Who let this Dementor into Hogwarts!

Chapter 531 The Past of Cohen Burke

It was a lush, green village with clusters of pointed-roof stone houses scattered along a stream-like village path. The roofs were covered with moss-covered tiles, and looking towards the center of the village, you could see a pointed-roof church and a central square with a monument.

Just then, a family opened their door to let their child out, and Cohen immediately recognized the child who had dashed out like the wind—

“That’s…” Harry looked at Cohen in surprise, because the child looked exactly like Cohen—

Harry remembered that, like Cohen, he had hardly ever left Privet Drive when he was a child. Cohen here seemed to have grown up in this village, and was even wearing a wizard's robe.

“Cohen Burke,” Cohen said, “Herbert’s son.”

"But why does he look exactly like you—" Harry asked, puzzled.

“Because his body was the raw material the Burke family used to create me,” Cohen said calmly.

Dumbledore remained silent, leaving the conversation entirely to Cohen and Harry.

Harry gasped upon hearing Cohen's words.

He initially thought Cohen had undergone some kind of magical transformation...

“Dad, I want to go for a walk in the square. Bruce said he’ll be back from London today—” Cohen said loudly.

He ran out, and Herbert, who was standing at the door, smiled, wearing a black robe, and followed Cohen out the door.

“Don’t out of my sight, Cohen,” Herbert reminded him with a chuckle, as if he said it every day. Herbert spoke it fluently, and Cohen answered just as fluently.

“He was attacked today.” Cohen looked at the “himself” running towards the square.

“Cohen, life is a journey of no return,” Dumbledore said. “You are not responsible for the crimes of the wicked.”

They followed Herbert, who was also heading towards the center of the village, as if he were going to do some work.

The further you go into the center, the more modern the houses become, as if the wizarding quarters and the Muggle quarters are completely separated.

“That’s…” Suddenly, Harry was also stunned. He saw another house not far away—a familiar couple was opening the living room window to let in some fresh air.

The woman had deep green eyes and was holding a newborn baby. The man wore glasses and looked almost exactly like Harry Potter.

“Your parents,” Dumbledore said, “Herbert doesn’t know them, so he’s not protected by the Faithful Charm.”

Harry didn't say a word, but rushed to the foot of the house, wanting to go inside and get a good look at his parents.

But he couldn't open the door, nor could he touch the lock—behind the scene on the street was nothingness.

“We can only see what Herbert sees.” Dumbledore gently pulled Harry back.

Dumbledore was right. This area was fading away as Herbert went. Even though they hadn't moved, their positions were rapidly shifting in the direction Herbert had left.

The last thing Harry saw was Lily handing the baby Harry to James. James held the baby Harry in one arm and used his wand to conjure small butterflies for the baby to catch.

"Harry?" Cohen looked at Harry, who quickly lowered his head and rubbed his face haphazardly with his hands.

They caught up with Herbert, who appeared to have found work in a cramped little shop, which was likely run by a wizard, judging from the wizard's robes and the strange and unusual items displayed inside.

Herbert was in charge of minding the shop and delivering goods. Through the open wooden door, he could see the square and little Cohen, who was sitting on the steps below the monument chatting with another child. "If the attackers did it from here, could Mr. Burke have seen it directly..." Harry said doubtfully, because Herbert's gaze had hardly left his son in the distance.

"Spells can be cast without getting close."

Cohen shook his head. He had seen this part. Herbert hadn't even seen which spell hit little Cohen. He was fine when he got home, but he suddenly fainted at lunchtime, then fell into a deep sleep and never woke up. He grew weaker and weaker until he stopped breathing.

“I’m more inclined to believe that the boy who came into contact with Cohen Burke was actually a member of the Burke family in disguise,” Dumbledore said, pointing to the other side of the square where a boy named Bruce was taking a bag of puzzle toys out of his pocket and pouring them into the hands of young Cohen. “In fact, the boy named Bruce moved away a year before this memory occurred.”

Little Cohen recoiled as if stung, and the toys clattered to the floor.

Then, while apologizing to Bruce, Cohen picked up the scattered plastic sheets from the ground.

“He was just standing there watching,” Harry said, pointing at Bruce, sounding somewhat annoyed.

“Because he dares not pick it up, it’s cursed,” Cohen said coldly.

Then, the scene around them began to change like a vortex, and the colors around them quickly darkened and deepened. They arrived at St. Mungo's, where Cohen was lying pale on the hospital bed with his eyes closed, and Herbert was sitting beside the bed holding his hand.

The scene changed again, this time to a gloomy manor. Cohen hadn't really looked closely at the original, intact state of Burke Manor.

The walls gleamed with a bone-like sheen, and upon closer inspection, one would discover that the tallest, clock tower-like structure in the manor was actually built from the bones of giants.

Dark green vines reached over the corner of the wall, and sharp iron bars not only surrounded the outermost layer, but even the windows of the main building of the manor were covered by bars, as if to guard against the intrusion of outsiders.

Herbert looked much older now, with large patches of white in his hair, almost the same as when Cohen first saw him.

He was carrying a bulging cloth bag, and something inside was twitching.

Herbert walked through the manor's front hall, and Harry clicked his tongue as he passed a display wall that looked like the noses of house-elves that had been cut off.

Upon entering a small room on the side of the foyer, Herbert stopped in front of a floor tile engraved with the words, “show your mercy.”

Cohen remembered this; he had been blown up by an Avada Kedavra—while Herbert had gotten in by tapping a brick with his wand and whispering a few words.

It seems there's not much difference; both require drawing the wand and chanting a spell, so Cohen's method is also the correct method.
Cohen was very familiar with the area below; he had looted every single room in this underground corridor.

However, the basement complex in this memory was not as dilapidated as it would become later. The gold-plated doorplates indicated the order in which the laboratory animals were stored, and some doors were still open, with researchers constantly coming and going, carrying glass bottles containing blood and jars containing organs and limbs.

"Hiss! (I'm going to kill you all!)"

A familiar roar rang out.
"Hiss hiss hiss! (Give my child back!)"

Cohen looked over—he had never paid attention to Sissoko in Herbert's memory before.

Everything Sissoko had told him before was a complete lie. It wasn't being feasted with meat and fish here, nor had it voluntarily contributed anything.

Inside the silver iron cage, its scales were pierced by several chains hanging from the top of the cage, making it look like a snake-like puppet that was suspended in the air and constantly twisting. Where the eyes should have been, there was no eye socket, and black blood had congealed in the eye sockets, making it look particularly creepy.

A person in a silver robe was injecting it with some kind of magic potion, and the pain made it writhe even more violently.

(End of this chapter)