This book details how to permanently fix the Unseen Stretch Charm onto a physical container (building). Besides the incantation, it requires several ancient rune carvings that provide magical support, as well as some materials with special functions—things like the slime of shapeshifting lizards can be found in the materials cabinet in the Potions classroom, but there's one thing they don't have:
Birdserpent feathers.
Birdserpents are serpentine creatures with feathers, wings, and two legs, capable of freely expanding and contracting their size.
Their feathers also possess this magical power, making them ideal for constructing long-term Unseen Stretch Charm areas.
However, because their eggs are made of pure silver, birdserpents are frequently raided by hunters, resulting in their extreme rarity and consistently high prices for birdserpent feathers.
Based on the book's requirements, Cohen estimated that if he wanted to raise another dragon and ensure he had a house, he'd need at least seventy-seven birdserpent feathers—enough to skin a birdserpent bare.
Cohen had no intention of spending a fortune to buy seventy-seven feathers; their market price was higher than that of a unicorn feather, which also belonged to the Ministry of Magic's 4X category.
Unicorns were at least slightly more approachable; they would allow pure-hearted people to get close, and even Ollivander could pluck a few of their rear feathers—though Ollivander had almost been poked in the back by a unicorn once.
The harpys, however, were different. Because of humans' daily egg-stealing, they were extremely wary of humans. Upon spotting human presence, they would flee at lightning speed, and if escape was impossible, they would use their enormous bodies to crush their prey.
"This supply chain is a bit too obvious!"
Cohen frowned, looking at the contact information printed at the end of the chapter.
[For purchasing harpy feathers, please contact Nerva Rodriguez in Dorset. Prices are negotiable, shipping is fast, and flights are available throughout Europe.]
But this was something Dumbledore needed to worry about.
"I saw in the book that ancient rune engraving requires harpy feathers."
On Saturday morning, Cohen rushed to the headmaster's office—this time with something genuinely positive to say.
"But they're too expensive. Can you get me some?"
"Have you progressed to the point where you need to engrave ancient runes?"
Dumbledore sat behind his desk, a stack of letters in front of him. He looked up at Cohen gently, but didn't immediately agree.
Cohen's progress was somewhat beyond Dumbledore's expectations—Newt only started using this method to reinforce his trunk after being expelled; the Unseen Stretching Charm was almost impossible for lower-year students.
But if it was Cohen, it made sense.
If Cohen really acted like an ordinary young wizard, Dumbledore might suspect he would become the second Tom Riddle.
Cohen couldn't just let all those magical creature materials go to waste, could he?
"It doesn't seem too difficult—except for the materials; bird and snake feathers are too expensive—maybe I'll just raise magical creatures full-time from now on, and I can buy cakes every day just from their seasonal molting..."
Cohen showed Dumbledore the half-finished box he was working on, appropriately expressing his ideal—a point that greatly pleased Dumbledore.
"The headmaster's salary isn't very high—"
Dumbledore said slowly.
Cohen took Dumbledore's joke as a joke. Poor? That just meant Dumbledore didn't need the money right now.
In other words, Galleons were just a number to Dumbledore; no one could stop him from getting what he wanted.
"But there's good news. Newt Scamander's harpy swarm has grown into a huge colony—and he happens to be one of my close students."
Dumbledore winked at Cohen through his half-moon spectacles.
"That means you can get me seventy-seven harpy feathers for free!" Cohen's eyes lit up as he met Dumbledore's gaze.
"That means you can buy these interesting magical materials from him for less money. We can buy these feathers from him for seven Galleons each—that's cheaper than a unicorn's tail feather."
Dumbledore still had that cheerful look on his face.
"Cohen, while getting something for nothing can make it easy to achieve your desires, remember, life isn't just about the 'result,' but also the more important 'process.'"
Clearly, Dumbledore had likely learned about Cohen's infiltration of the unicorn colony through the centaurs, and Dumbledore wasn't planning to buy the bird-snake feathers for Cohen outright, as Cohen was already quite wealthy.
However, getting a discount was still a good thing; Cohen planned to sell some octopus venom. He didn't need much of it himself right now; if he really wanted to poison someone, he'd use a sealed container to store his own blood.
After Cohen received Newt's address and a letter of introduction, Dumbledore reminded him as he was about to leave.
"I'm glad you've found something you enjoy at Hogwarts. Once the chest is finished, I can give you some extra help—Newt once complained that his chest was prone to letting those little guys escape."
Dumbledore certainly didn't want dragons suddenly flying out of the chest; otherwise, Hogwarts might have to undergo a multi-million Galleon renovation.
Cohen agreed, because he planned to take the box with him everywhere—if the dragon suddenly escaped during the summer and appeared at No. 5 Privet Drive, he couldn't imagine how furious Rose would be.
The whole family would have to outwit the Ministry of Magic…
After leaving the Headmaster's office, Cohen returned to the Room of Requirement and began writing letters to the apothecary offering to sell the venom of the eight-eyed spider—Newt would most likely not accept it; he wasn't a terrorist, and he was quite old now, so he probably wouldn't keep any dangerous magical creatures that required venom to breed.
After filling the canisters with the venom, Cohen stuffed them into a bag and had the Earl carry them to Diagon Alley.
"Won't it spill?" the Earl asked anxiously, looking at the bulging bag full of venom canisters.
"I have children to raise—what if they die on the way…"
"I'll deliver the eggs to Hedwig—besides, how do you know if these eggs are yours…" Cohen reassured him.
Cohen's words of comfort earned him a glare from the Earl.
Once the money arrived and he bought the bird-snake feathers, Cohen could finally renovate his "mobile base."
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(End of Chapter)