The Earl finally settled the debate about who's just coasting along—if everyone's a slacker, there's no point in figuring out who's the laziest.
"Oh, by the way, after my birthday, I'm joining an expedition team," Cohen said. "A classmate hooked me up. We're heading to Peru—she's going with her dad."
"Peru??" Edward frowned.
"It's called the 'Philly Fly Tracking Expedition,'" Cohen explained. "They're after these giant flies called Philly Flies that follow vultures around."
"Is this some new Hogwarts prank?" Edward asked, half-convinced Cohen was joking.
"I've never been to Peru," Cohen said. "Honestly, I don't think I've even left Britain. Chasing after a magical creature I've never seen sounds like a blast."
"This expedition sounds a little sketchy…" Edward wasn't entirely sold. "Tracking a magical creature that might not even exist? Look, if you're dead-set on going, I'll tag along. Peru's too far for you to go alone with them—your mom and I would worry."
"You mean me, the guy with three basilisks and a fire dragon, might be in danger?" Cohen teased, trying to reassure him. "Safety's not an issue, but if you want to come, that'd be cool. You could help look after the unicorns in my suitcase—there's a whole litter of foals now."
"A *litter*?!" Edward's jaw dropped.
"Yeah, I nabbed all the unicorns from the Forbidden Forest," Cohen said casually.
"And you're proud of that?!" Edward nearly swerved off the road—or would have, if he'd been driving. "You took *all* the unicorns from the Forbidden Forest? Does Dumbledore know about this?"
"Are those unicorns Dumbledore's family or something?" Cohen asked.
"Uh… probably not," Edward replied, unsure where this was going.
"Then it's fine," Cohen said breezily. "Dumbledore can't do anything about it. They chose to follow me because they think I'm one of them—you know unicorns recognize their own by blood."
No matter what Edward thought, the deed was done. As long as Dumbledore wasn't knocking on their door for a home visit, it seemed like he was… okay with Cohen's antics. Probably.
When they got home, Cohen stuffed the Earl into his suitcase and followed Edward through the Floo Network to the old family house in Coombe Castle.
Wizard travel options were almost never comfy. If only he could tweak his suitcase into a teleporting ride—like a blue phone booth with a Disapparition spell and an Hour-Reversal Charm from a Time-Turner…
As Cohen stepped through the green flames, he caught glimpses of other people's fireplaces. Could he grab onto someone else's hearth and pop out in a stranger's house?
A moment later, he stumbled out of the smoky ash.
"Pfft—pfft." Cohen snorted, brushing soot off his nose.
Edward, who'd arrived first, turned back and hit him with a quick Cleaning Charm.
"This place looks… pretty nice, actually," Cohen said, glancing around.
The fireplace was in the living room of the old Norton family home. The walls were made of grayish-white brick, decorated with animal trophies—each labeled with golden thread naming the taxidermist:
[**Charleson Norton**]
Edward's dad was into crafts, huh?
The floor was clean, peeling oak planks, and Edward had already swept away the ash they'd tracked in. Sunlight streamed through the windows—like windows, casting a warm glow over the room. Cohen could see the lush front yard outside, with ivy climbing up the glass.
A couple of sofas, a recliner, and a bookshelf across from the fireplace made it feel cozy—like a perfect spot to retire. The shelf held old books like *A Study of the Goblin Rebellions* and *Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them*—history and magical creatures, mostly. Judging by the animal heads on the wall, Charleson must've been big into studying magical beasts.
That made things even more interesting. Why would a guy who researched magical creatures end up driven mad by a "monster"?
The slanted ceiling showed the roof's inner structure—no high floors here, maybe just one level.
Did a single-story house mean no basement? Cohen wasn't buying Edward's claim that "the old place doesn't have a basement."
The basement Charleson rambled about after going mad had to be real…
Cohen's eyes drifted to the rooms branching off the living area and the single door leading outside. Opposite the door was a hallway; to the left, another led to the kitchen, while the one straight ahead went to several bedrooms.
"Where's your grandma?" Edward wondered, poking around. "You poke around and get a feel for the place. The bathroom's down the hall across from the front door. First room on the right's yours, second's mine, and the master at the end is Martha's. I'll check if she's visiting someone."
"Go ahead," Cohen said casually. "I'll snoop around for that basement Grandpa mentioned."
"Don't get your hopes up," Edward said, shaking his head. "He was already loony by then—probably thought this was Hogwarts."
Edward stepped out to find Martha while Cohen propped his suitcase by the sofa and popped it open to let the Earl out.
"So this is where your grandma lives?" the Earl asked, flapping onto the tea table next to the sofa. It didn't notice it'd scratched a newspaper as it turned its head. "Looks decent."
"Yeah, it's alright. Just a bit quiet," Cohen said.
He switched on his soul vision to scan the house. Aside from bugs and mice, there weren't any strong souls around.
"I came here to find that monster Grandpa talked about before he died—but it doesn't seem to be here anymore."
Either it bolted, or it's dead.
Or maybe it's hidden in some magical pocket—Cohen couldn't see the souls inside his suitcase either.
He decided to start checking the rooms. Edward had said they'd brought in plenty of wizard investigators who'd claimed there was no basement.
But Cohen figured he was a cut above them. Those wizards couldn't phase through walls with their souls like he could.
"Do you read Muggle newspapers?" the Earl asked out of nowhere.
"Why would I read Muggle papers?" Cohen turned to see the Earl peering down at a Coombe Castle town paper under its talons.
"You're looking for a monster, right?" The Earl shifted aside so Cohen could grab it. "Well, here you go."
Cohen stepped over and picked up the paper.
The biggest headline screamed across the front page:
[**Five Dead in Coombe Castle by June 30—Witnesses Claim Strange Black Shadow Spotted!**]