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

Chapter 118 Deng Duoduo is here

A man sat on a small single sofa, with a kitten in his lap, diligently massaging him—karma for pinching his cheeks the past two days.

"You're already out of energy? Weren't you quite enthusiastic yesterday?" The chilling words struck him like a dagger, but Severus remained perfectly calm, holding the book in his hands.

The guilty kitten kneaded the milk with all its might, not daring to resist at all. It knew how badly it had gone the other day, taking advantage of Severus's small size by pinching his cheeks.

"Meow~" The cat was wrong, forgive the cat.

"continue."

Emeric continued to knead the radish, changing locations as he went, striving to please him and doing his utmost to win his favor, fearing that Severus would throw him out along with the radish.

"Cough cough cough..."

Dumbledore shattered the tranquility of the house, his voice so loud that it filled the entire first floor. Severus instinctively covered the cat's ears, afraid that Emeric would be so frightened that he would run around the room in panic.

"What are you doing here?"

"Hey! Severus, why are you saying that to me? Can't I come to see you if I have nothing to do?"

"What is it?" Severus had no time for arguing with Dumbledore and interrupted his complaints directly.

"Then you promise me you won't get angry or yell at me after I listen, and you definitely won't add chili peppers to the teeth-strengthening potion."

"You know I get angry and you still come to me, do you think I'm too good-natured? If you're really that free, why don't you use that energy on dealing with documents after school starts?"

"Only you can do this..."

Dumbledore lowered his head, twirling his fingers, his eyes cautiously meeting Severus's. His voice grew softer and softer until he finally fell silent, knowing that this matter was putting Severus in a very difficult position.

But you can't threaten an old man. Dumbledore thought to himself, though his reasoning was flawed, he straightened his back and looked back. Relying on his age, he had plenty of confidence.

"Either speak now, or get out."

"Don't be so fierce. When are you free to come with me to the Crouch's house? I suspect that Barty Crouch Jr. is still alive. I'll drag Big Crouch along while you go look for him. If he really is still alive, then we should prepare for the worst as soon as possible."

"Have you forgotten that I'm a Death Eater too? You want me to go to the home of a Ministry of Magic member? If you want me dead, just say so." Severus didn't immediately understand whether Dumbledore was joking or seriously plotting something.

His voice was filled with incomprehension. "You'd better be joking. How could he possibly let me in? Use your syrupy brain, will you? If you want a different potions professor, just say so. I'll leave. There's no need for this."

Dumbledore lowered his head, his eyes meeting those of the gloating kitten. He quickly looked up. "Ellie, you tell us, you were the ones who discovered this."

Dumbledore was brilliant at shifting the blame. Severus, who had been staring at him, looked down at the cat in his arms. How did this matter get involved with Emeric?

The kitten reluctantly jumped to the ground, transformed back into a human, and explained, "A long time ago, I had my father's men keep an eye on those active Death Eater families, thinking we'd make a quick buck. A while ago, someone ran into a snag with Barty Crouch, so we tried to find something on him to make him pretend he didn't see our operation. Turns out, it turns out there's no human buried in Barty Crouch Jr.'s grave; we tried two groups of men but failed to infiltrate it."

At this point, Emeric pursed his lips, "I can only tell Albus. After all, Barty Jr. completely supports Voldemort. If he tries to sabotage me from the shadows, what will become of my business?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire living room fell silent. Severus suspected that Emeric had bought something again, emptying his savings; otherwise, the little rascal wouldn't have bothered getting involved. Dumbledore, on the other hand, was perfectly justified. He stood with his hands on his hips, looking completely innocent. He hadn't started this, so he couldn't be blamed.

"Why me?"

"As Ellie just said, Barty Jr. fully supports Voldemort; he trusts the Death Eaters, not me, so it has to be you. Severus, I need you." Dumbledore was also helpless; he didn't want to drag Severus into this either.

"Have you figured out how you're going to get me in? I won't take the risk without a proper plan."

"Of course~, you can just drink Polyjuice Potion and turn into Harry's appearance. Just say that Harry wants to come visit with me. Anyway, it's not strange for kids to do anything."

"You want me to become Potter? Are you crazy, you old bee? If you want to see me throw up, just say so. There's no need to beat around the bush."

Severus automatically imagined the scene in his mind, and for a moment he shuddered, a chill spreading throughout his body.

"Then what should we do? We can't have Ellie become Harry and you become Ellie... Hey? That's a good idea too."

"Shut up, I'll drink it."

Upon hearing that Emerick would be involved, Severus forced himself to agree to Dumbledore's request, despite his nausea; he couldn't let Emerick take such a risk.

"Albus, I'll go with you. We just need to confirm whether Barty is alive or dead. We can talk about everything else later. There's no need to drag Severus into this." Seeing Severus frowning and looking disgusted, Emeric stepped in front of him.

"Shut up, I said I'm going, if you don't listen, go home."

They both prioritize each other's safety, preferring to take risks themselves rather than let the other person get hurt.

"No, I can't just stand by and watch you take the risk. What if Barty is really alive and tells Voldemort about you?" For the first time, Emeric refused to back down, even when Severus threatened to break off their relationship if he didn't obey.

"Since you don't want to continue, then take your things and get out." Severus angrily took off the ring and threw it into Emeric's arms. This was the first time he had ever been disobeyed like this.

Even if we break up, I won't agree to you taking risks. I can't share the burden of the past, but I can't let you take risks alone now or in the future.

Upon realizing the two were arguing, Dumbledore quietly made himself inconspicuous. He wished he could shove himself back into the fireplace and return to Godric's Hollow immediately. He was certain that once Emeric and Severus reconciled or completely fell out, they would deal with him.

"Well, I'm leaving now. You two can chat." Dumbledore said and ran off. If he stayed any longer, he'd probably get a scolding.

"Move out before noon, or I'll throw it all away."

"Severus, I'm sorry, I was too loud just now. Can we sit down and talk?" Emeric lowered his tone. He felt that it was indeed his fault. If he hadn't spoken without considering Severus's feelings, the two of them wouldn't have ended up arguing.

"I think if Barty Jr. is conscious, you'll need to put in a lot of effort to explain why you were at their house. And if—and I mean if—Crouch finds out, you'll be in big trouble. He might try to kill you to keep the secret."

"I don't want you to be in danger. We can think of another way to handle this. If there really isn't one, then we'll talk about it again, okay?"

Emeric knelt beside Severus, his eyes filled with worry, and silently slipped the ring back onto his finger. Taking the offered step, Severus readily stepped down. He hadn't intended to argue; Emeric had always been obedient, and being contradicted for the first time made him quite annoyed.

The cold words unintentionally hurt both of them, but fortunately Emeric didn't immediately try to figure out who was right or wrong, otherwise their argument could have escalated even further.