"On the contrary, when I firmly refused to help them, who do you think the other politicians in the Ministry of Magic would want for Minister? Crouch, or another who could win Cohen over, maintain social stability, and solve the Dementor breakout?"
"Sounds like he should've been trying to win you over ages ago," the Earl said. "Why didn't he?"
"He did, and much more than Fudge ever did," Cohen shook his head. "He was just too greedy. He wanted to work with me but also wanted me to make some sacrifices to earn him more political prestige."
If Crouch had suggested to Edward that Cohen secretly help him round up the Dementors, Edward might have caved. After all, an Auror's life is just as valuable, and with the threat of Voldemort looming, their energy was needed for more important things.
But unfortunately, Crouch chose the one plan Edward was most against: having Cohen sacrifice his own life to pave the way for Crouch's political career.
"As if ruining my school life would make me agree to work with him," Cohen sighed. "I thought he had started to change for the better after his son died."
"From the sound of it, maybe your dad spread the news..." the Earl guessed. "Surely Crouch isn't that daft."
"Edward would never do that," Cohen said with certainty. "It wouldn't even cross his mind."
"You really know your dad, don't you?" the Earl remarked, clicking his tongue.
---
By the time Cohen and the Earl returned to Hogwarts, it was already afternoon. Just as Cohen was trying to sneak back to the dormitory, Herbert caught him red-handed.
"I should have used an Invisibility Cloak."
"I can sense you walking past the door even if you're invisible," Herbert said sternly. "Where were you?"
"Just out for a stroll—I went to see Hagrid," Cohen used his go-to excuse.
"I've already asked Hagrid," Herbert said.
"Fine..." Cohen said. "I went to see a pen pal—a little girl with gray hair."
"You—" Herbert was about to scold him, but when he heard Cohen had gone to see a "little girl," the rest of his words got stuck in his throat. "Oh, well..."
He couldn't very well pour cold water on Cohen's efforts to find a girlfriend, could he?
"Why did you need to see me all of a sudden?" Cohen asked.
"Running around on Christmas break," Herbert pulled Cohen into his office, which Edward had redecorated and Herbert hadn't changed much. "And... did you see this morning's paper?"
Herbert pointed to a copy of the **Daily Prophet** spread out on his desk.
"I saw it. My secret's out..." Cohen said.
"Dumbledore was furious. He's already gone to the Ministry of Magic this morning," Herbert said.
"Crouch's doing?" Cohen asked.
"No, it was another person at the Ministry. They gave the interview," Herbert said. "But it's clear Crouch gave his consent, otherwise, this news would never have been published in the **Daily Prophet**."
"Seems like good news for Edward, though," Cohen said, raising an eyebrow. "His chances of becoming Minister just got a lot better."
"Becoming what Minister?" Herbert frowned.
"What do you mean, what Minister? The Minister for Magic, of course," Cohen said. "Didn't he tell you? Why else would he suddenly resign?"
"He's planning on helping the Order of the Phoenix," Herbert said. "He said he was going to sneak into the Department of Mysteries while on duty and poison all those brain-sucking creatures—he even bought the potion for it."
"???"
Cohen's eyes widened.
Hold on.
What?
What?
So all of Edward's plotting, even skipping Christmas to "get busy," was just so he could kill all those brain creatures, not to become the Minister?
"You thought he was looking for a job?" Herbert was almost laughing at Cohen's idea. "Edward's raised you for this many years, and you still don't know his personality?"
"..." Cohen felt like he couldn't laugh anymore. He had thought Edward was finally going to amount to something...
But why did it also feel like a moment of "Oh my gosh, but if it's him, that actually makes perfect sense..."?
"So my secret was spilled for nothing," Cohen said slowly.
"Dumbledore will probably work out a solution when he gets back," Herbert said. "There's no point in forcing the **Daily Prophet** to retract the story now. Everyone's already seen it, and a retraction or an explanation would just make it sound more believable... I don't know if other students will be too scared to attend. If that's the case, you might have to transfer to Durmstrang or Beauxbatons..."
"Then I'll just drop out," Cohen said. "And get to work on my grand plan to graduate—"
"Dumbledore won't allow it," Herbert said. "But that's the problem—I can't think of a way to fix this. That article was written in such a spooky way..."
"So Crouch wants to use this to convince Edward to send me to solve the Dementor problem, and then the wizarding world will forget about my 'evil' deeds because of my heroic act. Is that it?" Cohen said.
"..." Herbert didn't say a word, but it was clear that Cohen was right.
"I've already told Edward," Cohen said, "This time, I'll do whatever he says."
---
Of course, there was more than one way to handle this, but Cohen decided to stick to his promise and leave the final decision to Edward.
Despite the blustery storms outside, Cohen's Christmas at Hogwarts was strangely calm. Edward didn't send a letter back, and Dumbledore didn't call Cohen in for a chat after returning to school. Everything was as if the article had never happened.
The only somewhat important letter came from Voldemort, saying, "Plan A failed, Plan B starts at the end of January, be ready." That meant by the end of January, Cohen would be tying Harry up and taking him to the Department of Mysteries.
This quiet lasted until the second day after the Christmas holiday ended. When the students returned, the rumors exploded like a time-bomb set to go off. In the corridors, the courtyards, and on the grounds, everyone was talking.
"Is he really that monster who killed thousands of people?"
"Shh—keep it down. If he hears you, he might turn into a Dementor and swoop down on you..."
"No wonder the older students said Professor Norton was so reluctant to teach them the Patronus Charm at first..."
"How do you think Professor Norton and... you know... the Dementors...?"
"He looks just like a normal person. If he can switch between being a person and a Dementor... that's kind of cool, isn't it?"
"Don't be daft. Dementors feed on happiness and souls—he probably sneaks around and eats students every day..."
"Oh my gosh—here he comes—everyone be quiet, don't make him angry..."
"You lot carry on chatting. I'll just listen in over here. Sounds quite interesting."
Cohen stood with his hands behind his back behind a group of chattering first- and second-year students and said kindly, "Don't worry, I don't eat you. I'm a prefect."