On the evening of July 15, 1991, on the lawn of number 6 Privet Drive.
"Wow, wow, wow!"
a blond boy, about eight, sobbed, his tiny hand still clutching a lollipop—even though it was empty.
The instigator of all this, Cohen Norton, had already turned his back on the child as he walked home.
Cohen was a thin, eleven-year-old boy with perfectly coiffed black hair, wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans.
He lived in number 5 Privet Drive. In his hand was the fifty-pence fan-shaped rainbow lollipop he had just "generously" given to a neighbor's child.
"Sweets are always more cheerful—even better if there are no cavities,"
Cohen licked the lollipop contentedly.
The pain of cavities seemed too far for a child who changed his teeth more frequently than he changed his cups.
Since he'd been reborn, he should first enjoy the carefree joy of children—and complete his quests along the way.
[Ding! Kindness +1, Sin +1]
[Note: Giving candy first and then snatching it is unethical and will be met with remorse.]
An electronic synthesized voice echoed in Cohen's ears. Of course, Cohen only "selectively" heard the first part, the accusation against the system...
The tiny system, furious at discovering Cohen exploited a loophole to get double mall credits, was torn apart, crying and wailing. So pitiful.
The system didn't appear out of thin air, and neither did Cohen on Privet Drive.
To be precise, a car accident over a month ago brought Cohen to this familiar yet strange world. He was truly an alien truck driver looking for business.
Privet Drive, the villa next door at number 4, where the Dursleys lived, and the rarely seen "Harry Potter" in that house—the elements were all present.
Cohen instantly understood he was in the world of the infamous "Harry Potter."
As an Earthling who had read the original novels several times, Cohen knew full well that his childhood, and even his youth, might not have been entirely perfect.
After all, Harry Potter was exactly his age, and he actually possessed magical abilities like making objects levitate, vanish, and teleport with his mind. Everything in that magical world would undoubtedly be connected to him.
He also had a pair of doting adoptive parents in this world, both non-magical Muggles—at least, there was no trace of magic in the original "Cohen's" memories.
But Harry Potter's world wasn't exactly Muggle-friendly, especially after the resurrection of Voldemort, the final boss.
To protect his parents, he had two choices:
flee Europe as quickly as possible, or eliminate Voldemort beforehand—me defeating Voldemort? Really?
Then came a less-than-perfect system called the "Redemption System.
" "Open the panel," Cohen muttered.
A fragmented, half-black, half-white virtual circular interface appeared before his eyes.
In the center was Cohen's crudely rendered attribute panel.
[Cohen Norton]
[Race: Dementor/Human/? /?] /? ]
[Soul Integrity: 11%]
[Special Abilities Unlocked: None]
[Soul Strength: 11]
[Current Goodwill: 1250]
[Current Sin: 250]
When Coin first inherited the body of this eleven-year-old boy, he was completely incredulous upon seeing the word "Dementor."
Aside from a mouth-like organ, he, a normal-looking human, had nothing to do with Dementors!
But as he delved deeper into his body, a terrifying truth emerged.
He seemed to be a Dementor in human skin. He could see the "souls" of people and possessed an unquenchable thirst for them. Especially when near others, Coin could not help but want to suck them from the air.
This behavior was, of course, dangerous, as Coin nearly sucked the soul out of his adoptive father, Edward Norton, while he was sleeping.
Although Coin stopped himself in time, a little bit of something still escaped him. It could be soul, or it could be "happiness." It was sweet, not cloying.
This is why Coin always keeps candy close at hand; eating sweets is like eating souls.
After taking a minute to accept his identity as a terrifying Dementor, Coin began delving into this "redemption system."
First, the system granted Coin a seemingly useless ability, but in reality, it allowed him to decide whether to flee or devour an enemy's soul first.
He could see the Soul Strength of any creature, a virtual number stamped above their heads. Whenever Coin wished, the number would instantly appear.
Soul Strength was likely the criterion by which Coin could determine whether he could devour a target's soul. Coin's adoptive father, Edward, had a Soul Strength of 10, so Coin could absorb it. However, Coin's adoptive mother, Rose, had a Soul Strength of 20, making her completely inaccessible.
Coin's Soul Strength was linked to his Soul Completeness, which was clearly alarmingly low.
But at least Soul Completeness could be increased, and the method for doing so lay within the system's store—perhaps even by absorbing other souls.
Because when Cohen sucked Edward's soul, he saw that the soul's integrity was fluctuating. If he hadn't stopped immediately, Edward's soul would have become data on Cohen's system panel. ,
However Cohen believed that he was a humanoid species with full of humanity. He would not do such evil things as sucking away the soul of his old father who worked hard every day to cook for his family.
The system has two shops: the "Goodwill Shop" and the "Sin Shop." Whenever Cohen performs a good or bad deed, the system awards him "Goodwill Points" or "Sin Points" based on the impact of the event. This system currency can be used to purchase items in the corresponding shops.
One thing the system didn't anticipate is that after calculating the Goodwill Points, if Cohen then reverses his actions, it will be forced to continue providing him with Sin Points, allowing him to easily earn two profits.
