Just as the four magical creatures launched themselves at Cohen from four different angles, each brimming with the determination of "Let's crush this Dementor imposter!", a brilliant Patronus shot out of Cohen's wand.
A towering, silver Dementor emerged—his own Patronus—and the moment it appeared, the faces of the four Silver Key members twisted with shock.
"???" ×4
No one in the organization had ever said a Dementor could cast another Dementor as a Patronus!
Before they could even react or retreat, Cohen's silver Dementor seized the leading Patronus mid-charge—
It grabbed it with one skeletal hand… and instantly devoured it in a flash of silver mist!
"What the—"
One of the Silver Key members recoiled in horror, feeling a bone-deep chill as his Patronus disintegrated into silver smoke. The cold... it was worse than an actual Dementor's touch.
"I've known since I was young that the world is cruel. Then I forgot for a while. And now? Doesn't matter. I'm about to start killing."
Cohen didn't bother with the remaining Patronuses—his own was already pummeling them into the ground.
The leader of the little cult group watched with growing dread as Cohen steadily approached. He didn't run—he knew it was far too late for that.
A dreadful force had already latched onto him. It felt like an actual Dementor was crawling over his skin, lifting back his hood.
It was as though, if Cohen so much as breathed, his soul would be ripped out and devoured.
"At least... the Lord will know I died loyal…" the cult leader muttered through clenched teeth. "When He awakens… He will reclaim my soul—"
"I'm honestly impressed how long you've all managed to believe in something that doesn't even exist." Cohen's wand pressed against the man's temple. "There is no Dark God. No promised reward after the world ends. When you die, you die. Maybe someone gets isekai'd somewhere else—I don't know. But it definitely won't be you lot."
"You—you're the one who's taken—!"
"Legilimens."
Cohen cast the spell and dove into the man's mind, rifling through his memories, searching for clues about the other Silver Key members.
Unlike the grunts he'd interrogated before, this man knew a lot—not just about the Silver Key, but about the Death Eaters too.
He'd learned from Voldemort that Cohen would be competing in the Triwizard Tournament. Then he'd lured former Death Eater Karkaroff to help Cohen win, while secretly planning to murder Cohen's parents and impersonate them using their hair—so they could ambush Cohen under the guise of his own family.
Twisted, wasn't it?
But when that plan failed, they had to pivot to Plan B—using Patronuses, the natural enemy of Dementors, to eliminate the one obstacle preventing their so-called "True Lord" from descending: Cohen.
It was a well-thought-out plan—they even considered the possibility that Edward and Rose might rip their souls to save Cohen and turn him into a living Horcrux. So they prepared a backup.
But what they didn't account for… was that Cohen could summon a Dementor Patronus. That little oversight had just cost them everything.
From his memories, Cohen identified twelve more faces, complete with names and movements of another group.
Eliminating the three cultists still present and the Polyjuice impostor Rose had handed over to the Ministry, that left a group of eight.
Coincidentally, those eight had already gone to Greece, trying to capture magical creatures—which happened to line up perfectly with the appearance of the Horned Serpent and Griffin near Hogwarts.
So it looked like Cohen's upcoming trip to Greece—originally to bring the Kymaira Beast to avenge the Griffins—would now have another purpose.
Digging deeper, Cohen found one particularly crucial memory: the leader of the entire Silver Key group, a mysterious middle-aged wizard known only as "Silver Key". He always wore a hood that concealed his face. After the group splintered and scattered, he vanished—but continued sending letters to guide the remaining members into provoking Cohen in any way they could.
From the pattern of their recent actions, it was clear this "Silver Key" had tried every strategy—persuasion, violence, awakening dark forces—all aimed at bringing Cohen down.
Cohen got the feeling this man might have lost his family at Borgin Manor and had shifted all his hatred toward him.
"Trying to run already?"
Cohen suddenly turned to look at the remaining three cultists. Paired with the sight of their leader collapsed and foaming at the mouth, Cohen resembled something more like a twisted serial killer than a wizard.
After witnessing that very invasive Legilimency spell, the three others had clearly lost their nerve. Their knees shook. Loyalty gave way to fear. Escape crossed their minds—
But Cohen wasn't going to let that happen.
"Oh, so you're the ones who bullied my dad, huh?"
Without a second thought, Cohen sucked the soul out of the fallen leader. Then he turned to face the others.
That same dreadful pull—the soul-devouring force—locked onto them.
"Appar—"
Trying to Apparate away while being restrained by a Dementor-level force? Cute.
If only they'd realized sooner that joining a cult wasn't the brightest idea…
—
Meanwhile, on the other side of the maze, Harry stumbled out, clutching half of the Triwizard Cup.
He was battered, smeared in mud and blood, gasping for breath. His robe sleeve was torn open, revealing a long, bleeding gash on his arm.
Sirius spotted him immediately and rushed over with Dumbledore.
"Harry? Harry!" Sirius was already checking him for injuries. "What happened—?"
He noticed the shattered Cup lying on the grass beside him. Dumbledore bent to examine it.
The Portkey had lost its magic after the return trip. Its clean break suggested tampering.
"He's back—Voldemort…" Harry said in a daze. "He used my blood… my parents helped me escape…"
"You saw James and Lily?" Sirius's eyes sharpened.
By now, curious spectators were gathering—after all, Harry had returned with the Cup. They thought his injuries were just from the maze's obstacles.
Off to the side, Edward, Rose, and Herbert traded worried glances, shifting from the Cup to the direction of the maze.
"Where's Cohen?" Rose asked, a sinking feeling in her gut. "If Harry has the Cup…"
"He only has half of it," Herbert pointed out. "All the other champions have been brought out—Mad-Eye said there's no one left in the maze."
Edward crouched beside Harry, gripping his shoulders.
"Harry. Did you see Cohen?"