After Cohen and Rolf returned their respective pets to their cases, they woke up Mr. Lovegood and Luna.
"What happened?" Luna blinked, looking up at the sky above and the charred remains of the tent. "Did the Fire Mosslings save us?"
"What's a Fire Mossling?" Cohen glanced at Rolf.
"Probably some new creature," Rolf replied without a hint of skepticism. He always took Luna's wild ideas with an attitude of "believe first, then help her look for it."
No wonder he ended up with Luna—most people wouldn't have the patience for her far-fetched notions.
"Fire Mosslings are transparent creatures that look like glowing moss," Luna explained eagerly. "In the summer, they help old trees in the forest clear out the Delusion Vines from their roots—though sometimes they accidentally start fires."
"The Ministry insists those sudden forest fires are just goblins setting off firecrackers," Mr. Lovegood, who'd just woken up, chimed in with unwavering belief in the creatures' existence. "Anyone can see the Ministry's lying. I wrote about it in *The Quibbler* two issues ago… This fire seems like more solid proof. The tent shop folks said this tent was soaked in Delusion Vine sap…"
Cohen figured the tent shop guy just wanted Mr. Lovegood to buy the tent—there was no such thing as Delusion Vines.
"Oh, I need to find my Bubbling Pods!" Luna said excitedly. "If you clip them to your ears, you can see Bowtruckles bowing to them! Rolf, Cohen, I brought a bunch of Bubbling Pods—want to come look for Fire Mosslings with me? I bet Pickett"—Rolf's Bowtruckle—"would love it!"
"Absolutely!" Rolf agreed eagerly.
"Your grandpa would love this too," Cohen said to Rolf.
Of course, whether he meant the Fire Mosslings or Luna herself was up to Rolf to figure out.
As for the Philofly… it had been completely forgotten by everyone.
While Rolf chased Fire Mosslings with Luna and Mr. Lovegood handled logistics, Cohen wandered off to chat with snakes. He needed to find a female snake for Sissoko fast—Sissoko had taken a liking to the Chimera's tail.
Unfortunately, by the end of the trip, not a single snake was willing to join Cohen in the case. With all the predator vibes in there, they couldn't get away fast enough.
"If you ever want to visit magical creatures, feel free to come find me or my grandpa in Dorset," Rolf said, giving Cohen and Luna his address before they parted ways.
"Especially you, Cohen—"
"Hm?" Cohen thought he'd invite Luna first.
"My grandpa's never raised a dragon, a Chimera, or a Basilisk before," Rolf explained. "And that black unicorn—I can't believe how tame they are with you. Especially the Chimera—the middle head speaks English! Grandpa's going to lose his mind when he sees them."
"I'll drop by next time I'm free. Actually, I've written to your grandpa before—I got the Occamy feathers for this case from him," Cohen said. "He might know about the dragon, but the Chimera and Basilisk will definitely be a surprise."
"I wish I could keep a few myself…" Rolf sighed. "But just seeing them is already amazing."
After saying goodbye, Cohen followed the Lovegoods back to Ottery St. Catchpole. One more Floo Network trip, and he'd be home.
"Great trip," Cohen said, waving goodbye to Luna.
"Too bad we didn't find the Fire Mosslings," Luna replied, though she looked happy despite it. "They might've saved us, but I still think you and Rolf did the most. So… thank you!"
---
On July 31st, Cohen got back home in the late afternoon.
Rose and Edward were both there—unusual for them—and someone who didn't belong to the family was in the living room, chatting with them.
It was Arnold, that Ministry employee again.
"You're still after my mom, huh!" Cohen frowned at Arnold as he stepped out of the fireplace. "Right in front of my dad, too!"
"You little—" Arnold sighed, exasperated that Cohen was still hung up on last time's comment.
"After what?" Rose turned to Edward.
"I didn't—I haven't said anything shady to him!" Edward quickly defended himself. "Or anything bad about you!"
"Just back from Peru?" Arnold asked, noticing the dirt on Cohen and the bits of rainforest shrubbery clinging to his pant legs.
"Yeah, and no Philoflies," Cohen said, disappointed. "Not only did I not find any creatures, but I also watched a couple of lovebirds get together…"
"Tsk…" Edward made a pitying sound, earning a punch from Rose.
"Sounds like a pretty eventful summer," Arnold said, scribbling a few more lines into the report he'd just half-heartedly finished. "Can confirm… self… during this period… traveled to Peru… Done. See ya, enjoy life."
Arnold rushed off after a quick goodbye to the family.
"What's going on?" Cohen asked his parents after Arnold left. "Did they find out I snuck into Peru?"
"Snuck in?!" Rose gasped. "Your tour group didn't file entry papers?!"
"Newt Scamander's grandson didn't either!" Cohen deflected. "I thought wizards could just go wherever. But he stole one of my classmates right in front of me—I think that's way worse."
"Newt Scamander?" Edward's eyes lit up. "The guy who wrote *Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them*?"
"His grandson. Invited me to visit him in Dorset next time," Cohen said, plopping onto the couch. Rose waved her wand, cleaning the dirt off his clothes. "What was that Ministry guy doing here? Did you break the law?"
"Us, break the law?" Edward laughed. "It's just another investigation. Some murderer escaped—Sirius Black. Speaking of which, your mom went to school with him…"
"He was a troublemaker back then," Rose said. "Always hanging out with James, Lupin, and that crew. Lily and I didn't really like them. James got smarter later and won Lily over, but Sirius never changed."
"Hey, I was way more strategic than James," Edward bragged. "I had your mom's heart locked down from day one—"
"Really?" Cohen raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"Nope," Rose cut in. "He didn't even ask me out for a walk until fourth year. Four years of nothing!"
"I sent gifts every year!" Edward protested.
"You sent gifts to every girl in Gryffindor!" Rose groaned. "Who could tell which one you actually liked?"