Who let this Dementor into Hogwarts!

Chapter 281 Heartbroken Onii-chan (Part 2)

"Do you need my help with the cleaning?" Cohen asked. "Like getting rid of the vixens or something—"

"Did you bring any Vixen insecticide?" Harry's previously numb eyes lit up instantly. "I don't know why, but the insecticide Sirius and I ordered has been out of stock for almost two weeks..."

“The pesticide shortage is probably because of the Quidditch World Cup,” Cohen guessed. “Because you need to prepare a tent to watch the game, but most wizards probably don’t even take their tents out for years—they’re very easy to get infested with bugs. But I don’t use pesticides to deal with these things.”

"Not using pesticides means..."

Harry's confusion didn't last long.

After leading Cohen to the bedroom, they returned to the living room together.

Cohen quickly cleared away the vixens behind the curtains for Harry—these black-haired pests, like fairies, had weak souls, and with just a little effort from Cohen, they fell sparsely onto the moldy carpet like sesame seeds shaken from a sieve.

“That’s so convenient…” Harry said enviously.

"If you like, I can lend you a little Dementor," Cohen said generously. "It's easy to raise, and it's been wanting a new place to live lately..."

“Then let’s forget about it,” Harry said tentatively.

His lack of aversion to Cohen doesn't mean he's indifferent to other Dementors.

Harry still can't forget the feeling of having his happiness stolen by the Dementors—but...

When did Cohen start keeping Dementors again?!
"Oh!"

A loud bang suddenly came from the room Sirius had just crawled into.

"Che! Li! Che!"

Sirius gritted his teeth and called out the name of his house-elf.

"What happened?" Cohen raised his eyebrows.

“Let’s go take a look—” Harry said nervously.

Almost simultaneously, as Harry and Cohen opened the door, Kreacher also appeared in the room with a snap.

This is the pantry next to the kitchen, covered in mold and buzzing wooden crates—Sirius is trying to make it serve its original purpose (the pantry should keep food fresh longer, not make it rot faster).

Sirius was angry because of one of the wooden crates, which had the words "Regulus Black's Precious Legacy" written on it in crooked handwriting.

Cohen could clearly see a rather powerful soul inside.

[Soul Strength: 30]

"Didn't I tell you that Death Eater stuff isn't allowed in the house?" Sirius said through gritted teeth. "I've thrown these things away at least five times, and every time you pretend to come out to clean and then bring these bastards back."

“Kreacher won’t take anything from the young master’s house from its proper place.” Kreacher clutched the box of Regulus’s inheritance—it had been deliberately hidden in the most secret place, but Sirius still found it.

It continued muttering to itself, "—After returning from Azkaban, it started bossing Kreacher around and even wanted to throw away Master Regulus's things... Oh, my poor mistress, she must be heartbroken..."

"Throw it away," Sirius commanded. "And don't bring it back."

"Wait a minute." Cohen stopped Kreacher, who was about to leave with the box.

"What's wrong?" Harry was puzzled by Cohen's sudden act of blocking the way.

“There’s something in the box,” Cohen said. “Something very important—”

Kreacher hugged her even tighter.

“A dark, filthy soul… Kreacher has never seen him, but he wants to take away what Master Regulus cherishes most…” Kreacher whispered, “If he continues to reach out, Kreacher will bite him…”

It's hard to tell whether Kreacher said it intentionally or if that's what he really thinks.

"Put down the box and let Cohen inspect it," Sirius said coldly.

“Yes, sir.” Kreacher reluctantly released the box and bowed deeply to Sirius, his nose almost touching the ground.

"What is that?" Harry curiously approached Cohen, who had never thought there would be anything good in the junkyard before.

Cohen opened the box and found the small pendant box that looked out of place among the other things in the box, amidst a pile of silverware, books, and old clothes and shoes.

It began to tremble wildly when Cohen picked it up by the thin chain, as if it knew exactly what kind of terrifying thing Cohen was—or perhaps it was because Cohen had eaten several Horcruxes of the same origin as it.

