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

Chapter 59 Grabbing the Notebook

"Potter, tell me what happened, what did he do?"

"I'm sorry, Professor, I can't say. Ellie only told me to take you there."

"If you want to play a riddle game, you should go find Dumbledore. My potions need someone to watch over them, so I'll take my leave now."

A nameless anger surged within him, and Severus wanted to turn around and leave, once again not telling him anything, only to leave him to clean up the mess in the end.

Emeric, now in the Room of Requirement, finally remembered what he'd forgotten: he'd forgotten to tell Harry to tell the truth when the professor asked. Great, he was doomed. Severus definitely wouldn't talk to him anymore. He was finished.

On the other side, Draco led the elderly couple on a mad dash. Gellert was genuinely worried about Emerick, and Dumbledore was worried too. The two of them were quite old, and they ran a little faster than Draco.

So the two groups met at the door of the House of Response. Both were taken aback and immediately realized that only one person was in danger.

Severus pushed open the half-closed door beside him, and a faint smell of blood filled the air. Inside the room, Emeric was holding a knife, preparing to strike his wrist again. The previous wound had stopped bleeding, and he was now preoccupied with how to beg the professor for forgiveness, completely unaware that someone had entered through the door.

"Eliminate your weapon"

"Severus, you've come! Look what I've caught!"

"Sardius, if you want to die, just say so. I have plenty of medicine. There's no need to hurt yourself all the time."

"Alright, alright, Severus, don't be angry. Ellie must have her reasons for doing this."

"I didn't insult you, did I, you old bee? At your age, you're still playing the old flame game, setting a bad example for Ellie. And you, Grindelwald, what are you doing in front of the child every day? Are you teaching him to like men at such a young age?"

Hearing this, everyone present knew why Severus was so angry. Draco, pulling Harry into a corner, looked completely bewildered. He thought Emeric wanted to be his brother, but it turned out he wanted to be his godmother.

Dumbledore reached out and twisted Gellert, a method he had recently discovered for venting his anger, and it worked very well.

"Severus, can you take a look at me first? This thing is getting out of control."

Emeric waved the notebook in his hand at them, the bloodstains on the pages gradually disappearing, clearly telling everyone present that this was no good thing.

"Eri, could you tell us what this is? It doesn't look like anything good."

"I suspect it's Voldemort. The evidence is that this book belongs to Tom Riddle, plus the strange noises Harry has been hearing recently might be from the Basilisk, and not many people speak Parsleyan. It's pretty obvious, isn't it?"

"Albus, you guys need to figure out a way to deal with this thing quickly. We can talk about the rest later, otherwise I'll have to bleed it again. It keeps trying to escape."

"Let me try, even if it means being shattered to pieces."

"Hmm? Flames are raging."

After two spells failed to destroy the notebook, Dumbledore paused to think for a moment and then asked Fawkes to bring the Sorting Hat.

The adult and the two children leaning against the wall all had complicated expressions. Severus pressed the mark on his left arm and hid himself in the darkness. He was about to start another day where he couldn't see the sunlight.

Draco was worried about his family's safety, and also about Harry's safety; as the savior, Harry was in danger. Harry's face was filled with anger and solemnity. This was the murderer who killed his parents, and he had no way to avenge them, not even Dumbledore could destroy this thing.

"Harry, try to pull the sword. The future belongs to you young people, give it a try."

Dumbledore handed the Sorting Hat to Harry, telling him not to be afraid and give it a try. Harry took a deep breath, put his hand on the hilt of the sword, and pulled hard, and the Gryffindor sword appeared in his hand.

"Good boy, go and believe in yourself."

"Hmm, Harry, wait a minute, let me put this down first. I'm a little unsure about your accuracy."

Emeric put the notebook on the table and quickly dodged, afraid of being hit by Harry's sword. He hid next to Severus and gently shook the man's clothes, extending his wrist to let him know that his wound had healed, but the man, who was in a bad mood, didn't want to talk to him.

"Pfft"

Harry stabbed the notebook right through, but it returned to its original shape after the sword was pulled out, clearly failing once again. Emeric sighed, picked up the dagger that had just been knocked away, and prepared to stab himself again. Until he found a way, he would keep it to prevent it from escaping and harming others.

Severus pressed down on his hand. "Do you really need your blood?" He gripped Emeric's wrist tightly, and the image of blood everywhere flashed before his eyes again. The surging emotions made him tremble.

The next moment, Occlumency took over his emotions. He released Emeric's hand, because it was the best option. He and Dumbledore couldn't afford to get hurt; they needed to deal with the notebook. Grindelwald couldn't either. Harry and Draco were too young to donate that much blood. The feeling of helplessness was terrible. Severus clenched his fists, and streaks of blood appeared on his palms.

Emeric quickly dripped some blood onto the wound, pried open Severus's clenched fist, and inserted his left hand. He smelled the blood, which carried the scent of grass and wood, and immediately realized that the man had hurt him.

"Severus, could you make me some blood-replenishing medicine? I feel dizzy from blood loss."

Emeric leaned on Severus's shoulder, feigning weakness, his smoky purple eyes looking at Severus with a pitiful expression, trying to make the man feel sorry for him.

"snort"

The man didn't refuse him, even though he knew that Emeric was faking his weakness. After shaking off his hand, he snorted coldly, took out a bottle of Emeric's special potion, and stuffed it into his hand. In the end, he still softened.

The other two couples in the room were both feeling a bit of a toothache. Dumbledore hissed and turned to Gellert, asking, "Gale, I haven't been eating much candy lately, so why do my teeth hurt?" He wasn't going to miss any opportunity to retort.

"Albus, do you guys have any other ideas on how to deal with this damn notebook? I can't keep bleeding it dry, can I? What if it takes a liking to someone else?"

"I'm sorry, Airi, this is the only way. We can't destroy it, so you'll have to keep it for now."

Draco bit his lip, but he decided to speak up anyway, even though it was a family secret: the basilisk's venom could destroy the soul.

"Could we try the Slytherin relic, the basilisk? It should be in the basement."

"When Harry first said he heard the sound of a snake, I guessed it, but I didn't dare to say anything because I didn't know who released it. Gryffindor's sword can't destroy it, so we can try the basilisk's venom."

A lightbulb went off in Emeric's head; he knew what to do. The only problem now was how to find the basilisk and how to get it to close its eyes and hand over its venom.

"I know where the basilisk's lair is, but I need Harry's help. Albus, you and Gellert help me control the basilisk. I have a way to extract the venom."

"I'll go with you." / "Harry, take me with you."

Severus and Draco both insisted on going together, but neither was comfortable with it. Severus couldn't help but think: Emeric should go to Gryffindor; foolish courage.