"A glance at Newt."
Running all the way to the Aegean Sea at his age just to study the hybrid offspring of a Nightmare Basilisk and a Dementor-like Mylar Beast… was that really necessary?
"He's already so old, and you're still asking him to tag along on a brawl with me?" groaned Cohen.
"And what about me?" Dumbledore asked with an amused glint in his eye.
"You're different," Cohen shook his head. "You look more energetic than Edward, honestly. I'll look after him, of course. Otherwise, I really might end up in a Pokémon-style showdown with Rolf… So, what's your plan for Voldemort next?"
Dumbledore's expression shifted, a mix of warmth and concern in his eyes. "You always make me forget that you're just a child, Cohen. Sometimes I wonder… was it a mistake bringing you into all of this?"
"Even if you hadn't brought me in, I wouldn't have been able to avoid Voldemort," Cohen said with a shrug. "He keeps going on and on about me—'Cohen this, Cohen that'—it's like I'm becoming the man of his dreams or something..."
"The key lies in the two years before Harry comes of age," Dumbledore said seriously. "Voldemort might choose to lie low for a while, rebuild his forces... just like he's done before. But in the end, we'll still have to face him. Cohen, are you sure you can't hurt him?"
"As long as Harry still has that piece of Voldemort's soul inside him, I can't absorb his spirit," Cohen explained. "But once Harry turns seventeen, that should change. We'll need to find the remaining Horcruxes, deal with the one inside Harry, and then we'll be able to finish off Voldemort."
"I may have some ideas about where the rest of those Horcruxes might be hidden…" Dumbledore said thoughtfully.
"We already know of four that have been destroyed," Cohen said, ticking them off on his fingers. "There was Voldemort's diary—I tricked that one out of Lucius Malfoy. Then there was the locket I wrote to you about when it was destroyed."
Dumbledore nodded, recalling their earlier correspondence.
"Hufflepuff's Cup was in the Lestrange family vault. I got that too—also from the Malfoys. Not my proudest moment, really…" Cohen admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Sometimes the outcome is more important than the method," Dumbledore said with a sly smile.
Cohen couldn't help but feel that Dumbledore wasn't exactly a shining beacon of moral purity either…
"And then there's Ravenclaw's Diadem. Voldemort actually asked me to help him find it once. Turns out I had already stumbled across it in the Room of Requirement during one of my wanderings," Cohen added casually. "When he noticed it was missing, he even asked me if I knew who took it."
"What did you tell him?" Dumbledore asked gently.
"I said it was you."
Dumbledore's expression turned much less gentle.
"…Right."
After a moment of silence, Dumbledore sighed. "It won't have any real consequences… I hope."
"And then there's the locket that Regulus took from Voldemort's cave—Slytherin's Locket," Cohen continued. "It feels like I've done so much already, just swallowing all of these things…"
"Four…" Dumbledore murmured. "How many are left, I wonder?"
"He was a student here, right?" Cohen asked. "Didn't you once say you remembered every student? Maybe try looking into places or objects tied to his past…"
"I will," Dumbledore said, deep in thought. "There are a few promising leads. Tell me, do you feel any side effects after 'eating' a Horcrux's soul?"
"It's like eating a really old, dry piece of cake," Cohen said with a yawn. "Not tasty, but it fills you up. So if you find any more, let me have a nibble first."
"Of course," Dumbledore said, chuckling as he clapped his hands. "Thank you, Cohen, for taking the time to chat with an old man. It's late now—you should get some sleep."
---
As Cohen stepped out of Dumbledore's office, he immediately ran into Edward and the others waiting outside.
It didn't seem like they had overheard anything from inside the office; they just wanted to walk Cohen back to the common room before heading back to their own tents.
No sooner had Cohen stepped into the common room than Hermione and Ron rushed over to him.
"Cohen!" Hermione said urgently, grabbing his arm. "What happened between you and Harry? Professor McGonagall wouldn't let us come find you—"
"Harry's situation was a bit more serious," Cohen replied. "He got cut on the arm… and that trophy turned out to be a Portkey that sent us somewhere else."
Cohen explained everything that had happened on Harry's end.
When he mentioned that Voldemort had returned, both Hermione and Ron looked horrified.
"You-Know-Who's back?!" Ron's eyes went wide. "That means…"
He shuddered, clearly imagining the grim future ahead.
"Dumbledore will handle things. What's meant to come, will come," Cohen said calmly. "Harry's probably asleep in the hospital wing right now. Professor McGonagall just didn't want you to disturb him—he did just escape from Voldemort's clutches, after all."
"Were you in danger too?" Hermione asked, worry etched all over her face.
"Not really. A few people tried to kidnap me, but I took care of them," Cohen replied with a yawn. "Forget Voldemort for now—go get some sleep. Dumbledore will explain everything tomorrow."
Cohen and Ron headed up to the boys' dormitory. Ron looked thoroughly shaken after hearing about Voldemort's return. For kids from wizarding families, the name alone carried a kind of primal fear—parents would even use it to scare their children into behaving, with threats like, "If you don't listen, Voldemort will come and kill the whole family."
That night passed dreamlessly.
When Cohen woke the next morning, the tower windows glowed with bright, almost unreal sunlight. The sky was cloudless, and the day was brilliant—so much so that most of the students, unaware of what had happened, were still gossiping about who had won the Triwizard Tournament.
After Cohen and Harry disappeared into the maze, Dumbledore had ordered the rest of the students back to the castle, leaving them completely in the dark.
At breakfast, Dumbledore didn't announce Voldemort's return. Instead, he asked everyone to let Harry rest and not bother him with questions.
He declared that Cohen and Harry were co-champions of the Triwizard Tournament since they had grabbed the trophy together.
"Karkaroff's gone," Ron whispered, nodding toward the empty seat where the Durmstrang headmaster usually sat. "Where did he go?"
"Ran off, probably," Cohen said. "Didn't you hear? He put his faith in the Silver Key—thought they'd protect him from the Death Eaters. But their plan to deal with me failed, so now he's got no one on his side."