Who let this Dementor into Hogwarts!

Chapter 291 Crouch's Heart is Known to All

The Earl didn't know if the Confusion Charm would work, but Cohen's determined look, like he was about to join the Party, was enough to warrant a sentence to Azkaban.

He was born to be a warrior of Azkaban—after all, Cohen was the only Dementor capable of participating in a normal match.

"Okay, okay, you're the most suitable, alright..."

The count said helplessly,

"Who can take this champion's spot from you? You're the only one competing in Azkaban—aren't you afraid Dumbledore will find out?"

“I carry Azkaban’s hopes on my shoulders,” Cohen said. “And Dumbledore will agree—I have my ways.”

Since Harry Potter has already broken the rules, one more student breaking the rules shouldn't be a big burden for Dumbledore...

These are things the principal should do (I'm sure of it).
-
Summer vacation flew by, and soon it was time for Cohen to go back to school.

"Do you prefer this black tuxedo or this white one?" Edward asked as he helped Cohen pack his clothes. "I actually thought ordering you a purple one would have been quite nice too..."

“Christmas is a ball, not a public tour…” Cohen grabbed the grey turtleneck dress and said helplessly, “I don’t need that many outfits…”

"This will make it easier for you to choose different styles to suit different girls' preferences," Edward said with considerable experience. "For example, your mother really likes purple..."

"How come you're so skilled? Did you even compare her to other female classmates back then?" Cohen asked curiously. "Who? Lily?"

"Then James will just come over and stab me to death with his wand."

Edward made a face.

"This was the dance plan that Arnold and I came up with back then—to seduce your mother..."

"What was the final result?" Cohen asked.

"The result was that your mother came directly to me, without saying a word, and told me to get ready to dance with her that night," Edward recalled. "In front of Arnold—who happened to be teaching me how to lure girls out alone and invite them out..."

“It’s obvious you haven’t used any of the methods he taught you.” Cohen shook his head. “But I don’t think any girl will ask me to dance—I’ll just make one myself—or dance with a unicorn…”

"Don't be so pessimistic." Edward folded Cohen's clothes and stuffed them into Cohen's suitcase, then waved his finger at Cohen. "You're at least seven-tenths as handsome as me, seducing a girl would be a piece of cake for you, wouldn't it?"

"Are you referring to my stomach or the hair on the top of my head?" Cohen's lips twitched.

Edward nervously touched the top of his head, and breathed a long sigh of relief after confirming that he wasn't as bald as Arthur.

"I'll try my best," Cohen said with a hint of helplessness, looking at Edward's hopeful expression about finding a girlfriend at Hogwarts.

After packing his things, Cohen threw them all into his suitcase.

The castle has already been built to two stories, and Cohen is very satisfied with the results of the construction team's tireless work day and night.

Within a semester, the basic framework of the castle will be built, and then it will be Cohen's turn to decorate it.

Meanwhile, the undead did not suffer much damage. Apart from one whose head was bitten off by a small snake monster and another that was swallowed and then spat out by a lion, they were all intact.

Once the renovations are finished, Cohen will find a plot of land in the Scottish Highlands to bury them—if the system has any conscience, it should add a merit point.

Cohen now has over 8,000 goodwill points, and with a little more, he can buy Sissoko a basilisk wife—given that the little basilisk has now started hunting independently more often, Sissoko, as a lonely old basilisk, could easily end up like the old basilisk.

Cohen hadn't seen the old snake monster emerge from its den for a long time; it was hard to say whether it was "hibernating" or had been killed.

At 10:40, Edward drove Cohen to King's Cross Station.

“You can’t bring those people from your running club home anymore,” Cohen warned Edward before leaving. “If they leak the secret, the Loyal Heart Charm will be meaningless—”

“I know what I’m doing in these kinds of big things, don’t worry about it.” Edward ruffled Cohen’s hair—even though Cohen was now almost up to Edward’s shoulder.

"Also, you should exercise more. Last time in the VIP box on the top floor, you pulled your hip and it hurt for a week, which means you must get a lot of exercise at home..."

