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

Chapter 79 Stinky Rat

"You should sign the documents first. The four deans have already agreed to this plan, as well as this win-win model. You should read it and sign it as well."

Emeric pressed Dumbledore into a chair, laid the plan out in front of him, and made it clear that he wouldn't be allowed to leave until he signed it.

Draco and Harry sat on the sofa, looking down at the ground. They saw nothing and knew nothing, so don't hold them accountable.

"Oh, don't be in such a hurry. What do Harry and Draco need me for?"

"Albus, hurry up and sign this. I need to get this done at the next board meeting. If you keep dragging your feet, the potions masters at home have invented a lot of amazing things lately. Can you guess what they are?"

Faced with this blatant threat, Dumbledore finally yielded. He carefully reviewed the plan; it contained detailed regulations for almost everything, the management rules were clear and unambiguous, and the supplementary clauses were well-written. After reading it, he couldn't help but admire the Thaddeus family's ability to raise children; their next generation was truly blessed.

After seeing Dumbledore obediently sign the papers, Emeric immediately packed everything away, waiting for the board meeting next Monday. He planned to have his father come over and put the matter aside directly, saving time from unnecessary fuss.

"Alright, Draco, tell me what you caught. Harry, show me what you found."

The two little ones repeated what they had said and the reasons for their suspicions. When Dumbledore heard that Ginny's notebook was given to her by Scabbers, he squinted and brought the cage to his eyes for a closer look.

"This mouse... is missing a finger? Gale, take a look, I'm afraid I'm seeing things."

"Hmph, it's missing one, why don't you let your golden boy see it?"

He ignored the jealous Gellert and ran through his mind all the Animagus he knew, but he couldn't think of anyone who would want to become a rat.

They decided to use the Patronus Charm to summon Severus, hoping he still had some Animagus Anti-Potion in stock. Turning him back into a human would be much faster than them guessing here.

Soon, the sound of the dripping beast moving came from the doorway, and what Severus smelled of was its fragrance.

Emeric's eyes lit up instantly. He moved himself next to the single sofa and waited for Severus to sit down before leaning in.

"Old bee, are you out of your mind? Who would bring Animagus into school? Huh? What are you doing here?"

After seeing the entire room, Severus stopped his artistic greetings to Dumbledore and began to wonder why there were so many people here today. Surely they couldn't have caused trouble again.

Thinking of this, he glared at Emeric, thinking that Emeric had gotten involved in the mess of the Savior again, but Emeric's aggrieved look made him wonder if Dumbledore had bullied him, so he turned to look at Dumbledore.

"Severus, give me some face. Look at this rat, it's the one that gave Voldemort's notebook to Ginny Weasley. We need your potion."

Dumbledore quickly interrupted Severus, fearing he might leave if he didn't speak. He opened the cage and used a levitation charm to move the unconscious rat inside to the center of the room.

Severus took out the potion and dripped it on the rat. Soon, a short, fat, and familiar-looking man appeared on the ground. He was still asleep, which showed that Draco's potion was quite effective.

"Peter Pettigrew? Isn't he dead? Maybe we need to call Lily over."

While waiting for Lily to arrive, Severus's face was ashen. He leaned against the windowsill, looking as if he could send someone to their death at any moment.

Emeric, the dog, crept closer to the window. He wanted to stay with Severus; he missed him terribly after not seeing him for so long. He sensed that Severus was in a bad mood, so when no one was looking, he slipped a mutated daffodil into his hand. He didn't know if it had any medicinal value, but it was very pretty.

"Professor, what's this traitor doing here?"

As soon as Lily entered, she saw Peter on the floor. Her body was trembling with anger, and Harry went over to support her with some concern. Draco also stood up and helped Lily to sit on the single sofa next to them. Anyway, no one was going to sit there, and what if Lily fainted from anger?

"Draco, how do we wake him up? We have questions for him."

"Just sprinkle some water on it."

Dumbledore chose to use Clear Water, and a large stream of water woke Peter up. Severus immediately gave him two drops of Truth Potion. Lily was helped away by the two little ones and hid, as she was not in a suitable state to appear in front of Peter.

"Peter, were you the one who betrayed Lily?"

"it's me."

Why betray them?

"No one can defeat Voldemort. What's wrong with me trying to survive? They didn't even consider me a friend. Why should I risk my life for them?"

With just a few words, the conflict between them was cleared up. Dumbledore sighed and asked no more questions. He looked at Severus, and when he saw the indifference in his eyes, Dumbledore realized that Severus had let go. Perhaps he was heartbroken by Lily, or perhaps Emeric had completely squeezed in. In the end, he didn't know whether this was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Alright, do you have any other questions? If not, I'll take him to the Ministry of Magic. Sirius has been imprisoned for so many years because of him, we need to get him out as soon as possible."

Emeric shook his head, his attention entirely on Severus, somewhat worried about Severus's feelings.

"I don't have any either, Emerick, let's go."

"Okay!"

"Oh, by the way, Albus, here, remember to poison him."

Before leaving, Emeric glanced at the room behind the reception room. The person inside was not suitable to be exposed to the public. He was instructed to drug Peter before letting the person out.

He was taken back to the cellar by Severus, and upon seeing the man's dejected expression as he clutched his head, he transformed into a kitten and crawled into Severus's arms. Clearly, the man had remembered Lily's words again; all these years of guilt stemmed from her scheming, a feeling that was unbearable.

"咪咪"

The kitten rubbed its head against the man's angular face, trying to soothe his sadness with its soft fur. Its docile appearance could scare Dumbledore to death.

After rubbing against him for a long time and barely managing to make the man a little happier, Emeric thought for a moment, then he gathered his magic on his horn, and the vines wrapped around it suddenly bloomed. Before, there was only one kind of small white flower, but now it bloomed with many colorful flowers.

This is a new skill brought by the unicorn's blessing. He had completely forgotten about it before. If Severus hadn't been in a bad mood this time, he would have forgotten it for a long time.

The cat had grown much larger, making it easier for the man to remove the flowers from its head. Actually, Severus wasn't upset at all; his earlier demeanor was all an act. He thought he could get other mutated herbs from Emeric, but he hadn't expected to reap such a huge reward. The allure of the new flowers was far greater than that of the mutated herbs.

After picking a bunch of cats, Severus picked one up by the neck and tossed it onto the sofa, then ordered Emeric to grade the paper as punishment for his insubordination.

Severus took the flowers into the potion workshop, where he could experiment with strange and unusual materials again. He was having a really lucky day.