Who let this Dementor into Hogwarts!

Chapter 252 People must imagine Fudge is intelligent... (4000 words)
"..."

Sirius Black lifted the Invisibility Cloak, released his grip on the fake Peter by the collar, and let him slide to the ground.

“Dumbledore…” Sirius swallowed hard, not daring to look Dumbledore in the eye, because he and James had made a grave mistake—Dumbledore had repeatedly warned them to seriously consider the choice of the Keeper of the Secret…

“Professor! Sirius is innocent—Peter is Voldemort’s henchman! And we just heard Voldemort’s voice…” Harry quickly defended Sirius.

“Don’t rush, Harry, I won’t make a rash decision just because you haven’t explained quickly enough,” Dumbledore reassured him. “I already had a preliminary guess when I saw that Peter Pettigrew was still alive.”

Then, Dumbledore turned his gaze to Sirius, his deep blue eyes seemingly seeing right through Sirius's regret and sorrow.

"What did the Muggles on that street die of?" Dumbledore asked Sirius.

“Peter cut off one of his fingers and caused a huge explosion with the wand he had hidden behind his back—it was too fast, I couldn’t stop him in time…” Sirius said. “He was constantly passing messages to Voldemort, and I was furious at the time, I just wanted to kill him…”

"So, you and James secretly changed the secret agent, and the new secret agent is Peter, right?"

“Yes…” Sirius said painfully.

“I regret that I provided evidence to the Ministry of Magic after your arrest regarding your role as the Potters’ Secret Keeper, because at that time I was unaware of the change of Secret Keeper and also believed that there was a traitor among us,” Dumbledore said. “But now that the truth has come to light, I will do everything I can to help you clear your name of this unfounded charge.”

Harry and Sirius both showed expressions of gratitude to Dumbledore.

"Then can you contact the Minister for Magic directly and have him come and arrest Peter as soon as possible?" Harry asked anxiously, "That way, no more accidents will happen..."

“I could certainly contact the minister immediately, but I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Dumbledore said, rejecting the offer.

“But—but if we don’t contact the Ministry of Magic, Sirius will remain a fugitive forever—” Harry said hastily, “Professor—”

“Harry…follow Dumbledore’s instructions…” Sirius said to Harry in a hoarse voice.

“You said you couldn’t abandon your sense of justice!” Hermione pleaded for Harry. “Professor Dumbledore, and Sirius Black is truly innocent—could you—”

Dumbledore made a gesture of pressing the air, signaling everyone not to be impatient.

“I’ve said it before, I will clear Sirius’s name, and that’s not just a polite remark,” Dumbledore said. “But we can’t contact Fudge now—at least not until we have the necessary precautions in place.”

"What preventative measures?" Harry asked anxiously.

"Based on my understanding of Fudge—believe me, he often writes to me for advice, so I have a certain grasp of his character—he would believe that the Ministry of Magic should not, and could not, admit that it had wrongly arrested a prisoner for twelve years," Dumbledore said.

“Isn’t that a bit much?” Cohen suddenly remembered something. “Twelve years ago, Fudge wasn’t Minister for Magic, and he hadn’t even worked in the Department of Executions. Shouldn’t it be a great achievement for him to overturn the case?”

“A very reasonable deduction,” Dumbledore explained to Cohen. “But you’ve overlooked one point, Cohen: compensation. The Ministry of Magic has to pay a price and make compensation for wrongfully arresting someone—especially since the Ministry of Magic’s methods when it imprisoned Sirius were not in accordance with regulations. He was imprisoned without trial, and then he was unjustly imprisoned for twelve years. The Ministry of Magic will not want to see Sirius exonerated.”

“But they are honest—” Hermione said, puzzled. “I mean, as a judicial body, shouldn’t the Ministry of Magic be based on facts…”

"Even if the parties involved reach a private settlement with the Ministry of Magic, public opinion will force the Ministry to pay a price, because people always want to see more intense and dramatic conflicts." Considering the issue of acceptance among young wizards, Dumbledore did not delve too deeply into this topic.

