outstretched chin. "He's been eating my food for years—it's ti he earned it."
—
That evening, Cohen spent quite so ti testing the portal he'd created in his trunk, making sure it could link properly to the tournant grounds.
Because Apparition was blocked inside Hogwarts, Cohen moved his tests to Edward and Rose's tent outside the castle. The couple had gone to visit Herbert, clearing out the tent so Cohen could practice in peace. Inside now were just Cohen, the guiding Chira, and his securely locked trunk.
Due to space limitations in the tent, the test subject had been swapped out—Norbert was too big—so Cohen used a smaller basilisk instead.
"Portalium Evoco," Cohen incanted, aiming his wand at the center of the tent.
With a flash of white light, the air shimred and twisted, forming an oval-shaped portal like a mirror. Through it, one could faintly see the grassy plains and blurred forest inside Cohen's trunk.
[Croak!]
The little basilisk was still excited even after crawling through Cohen's portal for the third ti, hissing and snapping with enthusiasm.
"Not too hard," Cohen said calmly.
"Are you sure you can control the portal's size and range?" the goat asked. "You'll need one big enough for Norbert to fit through, and you'll also need to maintain so distance between you and the trunk. Of course, you could ask your parents to take the trunk to the spectator stands…"
"No need," Cohen said, his gaze fixed on the trunk. "Edward showing up with a trunk would look suspicious—especially if I summon a dragon in front of everyone. Better to leave it in the tent."
[I wanna bite the dragon!] the basilisk demanded.
[That'd make Nacisoco cry.] Cohen refused. [You can't even bite through Norbert's scales. Those mother dragons would turn you into a spicy snack.]
The basilisk slumped in disappointnt.
[Hey little guy, how about a more manageable opponent?] said the longhorn water snake. [I'll take you into the forest tomorrow—how does that sound?]
[Yes! That sounds aweso!] the basilisk chirped happily.
"You're not planning to eat centaurs, are you?" Cohen frowned.
[Just spiders, I promise,] the water snake assured him. [We know where to draw the line.]
Leaving the trunk behind, Cohen returned to Hogwarts.
—
The Gryffindor common room was buzzing that night. Though no one knew what the first task involved, everyone gathered around Harry, offering ideas and encouragent.
This only made Harry more nervous—until Cohen walked in and distracted half the room, giving Harry the chance to escape to the dormitory.
"Ha~" Cohen yawned loudly as he entered, looking ready to collapse on the spot, which spared him from being cornered for half the night.
"Don't you ever sleep?" Fred asked, trying to hand Cohen so Canary Creams. He even suggested Cohen eat one after the task as a way to advertise their prank products.
"I'm so tired," Cohen said with his eyes still closed. "And clearly, fake wands would be way more useful for this task."
"Great idea!" George exclaid, imdiately stuffing a handful of fake wands into Cohen's hands. "Good luck!"
"Thanks, but save the luck for Harry," Cohen replied.
After all, stealing a golden egg wasn't hard. Even without Norbert, Cohen could've easily snuck one out of the nest.
His plan to let Norbert fight was mainly to cause enough chaos—maybe smash a few eggs—and steal so real ones amid the distraction.
—
Cohen had a strong hunch that Harry hadn't slept at all. When he saw the dark circles under Harry's eyes the next morning, that hunch turned into certainty.
"You need to eat sothing, Harry," Hermione said, placing a piece of toast slathered with butter onto his plate.
"Doesn't seem worth it," Harry muttered. "It's all going into the fire anyway—" Original content can be found at NoveI[F]ire
"Ahem," Cohen interrupted, warning him not to ntion dragons aloud in the Great Hall.
"You still shouldn't skip lunch," Hermione insisted, worried. "You'll faint before even entering the arena."
Harry couldn't eat anything, but it wasn't a huge problem. The morning only had two History of Magic lessons—perfect for napping.
Basically, it was like he had woken up at noon—a sleep schedule ahead of its ti.
—
Shortly after lunch, Professor McGonagall ca rushing over to the Gryffindor table, heading straight for Cohen and Harry.
"Norton, Potter, it's ti," she said. "The champions are gathering at the grounds. You need to get ready for the first task."
"Alright," Cohen nodded, with Harry echoing behind him.
"Don't be nervous,"
Professor McGonagall placed both hands on their shoulders, her tone unusually anxious. "Keep your wits about you… We have wizards stationed nearby for your safety. If anything goes wrong, they'll intervene… But most importantly, use your own abilities…"
"We're not nervous, Professor," Cohen said. In fact, she looked more in need of comfort than either of them. He'd never seen her this worried before—but then again, she was probably more concerned about Harry's safety.
They walked across the grounds, skirting the edge of the Forbidden Forest, until they arrived at the newly built "dragon arena." Its entrance was blocked by a massive tent, concealing the dragons inside.
"Best of luck," McGonagall said.
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