"Alright, alright, hurry up and go to school. Don't worry about your mom and me. If you're late, the train will leave. Have a good time at Hogwarts, and goodbye—"

Edward decided to send the little devil away immediately after Cohen started to nag—how could a fourteen-year-old act like someone in their forties?

It almost made me think that it wasn't Cohen who was sent to school, but Martha.

Cohen was pushed behind the wall of Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. The familiar bright red steam train was parked at the station entrance, surrounded by a crowd of people. Many parents who had just sent their children on board were still muttering rumors about the Daily Prophet and that "something has happened at the Ministry of Magic."

“Cohen! Over here!” Harry’s voice rang out. He and Sirius were standing not far away.

Perhaps because he finally had a "family member" who could take him to school, Cohen had never seen Harry so cheerful.

"Has the Ministry of Magic given you any trouble?" Sirius asked Cohen in a low voice after bumping into him, "Because of Fudge's attack?"

"Why are you making things difficult for my family?" Cohen asked knowingly.

“I heard from people in the ministry that Fudge is going crazy lately because of the declining public opinion and his approval ratings,” Sirius sighed. “I think he’ll be replaced by someone else soon—maybe old Crouch who’s been meddling everywhere, or maybe Scrimgeour, the head of the Auror’s office. Considering that the Ministry of Magic hasn’t made any progress in finding the murderer so far, Fudge desperately needs someone to convict.”

“Sirius and I both think it was Voldemort,” Harry said. “My scars started hurting again this summer—and I had a dream that Voldemort was plotting to kill someone…”

“But Fudge certainly wouldn’t dare to have any designs on Voldemort, who’s lurking in the shadows,” Sirius said. “So, Cohen, you’d better be careful not to give the Ministry of Magic any leverage over you, especially with things getting a bit messy in Azkaban right now—I’ve heard you’re often running off-campus…”

“I’ll probably be staying on campus for the rest of the semester,” Cohen said, but his gaze towards Sirius was somewhat strange. “Why are you so concerned about me—I remember you were quite wary of me when you first escaped from prison…”

"My mind was still a bit muddled back then," Sirius chuckled dryly. "After spending so much time in Azkaban, being able to utter a single logical sentence would be considered a sign of saneness... Edward is my friend, and you're Harry's friend, so how could I not help my friend—"

"..."

Cohen looked into Sirius's eyes for a while.

Just when Sirius thought Cohen was about to express some kind of emotional sentiment—

“I’m not calling you Dogman anymore.” Cohen made a major decision.

"Pfft—" Harry covered his face and laughed.

"Go to school, you two." Sirius Black shoved them into the train with a dark expression. "Speaking of which, Cohen, have you heard about the big commotion at Hogwarts this year?" Harry asked as they searched for an empty carriage.

"What do you mean by 'big commotion'?" Cohen chose to let Harry continue to be happy for a while and asked, pretending not to know.

"Wait—let's go inside and talk—"

Harry struggled to push the suitcase into an empty private room, and Hedwig grumbled a few times in dissatisfaction.

“I heard from Sirius that there will be a big competition at Hogwarts this year—the Triwizard Tournament, where Hogwarts students compete against students from the other two magic schools,” Harry said eagerly. “The winner will receive a large sum of money and will also win a trophy as the champion of their school.”

Harry was full of expectations for the match, but his eyes soon dimmed because of something else.

"Unfortunately, only contestants who are seventeen years of age or older can participate..." Harry said dejectedly.

"Squeak-"

The door to the private room was pushed open, and Ron and Hermione, who had just arrived, were outside.

“I can’t believe it! Even Mr. Bagman is willing to tell us this, but my own mother knows it but won’t say anything!” Ron sat down angrily.

“Don’t mention Bagman’s name in front of Fred and George,” Hermione kindly reminded them. “It seems they’re planning to put up posters for him in Hogsmeade—”

"What happened?" Harry asked the two of them curiously.

“Because Bagman ran away, right? With Fred and George’s money,” Cohen said. “Edward and I were going to warn them, but we were a little too late—they didn’t get the money back from Bagman…”

"But didn't a lot of money fall from the sky that night?" Harry asked, puzzled.

