Who let this Dementor into Hogwarts!

Chapter 342 This is all due to excessive immersion.

Harry gasped.

Considering the earlier thought of it as a hallucination—"Mom finally stopped watching me"—and the fact that both girls were brought by Cohen, the outcome is quite obvious.

No wonder Hermione said she didn't hear anything...

No wonder Ron said they hadn't said a single word to him all day...

The only reason I can hear them is because I speak with a snake-like accent!
……

Ten minutes later, Cohen and Harry sat in a row on the steps, watching the Basilisk and Sissoko. The Basilisk was feasting on the newly appeared snack table, while Sissoko stood by, watching to make sure she didn't swallow the wrappers or anything else in one go.

Ron, meanwhile, sat on the steps a little further away, his eyes still fixed on Krum and Hermione.

As for the unicorn, it has already gone out to find butterbeer—the only alcoholic beverage offered to students at the dance.

"They're still very energetic," Cohen said with satisfaction.

“I talked to her all day!” Harry said, rubbing his waist, which Sissoko had pinched red. “You should have told me sooner—”

“That’s because I saw you were a little disappointed after your Jocho Zhang failed, so I wanted to arrange a Christmas to distract you.” Cohen patted Harry on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, if Sissoko tells you that he’s going back to his original body tonight and sneaking into your bed, don’t be afraid, he’s just trying to scare you. He’s just jealous that you can control the Basilisk.”

“That’s good comforting. No need for more comforting words.” Harry said dryly. “How could it be a snake…”

“Sigh, race…” Cohen shook his head.

“But…” Harry looked in Ron’s direction and said somewhat reluctantly, “Wouldn’t it be best not to tell Ron that his dance partner is actually a male basilisk?”

“I thought he’d think it was cool,” Cohen raised an eyebrow. “After all, he said last time how cool it was to have a basilisk dad—”

“You’re clearly holding a grudge…” Harry said helplessly.

“But he probably doesn’t care about any of that—and I suspect he even wants Sissoko to help him bite Krum to death.” Cohen gestured toward Ron and the center of the dance floor. “He looks like he’s going to duel Krum.”

“But I feel like if Hermione accepts Krum, it won’t really have that much of an impact…” Harry said with some concern. “Maybe we should go check on him.”

Ron didn't even notice them when they came up next to him.

"How are you?" Harry asked with concern as he sat down to Ron's left.

But Ron didn't say anything, he just glared angrily at Hermione and Krum, who had stopped dancing and were walking toward them, chatting and laughing.

"Hello." Hermione walked over with light steps, her cheeks flushed. Krum headed in another direction, which happened to be the beverage area where the unicorn was scavenging.

"Victor went to get the butterbeer; we'll need it if we go for a walk later. It seems a bit windy outside."

“Viktor?” Ron said sourly. “Didn’t he tell you to call him ‘Viktor’?”

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked, feigning surprise.

“If you don’t know, I don’t want to tell you,” Ron said sarcastically.

“Actually, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with Hermione and Krum being together—” Harry whispered to Ron.

“He’s Durmstrang’s man! Harry!” Ron snapped. “He’s your rival! His approach to Hermione is clearly… in…” “Something in mind.” Cohen nodded. “Just like my approach to you, it’s all for the great revival of Azkaban.”

“That’s different, Cohen!” Ron said angrily. “Hermione did this—this is—”

He was trying to find a word that could adequately describe a heinous crime.

"Pro-enemy behavior! Look what you've done, Hermione!"

"What?! How could you have such a thing?!" Hermione exclaimed angrily. "Who got so excited the moment they saw him? Who was so obsessed with getting his autograph? Who chose Krum without a second's hesitation between 'girlfriend or Krum'?"

“Oh no, it’s a boomerang,” Cohen said.

“Now we know,” Ron said in a muffled voice.

“Hermie, the butterbeer was finished by a little white-haired girl.” Krum walked over carrying two large bunches of red glass bottles of drinks. “But there’s spicy hot sparkling water—do you eat spicy food?”

“She never eats spicy food,” Ron said with a gloomy expression.

“I’ll eat it!” Hermione said angrily. “Let’s go, Viktor, let’s go for a walk in the garden!”

Krum had no idea what was going on—he had initially thought Harry would be less welcoming, but now it seemed only this unfamiliar red-haired Hogwarts boy looked somewhat unhappy.

Before leaving, Krum smiled at Harry and Cohen, as if thanking them for giving her the opportunity to ask Hermione out—even though Harry and Cohen hadn’t actually done anything.

"Let's go for a walk too," Harry said, trying to cheer Ron up.

“Your approach is a bit inappropriate…” Cohen said to Harry in a low voice.

"I'm tired, I'm going back to sleep," Ron said, his ears red and his voice dry.

He left without looking back, and thankfully Cohen had found him a fake dance partner, so Sissoko wouldn't have any bad feelings even if he was left there—he might even be happy to be free from the constraints of a dance partner.

“Then we…?” Harry asked.

“Let’s go for a walk,” Cohen said. “It’s a bit stuffy in the castle—but before that, I need to remind Sissoko and the others, lest they start wandering off when they can’t find me.”

The castle is now rife with couples, secrets, and big news, and Rita Skeeter certainly doesn't want to miss out on it—and Cohen just happens to need to "talk to her about something."

Before leaving the auditorium, Cohen found the three large animals searching for food.

"Get lost!" Sissoko glared angrily at a Beauxbatons boy who was trying to ask the little basilisk to go dancing or for a walk.

"This is..." The boy from Beauxbatons was clearly puzzled by the strange relationship between the two girls. One was eating a steak like she hadn't heard his invitation, while the other was hissing at him like a viper.

“They mean they’re busy.” Cohen helped the two snakes decline the boy’s invitation, so the Beauxbatons student turned away boredly, muttering something like “sortir avec deux filles…”

“You’re becoming more and more like that rigid old father,” Cohen said to Sissoko.

"I won't allow any humans to touch my daughter," Sissoko said angrily. "They're all up to no good—hey, eat slowly, don't choke again..."

(End of this chapter)