Hogwarts, i am Dementor

Even if a ghost popped out of the basement, Cohen would've found it less bizarre than this—though "a ghost appearing here" wouldn't exactly be normal either. The souls of the dead here should've been devoured by Cohen ten years ago.

Still, a mere soul strength tag of 67 wasn't enough to scare him off—especially with "Weakened" tacked on after it. 

And even if he couldn't win a fight, Cohen figured he could at least escape.

Surely there wasn't *another* Dementor waiting back there, right?

As Cohen crept closer to the door at the end of the corridor, a strange sensation spread from his chest through his entire body.

It felt like…

[*Child…*] 

A woman's voice echoed in his mind, but it didn't come through his ears—it was as if it materialized straight into his head.

This was a first. Mental magic like this shouldn't even be able to target Cohen.

"Mom?" 

The word slipped out of his mouth involuntarily, like some invisible hand of kinship had pried his jaw open and forced it out.

The blood ties in the wizarding world were getting a little *too* freaky… 

Cohen figured he'd better get used to it, though. Given that his system panel listed five different races, he probably had more than one mom—and maybe more than one dad too. Parents all over the place, basically.

Maybe one day he'd be wandering around, and some weird creature would spot him, yell "Son!" and rush over to hug him, shoving gold, treasures, magical artifacts, and powerful items into his hands while saying something like, "You've had it rough all these years, kid. This is your dad (or mom) making it up to you—take it all!"

"Way too absurd. Must be my orphan inferiority complex messing with me." 

Cohen shook his head, dismissing the wild thoughts. Those soap-opera scenarios were still far off—though his brain had already conjured a scene of five magical creature parents meeting up and starting a brawl.

Just to be safe, Cohen sent half his soul through the door to scope things out first. Souls could escape faster than bodies, after all.

Beyond the door was a dim basement. Even in the darkness, Cohen's soul-form "night vision" let him see everything clearly.

To the left of the entrance stood a long wooden table cluttered with bottles and flasks.

The floor was overrun with crisscrossing Devil's Snare—those tentacle-like vines thrived in basements like this.

But Cohen's attention was drawn to the right side.

Compared to the left, with its table and alchemical gear, the right side was practically empty.

There was just a wide metal cage, about the height of an adult, too low for the large creature inside to stand upright.

Inside the cage was a black horse—resembling a Thestral, but fuller and less skeletal.

This was the creature that had called him [*Child*].

[Soul Strength: 67 (Weakened)]

Suddenly, it lifted its head, staring straight at Cohen's position.

Its white, pupil-less eyes, paired with a head that blended into the darkness, gave it an eerie vibe.

As it raised its head, Cohen spotted a horn—a silver, spiraled one. He'd seen something like it in the Forbidden Forest.

Only unicorns had such pure, sacred horns, capable of neutralizing nearly any poison. They were incredibly rare potion ingredients.

Before it lifted its head, the horn had been dull, blending into the night and its dark fur. But now, it shimmered with a restored, radiant glow.

Wait a sec— 

Unicorns didn't have black fur. They were golden as foals and silver-white as adults, right?

Hold on— 

Cohen yanked his soul back.

He was in soul form! Even Dumbledore couldn't see him—how could this unicorn?

[*Child… don't be afraid…*] 

Its voice echoed in his mind again.

[*Let Mommy see you…*] 

No moms in his last life, and now they're popping up everywhere in this one. Cohen wasn't quite used to it.

"Sigh…" 

He let out a breath.

[*It's obvious this unicorn bears me no ill will—it even thinks I'm its child. No mother would harm her own kid. This is a fairy tale, and fairy tales should play out like fairy tales.*] 

Cohen pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The Devil's Snare shrank back into the wall's crevices under the light from his wand tip. He walked up to the cage.

[*Don't be sad… I can still live a long time… I can stay with you for ages…*] 

It assumed Cohen's glum look was from seeing his "mother" trapped.

"Honestly, I'm not *that* sad," Cohen said, his expression still downcast. 

"It's mostly that now the Earl can actually hit me with a 'motherfucker' jab. That stings a bit."

[*…*] 

The mood it had been building shattered with that single sentence.

"But was your last line for real?" Cohen looked up, meeting its all-white eyes. "The part about staying with me 'for a long, long time'?"

Sincerity was a killer move—especially when wielded with the pitiful gaze of an eleven-year-old. It seemed to instantly forget his earlier comment.

It didn't even ask who "the Earl" was.

[*Of course, Mommy will always protect you…*] 

[*Can you let Mommy out?*] 

"Sure!" Cohen chirped cheerfully. "But I've been tricked a lot before—will you trick me?"

[*Mommy's a unicorn—unicorns don't lie…*] 

It gazed at him with what Cohen somehow read as affection—though how he picked that up from a blank-eyed horse face, he wasn't sure. Maybe some mental trick.

"Then swear it—Chinese don't trick Chinese—wait, no, unicorns don't trick Dementors."

[*I swear.*] 

Visibly, the black unicorn was getting impatient.

"How about we make an Unbreakable Vow?" Cohen asked, giving it a pitiful look. "You know… I've always been an orphan… I don't feel safe…"

[*Fine, fine, hurry up—I mean, I agree.*] 

The black unicorn tapped its hoof irritably against the cage's bars.

