"This... is the wife you prepared for me?"
Sissoko asked nervously.
"Isn't it a little too small...?"
"Just a reminder—having thoughts like that would get you chemically castrated in the human world," Cohen said. "Actually, I just wanted you to take care of—"
"Hisss-hisss (Mommy!)…"
The tiny basilisk looked up at Sissoko with its bright yellow eyes, instinctively calling out.
"Hisss-hisss (Hungry!)…"
"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
Sissoko shrieked, immediately pulling his head back from the pit and flopping onto his back, exposing his white underbelly like a 'dead snake.'
"Why aren't you happy?" Cohen asked, shaking Sissoko's limp head as it lay on the ground, pretending to be dead. "Didn't you always say you wanted a female snake? It sounds like a female to me."
"I wanted a wife… a wife!" Sissoko wailed. His head dangled as Cohen shook it from side to side, as if he had completely given up resisting. "I don't want to raise a kid… It was born screaming about being hungry! That means it'll just fight me for food! And taking care of a kid is so much trouble—"
"Mommy! Mommy!"
The little basilisk called out from the pit.
"Hungry! Hungry!"
"You really only ever think about yourself, don't you?"
Cohen shook his head at Sissoko.
"No wonder you abandoned me and ran off back then…"
"This is totally different!" Sissoko hurriedly propped himself up to explain. "Back then, I wanted to take you with me! But you looked more human—if you stayed with me, you would've—"
"Then let's just leave it here," Cohen said mercilessly. "Once the nearby wizards find it, they'll kill it. It's too small—there's no way it can use its gaze to kill an adult wizard yet."
Sissoko's tail suddenly coiled up tightly, as if he was recalling that scene from eleven years ago.
Cohen had only survived because of his mixed bloodline, but this little basilisk was just a regular basilisk—just like Sissoko. Or at least, almost. Sissoko did have some extra enhancements from potions.
"...Sigh."
Slowly, Sissoko flipped himself over and slithered toward the pit.
In the end, he decided to do as Cohen said and take the little basilisk with him. Even if it meant splitting his food in half—well, it was all food that Cohen provided anyway. He didn't have to hunt for it himself.
Seeing Sissoko, a supposedly cold-blooded creature, show such a surprisingly warm-hearted response, Cohen was a little taken aback.
Originally, if Sissoko refused, Cohen had planned to just put the basilisk in a reptile enclosure and raise it himself. There was something oddly familiar about this little basilisk, born from a sacrificial ritual—it reminded Cohen of his own birth.
"Alright, then I'll leave it to you to teach it who it should and shouldn't bite," Cohen said with satisfaction.
"No old basilisk ever taught me that…"
Sissoko drooped like a weeping willow as he lowered his head into the pit. Half his body remained outside, making it easier for the little basilisk to climb onto him.
The baby basilisk coiled itself around Sissoko's head as he carefully lifted it out.
Now that it was curled up, its size was roughly half of Cohen's—his earlier estimation from the cave ceiling had been a little off. According to Hagrid's standards, this was still a baby.
"See? It's kinda cute," Cohen said.
"Mommy!" The little basilisk clung to Sissoko's head.
"Hungry!"
"Cute my ass," Sissoko muttered lifelessly.
The little basilisk was currently trying to swallow Sissoko.
*Snap—*
Suddenly, the crisp sound of stone scraping against stone came from not far behind Cohen.
It was as if someone was trying to sneak away quietly but panicked upon realizing they weren't alone, stepping on something by accident.
Cohen and Sissoko instinctively turned toward the sound—and since the little basilisk was perched on Sissoko's head, it also turned to look at the intruder.
"Hissss—"
Not long ago, the magical prison that had held him vanished when its caster died, allowing Elvis to wake from unconsciousness. He had finally found a chance to escape.
But the moment he stepped into the passageway, he saw something he would never forget for the rest of his life.
And that "rest of his life" wasn't going to last much longer.
A massive, dark green basilisk, as thick as a human, was coiled beside that kid from the Rosier family.
The cultists were nowhere to be seen—only an unconscious, golden-haired man lay not far away.
And the bulging shapes in the basilisk's stomach made it very clear where those Silver Key members had gone.
"Wait—"
Cohen was about to warn Elvis to shut his eyes when he realized it was already too late.
The old man collapsed like a ragdoll, his entire body limp, his eyes wide open in shock.