“I don’t need money,” Sirius frowned. “I don’t need a title either—I just need…”

“I understand your desire for freedom and I believe you will not clash with the government for it,” Dumbledore continued. “But the Ministry of Magic will not. You are the last heir of the Black family, a title that will generate a lot of buzz, and Rita Skeeter of the Daily Prophet will certainly not miss this headline—Fudge certainly knows this too.”

“When they can’t guarantee that the unexpected won’t happen, then they can only deal with the ‘unexpected’ itself.” Cohen understood what Dumbledore meant.

I suddenly understood why my prophecy included that particular scene.

"Resolving the 'accident' itself..." Harry gasped, "...means..."

“They’ll kill me, just pretend it’s all nonsense.” Sirius was surprisingly calm.

"That's disgusting..." Hermione said with a troubled expression.

"Impossible!" Harry exclaimed angrily. "We are all witnesses!"

“Children cannot appear as witnesses to testify,” Cohen said in a deep voice. “And once Sirius and Peter have been taken away by the Ministry of Magic, we can no longer interfere with what’s going on inside. The best outcome might be to get an apology letter from the Ministry of Magic at Sirius’s funeral, and since there are no male heirs in Sirius’s family, the compensation from the Ministry of Magic can be issued first, and then flow back to the Ministry of Magic through the inheritance confiscation channel.”

“But don’t despair,” Dumbledore said. “First, the Ministry’s next move is just speculation, and they may be willing to pay the price for arresting the wrong person. Second, I have a relatively reliable plan that will prevent the Ministry from detaining Sirius and Peter in the interrogation room.”

“This plan requires Cohen’s help and cooperation.” Dumbledore lowered his head and met Cohen’s gaze above his half-moon spectacles. “In the Wizengamot trial system, there is usually a whistleblower and a accused. If the accused has a request, there will also be a defense attorney to represent them. Generally, the whistleblower for a criminal will be a relevant official from the Ministry of Magic or the victim and their relatives, and the Ministry of Magic will temporarily detain the accused who is considered a danger to society.”

"However, if the whistleblower takes extremely dangerous measures against the accused before the end of the trial, the accused's defense counsel has the right to end the Ministry of Magic's temporary detention, release the accused, and vouch for them to ensure their normal attendance at the trial."

Dumbledore recited the rules, leaving Harry and Ron somewhat confused, but Hermione quickly grasped his meaning.

“So… if the Ministry of Magic really intends to eliminate Sirius in secret, we can legally and legitimately remove him from the Ministry's control until the trial begins?” Hermione asked. “But how can we do that? I mean, we need to find evidence that the Ministry has harmed Sirius, but we can't keep following them around indefinitely…”

“I can do it,” Cohen said, raising his eyebrows.

Hermione suddenly realized what was happening and covered her mouth in surprise.

"What?" Harry asked, confused.

“I can transform into a Dementor,” Cohen explained, “and follow Sirius, then feign an action when Fudge orders the Dementors to devour Sirius and Peter’s souls—”

“You can really turn into a Dementor!” Ron exclaimed. “I thought that ‘bloodline’ you were talking about was just like the half-Vessels, with some special abilities…”

"Have you already told your friends?" Dumbledore looked surprised, but Cohen felt that Dumbledore must have known as soon as they entered the room. "Friendship does require honesty, but also more tolerance and understanding. Please believe that what determines friendship is not race, but mind."

The last sentence was clearly directed at Hermione and the others—but it took them less than two minutes to accept that Cohen was a safe Dementor.

“Oh, Cohen…” Hermione rushed over and hugged Cohen. “I can’t believe I actually thought… thought…” “Thought I was some kind of evil Dementor who deliberately approached you just to eat your little wizard souls, right?” Cohen said dryly.

"No, no, no!" Ron rushed over and hugged Hermione and Cohen—of course, Cohen knew what Ron was thinking.

He simply didn't want Hermione to hold Cohen alone; at that age, it just so happens that he was starting to develop feelings for him.

However, Cohen had no interest in following the example of other Harry Potter fanfiction protagonists and pursuing Hermione—firstly, Cohen disliked humans, and secondly, Hermione genuinely made Cohen feel insecure.