“Those were the goblin’s gold coins,” Ron said listlessly. “They disappeared the next day, and by the time Fred and George found out, it was too late… I was hoping to use them to return your panoramic telescope—”

"Didn't you notice, Harry?" Hermione was incredulous at Harry's surprised expression.

“I put all that gold in my purse.” Harry shook his head. “I can’t tell the difference…”

“That’s great,” Ron said sadly. “I don’t have a huge pile of real gold mixed in with them…”

"What was the first thing Ron mentioned?" Harry quickly changed the subject. "What was it that Mrs. Weasley didn't say?"

“She told us things like, ‘I’m so glad Hogwarts has changed its bylaws, you’re going to have a great year,’ but whenever we asked her what the bylaws actually were, she just said what Dumbledore would say at the school—” Ron said. “I asked Hermione too, and she said she didn’t know either.”

“I didn’t see anything in the newspapers.” Hermione shook her head. “They were all about ‘the Ministry of Magic is doomed,’ and speculation about the next Minister for Magic.”

“Isn’t Fudge still alive?” Cohen was somewhat surprised by the Daily Prophet’s audacious move.

Spreading public opinion can be excused by saying "this is a characteristic of news," but isn't it a bit too outrageous to hold a public vote for the next minister while the current minister is still in office?

“I also feel something’s not right,” Hermione said, frowning. “And the Ministry of Magic doesn’t seem to have any oversight at all—”

“My dad said a lot of people in the department have grievances against Fudge.” Ron wasn’t surprised. “I guess it was only a matter of time before they changed ministers—my mom is actually hoping that the new minister will get my dad a promotion…”

"Who is the most popular minister in the newspaper's public poll?" Cohen asked Hermione.

“Barty Crouch,” Hermione said. “The reason given was that Crouch’s past methods of dealing with dark wizards gave people a sense of security…”

That makes perfect sense.

If a public opinion is brewing right under the government's nose and the government shows no intention of intervening, then that public opinion is most likely something that insiders want the public to see.

Crouch was likely also involved – this was probably his only chance to become a minister for the rest of his life.

“But because of Sirius’s wrongful conviction, Crouch’s past mistakes have been brought up again,” Hermione said. “It seems like it will be difficult for him to become a minister…”

“I can’t even imagine how smug Percy would be if old Crouch became minister…” Ron said with a twisted expression. “You wouldn’t believe it, all summer long Percy was talking about Mr. Crouch this and Mr. Crouch that, as if he wanted us to know he was working under Mr. Crouch now. And if there was even the slightest noise in the house, he would yell that we were interfering with his writing of the crucible leakage report for Mr. Crouch…”

"Innate Ox and Horse Sacred Body".

Cohen smacked his lips a few times.

"But whoever becomes the minister should be better than Fudge. He was scared like a Muggle in the private room."

“The Dark Mark was hanging in the sky, which must have been terrifying for the older generation of wizards,” Hermione said. “But the Minister’s response was rather cowardly; Mr. Crouch reacted much faster.”

Crouch...

Cohen recalled that when he met Crouch before the match, Crouch's gaze and emotions were extremely chaotic and complex.

But after Fudge was attacked, Crouch had no doubts about him and even spoke up for him.

Strange... Are all politicians this cunning?
Unfortunately, mechanics can never compete with numbers, so Cohen just needs to keep increasing his own numbers.

“By the way, Mrs. Weasley was probably referring to the Triwizard Tournament,” Cohen said. “Harry just told me—it’s a pretty big tournament that will be held at Hogwarts.”

"A three-way battle for supremacy?" Ron asked curiously.

“Yes, there are three schools in total…” Harry patiently explained the Triwizard Tournament to Ron and Hermione again.

Hermione wasn't very interested in the competition, but she was very interested in other schools.

"The other two schools?" she asked with great interest. "Can we exchange and study with students from other schools? I've always been curious..."

Cohen, however, didn't seem particularly interested in the game, Demström, or Beauspatton.

It doesn't feel as good as... spying on Voldemort's private life using Voldemort's current flesh puppet.

Eating, sleeping, applying glue, and feeding the dead apprentices while they work.

Voldemort's life was very fulfilling and peaceful—if you ignored the fact that he was currently questioning Lucius about where his diary had been...

(End of this chapter)