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

Chapter 62 Deceiving the Snake Bites the Notebook

Emeric packed up two piles of food, one raw and one cooked. He was determined to bring the basilisk back today, so that Severus would have a stable source of venom, and maybe he could forgive him if he was in a good mood.

While tidying up, she handed Severus some cookies. It was already dinnertime, and his stomach was already weak; what if it got worse?

Harry, standing nearby, had already begun to awkwardly converse with the Basilisk. The Savior never lacked courage in the face of danger, especially when someone was there to back him up. How novel it was to chat with the Basilisk; no one but Voldemort had ever done such a thing.

"Harry, stop talking. Tell it to close its eyes, and I'll throw it food to tell it that I've petrified you, so it won't get any food."

"Airi, this is a girl, she's still young."

???

Emeric was utterly bewildered. He'd figured out someone's gender in such a short time? No wonder Harry could chat with anyone and anywhere.

"Okay, girl, she, tell this young lady to close her eyes, or your brother Ellie will die."

"Hiss, hiss hiss hiss" Good girl, we're bringing you food, but please close your eyes, okay?

"Hiss, okay."

Seeing that the basilisk had indeed closed its eyes in the extended mirror, Emeric breathed a sigh of relief. Severus, standing to the side, also breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Emeric had not been petrified. He would need to borrow a whip from Gellert after this was over; it would come in handy.

Emeric threw the packaged food in front of the basilisk, a pile of raw food and a pile of cooked food, to solve its survival problem first. Once it ate, everything would be fine.

"Severus, can you develop a potion to make this young lady's eyes less dangerous? I think our house will soon have a mascot. There's no rush to develop one; just have Fawkes feed it every day. Don't let Harry know about this. I'm going to infuriate the other three houses. We Slytherin have the founder's relics."

Emeric whispered in Severus's ear furtively, his warm breath hitting Severus's ear, which began to burn. A tingling sensation spread throughout Severus's body, and he quickly turned his head away from her ear.

While they were chatting, Harry started talking to the basilisk again. The lady preferred cooked meat to raw meat. After the basilisk finished eating, Emeric was ready to step in and persuade, no, negotiate.

"Alright, Harry, I'll take over. This lady is awake now and doesn't need Parseltongue to control her anymore."

The power from his bloodline allowed him to communicate with animals, but only to a limited extent; he lacked the ability to control them. This was why he brought Harry on this adventure. To be on the safe side, Emerick added a little more blood to the notebook, causing the spirit within to become engrossed in absorbing life force, leaving it no time to observe the outside world.

"Madam, we need your help. Does the scent on this notebook seem familiar? It's not Salazar Slytherin; it's an imposter. He stole Salazar's belongings. If you just take a small bite and inject some poison, you can eliminate the thief."

"Hiss, hiss" Really? Just one bite?

"Yes, just take a bite. Look, it's covered in blood. Salazar wouldn't let himself get covered in blood. This is a thief, good boy."

A seductive voice echoed in the snake's den, gradually bewitching the giant snake, whose mind was no more than five years old. Soon, she agreed to their request and bit the notebook in front of her.

"ah!!!"

The notebook was pierced by the snake's fangs, and as the venom corroded it, a scream came from the notebook, and a piece of Voldemort's soul completely disappeared from the world.

The main task for the day was completed, and the three of them breathed a sigh of relief. Now that the snake's den was open, they had no way to close it. They could only feed it regularly to prevent the young lady from wandering off. All that was left was to wait for Severus's potion, and then they could take the mascot away.

"We can take you out, but we need you to drink a potion to blindfold you, okay? If you're willing, you'll have to wait a while."

"Hiss" is certainly possible.

"Do you need us to help you with a name?"

"Hiss, hiss, hiss" I have a name, I am Evangeline, Evangeline Slytherin.

"May I call you Evangeline? It's a lovely name."

After some pleasantries, Emeric successfully persuaded Evangeline to take the medicine and go out with him. After all, snakes don't see with their eyes; they rely on their forked tongues to gather scents, so whether they can see or not doesn't matter.

Emeric picked up the destroyed notebook and left Evangeline a toy to keep her company, lest the child get bored and go out for a stroll.

The three walked back. Harry was clearly excited by the thrill of the adventure, so he wasn't hungry at all. The other two were quite different. Severus walked ahead alone with a blank expression, while Emeric cautiously tried to strike up a conversation, but failed each time.

In this strange atmosphere, the three reached the door, and the three who had been waiting anxiously outside finally breathed a sigh of relief. Draco, even forgetting his germaphobia, immediately pounced on Harry to check if he was injured.

Emeric waved the broken notebook in his hand at the two elderly people, letting them know that the biggest problem had been solved.

"Should we go back to the principal's office first? This isn't a good place to talk, and I'm a little hungry."

Dumbledore felt relieved upon seeing the notebook, but a wave of hunger washed over him. Several groups of young wizards had already passed by the door; if he stayed any longer, outrageous rumors would surely spread tomorrow, most likely originating from Gryffindor.

"Children, let's go, stay close to me."

Dumbledore winked at them, then walked to a corner and tapped a brick three times. The solid wall quickly cracked open, revealing a secret passage.

The six people ate and chatted. The sofa in the principal's office was full of people, but Severus sat alone on a single sofa and refused to have any physical contact with anyone, especially Emeric.

Anyone could tell he was in a bad mood, and Emeric had no chance to coax him. He had completely angered Severus, not only taking the risk alone but also keeping it a secret from him.

"Albus, could you let Fawkes go to the snake pit every two days? Evangeline is too big and needs to be fed every day. Of course, the Thaddeus family will pay for the food. It's Slytherin's mascot, and I'm willing to pay for it."

"As for the basilisk's eyes, we will provide materials for Severus to study. As long as she can't see, that's fine. After all, snakes don't rely on eyes to see."

Emeric offered suggestions and supporting resources, and Dumbledore had no reason to refuse. Moreover, the basilisk was Salazar's relic, and killing the basilisk after losing the box would be excessive. Why wouldn't he be willing to have someone else cover for him?