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

Chapter 183 Post-War

Unexpectedly, Voldemort did not give up the fight. He used his hands to prop himself up and stood in front of Dumbledore again.

"Avada Kedavra." He continued casting the spell with his remaining magic, trying to take one of the inhabitants before the body was ruined.

"Fire shield protects me." / "Flames roar."

The two spells clashed, and Dumbledore saw Severus nod at him in the distance; he knew the battle was over. He exchanged a glance with Gellert, and together they increased their magical output, sending the flames hurtling towards Voldemort.

"Ha, you haven't won yet. I'll be back." With that, Voldemort gave up resisting magic, letting Dumbledore's flames burn him. His soul was already in chaos and unable to perceive Nagini's condition, still gloating that he had another trick up his sleeve, that they couldn't kill him.

In the end, it turned into a pile of ashes and scattered in the wind.

The situation was brought under control after his death, with only the flames still burning. The students were busy putting out the fire, which should be extinguished soon.

"Luckily, we used a lot of protective charms, otherwise the castle would have been destroyed by that dragon. Speaking of which, where's Harry? I haven't seen him in ages." Ron waved his wand to extinguish the flames next to him.

Hermione, who was trying to repair the castle nearby, thought for a moment after hearing his words, then shook her head and said, "I didn't see them either, nor Draco. They've been gone for a long time." She figured the two of them were probably somewhere celebrating their survival, just like they had been.

Harry and Draco, standing before Lucius, dared not speak, completely unprepared for their relationship to be discovered at this moment. Narcissa, after checking and finding them unharmed, also stood opposite them, joining Lucius's side.

The four of them fell silent, none of them knowing what to say. Harry wanted to say something, but Draco pinched him, afraid that if he opened his mouth, he would anger the two adults and they would really have to be separated for a while.

"What are you doing here? Go help out if you have time." Severus, carrying the cat, walked past them and, noticing Draco's pitiful eyes, unusually softened and said, "Don't blame me for not reminding you, if you want to spend less money on the liquidation, go help now, or it'll be too late if you stand here any longer~"

"Hmph, I'll deal with you in a couple of days." Lucius glared at them fiercely, then went to the rescue with Narcissa. No matter how much money they had, they couldn't afford to spend it like this.

Watching the two figures disappear into the distance, the two little ones immediately breathed a sigh of relief, their expressions of relief almost smug. Severus, for his part, felt an itch to punch them, narrowing his eyes and preparing to find a reason to hurl a few insults. But unfortunately, before he could find a reason, Harry was dragged away by Draco.

He could only vent his anger by pulling Emeric's ears; he hadn't even settled accounts for his disobedience and risky behavior yet. The kitten even pushed its head up, making it easier for the man to pull.

"Tsk, that's enough."

Seeing the cat's fawning eyes, Severus looked disgusted, let go of it, and decided not to pet it anymore. He took the cat directly to Dumbledore, wanting to finish their business first before dealing with the mess; they had plenty of time.

The students all looked at him warily; if Emeric hadn't been in front of them, they probably would have already started a fight. Severus felt his temper was getting better and better, and reached out to pull back the little brat who wanted to start a fight. "Behave yourself, let Dumbledore handle it. He's the most free right now."

To appease him, Severus even let him hold his hand. Voldemort was dead, and there was no need to hide their relationship any longer. This would both assert his dominance and deter some students from sending him love letters while their minds were not on their studies.

Of course, Severus kept his jealousy to himself and didn't let Emeric find out. Although he believed in his own charm, that didn't stop him from finding Emeric an eyesore.

They must have startled countless people along the way, but the two main figures were quite happy and extremely satisfied with the effect. Emeric even felt the journey was too short and wondered if they should tour the castle again, determined to let everyone know that Severus was his.

"What brings you here? Aren't you helping out downstairs?" Dumbledore poured them two cups of tea, casually mentioning McGonagall, "Have you seen Minerva? She hasn't shown up since she saw me this morning."

"No," Severus picked up his teacup, took a sip, and put it down. He couldn't possibly have any illusions about Dumbledore's tastes. "She's probably busy cleaning up after you. She organized your funeral a while ago, and now she has to deal with those people. When did she become the headmaster? Allie, I always thought these things were the headmaster's responsibility."

"That's how it is in Durmstrang."

Dumbledore pretended not to hear Severus and Emeric's back-and-forth banter, twirling his fingers with his head down. He was too old for such pleasantries; McGonagall was younger than him, and he trusted her.

"Could you call Minerva for me? I need to talk to her." He figured Severus was her student, so even if she was unhappy, she wouldn't refuse. He could then figure out a way to get rid of the principal's position so he could go on a trip with Gellert.

"Don't even think about it," Severus rolled his eyes. McGonagall was so good to him; he wouldn't help Dumbledore bully her. "When are you going to announce my identity? You don't want me to live with this bad reputation for the rest of my life, do you?"

"That will be quick. I've contacted a reporter from the Daily Prophet, they'll come for an interview tomorrow, and I'll tell them everything then." Dumbledore waved his hand. He had already thought these things through; if things weren't handled well, Emeric could cause them endless trouble. He wondered what Severus was thinking, taking a liking to this little devil who threatened the old man all day long.

After getting the answer he wanted, Severus immediately pulled Emeric away, intending to complain to McGonagall and tell her what Dumbledore was up to. Don't think he didn't see the look of disdain in Emeric's eyes; no matter how bad the little rascal was, he was still his own, and Dumbledore had no right to look down on him.

On the way back, the little wizard was much less hostile, probably because McGonagall and Sprout helped him clarify things, and Evelyn and Salafina probably also helped explain. Apart from them, no one else knew about this.

"Where is Minerva?" Severus squeezed Emeric's hand, urging him to look for her. Rather than searching aimlessly around the school, he figured it would be faster to ask the flowers and plants nearby.

Emeric tilted his head and listened for a while. "Hmm... they just left the castle and are heading towards the rose garden. We should run into them if we go there now."

"Okay, let's go."

"Remember to play the victim later. We're going to tell Minerva what Dumbledore did." Severus grinned wickedly. His mischievous side was kicking in; he felt he had to play a trick on Dumbledore after all the suffering he'd endured.

"Okay~"