Who let this Dementor into Hogwarts!

Chapter 130 Edward, there is a snake trying to take your place

"Don't tell me that dragon is actually......"

Edward said in horror.

"Not really," Cohen consoled him.

"That's good..." Edward breathed a sigh of relief, "It even licked me—"

“That unicorn is,” Cohen said.

"Ah?!" Edward's voice was a little out of control.

"It came to me on its own." Cohen spread his hands and said, "And it claimed to be my mother, calling me child. It was hard to refuse it. It also took me to the unicorn community at Hogwarts to see other unicorns. They were all very nice to me -"

"But it's a horse! Wait, it called you child? I've never heard it speak - no, that's not the problem..." Edward said in shock, "Are all unicorns blind? You are a human, even if... even if..."

"As for the bloodline issue, unicorns believe in bloodline more than anything else, and it's a lonely unicorn separated from its pack. I can't bear to see it like that." Cohen sighed, "Of course, if you don't want me to, I can also -"

"I'm not that opposed..." Edward quickly stopped him, "After all... in terms of blood... it's understandable..."

It took Edward several minutes to adjust his form, because the ethical issues here were a bit tricky—

I am Cohen's father, and Rose is Cohen's mother. If the unicorn also joins this family as "Cohen's mother", then wouldn't I become... the unicorn's husband?
Ha, a unicorn husband…that’s ridiculous—the world is crazy.

"Accepted?" Cohen asked, tilting his head.

"That's about right. It feels okay, actually. I don't have to sleep with a unicorn." Edward said with steady breathing. "It's just a theoretical title. It can follow you in whatever capacity it wants... Maybe it can even protect you in the future..."

"I knew you were the most receptive," Cohen said gratified. "Now I can tell you an even bigger surprise."

"?!"

Edward's scalp tingled.

Cohen had started the conversation by saying something about the "dad" part, and that the unicorn was female.

That is to say...

"There's also a snake," Cohen said. "It's over 300 years old. This semester it snuck into my bed and called me 'son.'"

"A male one." Cohen added when he saw Edward didn't respond.

……

Cohen almost thought that Edward was petrified by him, and he even checked to see if his "Death Stare" skill switch was turned off.

"Are you still alive?" Cohen waved his hand in front of Edward.

"Snake?" Edward asked after a long reaction time.

"Snake." Cohen nodded. "It came to me simply because it wanted to find a place where it could live without hunting and eat and wait for death."

"Why do I feel like you are mocking me?" Edward asked suspiciously.

"You two are quite similar," Cohen said bluntly, "so you might be able to accept it more easily—"

"Impossible!" Edward refused firmly. "I won't share my wife with a snake."

"Isn't sharing your son your first thought?" Cohen asked, his face full of black lines. "And why do you think a snake would share your wife?"

"This incident is also recorded in the DND expansion book." Edward said seriously.

"It can't turn into a human, and its mind is full of female snakes." Cohen held his forehead and said, "I may have to adopt two of them. One of its friends also wants to live with me."

"Just kidding. You can have whatever you want, no matter how they relate to you—as long as they don't hurt you." Edward said in a dramatic tone, "You don't really think I'd get jealous over a few animals, do you? Or that I'd have a sense of identity crisis over a snake?"

"It doesn't look like acting."

Cohen commented.

When Edward suggested meeting the snake, Cohen refused.

"Not now," Cohen said. "I'm going to have to put some protective measures on it this year to prevent it from hurting you - you know, any animal with teeth is a risk of attacking people."

"But it has the self-awareness to cry out 'Damn!' It shouldn't be like a wild beast, right?" Edward asked. "And are you saying... it's over three hundred years old?"

Can a normal snake live for more than 300 years?
"Magic, isn't it amazing?" Cohen said jokingly.

If it really is a basilisk...

Dad Will Cry

"Cohen - have you put your luggage away? Come down for some snacks!" Rose's voice came from downstairs.

"Coming!" Cohen agreed.

"Wait, these are the only two, right?" Edward asked before leaving.

"It's hard to say. I'm not sure," Cohen said sincerely. "I don't know exactly how many magical animals the Burkes have captured for experiments..."

"Merlin's blood..." Edward muttered.

After going downstairs with Edward, Rose and Martha had already prepared several piles of desserts on the coffee table. An old movie was playing on the TV in the living room, and Cohen saw Supergirl - but this kind of superhero movie was obviously a bit funny in the eyes of wizards.

