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

Chapter 182 Killing the Snake

Black clouds rolled toward Hogwarts, and more and more Death Eaters approached from afar, turning the ground into a vast, dark mass.

Upon seeing them from afar, McGonagall immediately activated the entire castle's defense system. Then, she looked at the large drawbridge with a troubled expression. This thing was really not going to be destroyed anytime soon; she had completely forgotten about it after sending the children off yesterday.

"Minerva, what's wrong?" Evelyn was worried she might be in danger since she hadn't returned for a while. Following her gaze to the suspension bridge ahead, she said, "I knew I'd forgotten something. Turns out it's this bridge. Don't worry, we have people who can finish it."

McGonagall tilted her head curiously. She could think of someone who could do it, and he happened to be in the castle right now. "You mean?"

"Hmm~ I'll go get him, you stay here."

Many children have returned to the castle, so now is a good time to get them moving and have something to do, lest they get so bored that they try to help but end up doing something wrong.

Voldemort stood in the center of the crowd, waved his wand forward, and said, "Go, enjoy this war." His eyes were bloodshot as he stared intently at the school gate, while the throng behind him surged forward like a tide.

Severus was swept forward by the crowd. He tried to steady himself and carefully searched for Nagini's location, trying to get closer without alerting Voldemort. Along the way, he also wanted to cast a spell to blast away those silly kids who hadn't even graduated yet but insisted on coming back to interfere.

"Disarm me." I repelled another unlucky kid. I really don't know what he was thinking. I was clearly afraid of him at school, but now he had the courage to rush up and get beaten up. Was he just bullying me like a pushover?

However, Severus soon had no more worries. He saw Emeric mingling with the crowd and approaching, which made him furious. He had promised to hide in the castle, so why was he here?

"America Thaddeus, explain why you're here!" he shouted angrily, calling him by his full name without stopping, continuing to approach Voldemort.

"Professor Snape, I'll fight you. They won't get in our way. I'll show you what I've learned over the years." Emeric saw a Death Eater nearby and deliberately used a wrong spell to send him flying. He then gestured to Severus to walk towards Voldemort.

"I'll deal with you when we get back," Severus said viciously, tripping the Death Eater next to him to prevent him from attacking Americ.

The two men circled Voldemort's location, about 200 meters away, but couldn't find Nagini anywhere. Their worst fears had come true: the snake had disappeared somewhere.

"Could you slow down a bit..." Barty came running over, panting heavily. He had dodged countless people and spells along the way. He had no partner, and if it weren't for Dumbledore, who would want to do this? "The snake is in the Screaming Shack. You guys go ahead, I'll stay here."

He had somehow managed to place a tracking spell on Nagini's scales some time ago, and Voldemort was probably too confident to notice it until now, so this was the perfect opportunity to use it.

"be safe."

They said no more and thought of the secret passage under the Man-Beating Willow. Fortunately, they were not far from the Forbidden Forest. All they had to do was open the door to the group of people next to them.

"Eliminate your weapon."

"They'll all turn to petrification."

The two of them exchanged spells, hitting whoever they passed by. Eventually, their magic power was almost depleted. Fortunately, Severus had brewed a lot of magic-restoring potions beforehand, and after drinking two bottles, they recovered.

"Fire all at once." The man struck a knot in the tree, then looked at Emeric. "You go back and guard the school. I'll be back soon."

"No, I'm going with you. He can't possibly go without taking any precautions." Emeric said, ignoring his reaction, and transformed into a kitten, disappearing into his pocket. If there hadn't been no time to throw him back, Severus would never have taken him along.

Emerging from the tunnel, a gaping maw awaited him, emanating a strong, pungent stench. Just as it was about to touch his flesh, Emeric transformed into a giant cat and slapped the snake against the wall, just as he had slapped Lupin before.

"Meow!!!"

Because his claws were frequently clipped, they couldn't cut through the snakeskin, but that didn't stop him from being strong. He slapped Nagini on the head several times in a row.

The anger of almost losing his lover made the cat angry. By the time Severus called for a stop, Nagini was already tied in a knot. If he hadn't been unable to destroy the Horcrux, he probably would have turned into a lump of snake meat by now.

"Alright, I'm fine. Don't take it out on the prey." The man clearly knew what the cat was angry about and understood its habits. He reached out and rubbed the big cat's ears, making the cat hold onto them. "I'll put the venom on it. Be careful not to get any on yourself."

Last night he went to see Evangeline just in case, to see how hard Emeric had attacked. The fact that Nagini was still alive was obviously because it was a Horcrux.

"hiss--"

The venom was poured on, producing a lot of bubbles that slowly corroded Nagini's body. The snake, which had been knocked unconscious, woke up in pain, but the next second the cat slapped it again.

"Change back, I'll wipe your paws, and then we'll go back. Dumbledore and Grindelwald are in the school. If Voldemort takes it down, they can just break the wand in half."

After relieving his biggest worry, Severus seemed much more relaxed. He gently wiped Emeric's paws one by one, and after cleaning all four paws, he played with the paw pads until the cat meowed loudly before stopping.

"Tsk, put it in my pocket. I'll take you back. You can't come out until everything is over. Call out when you hear me."

"Meow~"

The man crawled back into the secret passage. He really didn't know what Dumbledore was thinking. The tunnel was dug so small that he had to crawl in and out every time, getting covered in dust.

When he returned to the battlefield, the war was almost over. Dumbledore and Gellert fought Voldemort together, and many Death Eaters were captured with the help of an inside agent.

"professor!"

A boy with short black hair and green eyes came into his line of sight. This person, who should have been in Nurmengard, appeared in the place where he should not have been.

"What are you doing here? Get back here right now." Severus frowned, grabbed Harry by the collar and headed into the castle. He was glad that this was the edge of the battlefield and few people would notice this place.

"I asked Madam Rosier to bring me here. She was afraid I'd blow up Nurmengard, so she had to send me back." Harry felt embarrassed, but he didn't want to abandon the school, so he used a little something.

"Get back here, or I'll tell Lily." Severus could now mention Lily quite naturally; he didn't care about Harry anymore. He had a headache of his own and had no time for anyone else. "Or, would you like to talk to Lucius? He should be nearby with your relationship problems with Draco."

"I'm sorry, Professor, I'll be right there."

"?" Lucius rushed over upon hearing his name called, thinking something was wrong, but then he heard about Draco and Harry's relationship problems. He felt his head was about to explode, if only this weren't a battlefield. "You two had better explain what happened, especially you, Severus, how long have you been keeping this from them?"

He took a deep breath. "Forget it, we'll talk about it after we're done fighting. Now, Mr. Harry Potter, you get back to where you were."

Suddenly, the dark clouds in the sky were ignited by a burst of fire. At this moment, Voldemort in the center of the battlefield was in great distress. He did not expect that after so many years, Dumbledore and Gellert had not regressed at all. The Elder Wand in his hand was like a fake, providing no help whatsoever.

After a powerful burst of magical energy, Voldemort was knocked to the ground. Dumbledore stepped forward, pointing his wand at the man on the ground. "You lost." Gellert stepped back a step to steady himself, protecting him from any sneak attacks.