"What is this?" Sirius frowned.

"This belongs to Master Regulus!" Kreacher screamed, lunging at Cohen and trying to climb from Cohen's legs to his right arm, where the locket was hanging. "Give it back to Kreacher! Give it back to Kreacher!"

"Kreacher, stop!" Sirius said impatiently. "You didn't want this thing to be thrown away, did you? Now I don't plan to throw it away anymore, so behave yourself!"

Kreacher trembled as he fell off Cohen and slumped to the ground, his eyes still fixed on the locket, his whole body sobbing.

"Young Master Regulus wants to destroy it... Kreacher can't do it..."

"Destroy it?" Sirius asked, squinting. "Why would my silly brother want to destroy this thing? Shouldn't he really like it—it looks so 'purebred'..."

“This is a Horcrux,” Cohen said. “Voldemort’s Horcrux.”

"What you said to Dumbledore last time—wait a minute—why is Voldemort's Horcrux in my house?" Sirius asked. "Is Regulus that important to Voldemort?"

"Is Regulus your brother?" Harry asked Sirius, puzzled, after hearing the repeated, unfamiliar name.

“He’s my younger brother—but he joined the Death Eaters,” Sirius said. “Looks like he’s quite important to Voldemort, that Voldemort would entrust his Horcruxes to him—Cohen, what are you doing?”

They all stared at Cohen, who had already plopped down next to the table and started using his wand to pry open the locket case.

“We need to find a way to pry it open,” Cohen said with difficulty. “I want to taste what the soul inside is like—but it’s resisting quite fiercely right now, unlike those other coy little devils.”

Kreacher discovered that Cohen had stopped sobbing after “destroying the locket”, and began to expect Cohen to destroy it—Regulus’s final command to him was to destroy it at all costs.

"Click——"

The soul inside the locket had a really strong will to survive. After being pried open a third time but immediately closing again, Cohen sighed in disappointment.

"Can...can we still get rid of it..." Harry asked uncertainly, "Or should we write to Professor Dumbledore—"

“I didn’t mean to be so rough,” Cohen said. “It’s like how you should drink a beverage from a cup, not swallow it whole and then spit the cup out…”

But since it was unwilling to fulfill the proper function of a "tragedy," Cohen had no choice but to resort to some less-than-elegant methods. Cohen brought his lips close to the locket and suddenly sucked—

The Voldemort fragments inside the locket, emitting black smoke, frantically tried to escape the suction force, but to no avail.

After the soul let out a chilling scream, the locket became an empty, ordinary container—the ancient magic on it vanished along with it.

"Burp—" Cohen burped.

"Is it over?" Harry asked blankly.

He only saw a soul made of black mist being pulled out of the locket, letting out a desperate scream, before Cohen swallowed it whole.

It's hard to imagine how desperate this soul must have been before it died.

This was also the first time Harry had ever seen a Dementor feeding on souls—although Cohen was still in human form.

“I’m done eating,” Cohen said with satisfaction. “I’ll write a letter to Dumbledore later to tell him about how I’ve solved another Horcrux.”

My soul strength has now reached 47. As long as Voldemort's true form doesn't suddenly experience a surge in soul strength, I should be able to deal with him fairly safely.

However, Cohen still plans to wait until his soul strength reaches 50 before considering breaking ties with Voldemort.

Voldemort's Horcruxes should be almost gone by now. In his first year, Korn swallowed Ravenclaw's diadem, and during summer vacation he ate the diary and Hufflepuff's cup. Now, without the locket, all that's left is the Resurrection Stone, and...

Cohen's gaze shifted to Harry—

[Soul Strength: 40]

Damn it, having just devoured a soul, Cohen's "spiritual stomach" is still in a state of hunger, wanting to eat even after finishing.

Bro, you really like it, don't you...?

