Chapter 2: Brother, You… Smell So Good

Page (1/3)

Of course, Cohen wasn’t foolish enough to directly confess to his adoptive father that he wasn’t human, especially when neither his father nor mother had any suspicion about him. How rare is it for the protagonist to have a set of living parents? Adoptive parents count as well!

Edward also succeeded in making Cohen “understand” the true nature of the magical world through his spontaneous, off-the-cuff explanations. And then there was Dumbledore’s stern warning to the couple: never reveal their wizard identities in front of Harry Potter.

“You know, all these years you’ve never had a magic surge, which made your mom and me think you were just a Muggle—an ordinary kid,” Edward sighed. “I didn’t even dare to pull out my wand at home, afraid that if you saw magic, you would…”

“So, that’s why you’ve always relied on Mom’s job to support yourself?” Cohen asked seriously, posing his first question.

Edward, who was waiting to answer his son’s questions about the magical world while trying to rebuild the image of a strong father, was immediately caught off guard.

“Well… you know, the magical world has very strict rules. It’s best not to use too much magic around Muggles—especially not in front of them. I mean—wait, aren’t you even a little curious about magic? Like letting me show you how to conjure a bouquet of flowers or make pears tap dance?”

Edward hurriedly pulled out his wand from his pocket, and suddenly the living room descended into chaos with flying fruit and golden birds fluttering around. His precise wand movements and silent spellcasting proved he was no third-rate wizard.

Cohen was confused.jpg

The average soul level for non-wizards must really be around the low teens, huh?

To Edward’s eyes, his magic seemed to leave Cohen stunned.

“So, what do you think? Want to learn some of these spells?” Edward ruffled Cohen’s hair, trying to mess up his neatly combed locks.

“You’ll learn these at school later, right?” Cohen couldn’t pretend to be very interested. Compared to these flashy decorative spells, he hoped to learn something more practical. “You know, I prefer reading. Maybe you could just give me the textbooks, and I’ll learn on my own.”

Though the plan tailored for parents who were Muggles was completely ruled out, that didn’t mean Edward and Rose could live through these next seven years safely.

The happy childhood plan was over early; the new plan was the “First Three-Year Campaign to Completely Eliminate Voldemort and His Followers.”

For that, Cohen had to quickly accumulate more goodwill and evil points during the relatively peaceful first three years to improve his magical ability and soul integrity. After all, if Cohen didn’t intervene, Voldemort would resurrect in the fourth year.

Of course, Cohen would never let the story unfold like that. When the time came, Harry and his friends as protagonists would be fine, but Cohen and his parents, as three completely out-of-place bystanders, would be in trouble.

He hoped Voldemort, whose soul was shattered like paper in a shredder, could be swallowed up by Cohen’s one-hundred-percent intact soul in one gulp.

And then there were the Horcruxes to collect. After all, Voldemort’s soul fragments were extremely unstable, and Cohen could eat them as if they were desserts without any mental burden.

“Of course, there are textbooks. Your mom and I still have some old copies at home—” Edward heaved a sigh of relief when he heard Cohen’s preference for reading. Wanting to understand magic through books was the right choice. It was a bit unsafe for a young wizard to start practicing magic immediately.

After all, no young wizard ever reacted as calmly to magic the first time as someone hearing that dinner will be switched from beef to lamb.

“What kind of look is that? Of course, we’re not giving you old textbooks…”

Noticing Cohen’s expression slowly aligning with Rose’s, Edward quickly clarified.

Since the magical world introduction was over and Cohen was unusually calm with no questions left, Edward handed Cohen a letter.

Page (2/3)

“Keep this letter safe. Tomorrow I’ll take you to Diagon Alley to buy your wand and school supplies—maybe you should invite some friends for your birthday party tonight?” Edward stood up with satisfaction, slipping his wand back into his pocket. “Dad has to prepare the ingredients and birthday cake.”

“Oh, and whatever you do, don’t mention magic to your friends, especially not to Harry next door.”

-----------------

Good news: Before Cohen’s arrival, Harry and “Cohen” already knew each other.

Bad news: In the month since Cohen’s arrival, Harry hadn’t been allowed out by the Dursleys, so Cohen hadn’t had a chance to see what level Voldemort’s fragment inside Harry was.

“I have to consider whether this is my only chance in July to see Voldemort’s fragment.”

Standing at the doorstep of Number 4 Privet Drive, Cohen was devising a way to invite Harry out under the pretext of a birthday party—most likely bringing Dudley along, or the Dursleys would think “the Norton family is just as weird.”

