Who let this Dementor into Hogwarts!

Chapter 568 A villain with obsessive-compulsive disorder has no future.
"Ok."

Cohen put the sizzling honey candy back on the table.

"Unlike Cohen, after mastering how to control his magic, he chose to use it to frighten, punish, and control others, engaging in cruel acts that harmed others purely for his own pleasure. According to Mrs. Cole, he hanged a boy's pet rabbit from a rafter because the boy hadn't shared his apple with him at dinner; he lured two children into a cave during a picnic and used magic to frighten them so much that they had nightmares for days, all just to get rid of their roommate and have a single room..."

Dumbledore said,
"'I can hurt them if I want to,' Tom Riddle showed his cruel and inhuman nature as early as age eleven."

“That’s horrible,” Harry said.

“But similarly, I think you’ve also noticed that he cares a lot about what he’s stolen. Those children’s toys aren’t actually useful to him. He might never even play with that string-pulling device or blow that old harmonica in his entire life. But he’ll keep these things in his trunk and preserve them carefully because they are spoils he won with his strength. Every time he sees this trunk, he feels a sense of pleasure from the violence he’s committed,” Dumbledore said.

“This kid has been antisocial since he was a child,” Cohen said, smacking his lips. “I’m going to write this dark history into an article that smears Voldemort, along with a picture of his mother.”

“But…” Harry said hesitantly, “how will this help us defeat him?”

“Understanding Voldemort’s character makes it easier to find his weaknesses,” Dumbledore said. “Harry, do you remember the dream you told me about? You saw Voldemort killing for something.”

“Yes… I know I should learn Occlumency, but…” Harry said.

“I’m not blaming you, Harry,” Dumbledore said. “Voldemort’s killing spree was about creating Horcruxes because he discovered that most of his Horcruxes were destroyed. As long as he made one more and hid it safely, we would never be able to truly defeat him.”

“But he can still make a Horcrux into any ordinary thing and hide it in any secluded place,” Harry said, puzzled.

“He won’t,” Cohen said. “He has OCD. See that box of loot he has? He only likes magical souvenirs that he has stolen by various means. And villains with OCD have no future. We can easily find his new Horcrux by searching for the term ‘Voldemort’s loot.’”

“Cohen is right,” Dumbledore said with a smile. “But that’s all for the next class. You should all go back to sleep—but I’d like Cohen to stay a while. I have some personal things I’d like to discuss.”

"How private?" Cohen wrapped his coat tighter around himself.

“Not so private.” Dumbledore’s smile faded slightly.

"I'll wait for you downstairs," Harry said goodbye to Cohen.

After Harry left, Dumbledore got straight to the point with Cohen.

“Cohen, I’ve heard you’ve been having nightmares lately,” Dumbledore asked with concern. “Do you need any help?”

“I’m not doing it anymore,” Cohen said. “I’ve caught the nightmare.”

"Oh?" Dumbledore asked with interest, "You caught them?"

“A mischievous sprite, I guess the little basilisk brought it back from its wild time in Greece.” Cohen didn’t want to tell Dumbledore about Helbo, lest the old saint do something disruptive.

“That’s good. Your friends were very worried about you,” Dumbledore said. “I was just as worried as Edward and the others.”

"There must be something else going on, right?" Cohen asked.

“Yes,” Dumbledore said. “I heard from Severus that you agreed to help him murder me.”

“Fifty points,” Cohen said. “He gave too much.”

Dumbledore smiled.

"Any suggestions?" Dumbledore asked. "I'll try my best to cooperate."

“It depends on your plans,” Cohen said. “I’ll give you control of the puppet, and you’ll use it to lead Harry and me out of the school, giving Malfoy some space to stop the Death Eaters from getting in. When we come back, Malfoy can then kill your puppet.”

“I can’t guarantee that doing so won’t make everything too obvious.” Dumbledore frowned. “Normally, Voldemort wouldn’t think I would surrender so easily.”

"You don't need to worry about that, I'll betray you." Cohen waved his hand. "I'm a master of double agents—"

"Aren't you worried your father will misunderstand you because of this?" Dumbledore asked. "You're not going to be resurrected, are you? Once Malfoy and his family escape—"

Cohen said,
"Wait a minute, you're not really planning not to revive, are you?"

Dumbledore looked at Cohen with an obvious expression.

"Are you going to become a hands-off boss too?" Cohen asked. "I thought you were a responsible old man. Voldemort is going to start killing people indiscriminately."

“I will protect the people here from the shadows,” Dumbledore said. “But if I return, Voldemort will never be in the open, and Harry will have no way to confront him.”

"You only mentioned Harry."

“Yes, only Harry,” Dumbledore said. “Voldemort will never appear openly before you until he finds a way to fight you, unless…”

“Ha, unless I break with the entire front line,” Cohen said dryly, “but Voldemort certainly won’t want to ally with me again.”

“You don’t need to ally with him,” Dumbledore said. “If you build up your own power, an independent power separate from the Ministry of Magic and Voldemort, so that Voldemort can feel at ease to duel Harry, then you can find an opportunity to defeat him completely.”

“You just asked me if I was worried that Edward would misunderstand me,” Cohen said.

“We can think of other ways, this is just one possibility,” Dumbledore said.

But Cohen understood what Dumbledore meant and realized that this was a current and effective approach.

And coincidentally, this path also happened to coincide with Merlin's plan to "confront Herpo".

He publicly killed Dumbledore, broke with the Ministry of Magic, was placed on the Ministry's wanted list, and earned a huge amount of soul strength through his sin points...

This led Cohen to believe that the Dumbledore in front of him was actually Merlin in disguise, or that Merlin was actually Dumbledore in disguise.

"Let's try a different approach."

Dumbledore looked at Cohen, who was deep in thought, for a long while, a hint of pity flashing in his eyes.
"If we can find Voldemort's weakness, we can capture him—"

"Can someone catch you?" Cohen suddenly asked.

“It’s difficult,” Dumbledore said conservatively.

Is there a big difference in magical skill between Voldemort and you?

“Not much. Perhaps I could win by a narrow margin with this wand, but only by not being at a disadvantage,” Dumbledore said. “I cannot completely defeat him.”

“But you’ll protect those who will be hurt, right?” Cohen said.

"no doubt."

“I did it,” Cohen said.

Dumbledore paused for a moment.

"Thank you for believing in me."

“I don’t believe you or any particular plan.” Cohen stood up to leave. “I just believe a prophecy…”

Cohen Norton will completely defeat Voldemort and the despicable Helbo, and live the happiest and most fulfilling life.

(End of this chapter)