As Cohen stepped onto the wide open field between the castle and the wooden hut, he raised his wand and shot a dazzling red firework into the sky.
It didn't take long for the curious crowd to arrive: the Chimera, Sisoko, the little and old Basilisks, Arie, the unicorn herd, and even Mick showed up in no time.
What surprised Cohen was that Arie and the unicorns, for once, weren't drunk.
Norbert and his mother didn't appear though—probably still fast asleep in their cave, unable to hear anything outside.
"I've got an announcement," Cohen declared to the circle of magical creatures gathered around him. "There's a Christmas Ball coming up, and I need to invite a girl as my date. But I don't really want to ask some human girl I don't know well, so I'm going to pick one of you. Besides, it'll be a good chance for someone to go out and explore a bit."
"You're really planning to dance with an animal?" the Earl chirped, tilting his head while perched safely on the unicorn chieftain's head.
That unicorn was probably the only creature safe enough for the Earl to sit on. The Basilisks, Arie, and especially the Chimera were way too dangerous for a bird like him—especially Arie, who once nearly skewered him three years ago.
"I'm not taking any of you in your current forms," Cohen clarified. "Once someone's picked, I'll temporarily transfer their soul into a puppet that looks like a human girl. Just for the evening. After the dance, I'll bring them back and restore everything to normal."
The response was better than expected. A bunch of creatures were excited to volunteer, especially the young adult unicorns who were thrilled at the idea of dancing—none of them suspected Cohen would harm them in any way.
"Me, me, me! I want to dance with my son!" Sisoko reared up excitedly.
"Nope. You're male," Cohen rejected flatly.
"But you said it's going to be a human girl! Who's going to care what's really inside—?" Sisoko argued.
"That's kind of weird," commented the horned water serpent. "But it also makes some kind of sense…"
"Still a no. Next." Cohen dismissed him without mercy.
"Roar!" the lion bellowed, throwing in his own bid.
"You're out too," Cohen said. "For starters, you're also male. And don't even pretend you didn't know what I meant."
"You understood that?" the Earl asked, surprised.
"Because he's… um… let's say visibly excited," Cohen replied, pointing toward an obvious direction.
"Ew…" The Earl shuddered, quickly folding his wings—earning a disgruntled growl from the lion.
"Me!" the little Basilisk's eyes sparkled. "I want to dance!"
"You might actually be viable…" Cohen examined its soul. It had grown a lot stronger since hatching, but still within the range Cohen could manage. "You're a candidate. Anyone else?"
"Me too!" A silvery unicorn burst from the crowd, positively glowing with excitement. It took Cohen a while to recognize her—it was the one who had once gifted him flowers and baby fur. Now fully grown, her golden coat had turned into a beautiful silver.
"I'll let the little ones fight for it," Arie said, pretending to act mature. "I know you really want to invite me… and as compensation you could—"
"Nope. Thanks. And no, you're not getting any more booze either," Cohen cut her off mid-scheme. He could tell Arie was just fishing for free drinks again. Not to mention, her soul strength was a whopping 67—still way too powerful for him to extract even now.
"Dancing…" Mick floated over curiously, wanting to know what a dance looked like.
Cohen showed it a memory clip, and the ghost happily drifted back inside the hut—content as always. Mick was the easiest to please, mainly because it didn't really have a soul Cohen could extract.
Several more unicorns showed interest in joining the dance, so they decided to hold an internal election. In the end, the winner was the same silver unicorn who had given Cohen gifts in the past.
Next came the final showdown: the unicorn vs. the little Basilisk.
Cohen handed over the contest arrangements to the mountain goat, mainly to prevent any accidental casualties.
Turned out, he didn't need to worry. The Basilisk's contest ideas were either "who can eat the most sheep" or "who can dig the deepest hole." The unicorns, on the other hand, wanted to compete in grass-munching races and drinking contests.
Eventually, it all escalated into a contest between the grown-ups—Arie, the unicorn chieftain, and the two elder Basilisks, all suddenly gripped by an intense competitive streak.
Each side was determined to have their kid win.
"Such spirit," the Earl commented. "You really ought to record this and sell it. You'd make a fortune."
Since the winner wasn't clear yet, Cohen decided to check back later. They'd definitely have a first and second place by then.
When Cohen returned to the Gryffindor common room, it was already evening—right around dinner time. But unusually, the room was still crowded.
Ginny and Harry were huddled around Ron, who looked absolutely ghost-pale.
"What happened?" Cohen asked as he entered and joined the group.
"He just asked Fleur Delacour to the Yule Ball," Ginny said, trying hard not to laugh. She patted Ron's shoulder in sympathy.
"That was veela magic," Harry explained. "She probably meant it for Cedric, but Ron got caught in the crossfire."
Harry didn't look too cheerful either. Cohen guessed he had already tried asking Cho Chang.
"This is ridiculous," Ron groaned. "Now we're the only three left without dates—"
"Don't lump me in," Cohen said dryly. "I've ascended to a tragic but glorious plane beyond your reach."
"What? Who is it?" Harry asked. "Come on, you have to tell us now—"
"Two girls got into a fight over me," Cohen said casually. "I'll go with whoever wins."
"No way!" Ron stared at him in disbelief. "Two girls are fighting over you? That can't be—"
"That's why you and Harry need to step it up," Cohen clapped their shoulders. "Worst case, just go together. Dumbledore won't mind—in fact, he might even give you a cute little gift."
"Wait—" Ron's face shifted as he remembered something. "Neville doesn't have a date either! He told me after Potions. He tried asking Hermione, you know, since she always helps him with homework… but she said she'd already promised someone else…"
"Hermione has a date too?!" Harry was stunned. Then he realized who it had to be—Viktor Krum. He had said after the First Task that he liked Hermione.