Who let this Dementor into Hogwarts!

Chapter 248 Cohen's scheme within a scheme within a scheme!

On Friday afternoon, Cohen found an empty classroom and told Harry and the others the "good news" of the day.

"Got Spotted." Cohen shook the rat cage he was carrying. Inside, the fake Spotted was scurrying about, looking like it was trying to escape.

"So fast?!" Harry exclaimed in surprise.

"..." Ron didn't want to get close to the rat again—he couldn't help but think about how long he had been sleeping in the same bed with an Animagus.

too disgusting.

“The old snake monster said it was hiding in a pipe on the fifth floor,” Cohen said, making things up.

"Are you really going to take it to Hogsmeade?" Hermione suggested another idea. "If, I mean if—we hand it over directly to the Ministry of Magic..."

“Now Peter Pettigrew is the victim, and Sirius Black is the murderer.” Harry shook his head. “Sirius says he can force Peter to turn back into human form—that way we can get him to confess.”

"What if he keeps refusing to tell us?" Hermione asked worriedly.

“Truth Potion,” Cohen reminded him. “It can be used by the Ministry of Magic when investigating major criminal cases, after special approval from the Wizengamor Conference. Suspects can also take it voluntarily to prove their innocence—Sirius was sentenced without even going through a trial when he was imprisoned last time, otherwise the truth wouldn’t have been hidden for so long.”

"Will he escape? This cage?" Ron looked at the squeaking rat in the cage with disgust—especially since the rat was making a human-like standing and begging motion.

This made Ron even more convinced that his rat was actually a wizard—how come he hadn't noticed before? What rat could live for twelve years without dying...

“I’ve put a sturdy spell on the cage, so he can’t be squeezed to death in a small box unless he wants to be buried in the ground,” Cohen said. “In that case, we won’t even need to buy a coffin.”

"Squeak!" Fake Scabbard let out an anxious cry under Cohen's control.

“If this can be done… I’ll have a home…” Harry murmured, “a real home…”

Seeing Harry talking to himself, Hermione gently patted him on the shoulder:

"We'll all help you, Harry—"

“Everything will be fine once we get it to Sirius,” Ron said. “It sounds strange, we’re handing one murderer over to another…”

“Sirius is not a murderer,” Harry said trustingly.

"Squeak-"

Just as they were about to leave, the door to the empty classroom opened.

The person who walked in was someone they never expected...

Snape.

“It seems our savior enjoys venturing into secluded corners… Does it make you feel different, Potter?” Snape said aggressively, his black robes casting a bat-like shadow on the open wooden classroom door.

“We were just chatting, sir,” Harry said, barely containing his anger. “There’s no rule that forbids us from chatting in empty classrooms.”

“You need to bring a mouse along when you chat,” Snape said coldly, his gaze lingering on the mouse cage in Cohen’s hand for a moment. “Looks like you’d love to add to Hogwarts’ rat infestation—Gryffindor loses ten points because of your little secret.”

“This is completely unreasonable!” Ron shouted. “Cohen just helped me find my pet—”

“Shut up, Weasley,” Snape said. “I don’t have time for your wild ideas. If it weren’t for the headmaster’s request, I wouldn’t have a second thought for your silly little plans. Mr. Norton, the headmaster wants you to come to his office at three o’clock this afternoon and bring ‘something he asked you to bring last time.’”

"What?" Harry asked, puzzled.

“I know,” Cohen said.

"Now, get out." Snape waved his wand, shooing the four of them out. "I need this classroom for the next class."

With a bang, the door slammed shut, and they looked at each other in confusion.

“Pots class doesn’t need the Charms classroom at all.” On the way back to the eighth floor, Ron said viciously, “He’s definitely trying to find something in there to deduct points from our score.”

"Do you think he overheard our conversation?" Hermione was more worried that Snape might have heard about Sirius—as students, they shouldn't have anything to do with fugitives.

“Snape might have heard it, but it’s unlikely that Snape heard it,” Cohen said. “If he had, he would have lost at least fifty points and reported it to the headmaster, not just ten points.”

Cohen was so certain mainly because Snape did indeed arrive at the door just as their conversation was about to end—Cohen, who could see through walls, saw it all clearly from the empty classroom.

"But why did Professor Dumbledore call you again?" Harry asked Cohen, puzzled. "And 'something he told you about last time'..."

“Have you forgotten? The last time he called me was because of Nicolas Flamel.” Cohen raised his eyebrows. “I went to Nicolas Flamel’s place during the Christmas holidays; he left me an inheritance.”

