Who let this Dementor into Hogwarts!

Chapter 382 Strength Party Cohen

Krum signed Ron's name on a piece of parchment and then said goodbye to them.

They arrived at Hogsmeade station in a Thestrals carriage and found an empty compartment on the train.

The Earl chattered away in the cage, commenting on Cohen's decision to put it in a cage and take it back.

“I’m not going to fly around and poop,” the Earl said angrily to Cohen. “And I’m not going to start cursing at everyone I bump into, so why are you locking me in a cage!”

"I believe the first point, but the second point..." Hermione said with some reservation.

“Train regulations state that owls must be kept in cages. Go and ask the conductor for permission,” Cohen said. “You yourself said you didn’t want to go into the cages and live with snakes and griffins…”

"Is there anything in your trunk that doesn't catch owls?!" the count said angrily. "Am I no longer your pet? I feel no love from you at all!"

“Love is a gallon a bag of owl food and a weekly slack job, and the goat said the griffins won’t attack you anymore, and even got the lion to tell it that doing so would get it kicked out—so much so that it now has to apply for permission even to catch a fish,” Cohen said slowly.

"So it sounds like I'm being quite unreasonable, isn't it?" the count said dryly.

“I know that!” Ron’s eyes lit up. “Fred told me that girls sometimes get inexplicably angry when their ex-boyfriends find new girlfriends—”

"You little brat, what you say is right!" the Earl shouted, jumping up and down through the cage. "I'm a male!"

“That’s too simplistic,” Hermione cautioned. “Not every girl is like that.”

After all that fuss, the Earl finally tucked his head under his wing and went to sleep. In his dreams, he kept cooing, and Cohen always felt that it was saying something bad.

"The Daily Prophet still hasn't reported on Voldemort's resurrection." Hermione pulled a newspaper from her bag that had arrived that morning but she hadn't read it yet. After glancing at it, she said, "I check it every day. The only report was about Cohen and Harry winning the championship together the day after the tournament. Lately, the news has been all about 'the last member of the Burke family facing a second trial'..."

Hermione suddenly remembered that this person seemed to be Cohen's uncle, and immediately blushed as she explained, "I'm sorry! Cohen, I didn't mean it wasn't important—I meant..."

“It’s really not that important, because I already know the verdict.” Cohen shook his head. “It’s all just a formality. I can predict the headlines in the Daily Prophet: ‘Wrongful Conviction, the Coldness of Human Relationships in the Ministry of Magic,’ ‘Barty Crouch’s Self-Examination,’ ‘The Election of the Minister of Magic…’”

“But this shouldn’t be good news for Mr. Crouch, right?” Harry asked. “If he wants to run for minister again—didn’t you say that Mr. Crouch was the one who judged Uncle Cohen’s case?”

“The election for Minister of Magic is in June, and it happens every seven years. Fudge’s term isn’t over yet; it won’t end until 1996,” Hermione explained to Harry. “Dumbledore and those Ministry officials have all told them that Voldemort is back. If Mr. Crouch chooses to believe that, then the year after next is the perfect time for him to run—he just wants to use this time to revive his reputation and remind the wizarding world of his past iron-fisted methods, preparing to seize power immediately if the wizarding world falls into panic… Sigh…”

Hermione sighed, as if she felt that these political matters were a bit too hypocritical.

“That’s terrifying.” Ron shuddered. “Thank goodness my dad only has to deal with showerheads and rubber ducks.”

“I don’t even want to think about it,” Cohen clicked his tongue. “But Dumbledore’s around, isn’t he?” Harry recalled Dumbledore’s speech at the farewell party and said uncertainly, “With him around, things won’t get so bad…”

“Probably, at least Voldemort is still quite afraid of Dumbledore,” Cohen said.

However, their conversation was interrupted. Cohen was the first to notice the person outside the private room, stopped talking, and slid the door open with his foot.

It was Malfoy and his two henchmen. Harry, Ron, and Hermione didn't give them a pleasant look. Although Malfoy had been bothering them less and less in recent years, his gleeful expression when he heard about Voldemort's resurrection at the farewell party was utterly disgusting.

“What are you doing here?” Ron said.

“None of your business, Weasley. I’m here to see Cohen.” Malfoy didn’t even glance at Ron—or rather, his gaze wasn’t actually on anyone in the carriage, making him look very awkward and strange.

He stared at Cohen's box, occasionally stealing a glance at Cohen.

"Could you come out for a moment? I have something to say..."

"Don't even think about it! Who knows what you're up to?" Ron said menacingly, having already drawn his wand.

“Alright,” Cohen agreed, getting up and going out with Malfoy amidst Ron’s incredulous gaze.

Just as Ron was about to stop Korn, Harry seemed to suddenly remember something and quickly pulled Ron back.

The carriage door was closed after Cohen left, and Cohen followed Malfoy to another compartment.

"The Dark Lord said he thinks highly of me." Malfoy, suppressing his excitement, immediately closed the door after Cohen entered and whispered, "He also said he'll be giving me special attention—"

"How many curses have you learned? How's your Unforgivable Curse? Can you cast ten Avada Kedavra curses in a row without breaking a sweat? Can you instantly unleash your killing intent on anyone? Can your Cruciatus Curse drive someone insane? Can you make Dementors consider you a worthwhile partner without using a Patronus? How many people have you killed? What's your DPS? How proficient are you at dodging spells? Can you solo an adult Auror?" Cohen asked. "If you can't... tsk tsk tsk, these are all essential abilities for a good dark wizard."

"W-what?" Malfoy stammered, "I haven't even started learning yet..."

“Then we still need to train.” Cohen shook his head, not really caring whether his words would hurt Malfoy’s ambition. “Without top-notch strength, he’s not a powerful villain—he’s just a street thug, the kind that can be easily trampled to death. I don’t know what Voldemort’s criteria are for recruiting subordinates, but I don’t recruit people who aren’t capable.”

"You didn't call me here just to tell me that Voldemort praised you, did you?" Cohen then asked dangerously.

“Of course not—” Malfoy quickly said, “The Dark Lord asked me to mention to you that he wants to take some time during the summer vacation to come to Malfoy Manor… to discuss the follow-up plans.”

(End of this chapter)