Chapter 53: Trying to Cozy Up to a Dementor is Futile

Until dinner time, Cohen still hadn't caught sight of Harry. He seemed not to have left the common room the entire day.

"Where's Harry?"

At the dining table, Ron was stuffing two chicken drumsticks into his mouth in a thoroughly unreasonable manner, asking indistinctly:

"I ddn't si hem tedai……"

"Probably in the dormitory. I've been practicing spells in an empty classroom all day and didn't spot Harry either."

Cohen leisurely ate his Christmas feast—though he didn't touch the turkey on the table at all. That thing was simply too awful; even with plenty of gravy, it couldn't mask its hay-like texture.

It felt somewhat inferior to... beef stew with potatoes.

Several seats were empty at the staff table as well, with only Snape and Dumbledore conversing about something. The rest of the professors had presumably gone down to Hogsmeade for a few drinks.

Cohen glanced at Quirrell's seat; it was vacant. Quirrell was most likely wearing a hooded cloak at the Hog's Head Inn, playing cards with Hagrid.

There were very few students as well, with only a scattering of figures at the tables of each house. After all, the majority of students chose to go home for the holidays—yet Cohen noticed a platinum-blond boy at the Slytherin table.

Why didn't Malfoy go home?

Cohen was somewhat puzzled—because prior to Christmas, this fellow had deliberately declared during Potions class that "some people have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because their families don't want them."

Originally, this remark was meant for Harry by Malfoy, but since Rose and Edward were indeed staying, Cohen had also been caught in the crossfire...

Consequently, Malfoy received a small punishment from Cohen. After being dragged into the restroom by Cohen, he hadn't had a single happy moment that entire day—Malfoy's hands had even been shaking while he ate.

Moreover, Cohen had seen Malfoy leave the school with the main group; why had he returned so quickly?

"I'll take some back for Harry; he must be starved."

Having eaten his fill at the speed of light, Ron intended to pack some food for Harry, since Harry hadn't been seen at lunch either.

"Cohen, are you heading back to the dorm? Fred dragged back a red Christmas sprite—though I suspect it might just be a disguised gnome."

"I haven't eaten my fill yet," Cohen took a sip of pumpkin soup. "You go on ahead."

He said this because Malfoy was also looking over toward Cohen's direction, and Cohen could perceive the anxiety radiating from him.

This indicated that Malfoy was waiting for an opportunity to speak with Cohen in private; this kid still couldn't let go of his inexplicable pride.

It wasn't until nearly everyone had cleared out of the Great Hall, and even Dumbledore and Snape had departed, that Malfoy walked over toward Cohen with a hesitant, reluctant expression.

"You... about that..."

Malfoy said to Cohen with shifting eyes:

"My father told me to come over and say sorry to you."

"Oh."

Cohen instantly understood why Malfoy had suddenly rushed over.

"I said sorry," Malfoy repeated, seemingly finding this to be a most extraordinary concession.

"I heard it," Cohen echoed.

It seemed Lucius wanted his son to establish good relations with Cohen—after all, Lucius possessed a vast network of connections in the magical world and was surely aware of the existence of Cohen, "the Dark Arts experimental subject that the Ministry of Magic desperately tried to kill ten years ago."

Thus, for the first half-year, Draco hadn't dared to spout nonsense at Harry or play small tricks whenever Cohen was present; that instance of mockery during Potions class was simply an impulse he couldn't restrain.

Yet children often fail to comprehend the nuances of social etiquette, especially when forced to swallow their pride to ingratiate themselves with others.

Cohen's reaction was clearly not what Lucius had envisioned when instructing Draco.

Malfoy took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry."

"That's the third time you've said it," Cohen said impatiently. "Speak plainly, is your father planning to give me something?"

"How did you know—what did you put on me!"

Malfoy asked in terror, recalling what Cohen had done to him the day before the break. It seemed he had used some spell or curse, causing his mind to be filled entirely with terrifying, hopeless thoughts for the rest of that day...

"I know everything," Cohen kept his voice down, avoiding grandstanding in the Great Hall. "Last time, you launched a verbal attack on both Harry and me simultaneously, which is why I gave you a slight punishment—consider this apology as settling that matter. If you don't get to the point, I'm heading back to the dormitory."

"Wait, there's one more thing I need to say—" Seeing Cohen rise to leave, Malfoy quickly blurted out:

"My father wants to invite you to visit Malfoy Manor—anytime you like."

"What would I go to your house for?" Cohen was distinctly unenthusiastic. "Besides, I won't have much free time during the school term—"

Suddenly, an idea struck Cohen.

A plan concerning his trip to Azkaban.

Although Rose and Edward would absolutely never agree to let Cohen go there, nor would they easily let him leave for such flimsy reasons...

Lucius was a different story altogether!

The more extreme and malevolent Cohen acted, the more Lucius would surely be convinced that Cohen was a candidate for the next Dark Lord—if he could use the pretext of visiting the Malfoy family...

"What about the summer holidays?" Malfoy asked anxiously, having received strict orders from Lucius. "Do you have any plans for the summer?"

"I don't have any plans for the summer yet, but you'll have to find a way to make my parents willing to let me visit you—a word of warning, they are highly unlikely to want to associate with your family," Cohen said flatly. "If you can't come up with a good method, you can pass this situation along to your father."

In the end, Malfoy left behind a small gift box, claiming it was an apology gift sent to Cohen by his father, Lucius.

This conversation ended swiftly—Malfoy had originally hoped to mend relations with Cohen (even though no friendship had ever existed between them), but Cohen's indifferent attitude led Malfoy to conclude that the method of "apologizing" was utterly useless.

Their relationship seemed to consist entirely of transactional exchanges.

Malfoy hurried away as if fleeing for his life, while Cohen intended to toss the gift into the Room of Requirement before returning to the dormitory to sleep.

Studying was an endeavor that defied the natural order, and perishing halfway along the path was a common occurrence—

Practicing magic today had already pushed Cohen's plans for the Christmas holiday to their absolute limit. For the remaining days, Cohen firmly resolved not to open a book, planning instead to either visit Hagrid or run wild with the Weasley twins.

Inside the Room of Requirement, Cohen opened the gift box. Resting within was a lake-blue gemstone, carved with intricate and dense patterns, resembling some sort of magical artifact.

"Rubbing up against a Dementor is rather foolish."

After listening to Cohen's rough explanation, the Earl voiced his mockery regarding the behavior of the Malfoy family.

"Dementors are cold, especially little bastards like you—"

"Their family has always survived by hedging their bets and riding the fence."

Cohen remarked noncommittally:

"From the perspective of family operations, this behavior is quite rational. If I were in their shoes, I would also choose to get on good terms with an indestructible evil entity like 'Cohen.' It's a pity Malfoy hasn't been properly tempered and educated."