Who let this Dementor into Hogwarts!

Chapter 472 Former Minister
"And he's a senior?" Cohen was somewhat surprised.

"I didn't expect that there would still be students who remember me." Silver Key squinted his eyes.

“How do you know people from so long ago—” Ron looked at Hermione in surprise.

“Because after I talked to Hagrid about Millicent Barnard last time, I went and looked up the list of Ministers of Magic for this century again,” Hermione said, but her brows furrowed, and she paused before continuing, “Taft was the Minister with the shortest term; his mother was his predecessor, so some people say he only got the position because of the political connections his mother left behind…”

"After she was murdered by a plate of fudge." Silver Key didn't seem to care that Hermione was digging into his past.

“You don’t look like you were murdered, so why were you removed from office?” Ron asked.

"Because he wanted to implement the Dementor breeding program," Hermione said.

"?" Cohen stared wide-eyed at the old man. "You're really that kind of person?"

"Huh?" Harry was startled, but then he remembered Cohen's position and suddenly felt relieved. "But it would be normal if it were you..."

“I’ve changed my mind. If you beg me now, I’ll grant you life imprisonment,” Cohen said. “In consideration of your past kindness to the Dementors, I can let you live with them every day in your old age.”

"Beg you?" Silver Key laughed, his wrinkles deepening. "I'm going to die soon, I don't need to beg anyone."

"So what exactly did you come here to see Cohen for?" Harry asked.

“Don’t ask so directly,” Cohen whispered a reminder. “You’re making him feel good—I know it sounds strange, but he’s getting happier and happier since you asked. It’s probably just one of his many odd habits…”

“I can still hear,” Silver Key said.

“That’s just how old people are,” Ron said. “One of my aunts, after she got older, really liked talking to people…”

"Perhaps it's because he lacks his children's company?" Cohen guessed. "No wonder he wanted to ruin my life. I guess his own son doesn't want him anymore, so he's started to be equally jealous of everyone with a family..."

“You…” Silver Key took a deep breath. He had to suppress his trembling to keep himself from giving up the chance to say his last words, because the arch of death was right in front of him, and all he had to do was step over it to face death.

“Go on, I’m listening,” Cohen said. “Don’t hold it in. I don’t mistreat old men, except for the one who died in the hotel last time.”

"I...sigh..." Cohen had completely ruined the atmosphere, and Silver Key didn't want to say a single word of his prepared last words.

"Does your son really not want you anymore? Or is he dead?" Cohen seized the opportunity to ask. "Is that why you started to become psychologically abnormal?"

“I have no children,” Silver Key said in a low voice.

“That makes sense. If you go to Nantong, there won’t be any children there.” Cohen nodded thoughtfully.

“Indeed,” Harry said.

“Indeed,” Ron said, “and somewhat disgusting.”

“Don’t let Dumbledore hear the second half of what you’re saying,” Cohen warned Ron. “Be careful not to get targeted at school…”

"I'm going to die."

Silver Key had reached the other side of the archway, gazing at Cohen across the ethereal barrier of "death," and calmly said,
“You’re right, I’m going to destroy you, you filthy, despicable soul who stole my masterpiece.”

“And everything I wanted to do is done. Soon you will find that there is no place for you in this world. You are not worthy of my work…” “So, you are the mastermind behind that research at Burke Manor, right?” When he heard Silver Key mention “masterpiece,” Cohen realized that this person was not just a simple “cult leader.”

He was the one who got the Burke family to study the man in the bottle.

"You were meant to be my vessel."

“You understand nothing… You don’t understand how great this creation truly is, you don’t understand how much this body is capable of…” He was only one step away from the archway, a sinister smile spreading across his face, “But you no longer need to understand…”

Just before his boot tip was about to step into the archway, a binding spell from Cohen struck him through the archway.

"All petrified!"

He fell backward stiffly, his face full of incomprehension—shouldn't Cohen have wanted to kill him?
“Your methods are still not sophisticated enough.” Cohen walked around the archway and looked down at the old man. “Criminals who have died know that for a plan that is only slowly executed after death, you, as the leader of the plan, should find a corner and die secretly. Only in this way can the plan be implemented steadily.”

“But you won’t have a chance. I’ll pry open all your plans.” Cohen crouched down and whispered in Silver Key’s ear, “Looks like the Crucifixion won’t scare you, will it?”

"But you definitely don't want to face this... You're a native of Nantong, right?"

Cohen whispered like a demon.

"I'm going to disgust you with a woman who's been locked up in jail for years and is desperately thirsty."

Silver Key's eyes began to show fear.

"I'll also feed you the Earl's special egg-laying agent," Cohen thought for a moment and then added.
-
Cohen threw the silver key, which was under the control of the petrification curse, into a box, intending to deal with Voldemort after the Voldemort affair was over and to uncover what this man's final plan was.

“And this is…” Harry asked, pointing to the gray-haired woman on the cross.

"It was meant to provoke me, you just saw it, and once he realized it wasn't provoking me anymore, he stopped caring," Cohen said.

"So you know her?" Hermione asked, her voice trembling. "I mean... is she... dead?"

“No, this is a stand-in. I made it for my pen pal, her name is Carlton,” Cohen said. “This is just like the fake Peter Pettigrew from before—Carlton is alive and well.”

After realizing that the person hanging on the cross was a mannequin, the three of them were no longer so afraid—after Cohen threw the old man into the box, their previously suppressed emotions instantly exploded.

First came the brain, the archway, and the prophecy about Voldemort, then the hanging woman's corpse and the cult leader...

“You knew all along?” Harry asked.

“I can predict things, I’ve seen them before,” Cohen said. “Looks like I made the right bet this time, thanks to the serpent’s tail.”

"I heard a voice thanking me," the old water snake's muffled voice came from the box. "Could this be...?"

"I'm thanking your daughter, it has nothing to do with you," Cohen said. "Have you improved your English?"

"I just learned 'snake' and 'shanks (thanks)'—but I wasn't just lying by the box the whole time. I came to ask the little guy about the situation. Is what you just threw in edible?" the old water snake asked.

(End of this chapter)