Who let this Dementor into Hogwarts!

Chapter 589 A mother can always recognize her son in a crowd at a glance.
After breakfast, people gradually began to pour out of the castle.

Cohen and Dumbledore followed the crowd out, but as they passed through the foyer, Cohen encountered a woman hurrying along, seemingly distracted—

"I'm sorry—" Cohen didn't really want to argue, but when he saw the woman's face, he immediately looked away.

I ran into my mom.

"Who are you?" Rose looked up and saw Cohen's head quickly turning away, and asked with some confusion.

“Malcolm, Malcolm Hammond—that’s my grandfather,” Cohen explained immediately. “Sorry, I didn’t see you coming this way—”

“I should be the one apologizing. I’ve been having trouble concentrating these past few days,” Rose said, shaking her head. “Have we met before?”

"I don't think so—" Cohen felt that if he continued, Rose would recognize him from his tone of voice, so he immediately pulled Dumbledore outside.

But when Cohen secretly turned his head to check if Rose was still watching him, he was shocked to find that Rose seemed to have been watching him the whole time.

Damn it, I should have just used my soul to steal a glance.

To prevent Rose from catching him, Cohen pulled Dumbledore to sit at the very edge of the lakeside funeral area.

Several hundred chairs were arranged in a square, with an aisle in the middle leading to a marble table.

People from almost every sector of the British wizarding world were there, as were many from other countries. Mrs. Maxime occupied two chairs by herself, the Greek Minister of Magic sat in the front row not far from Edward, and there were even a few Asian faces...

The ghosts of the school were all present. They were almost invisible in the sunlight, and their shimmering, illusory light could only be seen when they moved.

It's hard to imagine what these people's mindset would be when they watch Dumbledore's real funeral again.

Unlike in the auditorium, Edward was sitting with Rose this time, their arms linked, and Rose was whispering something to Edward.

Cohen had to admit that he really wanted to eavesdrop on what Rose was saying to Edward.

So Cohen, who was very proactive, did just that—when he peeked out a part of his soul to his parents’ side, he heard them talking.

"So, have you decided what you want to tell me now?" Rose asked.

"Let's wait until we get home," Edward stammered. "I haven't decided yet—"

“I just saw Cohen.”

"?!" Edward's eyes widened, and he stiffly turned to look at Rose. "Where?"

“I can’t tell you unless you tell me why the arrest warrant for Cohen was issued,” Rose said calmly.

“I…” Edward pursed his lips. “Rose, listen, you believe me, right—I promise—”

Edward tapped their sides with his wand from under his robes.

Suddenly, some loud noise drowned out their voices.

So Cohen's soul slipped closer to them, and only then did he manage to bypass Edward's spell and hear their conversation.

"I assure you Cohen is safe, and I certainly won't harm him," Edward assured Rose. "How could you possibly think I would have any ill intentions towards Cohen? I'd rather be the murderer myself..."

“I don’t doubt you.” Rose leaned gently on Edward’s shoulder. “I just want you to stop hiding things from me. You and Cohen have kept so many things from me. I know you don’t want me to worry, but the more you do that, the more worried I get… I can help you—”

“No.” Edward put his arm around Rose’s waist. “We can’t help him this time. He didn’t tell me, but I know he doesn’t want us to cause him trouble. He has his own plans…”

"I'm afraid he'll..."

“Cohen can even use the Death Curse as a Stunning Curse,” Edward laughed.

“That’s exactly what I’m worried about,” Rose said.

"Afraid he'll go astray?" Edward asked softly, sounding completely unconvinced.

“No.” Rose’s eyes reddened slightly. “What worries me is, if he has to leave us for a future crisis, how dangerous must that crisis be for him…”
-
At the beginning of the funeral, the mermaids in the Black Lake surfaced and sang a mournful and desperate song in their language, which sent chills down one's spine, but was not unpleasant to hear.

Hagrid, holding Dumbledore's body, carefully placed it on the table and put down the fake elderberry wand that Cohen had secretly placed next to the body.

The music slowly stopped, and a short, black-robed wizard with thick hair came before the body and began to read a eulogy.

The funeral proceedings went on step by step, and as they neared their end, Cohen turned to Dumbledore, who was standing nearby, and asked:
"Are you planning to stay here from now on?" Dumbledore nodded.

“It is foreseeable that Voldemort will want to take over the school,” Dumbledore said. “But I will make him helpless against the school, and as you have asked, I will protect the students—by every means at my disposal.”

“The Ministry of Magic must be in a bad situation too,” Cohen said, glancing at Edward from a distance. “Dumbledore is dead, and Cohen has led the Dementors in their rebellion. A large portion of the wizarding world must think it’s doomed—I suddenly regret making Edward the minister…”

“But I must say, Edward was better suited for this than anyone else,” Dumbledore said. “He saved many people who would have died.”

“Then you stay here, I have to go,” Cohen said as he saw Edward taking Rose’s arm and preparing to leave.

He and Dumbledore walked in different directions through the crowd, but Cohen did not head towards the Forbidden Forest or the place where they left. Instead, he walked towards Edward and Rose, who were being harassed by several reporters.

“Um…” Cohen approached Rose, “emmmmm…”

Cohen couldn't think of what to call Rose, because it was obvious that Rose had recognized him—tears welled up in Rose's eyes.

“Go ahead.” Edward suddenly understood something, let go of Rose’s hand, and then pulled the reporters away so that those who had sensed the story wouldn’t follow Rose and Cohen.

Cohen and Rose went around to the other side of the lake and hid behind the shade of a few trees.

“Um…” Cohen said haltingly.

“I need to talk to my son,” Rose said, her eyes red.

Cohen returned to his original form.

Almost without delay, Rose hugged Cohen tightly the moment he turned back, and Cohen heard Rose sobbing on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry—I have to do this—because of Voldemort—” Cohen was tempted to tell Rose everything.

But Rose let go of Cohen and shook her head.

“No, Cohen, you don’t need to tell me.” Rose’s eyes were red as she smoothed Cohen’s hair and collar. “I just…I…”

“Mom, I’ll be back, no more than a year—” Cohen promised, “after I’ve finished what I need to do.”

“It’s going to be dangerous along the way, isn’t it?” Rose looked at Cohen’s eyes with concern; her pale blue pupils were a darker color than usual.

“It is a bit dangerous…” Cohen didn’t want to lie this time, “and… actually I’m not sure if I can do it…”

“I believe in you,” Rose said, touching Cohen’s face. “Cohen, I believe in you—take care of yourself, don’t overwork yourself, you can come back anytime…”

Then, Rose gently embraced Cohen and kissed him on the forehead as he leaned down.

"No matter what, come back safe and sound."

“Hmm,” Cohen said.

“Don’t worry about your father, I will protect him,” Rose said with a smile.

"That's great." Cohen smiled as well.

"Here, take this." Rose pulled a mirror out of her pocket.

"A two-way mirror?" Cohen thought of the name of the thing; Sirius Black had given one to Harry.

“That was a popular thing among students back then.” Rose smoothed Cohen’s robe. “If you need help, just let us know through this, okay?”

"it is good."

“Tell us if you miss us,” Rose added.

“Or you miss me—” Cohen said.

"What if you're busy?" Rose smiled. "Just schedule a time; we're always available."

Looking at Rose, Cohen suddenly felt that defeating Helbo might not be so difficult.

(End of this chapter)