Chapter 44 Christmas Gifts

Cohen stared at the man who seemed to have gone from middle age to the grave in the space of a single moment. He was considering whether he should point out the fact that Cohen was no longer really his son—not physically, nor spiritually.

According to the theories of alchemy, the finished product that had transcended the prima materia no longer had much connection with the materials that had been cast into the alchemical vessel.

It was like the atoms that made up the human body had originated in the stars, while stars and human beings were nevertheless entirely different things.

But Herbert would certainly find that truth difficult to accept in his current state. Perhaps he had abandoned everything and willingly spent his entire life guarding this lonely and dangerous place simply for the chance to see Cohen return one day—

“Damn it.” Cohen sighed. “You’ve laid it on so thick that I’ll reluctantly grant your wish. I’ll spend Christmas with you.”

【Ding! Goodwill +100】

Cohen had been waiting for that system notification. If helping a poor man find a beautiful hope amid an eternity in prison did not count as a good deed, Cohen could only draw one conclusion—

Herbert was lying.

For now, however, Herbert seemed sincere. The system had not been deceived. At the very least, it would not be fooled by an old man who was nearly driven mad by confinement.

“That’s wonderful!” Herbert suddenly seemed ten years younger. He rubbed his hands helplessly against his ragged clothes. Cohen could see him trembling—trembling with excitement. “I—I should do something—You said you were hungry… Yes, I’ll get you something to eat…”

Herbert hurriedly rose to light the fire, but the flames in the room had already gone out, and his wand was with Cohen.

Still, he did not ask Cohen for it.

His mind was astonishingly clear at that moment. The fact that Cohen had stayed was already a stroke of incredible luck. He could tell that Cohen was cautious, so he ought to make him relax—especially on Christmas Day.

“Incendio.”

Cohen tossed a fire-making spell at the hearth, lest Herbert try to start a fire by rubbing sticks together. There were no lighters here.

“That rabbit is almost boiled to pieces. Earl, go catch a few more.”

“I was about to praise you for recovering a little of your conscience.” Earl rolled his eyes at Cohen, but he still spread his wings and flew out.

“An owl can talk?” Herbert turned to look at Earl, then secretly glanced at Cohen. Immediately afterward, he anxiously shifted his gaze to the iron pot before him, afraid that Cohen might change his mind because of something he said.

“Yeah. My pet. Cost me ten Sickles,” Cohen answered.

At least he would not be spending his first Christmas in this world completely alone.

“I still have some money…” Herbert searched his pockets, only to discover that the pitiful amount of loose change he possessed had been piled on the table. Among the silver and copper coins lay a gold Galleon that had no business being there.

The Aurors would not have given him charity. There was nowhere to spend money here in the first place.

It could only have come from Cohen.

The boy had not been affected by evil at all. He was like a little angel—

At that thought, Herbert’s throat seemed to close up.

“You’re not about to start crying, are you? Just so you know, I don’t know how to comfort adults. I mean, come on, you look like you’re in your forties or fifties. Don’t tell me you’re really going to…”

Seeing that Herbert looked ready to burst into tears, Cohen hurriedly stopped him.

A little sentimentality was enough. There was no need to overdo it!

Cohen was afraid he might genuinely be moved. Having one pair of parents was quite enough for him.

Perhaps it would have been easier for him to bear if Herbert had harbored some ulterior motive…

“No, no, I’m not. It’s just… I got some sand in my eyes.” Herbert wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his tattered robe. “Then I’ll go find you…”

Herbert suddenly realized that he had almost nothing he could give Cohen.

At once, he slumped like a deflated balloon.

“Tell me about what happened before,” Cohen suggested, giving him a direction to follow.

Herbert’s emotions were a chaotic mixture: joy, distress, anxiety, sorrow—like a bag of Every Flavor Beans crushed into powder, poured into a cup, and stirred together with pumpkin juice.

Was this what human emotions were like?

Complicated, chaotic, and burdened with so much pain.

“Tell me everything you know. Consider it my Christmas present tomorrow,” Cohen continued. “There’s almost nothing useful in the basement. I want to know everything about that experiment.”

Herbert slowly sat back down on the bed. He looked at Cohen, interlaced his hands, and squeezed them together, seeming somewhat hesitant.

“I…I know some of it—but not everything…” Herbert’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “I don’t want you to think that you’re a… that you’re…”

“I already know part of it, actually.” Cohen pursed his lips. “My bloodline contains traces of humans, Dementors, Nightmare unicorns, and things like that. But I don’t really care. No one can tell, anyway.”