"I remember that I loved watching TV when I was young," Martha recalled. "On the contrary, the entertainment for wizards was a bit monotonous. On Christmas Day in 1965, Charleson and I watched a Christmas special of Doctor Who. He kept complaining about the Muggle police in those movies, saying, 'They are just a bunch of idiots.'"

Martha imitated the voice of the grandfather Cohen had never met, making Rose laugh.

The argument between Edward and Martha passed peacefully, as family life was supposed to be. Cohen sat between Martha and Edward and grabbed a small sweet bun from the coffee table. Rose had frosted it for Cohen as she prepared it, which made the already chewy crust even more delicious—if only sweet buns had crust.

Everything was quiet on Christmas Eve, so quiet that Cohen felt the world had changed - no basilisk, no Voldemort, no intrigue, only family and company.

The Earl didn't go after Mundungus for the past two days because he was helping Cohen deliver and receive gifts everywhere.

Coin not only sent a set of wool socks to Herbert, but also sent a set to Dumbledore - as compensation for secretly spreading mustard in his candy pile last time.

Cohen also received a lot of gifts. Harry gave Cohen a copy of "A Thousand Ways to Train Your Dragon". It seemed that he was still frightened by the fact that Norbert almost swallowed them with his mouth.

Ron gave a collectible poster of the Artillery Team. The word "collectible" mainly reflected its oldness. Ron really had collected it for a long time.

Hermione gave some dental protectors.

"Hopefully I never have to use them," Cohen sighed.

"Be an owl," the Count tempted. "Be an owl without teeth, so you don't have to worry about tooth decay from eating sweets."

"Owls can't eat sugar," Cohen countered. "It would take away a lot of joy."

Rose gave a small object that looked like an hourglass - as for why an hourglass was filled with lively stars instead of sand... maybe it was a feature of the magical world.

Edward carefully made a sandbox expansion pack for Cohen, which looked like an airtight black box.

[Put it in the previous sandbox, there is a surprise]

He even left a note on it.

Looks like there's something to do in my spare time.

Herbert also sent a gift - this time his gift was a little unexpected for Cohen.

It was a yellowed photo of a family of five. Herbert and his wife Belvina stood at the back, with a tall boy and a shy little girl in front of them.

Belvina is holding a baby in her arms - this should be the earliest "Cohen".

There are obvious water stains on the back of the photo, and Herbert often took it out to look at it, but now he has given it to Cohen.

I guess he felt that just the fact that Cohen was alive was more important than any other memories...

He still couldn't get over it, but Cohen didn't want to shatter his fantasy.

Cohen has the memory of his previous life and is willing to continue to maintain those kinship relationships. This is the best outcome.

Grandma Martha's crystal ball, Hagrid's flute, Mrs. Weasley's sweater, Dumbledore's alchemy book...

Cohen counted his gifts at midnight.

Ten pieces in total.

But here are eleven of them.

"Who gave this thing to you?"

Cohen pointed to a black package and asked the Count.

It is a square box about the size of a human head.

"What is this?" The Count was also confused. "Why don't I remember giving this to someone?"

"?"

Cohen was puzzled - the gifts were all sent by the count, and he had been in the room the whole time, so there was no reason why someone could sneak this black gift in.

It could only be that the earl was secretly slipped between two gifts when he was carrying them at the same time.

"Wait a minute—" the Count suddenly stopped when he saw Cohen was about to open it.

It flew to the railing outside the window and then kindly helped Cohen close the window.

"That's very thoughtful of you," Cohen said grumpily.

It's just a gift. If someone wants to harm me... I can't pack a patronus here, right?
"Tear--"

Cohen tore off the outer layer of simple wrapping paper, and found nothing inside except a piece of paper.

[January 1993, 1, Cairngorms Mountains, the cave under Sirius hides what you desperately want to know]

"What do I want to know?"

Cohen was confused.

"You ask me?" The count turned his head 90 degrees counterclockwise.

"I can't make it?"

Cohen himself didn't know what he "desperately" wanted to know.

"What are you doing?" the Count asked suddenly - because Cohen crumpled the note into a ball and threw it into the trash can.

"If someone really wanted me to go, they would keep slipping me little notes like this." Cohen narrowed his eyes and glanced at the seemingly "empty" cardboard box. "Otherwise, I feel like it's a prank. I have classes on January 1st."

There was a delicate little gadget in the cardboard box, and Cohen could see the magic fluctuating from it - magic with emotions, and someone was eavesdropping.

(End of this chapter)