Even though Harry's explanation was a bit choppy, Dumbledore didn't interrupt or toss out any mid-story questions.
He just sat there, listening kindly, which made the pressure in Harry's chest lighten up bit by bit.
It didn't seem like Professor Dumbledore suspected them at all.
"A house-elf named Dobby said this is about Voldemort and a Hogwarts student, right?" Dumbledore asked, just to confirm. "But he didn't give a name and kept punishing himself while trying to explain."
"Yeah, Professor—" Harry tensed up instantly. "Do you think he's lying?"
"I don't believe so, Harry," Dumbledore said gently. "House-elves are bound by magic. They can't disobey their masters or spill their secrets. That's why Dobby couldn't say much and started losing it, punishing himself when he tried to tell you the truth."
"That's awful!" Hermione burst out, looking furious. "It's pure slavery! Why would wizards—"
She froze mid-rant, realizing she was in the headmaster's office.
"Sorry, Professor Dumbledore…"
"No need to apologize for standing up for what's right," Dumbledore said with a warm smile. "People have to call out problems before they can fix them. Ignoring them just lets the mistakes pile up."
Hermione dipped her head, mulling over his words as the conversation swung back to the Chamber.
"Since you're already aware there might be a secret chamber left by the founders—and maybe a monster too—you must also understand how dangerous that could be, yes?" Dumbledore's gaze swept over the four of them, his tone firming up a little. "So, let me offer some advice from an old man: please don't go looking for the Chamber or whatever's inside it yourselves. And try to avoid wandering around at night lately—you don't want to stumble into unnecessary trouble…"
He gave Harry a quick wink.
But not Cohen—ha, guess that meant Cohen had a free pass to roam!
"Well, that's enough nagging from your headmaster," Dumbledore said, bidding them goodbye. "Thanks for the helpful info, all of you."
"But Cohen, could you stick around? I'd like to chat about a few things—don't worry, it's not about schoolwork or cracking down on leave requests."
Man, if only it *were* about schoolwork or leave requests.
Cohen grumbled to himself.
Before heading out, Harry, Ron, and Hermione shot Cohen three sympathetic looks—those "sorry, buddy, you're on your own, we're outta here" vibes.
"What's up?" Cohen, who'd started to stand, plopped back into his seat.
"How was your summer?" Dumbledore asked, sounding like any old grandpa checking in. "Hagrid mentioned that dragon you two are raising is coming along nicely."
"Summer?" Cohen raised an eyebrow. "Oh, it was packed. First, my dad signed me up for this tour group thing. Then I went to visit some family. After that, me and Dad set up a sheep farm for Norbert—except Norbert's got this hoarding habit. One night, he snatched all three hundred-something sheep I'd raised for him and stuffed them in a cave. Pissed me off so much I didn't get him new ones till right before school started…"
Dumbledore's heart warmed as Cohen rattled off his idyllic summer, complete with family bonding. A life full of love—surely Cohen wouldn't…
Hold up.
What did he just slip in there? Visiting family?
"Sounds like quite a full break—sorry, what did you mean by 'visiting family'?" Dumbledore asked.
"Didn't you guys tell me about my background last term?" Cohen said, selectively dropping some details. "I dug up some info on that lab, so while I was on the tour, I swung by Burke Manor. Met a guy named Herbert Burke."
Cohen said it so casually that Dumbledore figured it hadn't stirred up any bad vibes for him.
After all, if Cohen had some shady ulterior motive, he wouldn't just blurt out that he'd gone to Burke Manor.
"He said he was the old 'Cohen's' dad," Cohen continued, meeting Dumbledore's eyes. "I don't remember any of it, but he was over the moon to see me again. Hugged me and bawled his eyes out for ages…"
"Herbert was the only survivor of that experiment," Dumbledore said. "But he never said a word about his role in it. Just quietly took the blame and stayed on as a lifelong guard at the ruins of Burke Manor."
"Because he thinks he's guilty," Cohen replied. "And he feels like he let down his sister, Rose—my mom. Whatever, it's his call how he wants to handle it…"
"And what about you, Cohen?" Dumbledore asked. "What do you think of him?"
"I could tell his love for me was real—especially when he was hugging me and crying," Cohen said. "But yeah, he's done a lot of messed-up stuff too, so serving his sentence makes sense. Still, there's no law saying I can't send him a Christmas present, right?"
"Of course not," Dumbledore chuckled. "Even Azkaban prisoners can get Christmas gifts—though most folks don't bother sending them. Out of curiosity, what are you planning to give him this year?"
"He said he wants wool socks," Cohen answered. "Already got them. I'll have my owl drop them off before Christmas—guess it gets pretty cold over there."
Dumbledore's bright blue eyes seemed to glisten a little.
"That's a wonderful gift, Cohen," he said, clearly pleased. "It really does sound like you had a full summer."
"Except for the homework part," Cohen quipped. "Almost forgot to do it—you don't handle summer assignments, right?"
"That's not my department," Dumbledore said, wiping a corner of his eye. "Oh, one last thing—I recall Harry mentioning something about a mysterious creature sneaking into your dorm? Into your bed, even? I'd like your take on that."
Here it was—the big moment!
The Basilisk's fate might hang on this.
"Felt like something scaly," Cohen mused. "Cold, too. Moved crazy fast and gave me this weird vibe…"
"What kind of vibe?" Dumbledore perked up, fully alert.
"The same kind I got when Herbert hugged me," Cohen said.
(End of Chapter)