Because of the gloomy weather outside, the firelight inside the room appeared especially bright.

“From the beginning?” Herbert’s eyes reflected the flames behind Cohen, and even the corners of his mouth trembled slightly.

“Can we start from the middle?” Cohen asked sarcastically.

“Then… then we’ll start from the beginning.” Herbert recalled the past. “From when you were five years old—I mean, you before the experiment…”

“At the time, you… I couldn’t… There was…”

Herbert stammered and trembled, unable to say the word “dead.”

“How about I just use Legilimency? It’ll be faster,” Cohen suggested.

Herbert nodded in silence.

It was as though saying those words would somehow kill him—or perhaps, deep down, he understood that his original child, “Cohen,” had died long ago, and speaking the word aloud would mean accepting that fact.

“Legilimens.”

Cohen pointed his wand at Herbert’s brow. A silvery, wispy spell connected the tip of the wand to Herbert.

Herbert offered no resistance, even though Cohen could now tamper with his mind however he pleased.

A strange sensation traveled through the wand and up into Cohen’s mind. It was like watching a very long film—one he could speed up, rewind, or skip through at will.

Herbert’s entire life was recorded there.

But Cohen was mainly interested in the parts concerning himself.

In 1976, thirty-three-year-old Herbert and his wife, Belvina Black, had already had a son and a daughter when they welcomed their youngest child, a son named Cohen Bork.

In 1978, Herbert’s eldest son died. Dark wizards were rampant at the time, and no one knew whether the boy had died during some mad dark-wizard operation or under other circumstances. The Bork family was then at the height of its power, and naturally refused to admit that one of its descendants could have been bullied by its own kind.

Herbert and his sister Rose were especially close. The two of them were also infamous as the family’s “degenerates.” Their attitude toward Muggles was not merely abnormal; they occasionally even displayed a fondness for those filthy Muggles.

As a result, the Bork family never allowed the matter to become known, and Herbert could find no way to avenge his son. He did not even know where the boy’s body was.

In 1979, Herbert’s daughter lost control of her magic. The Obscurus inside her killed several relatives who had tormented her, and the acting head of the Bork family sentenced her to death.

Two Killing Curses were cast.

One struck Herbert’s wife, Belvina, who had stepped in front of her daughter.

The other struck Herbert’s daughter.

From that moment onward, Herbert had only his young son, “Cohen,” left.

He did not seek revenge. Instead, he took Cohen and left the family. The terrifying, authoritarian clan filled him with fear.

Herbert moved with Cohen to Godric’s Hollow. That same year, his sister Rose finally severed all ties with the family over the matter and married Edward Norton, a man of impure blood.

In 1980, Cohen died from a mysterious curse that had appeared without warning. Herbert could not understand why anyone would have cursed Cohen.

His son’s death nearly drove Herbert to collapse. He had lost everything.

His entire family was dead.

In 1981, Voldemort fell. Just as the wizards around him were celebrating, a younger member of the Bork family came to Herbert.

He told Herbert that there was a way to bring the dead back to life. The family was secretly creating a life-form capable of replacing Voldemort and controlling the wizarding world—

the Man in the Bottle.

They needed the corpse of a young wizard, one carrying Bork blood.

The sudden appearance of hope clouded Herbert’s judgment. He dug up Cohen’s body and returned to the Bork estate, helping gather countless alchemical materials and rare creatures. Many of the acts involved were cruel and forbidden by law.

But Herbert had only one thing in mind: bringing Cohen back to life. He performed any task he was given, working like a slave.

The research succeeded—and failed.

The Man in the Bottle survived stably, but at the very moment of its successful creation, it killed almost everyone in the manor. It was like a black hole for souls, swallowing the spirits of nearly every living thing.

Except for the unicorn beneath the manor.

And Herbert.

After that, Herbert was arrested and sentenced by the Ministry of Magic. Since Cohen could not be killed, Rose adopted him at Dumbledore’s suggestion.

Then came ten years of waiting, so dull that they were almost torturous.

At last, Cohen arrived—though their first meeting had not been a friendly one.

While Herbert was being bound, two Aurors who happened to be passing by and decided to take a look noticed something strange about the ruins of the estate. They released Herbert and rushed into the underground chamber that Cohen had already blasted open.

After that came everything Cohen had witnessed himself…

…

After viewing Herbert’s memories, Cohen now had a fairly clear understanding of what had happened in the past. Unfortunately, Herbert had merely supplied materials for the research and had not participated in the experiments, since he knew nothing about them.

