Though Fred and George were incredibly curious about it, Cohen and the others still kept completely mum about who exactly Harry was up to secret business with.
"It's a pity the map's with Harry," George sighed.
"Otherwise we wouldn't need to be so utterly itching to know..." Fred said dejectedly. "But Harry will tell us eventually – he can't keep this secret affair going forever, can he?"
"Pffft—" Ron spluttered soup.
"Ron!" Hermione swatted Ron.
When dinner was over, as the three of them headed back to the common room and passed the Defence Against the Dark Arts office, Lupin poked half his head out from behind the door.
"Cohen, can you come here for a moment?"
"Sure thing." Cohen pretty much figured out what Lupin wanted.
Dumbledore or Sirius must have filled him in on the relevant matters; Lupin was probably coming to Cohen about Peter.
After entering Lupin's office, Lupin closed the door.
"Why do all the Defence Against the Dark Arts teachers insist on dragging me into their office—it's like you're going to give me ninety percent for my coursework before the final exam or something..." Cohen grumbled.
"Was your Defence Against the Dark Arts grade not great before?" Lupin asked with concern. "My plans for the final exam this time should be fairly simple—"
"That doesn't matter," said Cohen, who was a master of score manipulation and certainly wasn't concerned with grades. "What do you need me for? Just saying, I won't brew Wolfsbane Potion."
"It's not about the Wolfsbane Potion – though Professor Snape is indeed refusing to brew it for me now, claiming a shortage of ingredients," Lupin said carefully.
"It's because of the Sirius business," Cohen said, understanding Snape perfectly – with Dumbledore around, he couldn't openly get revenge on Sirius, so that vengeful feeling naturally spread to Lupin. "So why did you need me?"
"Peter Pettigrew," Lupin said. "Dumbledore said he's being held by you. I'd like to see him."
"Killing him can wait till the trial is over," Cohen said.
"I'm not here to kill him, I just want some answers," Lupin closed his eyes. "Why he would kill James without a second thought..."
"Look on the bright side, maybe he never really thought of you as friends anyway," Cohen said comfortingly. "He was short and cowardly. If he hadn't tagged along with you guys, Snape wouldn't have been the only one getting picked on in school."
"..." Lupin was silent. "James and I both came to understand that our behaviour back then was indeed awful."
"But Sirius doesn't seem to have changed a wink," Cohen said. "Some people stay stuck in the past and refuse to move on. Harry is his only hope of becoming normal again – so don't kill Peter now, don't act rashly."
Cohen really didn't want to see Harry's hopes dashed, because Harry truly considered Cohen a real friend.
Friends are a good thing. Like family, they constantly remind Cohen to hold onto his humanity.
"I know," Lupin said grimly. "I won't act rashly."
When Cohen brought the trunk back and let Lupin meet Peter, it was hard to tell if Lupin was satisfied with Peter's pathetic explanations.
"You never treated me as a friend! Remus!" Peter, who had become hysterical after learning he was going before the Wizengamot, shrieked sharply.
"And James, and Sirius! You were always so high and mighty! What about me? All I could do was trail behind you like a hanger-on... You turned everything into a joke at my expense— Later, when you fought the Dark Lord, did you consider my feelings? I just wanted to live! I just wanted to hide with my family! But you insisted on dragging me into your... whatever it was—"
"You joined You-Know-Who's side willingly," Cohen said with disgust. "I've seen too many people like you who like finding convenient excuses for doing bad things. If you were cowardly, you could have just run away. Joining the enemy? What was that? You just like switching sides whenever it suits you."
"We did treat you as a friend," Lupin said calmly to Peter, who was cowering in the basement. "James always saved a gift for you when he shared them, Sirius often stuck up for you outside of school, I always made time to help you when you needed it, whether it was with homework or life – even when we suspected a mole within the Order of the Phoenix, we never doubted you."
"But, but..." Peter seemed to shrink even smaller. He looked just like a mouse. "I would die – on your side I would die – we'd all die – he was too terrifying back then... Even if, even if I ran away..."
"Even if you ran away, he'd have killed you because you used to hang around with us, wouldn't he?" Lupin's eyes were blazing with suppressed fury, his voice icy. "So you gave him information, little by little, to please him, all because of that... pathetic cowardice of yours, that worship of strength."
"I... I never had as much courage as you did..." Peter said, trembling.
"I've never wanted to transform and bite someone so badly," Lupin said, gritting his teeth. "You're the first person, Peter, who's made me feel like that—"
"Alright, settle down," Cohen said, pulling Lupin back. It felt like the man was going to bite him any second, even though it wasn't a full moon yet. "Don't use your paws – and don't use your mouth either."
Leaving the basement, Lupin took a deep breath.
"After the trial, I'll get the Dementors to quietly... uh... extract him for you," Cohen said. "You can get whatever revenge you want, alright?"
"What if he offs himself?" Lupin suddenly asked. "If he kills himself, wouldn't Sirius..."
"Then I'll just have to resort to Plan B," Cohen said, ushering Lupin out of the room. "Alright, visiting hours are over. If you stay any longer, the little Basilisk won't be able to resist – it absolutely loves eating furry canines."
Lupin only seemed surprised for a moment after seeing the two Basilisks Cohen kept, but the little Basilisk had a lot more thoughts about him. If Basilisks could drool, the little one's drool would probably soak the floor rotten.
Cohen had never heard that the scent of a werewolf could tempt a Basilisk.
After granting Lupin his wish, Cohen took the trunk back to the dorms.
But surprisingly, Cohen had quite a few visitors today.
Like a certain unknown wraith trailing right alongside Cohen, with a soul strength labelled 40+10.
"What are you doing here now?" Cohen slipped into an empty classroom, lowering his voice.
Voldemort had directly possessed the surface of an old desk.
"Peter failed... I need your help..." Voldemort's bright red eyes bulged from the wooden surface. They were filled with malice towards Peter – "A body..."
"I nearly got caught trying to help you out – they thought I was a spy!" Cohen said fiercely.
"I know... I know..." Voldemort said darkly. "When I get a body, you'll be richly rewarded— I can help you overthrow the Ministry..."
"That would just be brute force rule again, it wouldn't last," Cohen shook his head. "But hey, between you and me, I'll help you one last time. Wait a week, and I'll sort out a body for you—"
"Oh, right," Cohen suddenly added. "What kind do you want? One that looks... ruined, or one that looks normal?"