*A Legacy Two Years in the Making.*
Cohn tucked the key into his system backpack to avoid losing it—if it were lost, he'd have to ask Dumbledore to get another one from Nicolas Flamel, and there was no guarantee Nicolas would still be alive by then.
With the Philosopher's Stone matter settled, Cohn now had to face the final exams he had tried but failed to avoid...
"But you don't seem worried at all."
In the Room of Requirement, Earl watched Cohn, who was replaying a Dungeons & Dragons sandbox game, and couldn't help but feel puzzled by his lack of concern.
Thanks to Edward's advice, Cohn had started exploring other branches of the game—like the dating simulator.
Setting aside the fact that the races of these characters held no appeal for Cohn, there was a certain thrill in systematically winning over each NPC. It felt like toying with people's emotions, which was oddly satisfying.
"Hogwarts doesn't expel first-year students for failing exams," Cohn replied without even turning his head. "Besides, I have my own way to pass the exams—memorizing textbooks is a waste of time."
After realizing he couldn't use "hospitalization" as an excuse to skip two weeks of classes (Madam Pomfrey: "You're completely healed! You must return to class!"), Cohn had come up with a solution in just ten minutes. During the exams, he could stretch his soul into a long, thin shape to sneak a peek at others' answers. Copying 70% of Hermione's answers would be enough to pass. Why bother memorizing everything?
"By the way, you should take some time to read my textbooks too," Cohn suddenly reminded Earl. "It'll be useful during the summer."
"Coo coo coo?" Earl tilted his head, letting out a confused sound.
Two weeks flew by. For Cohn, the fourteen days passed quickly, but for the other students, it was a different story.
The entire school was filled with students desperately cramming their textbooks. Even Harry and Ron had to rein in their usual playfulness, counting down the days until the exams were over.
Finally, the last exam arrived: History of Magic.
"I can't believe the school is still making us take exams after everything that's happened!"
In the Gryffindor common room, Ron ruffled his fiery red hair in frustration as he flipped through his History of Magic notes. He had copied them from Hermione, so to him, they were essentially a brand-new "textbook."
"It's already a relief that they canceled the Defense Against the Dark Arts exam because of the Quirrell incident," Cohn chimed in as he entered the common room, just in time to hear Ron's complaint. "Just memorize a few key dates and names. For the rest—like the effects and impacts—you can just make stuff up. As long as you write enough, the professor will probably give you some pity points."
"Really?" Harry's eyes lit up. Memorizing the effects and impacts of key events in wizarding history was tedious, repetitive, and downright boring.
"That's how I used to scrape by in history exams—just winging it," Cohn offered helpfully. Whether this method would work at Hogwarts, though, was up to Harry's luck.
Harry and Ron wholeheartedly embraced Cohn's last-minute strategy and successfully filled their exam papers the next day using his method.
When the exam ended, the tension that had built up over the past two weeks finally exploded. The cheers of the students were so loud they nearly blew the roof off the classroom—Professor Binns, floating in the air, almost thought there had been an attack.
"It's finally over! I swear I'll study properly from now on and never cram at the last minute again…" Ron exhaled deeply and made his vow.
"I bet you'll say the same thing every year," Cohn said, not buying a word of it. "Ten Galleons says you'll still be cramming right before the exams in your second year."
"But I don't even have ten Galleons," Ron replied gloomily.
"The exams were easier than I expected," Hermione said breezily. "I didn't even need to memorize the 'Werewolf Code of Conduct of 1637' or the details of the Goblin Rebellion…"
She seemed to enjoy revisiting the exam content after the fact, but Ron declared that doing so made him feel sick.
So, they decided to take a walk outside the castle.
"How about visiting Hagrid?" Cohn suggested. "We can check on my crate and Norbert too."
"I hope Norbert hasn't grown as big as the house…" Harry said worriedly. "Is Hagrid even still alive?"
They hadn't visited Hagrid in two weeks.
As they crossed the grounds and reached Hagrid's hut, Cohn guessed that Hagrid was probably inside taking care of Norbert. Still, out of courtesy, he knocked on the door—
Hagrid's voice sounded unusually downcast.
The door creaked open, and Hagrid saw Cohn, Harry, and the others. Instead of his usual warm welcome, he stood there for a moment, stunned.
Harry noticed that Hagrid's eyes were red, and he looked visibly tense.
"Are we going to stand here all day?" Cohn said, trying to lighten the mood.
Hagrid, snapping out of it, ushered them inside. The air was heavy with the salty scent of tears.
Once they were seated, it didn't take long to figure out where the smell was coming from—
"It's all my fault—I'm such an idiot!" Hagrid sat back on his bed, pounding his head in self-reproach. Tears streamed down his face as he covered it with his hands. "I told that scoundrel how to get past Fluffy! I told him everything! He already knew it all, except that one thing, and I went and told him! Cohn almost died because of me! All for a dragon egg! I'll never drink again! I should be kicked out and live as a Muggle for the rest of my life!"
Hagrid trembled, his large tears soaking into his beard.
"Hagrid…" Hermione tried to comfort him but couldn't find the right words.
"It's okay, Hagrid. I'm still alive, aren't I?" Cohn, the one who had "almost died," spoke magnanimously. "And even if you hadn't told him, he would've found out eventually—"
"You and Harry almost got killed because of me! You should cut ties with me—I'm no good… I should've been kicked out long ago…" Hagrid sobbed even louder.
"Listen, Hagrid, I'll be honest with you. Even if you hadn't told him, I would've had to tell him eventually," Cohn said, trying to make Hagrid feel better. "I'd already looked up information about three-headed dogs."
"We don't blame you, Hagrid," Harry chimed in. "Professor Dumbledore doesn't blame you either. We're still friends… and—and—"
Harry struggled to find more comforting words.
"And we still have a lot of big projects to work on together," Cohn added. "Hagrid, how's Norbert doing?"
"Really? Oh! Norbert!" Hagrid stopped crying, his spirits lifting at the mention of the dragon.
"I built the house for you! And I made a cozy nest for Norbert—he should be very happy now…"