He had met the gaze of not one, but two basilisks. If he survived this, he'd be the most resilient man alive.
"I was hoping he'd live long enough to go back and finish his job," Cohen muttered, looking at Sissoko and the little basilisk. "Looks like Rosier will have to pull another all-nighter to clean up his mess."
"Mommy! Food!"
The little basilisk stared eagerly at the fallen old man, calling out to Sissoko.
"Daddy! Food!"
It made sure to include Cohen as well.
"I like the ranking, but I'm not your dad," Cohen said.
"I'm not your mom!" Sissoko snapped. "I'm male! Males are called 'dad'!"
"Mommy!"
The little basilisk had absolutely no intention of changing what it called him.
…
After dealing with the corpse, Cohen had Sissoko and the baby basilisk return to their enclosure.
Now, it was time to wake up Mr. Lovegood and figure out exactly what had happened before leaving this place.
"Rennervate."
Cohen cast the revival spell on Xenophilius. A few seconds later, he jolted awake.
"Who are you?"
Xenophilius took a deep breath. The first thing he saw was a very young child—but he was supposed to be surrounded by cultists…
Wait. Cultists!
He anxiously looked around. It was still the same cave, but the Sirius-lit glow from the ceiling was gone. The only light now came from Cohen's wand.
And the cultists… They had completely vanished, without a trace.
"Are you Luna's father?" Cohen asked. "My name's Cohen—I'm Luna's classmate. I'm a year above her."
"Oh, you know Luna?" Xenophilius asked in surprise. "She didn't… come here too, did she? I don't want—"
"No, she's not here," Cohen said, glancing around as if clueless. "I was captured too, but it looks like they all just… disappeared."
--
Xenophilius seemed completely unfamiliar with the name Cohen.
"Well, that's a relief…" Xenophilius said, patting his chest. "It was terrifying—they threatened me with Luna, forcing me to help them find the methods and materials to breed a Basilisk. Wait… I think they actually succeeded. I even saw the 'god' they worship, but… why did it look so much like a Dementor?"
"No idea. I just came from another passage," Cohen replied. "I thought you were captured too. Turns out you were part of their group…"
"I was coerced!" Xenophilius quickly corrected him. "I had no interest in their bizarre god at all! Cohen, we need to get out of here—"
Xenophilius suddenly noticed the deep pit not far away.
He remembered that the Basilisk those Silver Key people were raising was supposed to be at the bottom of that pit.
"Whatever you do, don't look into that pit," Xenophilius warned, grabbing Cohen's arm. "There's a Basilisk down there. One look, and you're dead."
"Appreciate the heads-up," Cohen said.
But there was still one last thing he needed to do.
"Wait, Cohen, where are you going?" Xenophilius pressed himself against the wall, watching in confusion as Cohen headed toward another passage. "The exit is this way—"
He pointed to the path leading out of the cave.
"There's something else I need to save." Cohen walked into the passage where the baby Thestral was being kept.
Moments later, he emerged, carrying a sleeping baby Thestral in his arms.
It was curled up tightly, its thin wings folded against its ribs. The soothing scent of unicorn magic on Cohen made it feel safe—so safe that it didn't even wake up as he carried it.
"Oh…" Xenophilius' eyes landed on the baby Thestral. "You really are a kind child. Most wizards see Thestrals as bad omens, but Luna and I always thought they were just misunderstood…"
"I need to take it back to Hogwarts. The other Thestrals there are looking for it," Cohen said. "Mr. Lovegood, you can Apparate, right? Can you get me somewhere close to Hogwarts?"
---
Originally, Cohen had thought he could sneak back into school unnoticed. With Xenophilius' help, he might have even made it back to his dorm before curfew.
But he underestimated just how deeply his last fake death had affected Dumbledore.
The moment they arrived at the station outside Hogwarts, Fawkes, who had been circling in the night sky, spotted them immediately.
The fiery red bird swooped down, grabbed both of them, and with a flash of flames, they found themselves in Dumbledore's office the next second.
"Good evening, Xenophilius. Good evening, Cohen."
Dumbledore, dressed in his night robe, greeted them with a calm smile.
"My apologies for having Fawkes bring you here without asking first. But I must admit, I was quite worried about Cohen's safety and had Fawkes searching for him. Xenophilius, I'm grateful that you brought him back."
(End of Chapter)