Who let this Dementor into Hogwarts!

Chapter 550 Speak! Talk to me!
It's unclear why Edward was vague about "not talking to the old man of death," but Cohen chose to do as Edward said.

Although this Grim Reaper really does resemble the Grim Reaper, Cohen doesn't like guys who follow him around without saying a word and then suddenly disappear at crucial moments.

“Cohen—”

After Cohen left the broom, Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who were standing by the door next door, all gathered around him.

"Has Slughorn left?" Cohen peeked into the next room and then asked Harry and the others.

“Professor Flitwick took him back, and Slughorn said he was going to throw away all the gifts he’d received—but Cohen, how did you know he’d drink from the poisoned cup?” Harry asked.

“You were gone the moment we turned around!” Ron said. “We searched everywhere—Hermione almost cried—she thought you’d been captured by Death Eaters…”

“I didn’t cry!” Hermione said quickly.

“Because I saw a strange old man, invisible to everyone else, wandering around trying to steal someone’s soul,” Cohen said.

“See, I told you so,” Harry said, gesturing to Hermione and Ron. “Cohen really did see something that looked like Death—”

"Ah—Death is real?" Ron's eyes widened. "I thought those were just fairy tales, like the three brothers crossing the river, the old wizard who tricked Death, the resurrected zombies and stuff like that..."

“But, but that’s not right—isn’t it?” Hermione said. “I mean, if there really is a Death—why hasn’t anyone recorded it?”

“Because everyone who’s seen Death is dead, Hermione.” Ten seconds was enough for Ron to believe a legend. He said with gleaming eyes, “Cohen must be partly a Dementor to be able to see Death—Cohen! You can make a fortune off this!”

"Make a fortune? I'll write about that in my autobiography," Cohen said. "In the chapter 'Competing with Death'."

“No wonder Slughorn keeps talking about you,” Harry mused. “When you ran out, were you chasing Death? And you even managed to snatch Slughorn back from him…”

“Actually, he wasn’t wary of me at all,” Cohen recalled. “He just stood there looking at me with a puzzled expression, as if nothing like this had ever happened before.”

"Will he come after you?" Ron asked. "After all, you stole something from him—Beetle's tales say that Death always takes what is rightfully his… He'll definitely be angry if you do this…"

“I don’t know. He was there before I went into the broom room to chat with Edward, but he disappeared as soon as I opened the door.” Cohen looked behind him suspiciously, but Death still hadn’t appeared.

“If there is a Grim Reaper… does that mean God, angels, and devils also exist?” Hermione said. “After learning magic, I actually started to have some doubts about my parents’ religion, because there are many stories in the history of magic about the Church burning witches and being tricked by witches…”

“I remember it vividly.” Harry pursed his lips. “I also remember that summer after my second year, I forgot to do that fourteenth-century burning witch assignment.”

“In that case, an evil creature like me would probably be hunted down by angels,” Cohen clicked his tongue. “But anyway, at least this Grim Reaper is relatively friendly to me and hasn’t attacked me.”

But Edward seemed to have a strong aversion to this Grim Reaper, as if...

It was as if he actually knew what it was.

Edward also mentioned Trelawney's previous prophecy, "Then one of them will let greater darkness fall over the sky."

Grindelwald also said that Cohen's "last enemy to deal with is death."

Therefore, this Grim Reaper is very likely the final boss. But why would Voldemort's death cause the Grim Reaper to become hostile?

Cohen couldn't figure out the connection. Voldemort was bound to die whether he came or not—but according to the theory that "Death is the final boss," Edward's request to Cohen made a lot of sense.

When you don't know what death intends to do to you, it's wise to observe cautiously.
-
At least until he returned to Hogwarts, Cohen felt he could observe cautiously.

After all, Death can only take away the soul of a dead person at most—he can't kill people out of thin air, otherwise there wouldn't be that black magic cup next to Slughorn.

But Cohen never expected that this Grim Reaper would be standing next to him with such a serious and aged face, constantly nagging.

“I know you can hear me, child,” the old man said, following behind Cohen. His voice was very deep, as if it were heard through a deep lake. “I have something to discuss with you…”

"Did you buy lemon-flavored icing quill pens?" Cohen asked Ron on his left, pretending not to hear him at all.

“Actually, no. Hermione bought two strawberry ones,” Ron said. “I also spent all the allowance I saved up over the summer, so now I can eat Peppermint Peppers for a week…”

"Are you ignoring me?" Death persisted. "You clearly heard me—I'm not here to take you away... I just need to talk to you..."

“That’s too stingy. How about I pay for you next time?” Cohen said. “Don’t let word get out that we Gryffindor students can’t even afford candy.”

"Really?" Ron said dreamily.

"Answer," Death said grimly. "If you intend to refuse, at least say it..."

He was extremely dissatisfied with Cohen's "ignorance" of hearing him but not responding.

But it seems like there's nothing that can be done about Cohen...

“Really.” Cohen raised an eyebrow. “Do you think I’m the kind of person who would care about spending a few gallons on candy for a friend?”

"Did I do something to make you unwilling to speak to me?" Death asked from behind Cohen, puzzled. "I didn't even try to take the soul of that dead man from you..."

Cohen is now starting to think Edward is right—this old Grim Reaper definitely has ulterior motives towards him.

He didn't let Slughorn's soul go unintentionally; he deliberately spared it. It seems he even wanted to reason with Cohen about morality and make a deal.

But Cohen never adhered to ethical standards.

“Yes.” Harry nodded. “I always thought your attitude towards Galleon was one of taking but never giving…”

“I’m not that stingy—” Cohen lunged at Harry.

"You...ah..."

Death sighed and disappeared into the wind behind them.

(End of this chapter)