Thus, Cohen could not determine from Herbert’s memories what the remaining two components of his bloodline actually belonged to. He could only say that the trip had yielded something—but not the kind of gain he had originally hoped for.

【Species: Dementor / Human / “Nightmare” / ? / ?】

“Do I look like an idiot?” Herbert asked self-deprecatingly.

Because of the effects of Legilimency, Herbert had essentially watched the long sequence of memories alongside Cohen.

Once certain memories were connected, things that had gone unnoticed at the time became glaringly obvious.

The people who had cursed Herbert’s son had been members of the Bork family. They had incorporated him into their plans long ago.

Herbert had been sold by the Borks and had even helped them count the money.

“You were deceived because the deceivers were vile, not because you were stupid.” Cohen raised an eyebrow. “What you’re saying is victim-blaming. But it’s all over now… I ate all those Borks.”

“You’re right…” Herbert said weakly.

Not long afterward, Earl flew back with two rabbits floating beside him. Since his talons were clutching the wand, he had no room to carry the rabbits himself.

The two Aurors had not been regular patrol officers. They had simply been passing through, so even if they suddenly vanished from the world, no one would likely trace them here.

Out of an excess of kindness, Cohen spent the night with the unfortunate Herbert. Earl left in the middle of the night to bring Cohen presents from Rose and Edward. He should have gone the previous evening, but after obtaining the wand, he had been so excited that he completely forgot.

This Christmas might have been the happiest of Herbert’s entire latter life. The room was filled with happiness—Cohen had to exercise considerable restraint to keep from devouring it.

Cohen was given the bed. Herbert hugged a bundle of blankets and slept on the floor.

【Ding! Goodwill +300】

【Note: Congratulations on learning compassion. You have been rewarded with three hundred Primogems.】

“…”

Cohen was awakened early in the morning by the system notification.

The sky outside was still gloomy, almost indistinguishable from night.

Fortunately, Cohen had a mechanical watch, so he could still tell the time.

7:35.

Time to get out of here—

By now, Earl should have delivered the presents to the Gryffindor common room, and there was no point in Cohen staying outside any longer.

The bed had not been particularly comfortable, and Cohen found himself missing his dormitory at Hogwarts. At least in terms of living conditions, Hogwarts had already beaten ninety-nine point nine percent of all schools.

Herbert was still asleep. Cohen had heard him tossing and turning throughout the night. He had probably been too excited to sleep.

Cohen did not intend to wake him. Once Herbert awoke and saw Cohen leaving, the man might well lose the will to live.

Using a Levitation Charm, Cohen lifted Herbert from the floor onto the bed. Then he used a sheet of parchment left over from his homework to write a short note, placed it on Herbert’s table, and set Herbert’s wand on top of it.

【I’m going back. Don’t kill yourself—I’ll come back to see you later.】

“Why does this feel like, ‘You were great last night. I left the money on the table. I’m heading out now’…”

Cohen muttered to himself, his face covered in helpless exasperation.

Still, leaving Herbert with some hope was a good thing. Once Cohen rose high enough in the Ministry of Magic, he could have the charges against him revoked.

He could even use the publicity to promote something like “a father’s love spanning more than a decade.” It would surely make the housewives weep with emotion, while also giving him an opportunity to smear Fudge.

Cohen then aimed his wand at the snoring Herbert.

“Obliviate.”

He did not erase too many of Herbert’s memories. He removed only the memories of Cohen’s face and the two Aurors having visited, then altered Herbert’s recollection of Cohen’s purpose and actions in coming there, just in case the Ministry investigated.

Officially, Cohen’s visit had merely been to see his biological father.

Perfect.

Herbert should remember only that the son he had longed for had returned—and would come again in the future.

【Ding! Goodwill +50】

Another system notification appeared.

Doing good deeds really did earn a great deal…

Unfortunately, the goodwill Herbert provided had already begun to decline. That meant that even if Cohen continued helping him in the same way, he would not receive much more. Cohen had previously named this phenomenon the “tolerance” of the system’s rewards.

It was just like the sin points he gained from bullying Earl, which had already dropped to one point per incident—or even nothing at all.

He needed to broaden his methods of earning the two currencies used by the shops.

After leaving the cottage and making certain he had concealed every trace of his visit, Cohen took advantage of the night and flew back above the dense layer of clouds.

He should return to Hogwarts and take a look. Even without needing to search for information about Nicolas Flamel, Harry would probably begin ignoring the school rules and roaming the castle at night as soon as he obtained the Invisibility Cloak—

A naturally evil little bastard was bound to inherit it.