The next morning, after receiving the letter that "Cohen is in trouble," the Nortons rushed to the school via the Floo Network—they had applied to the Ministry of Magic for a Floo Network connection so they could easily take Cohen on trips.
In Cohen's hospital room, Edward sat silently by Cohen's bedside, looking at Cohen's already cold body—he had initially thought "Cohen is in trouble" meant that Cohen had accidentally absorbed someone's soul.
Rose was confronting Dumbledore nearby.
"Cohen wrote to us the day before yesterday saying he was preparing for his final exams—and you're telling me today that he died right under your nose?!"
Rose questioned Dumbledore like a tiger.
"You clearly—he's mine and Edward's—you—"
Overwhelmed with grief, Rose choked on the last part of her sentence.
"I understand how you feel. It's all my fault," Dumbledore said calmly, blaming himself. "I will—"
"You understand my ass!" Rose roared, her eyes red. "You don't have a son! You just stand there watching—watching him—"
"Rose…" Edward moved closer to the distraught Rose, putting his arm around her shoulders so she could cry.
"I didn't hide the truth to avoid my responsibility," Dumbledore said. "Because I understand that lies cannot alleviate the pain of 'love.' Cohen is a brave and kind boy, and I believe we've all seen that."
"I'd rather he were evil…as long as he could live…" Rose sobbed, her former strong demeanor gone.
"He'll receive a special award from the school—"
"He's dead," Edward said, looking up at Dumbledore. "Now, the awards ceremony—"
"I'm not saying Cohen's death is something to celebrate," Dumbledore interrupted him, unusually. "His sacrifice to protect the Philosopher's Stone deserves any reward in the world—but none of those rewards can bring back a life, only leave behind a memory we can see."
"Wait a minute…" Edward suddenly had a bad feeling. "Could Cohen have been…"
Edward didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear.
As a hybrid of evil dark magic and human nature, raised in the school of "the greatest" white wizards in the world, and then dying at the speed of light in less than a year—it's easy to make connections…
"I did not, never, and will not harm Cohen."
Dumbledore looked no different from an ordinary old man.
"Where is that damn Quirrell?"
Rose left Edward's embrace, leaving large tear stains on the front of his clothes—she looked like she had finished crying, and her wand had been pulled out at some point, gripped tightly in her hand like a knife.
"He is dead, an hour after Voldemort left his body," Dumbledore replied.
Cohen was now preparing to crawl back into the body, and then move his fingers—to rise again like in those TV dramas where resurrection
occurs. Rose and Edward, having been so engrossed in watching the drama that they forgot about the resurrection, had planned to take Cohen away for burial after drawing their swords and looking around in bewilderment.
But Dumbledore's next words made Cohen's soul, which had just entered the body, emerge again.
"I have a request," Dumbledore said. "Could you leave Cohen's body here for a while?"
"What?" Edward asked, frowning. "Sorry, I didn't hear you—"
"A remedy. The research that created Cohen was a forbidden area of alchemy that no one had ever successfully entered—the man in a bottle. I noticed that the Philosopher's Stone dissolved into his flesh after contact with him. Normally, the magic of the Philosopher's Stone would remain in this body, but this morning I found it had disappeared. This is very unusual." Dumbledore explained, "That stone belongs to my friend Nicolas Flamel. For whatever reason, I think he should have examined it, even though he previously mentioned wanting to go to the afterlife with his wife."
"You mean remedial—yes—" Edward swallowed hard. "Cohen—"
"There's still hope…?" Rose stared intently at Dumbledore.
"Nico's knowledge of alchemy is extremely thorough; he might be able to offer a way to save Cohen."
"Why didn't you say so sooner!" Edward exclaimed. "Ha—I knew Cohen wouldn't die so easily—he has us…"
"I didn't want to create hope only to shatter it; that would be too cruel,"
Dumbledore cautioned.
"I don't understand why the Philosopher's Stone's magic suddenly vanished completely, which is why I guessed Cohen's soul was still inside his body, or around it—Nico arrived this afternoon; please don't extend your anger and resentment towards him. He knew nothing about this and is innocent."
Cohen's initial urge to jump out of bed and shout "surprise!" vanished instantly.
Now that Cohen has eaten the Philosopher's Stone, the alchemist master certainly can't get it back.
And Nicolas Flamel is dying—Cohen feels he could try a little harder to inherit some of Nico's legacy—he has no son.
And just as Hagrid couldn't refuse a unicorn asking for butterbeer, Cohen has a reason Nico couldn't refuse…
Cohen is the only "man in a bottle" experiment subject in the world to have lived this long.
—Dumbledore
left; there were many school affairs for him to handle, and the news of Cohen's death hadn't spread among the students.
Edward and Rose stayed by Cohen's side.
Since he wasn't seriously injured, Harry Potter woke up today and secretly slipped into Cohen's room, wanting to see if Professor Dumbledore had saved Cohen.
"…"
Harry saw the Nortons, who had appeared beside Cohen at some point, and was momentarily at a loss for words.
"Um… Mr. Norton, Mrs. Norton…" Harry stammered.
He noticed Mrs. Norton's eyes were slightly red, and the question he wanted to ask, "How is Cohen?" was swallowed back.
"I'm sorry…"
That was the only word Harry could think of.
"It's not your fault, Harry," Rose comforted Harry melancholically, now much more rational—she only hoped Nicolas Flamel could save Cohen.
Harry apologized several more times before fleeing.
Edward kept thinking about Dumbledore's words—the Philosopher's Stone, which could grant immortality, had dissolved into Cohen's body and disappeared…
Dumbledore's meaning was clear: the magic of the Philosopher's Stone wouldn't vanish into thin air. Since it wasn't in Cohen's body, it meant Cohen's soul had consumed it—
meaning Cohen's soul was still here…
Could Cohen hear them?
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(End of Chapter)