The system has no way to deal with this, and can only offer various indirect hints about Cohen's behavior during each broadcast.
The items in the two shops are also very different. The Goodwill Shop primarily features seemingly cheerful and normal items, such as manuals and books on positive magical knowledge, magical animals and plants, and non-Dark Magic items.
The Sin Shop's items are much darker, featuring numerous Dark Magic books, demonic materials clearly banned in the magical world, and even "souls."
These souls include not only "soul fragments" worth 1,000 Sin Points that can enhance Cohen's soul integrity, but also the souls of living people.
[Tortured Human Souls]
[Collectible items from another world, useful for crafting a variety of evil magical items, including but not limited to Horcruxes and evil spirit puppets—you can always hear souls screaming, and perhaps you'll be next.]
[Value: 7,000 Sin Points]
That's enough to snatch lollipops from seven thousand children. It's just too evil.
So, aside from the "Soul Fragments" that increase his Soul Completeness, Cohen didn't buy anything from the Sin Shop—not out of lack of money.
However, the increase in Soul Fragments wasn't promising.
When Cohen first arrived in this world, his Soul Completeness was 10, and his Soul Strength was also 10. The 1,000 Sin Points he'd painstakingly accumulated through his years of evildoing only increased his Soul Completeness by 1%, and his Strength by 11.
As for that special ability, which was filled with question marks...
he had no clue. When he asked the system, it didn't respond, leaving Cohen skeptical about its completeness.
Fortunately, Soul Completeness didn't seem to affect Cohen's daily life, so he didn't need to rush into evil deeds to replenish it.
This meant he could enjoy his last few carefree days before Hogwarts delivered its acceptance letter.
But now, a less than rosy news surfaced as Cohen entered his living room.
A small gray owl frantically darted from the ceiling. Such an appearance in his home could only mean one thing: a letter from Hogwarts.
Today was Cohen's eleventh birthday, and it was indeed time for him to receive his acceptance letter. However, Cohen had waited all morning for it, but nothing had arrived. Otherwise, his "good deed" wouldn't have waited until the afternoon to begin.
A middle-aged man with unkempt blond hair leaped toward Cohen with a look of joy, waving something that looked like parchment with curled edges.
"Oh, Cohen! My darling son, you're going to Hogwarts!"
Edward, Cohen's adopted father, had accomplished nothing in his thirties. For months, Cohen had known him as a stay-at-home cook who kept house, his cooking not so dark, but at least without a trace of magic.
It didn't make sense. Why would he be so excited about his son attending Hogwarts, a "less-known" school in the Muggle world?
Remember, Edward and Rose had just been preparing Cohen's new uniform for Smeltings School.
Edward had said it was the best private school in southeast England, and he'd specifically emphasized that the food wouldn't disappoint Cohen—even though Cohen repeatedly insisted he just enjoyed dessert regularly and wasn't a foodie. The food was nothing compared to the excellent teaching environment.
So, there was only one possibility: Edward was a wizard who had deliberately concealed this from his family for so long.
Oh my god, could a wizard be so easily sucked away by Dementors and then continue sleeping like a dead pig?!
Wait, that's not right...
Is the Soul Strength of an adult male wizard that low?
Only 10 points?
Even Muggles only have Soul Strength between 5 and 10 points! (Cohen had previously thought Rose's 20-point faceplate made her a Muggle superman.)
This was only the soul strength of Cohen, a half-Dementor! And Cohen was already 11 points!
Or was it true that a normal wizard was like his adoptive mother, Rose? 20 points?
Cohen had never met other wizards, and based on his parents' vastly different soul strengths, he couldn't possibly determine what a normal wizard looked like.
"Alright, Edward, your voice will soon reach the Dursleys' living room next door. Don't forget Dumbledore's warning," a woman in a violet jumpsuit came down the stairs and harshly criticized Edward.
This woman with long brown hair was Cohen's adoptive mother, Rose.
Although she was the same age as Edward, she looked incredibly youthful, her pale blue eyes as beautiful as a lake spirit—though, when she was angry with Edward, she looked more like a hungry tiger.
But she was a completely different person when facing Cohen.
"Cohen, Mom's so happy you're getting into Hogwarts. Your dad will tell you everything later. I have to attend a newspaper seminar, so I might not be able to sing for you at your birthday party."
Rose leaned over, smiled, and kissed Cohen's forehead, her expression changing faster than the TV switching from BBC to ITV.
"But Mom will bring you a birthday present. Love you,"
Rose said before hurriedly leaving, sternly warning Edward, "Don't scare Cohen."
After Tigress left, an excited Edward dragged Cohen to the sofa.
"Now that the notice has arrived, it's time to tell you the truth."
"Yeah, yeah, if there's anything you don't understand about the wizarding world, you can ask me,"
Cohen wanted to say, but when he thought about how to explain to Edward how an eleven-year-old boy who had never been exposed to magic could know about the magical world... he decided to play dumb.
"Hmm," Cohen sat obediently on the sofa, listening.
"Dad's telling me the truth. Dad's a wizard. The kind who can do magic."
I'm telling me the truth too. I'm a Dementor. The kind that can suck your soul.
(End of this chapter)