Even when presenting themselves as a Muggle family, these two pure Muggles were hardly neighbors anyone wanted to befriend—especially Petunia, who often peered over the fence at Edward’s strangely trimmed lawn and spread dark, gloomy rumors in the neighborhood—though Edward’s lawn shaped like a rat was admittedly odd.

Cohen believed this was the bad impression left when Lily had once turned the teacups into mice.

“Mr. Dursley, hello, I’m Cohen from the Norton family!”

The door opened, and Cohen politely bowed slightly to Vernon Dursley, only to watch the man’s pig-liver-colored face turn red, then white, then red again.

Clearly, the Dursleys’ discussion about the Nortons had reached the topic of wizard identity—maybe even a one-sided conclusion. The Dursleys were like startled birds when it came to witches and wizards, as if even a slight contact with magic would ruin their family.

But since Cohen’s mother Rose was the business editor of the Thames Times, Vernon dared not openly slight the family—otherwise his excavation company might receive some bad reviews.

“Hmm—hmph?”

After complex deliberation, Vernon Dursley finally emitted a strange, meaningless grunt.

“Today is my birthday, and I want to invite a few friends here to my house. My father has prepared a grand dinner.” Cohen assumed Mr. Dursley agreed to let him continue.

“Dudley can come. I heard you’re going to Smelting School, so as future classmates, you need to deepen your relationship—” Mr. Dursley immediately relaxed when he heard it was a birthday party invitation and readily agreed. But suddenly, his rarely turning head seemed to recall something. “Wait, you said a ‘few friends’ here?”

Harry wasn’t really one of the Dursleys’ children.

“I remember there’s a boy named Harry here. Why not invite him to the party?”

“We don’t have a Harry here!” Vernon snapped angrily. “He moved out!”

“But I’ve seen him. Isn’t this abuse? My mother loves children. If—” Cohen earnestly “threatened.”

“Fine… but I have to warn you, he’s clumsy and likely to cause trouble, and it’s dangerous. If you still want to… well.” Mr. Dursley muttered a warning, but seeing Cohen’s unwavering resolve, he shouted upstairs, “Harry! Go to the birthday party! Damn it, hurry up!”

Stumbling footsteps followed, and a thin boy with glasses ran out from the broom cupboard under the stairs.

“Cohen?!” Harry exclaimed joyfully.

This was obviously something Mr. Dursley did not want to see—Harry’s happiness would only make him unhappy.

Page (3/3)

“Follow him first. Dudley will come during dinner,” Mr. Dursley said irritably to Harry. “Don’t cause any trouble.”

The tone of that last sentence sounded more like he was expecting Harry to cause trouble, as if he was certain Cohen’s invitation was a mistake.

“I promise I won’t cause trouble.” Harry said this to Cohen after leaving the Dursleys.

But Cohen’s mind was clearly elsewhere.

[Soul Strength: 7 (Sacrificial Protection)]

[Soul Strength: 40]

Harry carried two completely different tags.

No need to guess—the one marked “Sacrificial Protection” was Harry’s own soul, cast by Lily’s ancient life-sacrificing spell.

That 40-point soul strength was Voldemort’s soul fragment.

What a tough nut to crack!

But even if Cohen couldn’t absorb it, that powerful soul fragment still exuded a sweet, cloying scent—like a delicacy to Dementors.

“Co… Cohen… why are you looking at me like that…”

Harry swallowed nervously and instinctively took a step back.

“Bro, you smell so good—no, I was just daydreaming, thinking about what to eat tonight.” Cohen was only momentarily drawn by that tempting Voldemort fragment, then quickly suppressed his desire and acted normal.

What a pain—forty points, at least twenty-nine more soul fragments need to be bought from the Sin Store, which is twenty-nine thousand sin points.

That’s like robbing twenty-nine thousand kids of their lollipops!

A long and arduous road ahead. Hopefully, the Hogwarts faculty and students are prepared.

“Cohen, thank you for rescuing me. I’ve been locked inside the Dursley house for a month…”

At Cohen’s home, Harry was devouring Edward’s homemade apple pie, clearly overloaded with sugar, while repeatedly thanking Cohen.

“Thank my dad. If he had set my birthday in October, you might have been locked up until the holidays ended.”

Mentioning the holidays ending, Harry’s mood visibly sank.

Cohen was the only one willing to talk to Harry without caring about the “weirdo” label, but once the holidays ended, Cohen would attend Smelting School with Dudley, while Harry would go to another public school, Stonewall School. Dudley had teased Harry about this for a long time.

“Cheer up. It’s not like you won’t see me anymore.” Cohen, knowing what the future held, waved dismissively. “By the way, don’t fill up on apple pie—there’s dinner later.”