“Nico Flamel’s legacy!” Ron said enviously. “It must be a lot of money—the Philosopher’s Stone alone could turn anything into gold; he must have amassed a fortune—”

“Don’t be so vulgar, Ron!” Hermione said, rubbing her forehead. “What’s far more valuable is definitely Nicolas Flamel’s alchemical manuscripts. He was the greatest alchemist, and even a single page of his manuscripts would be of immeasurable value.”

“Almost. He left me a room and a bunch of props.” Cohen parted ways with the three on the eighth floor. “You guys go back to the lounge first. I’ll take the stuff to Dumbledore.” Cohen knew that Dumbledore wanted to talk to Nicole about her memories—and ask about Cohen’s “Dementor soul.”

Fortunately, he had already formed a united front with Nicolás, who was known as "Dumbledore the Little Deceitful One," so there wasn't much of a problem.

Cohen first went back to the Room of Requirement, left the fake Scabbers inside, and then took out Nico's book.

Upon arriving at the stone statue outside the headmaster's office, Cohen realized that Snape hadn't given him the password to pass through the headmaster's office.

"Password?" the statue asked.

"I don't know," Cohen said curtly.

“Correct.” The stone statue immediately jumped to the side.

"?"

Cohen's eyes widened.

No? Huh? There really is a password called "Don't know"?
Dumbledore was always in a playful mood – his passwords were comparable to the Fat Lady's "Dragon Scum" and "Water Grey Snake".

"咚咚-"

As he climbed the spiral staircase, Cohen knocked on Dumbledore's door.

"Please come in."

Dumbledore sounds like he could live for several more decades.

Stepping into the headmaster's office, it looked much the same as before Christmas—the only change was in Dumbledore, who was now wearing a dark purple robe.

“Sit down, Cohen.” Dumbledore conjured an armchair for Cohen and said with a smile, “I really like the Christmas present you gave me—but I don’t quite understand the message on it… What does ‘If you’re bored in prison and have no one to talk to, I can give you a talkative kitten’ mean? Actually, I don’t feel like being the headmaster is like being in prison.”

“Huh?” Cohen raised his eyebrows. “Really? Oh—then the Earl probably sent it by mistake. Yours was probably sent to Herbert…but it doesn’t matter much. Your gifts are wool socks I bought from a store. Apart from the note, there’s no difference.”

Dumbledore was momentarily unsure whether to be happy that he was being treated the same as "Cohen's father" or to feel sorry for the marginalized Herbert.

“I’ve seen Nicole, and he left me a book.” Cohen placed the book containing Nicole Flamel’s memories on Dumbledore’s desk.

“Albus,” Nico greeted Dumbledore on the book cover, “I’m sorry I couldn’t see you one last time—Perenaar and I decided to choose a quieter place for your passing. Farewells are too sad, for both the living and the dead.”

"Ha!" Dumbledore laughed. "Nicole, you're the one who told me 'have mercy on the living.'"

“But saying and doing are always different, aren’t they?” Nicole said casually. “When you die, Cohen can make a frame for your portrait too. Who knows, our portraits might visit each other often.”

"Speaking of Cohen..." Dumbledore paused, "How's the progress on helping Cohen resolve his soul problem?"

“It will take about another year,” Nico said. “I have already prepared the Hermes Bottle for Cohen, but it will take some time for the soul inside to develop. With Cohen’s current stability, he should be able to survive for a year.”

Dumbledore seemed much more relieved.

After chatting about their holiday experiences, Cohen left the principal's office with Nicole.

You look like you have something on your mind.

When they returned to the Room of Requirement, Nicole asked Cohen with concern:

"Is there something important you need to do recently?"

“I suppose so,” Cohen replied, “but I’ve been thinking about a future that’s unlikely to happen.”

"Oh?" Nico asked, "Did you see some kind of prophecy?"

“Yes, and I’m pretty sure that future won’t actually happen—unless I’m gone,” Cohen said.

“Many factors influence prophecy, but wizards often cannot resist its outcome—because what ultimately brings a prophecy to life is always those seemingly insignificant details,” Nicole said. “If you really want to change it, you need to pay more attention to things you have already overlooked or are about to overlook…”

"detail……"

Cohen thought of Snape, whom he had met earlier that day.

Snape may have already guessed some of the secrets—he is now the only variable in the plan.

"And I have a piece of advice." Nico winked on the cover, "The appearance of things is far less important than their essence, and prophecy may not represent the result, but the process."

Suddenly, Cohen's eyes lit up.

“Great idea!” Cohen said. “I knew what was going to happen.”

(End of this chapter)