“Cohen… Cohen.” Harry swallowed, taking a small step back, startled by Cohen’s strange gaze. “You’re not planning to…”

“Don’t guess. I’m just wondering where Voldemort’s remaining Horcruxes are,” Cohen said.

The soul fragments in Harry's body cannot be consumed—Cohen just tried, and it seems that Lily's Sacrifice Protection Spell also protected these Voldemort soul fragments, so Cohen cannot absorb Harry's soul through this protection spell.

It seems that spells in the wizarding world urgently need an intelligent upgrade; locking the murderer inside the house with this security door is not a good thing.

Sirius Black wasn't paying any attention to what was happening with Cohen and Harry; he was staring intently at Kreacher's position, seemingly lost in thought.

“This Horcrux has been completely emptied.” Cohen tossed the locket to Kreacher. “The thing inside is dead—if it’s lucky, some of the residue I can’t digest will be flushed down the drain.”

"No need for such detailed descriptions..." Harry said weakly, "Lunch is in half an hour..."

Kreacher caught the locket Cohen threw to him, trembling as he held it to his chest.

"Young Master Regulus's orders... have been completed, and... have been..."

"Kreacher, what happened to Regulus?" Sirius asked Kreacher with a serious expression.

"Answer me!" Sirius suddenly roared as Kreacher trembled. "Why does my brother have Voldemort's Horcrux? Why did I let you destroy it?"

“Young Master Regulus…the bravest, noblest Black…Kreacher will always remember that day…the Dark Lord’s command…”

Kreacher said hoarsely,
"The Dark Lord needed a house-elf... Young Master Regulus offered Kreacher... Young Master Regulus said... it was an honor, an honor for him and Kreacher."

"Why would Voldemort need a house-elf?" Harry didn't quite understand.

Sirius remained silent and continued listening to Kreacher's account.

"The Dark Lord led Kreacher to a cave by the sea... It was a very large cave, and inside there was a large black lake..."

Kreacher said,

"The Dark Lord forced Kreacher to drink the poison in the cave... a greenish-yellow potion that burned through his throat—the Dark Lord placed the locket into the basin of poison... Kreacher was in so much pain he wanted to tear his own intestines apart, but Master Regulus said he had to obey... Kreacher wanted water, but the lake was full of dead people... Kreacher was left there by the Dark Lord, but Master Regulus told him to go home... Later, Master Regulus cried, and he held the dying Kreacher, saying 'I'm sorry'..."

“Stupid,” Sirius said, but there was a different emotion in his tone.

“A month later… Master Regulus summoned Kreacher to his study… His face was as white as snow… He said the Dark Lord had done something more vile than murder…” Kreacher suddenly grabbed his bat-like ears, “The master asked Kreacher to take him to that cave… that cursed lake filled with ini…”

"He made you drink the poison there?" Sirius asked calmly.

Kreacher shook his head.

Sirius's face turned deathly pale instantly.

There was no need for Kreacher to say anything further.

He now knows how his brother died.

“Young Master Regulus pulled a locket from his pocket…” Kreacher’s tears were already streaming down his face, “It’s exactly the same as the Dark Lord’s…”

Cohen knew what had happened—Regulus himself drank those potions, allowing Kreacher to leave the cave with the Horcrux and attempt to destroy it.

Sirius should indeed know about this.

After all, Regulus was indeed a brave man, and his body was still in Voldemort's cave, with no place to be buried.

“Kreacher couldn’t leave a single mark on it,” Kreacher said sadly. “Kreacher tried everything…”

“At least it’s been destroyed by Cohen now,” Harry said sympathetically.

"My brother, just like that, was left in that godforsaken place for fourteen years?"

Sirius Black spoke one word at a time.

"Fourteen years! How could he—"

“He’s dead,” Cohen said, “but at least his body—”

"Impossible!" Sirius exclaimed angrily. "Kreacher, where is that cave? I'm going to bring him back!"

　One more is still being processed; I'll post it before midnight.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)