Who let this Dementor into Hogwarts!

Chapter 403 So skilled at disposing of corpses?
“There’s no need to be so impatient…” Cohen said. “It’s not like this is the first time you’ve delivered a message to Voldemort…”

“I was patient to begin with—but you went by plane and came back using Apparition, huh?!” the Earl said. “I flew to Greece first and then flew back to England—the thought that you wizards could deliver messages much more efficiently by yourselves but instead have to use owls to fly around makes me feel like the world is doomed…”

“Don’t talk nonsense. I don’t believe you would be stupid enough to fly more than two thousand kilometers away,” Cohen said. “Besides, you’re lying. I flew back with Newt.”

“It flew, and that’s it. I’m very professional… It’s just that the Muggle’s plane was too fast—” the Earl stammered, turning his head away. “I just had to turn back halfway—aren’t you going to make it up to me?”

“It would be too deliberate to reveal the true intentions too quickly.” Cohen yawned and unfolded Voldemort’s letter.

The above is a message asking Cohen when he will keep the appointment. It is unsigned, but the handwriting is quite nice.

On the Hogwarts Express, Cohen had Malfoy relay a message to Voldemort that "Cohen will be going to Malfoy Manor in August." It's only August 1st now, and Voldemort is already impatiently asking Cohen about the situation...

Let's postpone it for a few more days.

Cohen hastily wrote a reply and then slipped it under the Earl's paw.

"Alright, go and deliver the reply."

"I just got back!" the count exclaimed, his eyes wide. "I need to rest—"

“It’s nighttime now, the owl’s mental state should be like the guys who’re having a silver party, not like the guys who’ve just finished one.” Cohen quickly changed into his pajamas and prepared to crawl into bed. “But whatever you want, delivering it tomorrow is the same, anyway I’m not going to Voldemort’s this week…”

"Don't you want to go?" the count asked, tilting his head.

“Just keeping him in suspense,” Cohen muttered from under the covers. “I have a few Galleons in the left drawer of my desk; you can take them.”

"What are you doing?" the count asked alertly.

“You wanted a reward, didn’t you? Here you go,” Cohen said. “Go to the owl shop and see if there are any female owls you like, and buy one to be your wife.”

"Why did you suddenly—"

“I’m afraid if you keep holding it in, Xing might develop bad feelings towards me after suppressing them,” Cohen said. “Besides, if I buy it for you, I might end up picking out some familiar bird again…”

The count remained wary.

“I still have a feeling you’re up to no good…” the count said, tilting his head.

“I’m that humane now,” Cohen said, gesturing with his hand to create a tent in the blankets. “I’m all good intentions. You can just settle down and find a wife and raise kids. You’re so old and don’t even have a biological child…”
-
The next morning, Cohen was woken up very early by Edward's shouting.

"What—" Cohen poked his head out of his doorway. "That Dementor is back again?"

"A corpse!" Edward stumbled out of the guest room. "And he's shirtless!"

"What corpse?" Cohen frowned. If there were a living person next door, he should be able to see their soul at a glance—wait…

dead?

Was it the Dementor that brought the prisoners as snacks?
Damn it, I was so busy taking it to the buffet that I forgot about this—Cohen thought the prisoner was being carried around by the Dementors…

“Tough-chested…” Cohen pushed open the door and stepped into the hallway, intending to peek next door, but Edward stopped him. “It’s a woman, you can’t look.” Edward covered Cohen’s eyes. “I have to call the police right away…”

"Call the police and then be treated as a murderer? You can't be that stupid..." Cohen slid off Edward's control. "This should be a prisoner from Azkaban—brought by that Dementor."

"Why did they bring the prisoners out?!" Edward exclaimed in shock.

“Because the Dementors resigned,” Cohen said. “Yesterday he told me they’d all left Azkaban, and the Ministry of Magic isn’t even feeding them properly—”

"This just happened yesterday?" Edward said in disbelief. "I didn't even see it in the newspaper."

“It’s been a while, and I guess the Ministry of Magic is trying to cover it up for now.” Cohen still managed to glimpse the “corpse” on the guest room floor from under Edward’s elbow. “They can’t just say it was due to their poor oversight, or that Voldemort was manipulating things behind the scenes, can they?”

Edward's description of the corpse as "bare-chested" is not quite accurate, because the body was actually wearing clothes, but the clothes were so tattered that almost all of the dirty skin was exposed.

Cohen didn't care whether the dead man was shirtless or not; he was more concerned about the man's identity—because the woman looked very familiar from afar.

That unkempt, messy hair, that thin body, those claw-like hands…

“Bellatrix Lestrange,” Cohen said, squinting.

“What? This is her?” Edward frowned. “How do you know that Death Eater…”

“She has the Dark Mark on her hand,” Cohen pointed to her arm. “And I saw what she looked like when she was arrested in an old school newspaper.”

There must have been a picture of Bella in the old newspapers, but Cohen didn't bother to look them up—he only recognized the madwoman because of the news that she had taken Horcruxes from Azkaban.

But could this Dementor that came looking for him actually manage to bring Bella, Voldemort's trusted Death Eater, out from under Voldemort's nose...?

The Dementors helped Cohen solve a problem in a very unexpected way.

After all, if Bella were to speak with Voldemort, Voldemort would quickly realize that Cohen had taken his Horcrux—and that would instantly expose many of the suspicious points surrounding Cohen.

For example, finding the missing crown in the House of Requirement, or inquiring about Lucius's diary.

In that case, sworn enemies would truly remain just sworn enemies...

“They’re dead, so let’s deal with the body,” Cohen said. “Come on, put it in my trunk—don’t ask me why I’m so good at it, I learned it at Hogwarts.”

“Dumbledore would never teach you how to dispose of a corpse…” Edward took a deep breath.

“If we go any slower, it’ll start to stink.” Cohen pursed his lips. “You wouldn’t want Mom to come home to the smell of a corpse, would you…”

Edward seemed to have thought of something even more terrifying, and immediately began to act.

First, they quickly bound Bella's body tightly with bands woven from incantations, then used a levitation charm to make her float in mid-air, and swiftly used a cleansing charm to clean the surrounding floor. This entire process took only a few seconds.

“You’re clearly more skilled than me!” Cohen said, his eyes wide.

(End of this chapter)