It didn't actually know what an "Unbreakable Vow" was until an owl—grumbling the whole way—flew in, exchanged a few words with Cohen, and began the ritual-like questioning.

"You—what's its name? Black Horse? Moldy Unicorn? What the heck is it?" The Earl, clutching a wand and aiming it between Cohen and the unicorn, realized mid-prep that it didn't even know the creature's name.

The unicorn snorted in frustration but didn't speak—it just wanted out of here, vow or no vow.

It knew no curse could bind it—or rather, it *was* a curse incarnate. What could a spell do to it even if it broke the vow?

"Alexia," Cohen said, spotting the name on the cage's plaque.

"Oh, alright then, you little menace—go first," the Earl said, setting up the Unbreakable Vow. For once, Cohen found a talking bird actually useful.

"Alexia, will you come help me solve problems when I need you?" Cohen asked the unicorn.

[*I will.*] 

A thin, dazzling flame shot from the wand in the Earl's claw, like a red-hot wire wrapping around Cohen's hand and the unicorn's horn.

The first vow was sealed.

The beauty of this spell wasn't just the "break it and die" consequence—it was the vow's ironclad clarity. Once spoken, its full meaning was locked in—no loopholes, no twisting the intent.

So when Cohen's first request took effect, the unicorn started sensing something was off.

[*Wait—what happens if I break this vow—*] 

"Will you always obey my requests and never go against them?" Cohen pressed with his second question. "Whatever, we can either do this nice and easy, or I'll take my bird and leave right now. Your choice."

[*I will.*] 

The unicorn's voice carried a gritted-teeth edge. It *really* wanted out of this hellhole, but not like *this*.

This little brat mixed with its bloodline had seemed so normal earlier—didn't it act like a caring mother? It had heard Cohen call out "Mom" from outside!

Any normal, lonely, slightly decent lab experiment would've unlocked its mother's chains without hesitation and sobbed in its embrace…

A second flame surged from the Earl's wand, leaving a visible mark on the unicorn's horn.

"Break it and you die," Cohen answered its earlier question. "But you said you wouldn't hurt me and that you'd stay with me forever."

"Chinese don't trick Chinese."

[*I'm not even Chinese—and I'm not human!*] 

It dropped all pretense, its shrill voice stabbing at Cohen's eardrums.

"Too bad—the vows are done. Heh heh heh… you're stuck obeying me forever now!" Cohen cackled sinisterly. "Let's do the last one."

"Will you forever refrain from harming me or any other life I hold dear?"

[*I… will.*] 

It forced the words out, nearly drained of energy.

At this point, escaping or staying locked up didn't seem to matter—actually, the cage might've offered more freedom.

A third flame erupted from the Earl's wand tip. All three vows were complete—Cohen had covered every base.

"Done! You didn't think I'd actually be dumb enough to trust a unicorn whose fur's gone black, did you?" Cohen rubbed his hands together. "Even if you're my mom by blood, it doesn't matter—I've got at least five dads or moms out there. It's not exactly rare."

[*You little *****.*] 

"You'll get used to it," the Earl said to Alexia in a knowing tone. "Though you're dumber than me—you walked right into this cage."

The unicorn was bound by some kind of magic-sealing rune-metal; Cohen's spells couldn't touch it. He'd have to find the key somewhere in the room.

Finally, he located it and unlocked the cage that had trapped the furious unicorn for over a decade.

"You don't look happy?" Cohen asked, feigning concern. 

"I'm not some slaver, okay? Like I said, those vows were just insurance. Outside of helping me with tasks, you're free to do whatever you want—"

"Expelliarmus!" 

With a sudden *crack* of apparition, a red bolt of magic struck Cohen, sending his wand flying.

Two black-robed men appeared in the basement—one tall, one short. The tall one lunged to catch Cohen's wand, his own wand trained on Cohen, its tip sparking dangerously.

The shorter wizard mostly served as a backdrop, holding his wand aloft with *Lumos* to light the room.

"Don't move—you're under arrest," the tall wizard said, narrowing his eyes. "Hmph, Dumbledore told us to trust you—I've always said we should've rooted you out completely."

Both were Aurors.

And Cohen had a flicker of recognition.

This tall Auror… he'd appeared in Cohen's fragmented "one-year-old" memories, his face tied to a flash of green light.

He'd used the Killing Curse on Cohen back then—though it hadn't worked.

"So… you tried to kill me when I was one, and now you're here to finish the job without a word?" Cohen tilted his head.

"Returning to the manor, releasing a dark magical creature—you're already on the path of a dark wizard. Or rather… you've *always* been on it," the tall Auror said coldly. "Monster."

"Some bad seeds are born that way. I stand by my opinion from ten years ago—we should've found a way to kill you back then."

Clearly, he had zero faith in Cohen, convinced a monster bred in a dark magic lab would always be evil.

"So there's no negotiating, huh?" 

Cohen raised an eyebrow.

"In that case… I guess I'll have to—"

The words snapped the tall Auror into action: 

"Protego!" 

He cast a Shield Charm.

But Cohen didn't cast wandlessly or attack outright. Instead, he took a deep breath—

"MOM!!!!!"

(End of Chapter)