No Dementor likes having someone suddenly cast a Patronus Charm on it.

Harry stood there awkwardly for a moment, then finally joined in the hug—now there was a strange mass of "humans surrounding Dementors" in Dumbledore's office.

“Friendship…” Dumbledore wiped his eyes, “the most beautiful emotion in school.”

Sirius's lips twitched.

He and James had never done anything like this before.

“Alright.” Dumbledore clapped his hands after the three released Cohen. “Now that everything is clear, let’s start making the arrangements. Sirius, Cohen, and Peter will stay here. Harry, you guys go back to your dorms and don’t let anyone else find out that you had contact with Sirius before he was exonerated.”

“Okay, okay…” Harry nodded quickly, afraid that he would mess things up.

The atmosphere in Dumbledore's office changed instantly after Harry, Ron, and Hermione left.

"Harry heard Voldemort's voice?" Dumbledore looked at Cohen.

"Why are you looking at me like that!" Cohen said matter-of-factly. "It wasn't me who summoned Voldemort!"

"..."

Dumbledore rested his chin on the back of his crossed hands with a hint of helplessness.

His eyes seemed to say, "It's not a good thing to lie to an old person."

“Hogwarts is a place without trust…” Cohen sighed. “I’m dropping out and going home to be a good-for-nothing who stays home all day with my dad…”

I'm not blaming you—

“If anyone ever asks me who taught me this useless kid, I’ll just say I was Dumbledore’s student,” Cohen continued, talking to himself.

"Alright, alright," Dumbledore said, his head throbbing. "I won't misunderstand you, nor will I think you have any deep connection with Voldemort..."

This is how a master clears their name; they don't need any fancy wits or meticulous intrigue.

"Really?" Cohen asked, tilting his head.

“Really,” Dumbledore said.

“Then I’ll reluctantly believe you for once.” Cohen nodded. “Voldemort came to me to resurrect him, and I agreed.”

"What!" Sirius couldn't help but exclaim.

"Quiet, Sirius." Dumbledore had been taking care of Cohen for two years; how could he not know what the boy was thinking?

If they really helped Voldemort, Voldemort would have been resurrected long ago.

“Look at you, always in such a hurry.” Cohen pointed at Sirius. “I’ve never really considered myself a good person—”

“But you’re helping Voldemort!” Sirius roared. “Harry even considered you a friend!”

Twelve years in Azkaban have left him extremely emotionally unstable—it's a testament to his strong will that he hasn't gone mad.

So what he doesn't understand now is why Dumbledore could remain so calm when Cohen said he wanted to "resurrect Voldemort".

Did Dumbledore also betray us?

“Cohen,” Dumbledore warned, knowing that if Cohen pressed further, Sirius wouldn’t need to defend himself anymore.

"Alright." Cohen toned it down a bit. If he bragged to Sirius next to Dumbledore any more, the guy would probably really go crazy. "After I said I didn't have a way to resurrect him, Voldemort wanted Harry's blood, Peter's flesh, and Voldemort's father's bones to resurrect him, and he asked me to help him kidnap Harry."

Upon hearing "kidnapping Harry," Sirius's fingers cracked as he clenched them.

“Harry is fine,” Dumbledore reassured Sirius. “Cohen is on our side. Don’t harbor any hostility or unwarranted hatred towards him.”

“He was clearly filled with hostility and unwarranted hatred,” Cohen said. “But it didn’t matter, I continued—the plan was roughly like this…”

Cohen revealed that he had forged a Peter puppet and a fake door key.

"This Peter is fake?!" Sirius's eyes widened. "Where is the real one?"

“Of course I keep it in my box, you dog! Otherwise, with your reckless manner, that little mouse would have run away long ago!” Cohen said with exasperation. “Even my snake monster is more composed than you.”

“Very clever, Cohen.” Dumbledore nodded approvingly. “So, what are your plans now?”

"Based on my understanding of Voldemort, he will most likely come back to you afterward—about the second resurrection."

(End of this chapter)