"A Chimaera with three heads?" Newt asked, astonished.
"Huh?" Cohen blinked. "Aren't all Chimaeras like that?"
"Most Chimaeras have just one head—a lion's head, a goat's body, and a dragon's tail. They're highly aggressive, so the Ministry rates them 5X," Newt explained. "Only a rare few have three separate heads, and they're just as dangerous…"
"Well, this one might not be that dangerous—its middle head speaks English," Cohen said.
The moment Newt heard the Chimaera could talk, his eyes lit up like a bathroom lightbulb, nearly blinding Cohen.
Despite his aged face and white hair, Newt was practically vibrating with youthful excitement.
"Can I go chat with it?" Newt asked politely, mindful of Dumbledore's comment that these creatures saw Cohen as their "parent." And, well, Cohen was an alchemical creation partially made from them.
"It's not just a casual chat. Wake the goat first—the lion might pounce," Cohen said, then sighed. "Forget it, I'll come with you. Don't want the lion getting too excited and squashing you."
"Oi, oi, we've got a guest! Up and at 'em!" Cohen said, giving the lion, who was snoring like an imperial engine, a pat.
"No pouncing," he added as an afterthought.
"Roar!" The lion yawned loudly, glanced at Newt and Cohen, then flopped back down to sleep.
The goat, however, woke up and politely greeted Newt.
After a couple of minutes of getting acquainted, the goat agreed to let Newt pet the lion, which thrilled him to no end.
Besides the Chimaera, Newt was also fascinated by Cohen's three Basilisks. The Horned Serpent and Griffin were lower on his list—he'd not only seen them before but had raised them himself.
["I smell Greece!"] the old Horned Serpent slithered over excitedly toward Cohen. ["When are we gonna go chomp some wizard butts?"]
["Can't you bite their heads or arms or, I don't know, their sides or something?"] Cohen said, rubbing his forehead. ["Butts are a bit much. Human butts are above the legs, not on the tail like snakes."]
["I wanna come too!"] the young Basilisk piped up confidently. ["I'm the greatest Basilisk King in the world! I'm gonna—"]
["If you want to go play, you'll have to wait until we're done with our business,"] Cohen said sternly.
These days, Cohen and the others were swamped, and keeping an eye on the little Basilisk to prevent chaos was tough.
["Aww…"] the young Basilisk grumbled. ["I wanna bite wizard butts too…"]
["Don't let that old geezer corrupt you!"] Sisyphus, coiled up and enjoying Newt's scratches, warned the young Basilisk. ["Listen to your big brother. If you're gonna bite, aim for the head—lower, lower—yeah, right there!"]
Though Newt was used to dealing with all kinds of snakes, his Parseltongue was limited to a few phrases like "hello" or "I mean no harm."
Sisyphus's muttering didn't help Newt find the right spot to scratch—it was just Newt's experience guiding him.
["No way I can go?"] The young Basilisk tried its best to look pitiful, but on a Basilisk, that expression came off more menacing than sad, almost like a threat.
["Nope,"] Cohen and Sisyphus said in unison.
["Fine, but when you guys go bite someone, can you shout my name?"] the young Basilisk asked the old Horned Serpent. ["Y'know, so I feel involved."]
["Where the heck did you learn that line?"] Cohen said, facepalming.
["The owl taught me!"] the young Basilisk said. ["I heard it from him!"]
"That owl's a bad influence, Count," Cohen muttered.
—
Newt had practically petted every creature in Cohen's suitcase and was amazed by the herd of unicorns passed out drunk. Unicorns were usually hyper-vigilant and avoided anything that dulled their senses.
"Maybe my unicorns are just too carefree…" Cohen said. "I've raised them into total slackers."
"A safe home is better than living in fear in the wild. Unicorn birth rates are low as it is," Newt said, shaking his head. "Back in the 16th century, there was a unicorn herd in an Albanian forest. They were so cautious most people never saw them. But poachers still wiped them out. A new love potion recipe needed unicorn hair, and wizards wanted to cash in…"
"What's the plan now?" Cohen asked. "Dumbledore said you're here to meet an old friend in Greece. My stuff isn't urgent, so we can head to your thing first—"
"I've got a friend who's a priest at the Greek Ancient Magic Research Federation," Newt said. "He wrote to me recently about some magical creature issue he needs help with. He's at the Erechtheion Temple, up at the Acropolis in Athens. I can go alone, but you're welcome to come along if you're curious."
"The Erechtheion… why does that sound so familiar?" Cohen mused for a moment.
Oh, crap.
The old Horned Serpent had mentioned causing trouble with the folks at that temple.
"It's not because of a Horned Serpent stealing their offerings, is it?" Cohen asked. "Is it that serious? Poseidon doesn't seem too mad about it…"
"I'm not sure of the details. I'll find out when I get there," Newt said. "It's probably not about stolen offerings—Horned Serpents are protected in Greece."
"When are we going? I'm curious to see what the wizarding world's like here," Cohen said. "From the Muggle side, Greece's economy doesn't seem as strong as London's…"
It wasn't surprising that Greece lagged behind Britain economically—it was one of Europe's poorer regions. The streets had fewer high-rises, people seemed laid-back, and the old town was a bit rundown.
"The Greek wizarding world's in a similar state," Newt said with a sigh. "They've got enough headaches dealing with rare, dangerous creatures in the wild."
["Hurry up, little guy! Me and my precious grandson are gonna go get some revenge for you!"] The old Horned Serpent smacked the Griffin's rear with its tail, urging it along.
Then it turned to Cohen: ["Sweet grandson, you heading out later? I'll come with. I know this place like the back of my scales."]