HP: It's a snake, not a badger.

Chapter 178 Dumbledore's Feigned Death

Everything was proceeding according to plan, and Voldemort's actions were becoming increasingly frantic. In order to find Harry, he sent out most of his Death Eaters.

However, Harry has now been sent to Nurmengard, making it impossible for Voldemort to find him in England. It is precisely for this reason that Severus is being summoned more and more frequently, and each time he has to expend considerable effort fabricating memories to avoid Voldemort discovering any flaws.

When he returned from the meeting, Severus was particularly disgusted with his clothes. The hem of his robe was covered in dust. He threw the clothes into the laundry basket and prepared to take a bath before having a late-night snack.

"Severus, you forgot your towel. I left it by the door."

"Okay." The man stopped rubbing his hair and looked at the shelf through the glass. There wasn't even a change of clothes on it, let alone a bath towel. He called towards the door, "Get me a set of pajamas and underwear." He already knew that this little rascal was secretly washing his underwear and was no longer ashamed at all.

"Should I bring it in?"

"Get lost, you're trying to take advantage again."

Severus dried his hair as he walked out of the bathroom and had a late-night snack with Emeric. He had expended too much energy at Voldemort's, which made him very hungry.

After dinner, the two lay on the bed. He leaned against Emeric's chest, feeling lazy and sleepy. The hand on his waist had already slipped inside his clothes and was pressed against his skin, but he didn't dare to move and stayed there obediently.

Seeing that he had fallen asleep, Emeric reached out and pulled the blanket up, hugging him even closer. The man had been summoned for several days in a row and was exhausted, losing weight. His waist, which had finally gained some flesh, had become even thinner.

the next morning

Emeric pulled his numb arm out and stuffed a pillow in his place, thinking that this wouldn't wake Severus. But the man woke up as soon as he got out of bed.

"Um...where are you going?"

"I'm going to class. It's still early, you can sleep a little longer."

"good..."

The first-year wizards breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Emeric enter carrying books; they preferred the young teaching assistant to Professor Snape.

"Turn to page 50—" Emeric stood in front of the podium and opened Severus's textbook, which was filled with his insights and tips.

He walked down from the podium and looked at each student one by one. In each class, he could catch several confused students. They either stirred the medicine too many times or mistook the herbs. He could always turn a simple potion into a bomb.

Halfway through the class, a group of people appeared outside the classroom and ran towards the Ravenclaw Tower, shouting that the headmaster had fallen from the top and was bleeding profusely.

Emeric realized he should go find Severus; he needed someone with him at this point. Seeing that the children's minds were already elsewhere, he couldn't concentrate on their studies either.

After rushing out of the classroom, Emeric found the nearest secret passage and got ahead of the crowd to Severus's side.

The man remained calm, his hand still resting on the window. His expression changed slightly when he saw Emeric, surprised that McGonagall wasn't the first one to come looking for him.

He didn't speak, wanting to see what Emerick was going to do. After all, for safety's sake, only he and Dumbledore knew about this plan, with Gellert, who was preparing the props, at most.

"Severus, don't be afraid, I'm with you. No matter what we face, I'll be there for you."

"I killed Dumbledore, your family."

"He is Gellert's lover." This single sentence clearly states his position.

"If you stay any longer, you'll be bound to me for life, and your family will be branded as the murderer of the greatest white wizard because of me."

"It's my honor. The family need not worry; Aldrickson and Thaddeus have sufficient resources." Emeric's expression was arrogant. Merchants only care about profits; if it could affect the family, then everyone should just give up.

"I want a cat, come here and let me hold you."

Seeing the determination in his eyes, Severus yielded and chose to let the cat stay by his side. He knew that even if Emeric disagreed, he would still grant his request. The approaching footsteps made it impossible for Emeric to think; he could only transform into a cat and jump into Severus's arms.

Severus, carrying the cat, walked into the secret passage next to him. He originally wanted to make a big fuss, preferably letting the whole world know that he had killed Dumbledore, but... he couldn't bear to let Emeric suffer with him.

He planned to leave the school quickly while everyone else was rushing upstairs, find a Death Eater-owned shop to create an alibi, and prevent anyone from suspecting him. As for Voldemort, he had the Elder Wand, which was enough to prove he had indeed killed Dumbledore.

By the time they returned to school, McGonagall had brought the situation under control. She carefully collected "Dumbledore's" body and placed it in a coffin. Gellert stood beside him, looking dazed and seemingly unable to react due to grief. If McGonagall hadn't personally thrown the model down, he would have truly believed Dumbledore was dead.

"Severus, where were you when Albus fell? I'm sorry, I'm not doubting you, I've asked everyone." McGonagall wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, looking at him with red eyes.

Severus feigned surprise and asked incredulously, "Dumbledore fell from a building? When? I've been out shopping all morning."

He handed a handkerchief to McGonagall, pressed down on the cat in his pocket, and said, "Minerva, we need to find the killer as soon as possible. We can't let him get away without a trace."

"I know, but Severus, we need to take care of the children now. Albus loves them the most and certainly doesn't want them to be sad because of me."

"I will keep the Slytherin in line."

"Thank you, Severus, this makes me feel much better."

In order to keep the act going, Severus had no choice but to follow behind McGonagall, watching her force herself to deal with the people who came to offer their condolences. He couldn't help but feel sorry for her, as she was so old and had to clean up his and Dumbledore's mess without even knowing what was going on.

"That's about it for today, Severus. Go and get some rest. We have a tough battle to fight tomorrow."

"Yes, you should get some rest too."

The two parted ways in the corridor; one went up toward the brightly lit Gryffindor, while the other went down toward the dimly lit Slytherin.

Upon entering the cellar, Severus saw a red-haired man sitting on his sofa, reading his collection of essays, and wearing leather shoes on his favorite carpet.

"?"

"What are you doing hiding here? Why don't you go find Grindelwald?" He couldn't help himself and finally cleaned the carpet thoroughly, deciding to put it away after Dumbledore left to prevent it from getting so dirty again.

"There's nothing I can do. Gale can only act naturally when I'm not around." Dumbledore shrugged, preparing to stay in the cellar any longer.