Snape, the Sunshine of Hogwarts.

Chapter 233 Pure Soul
Severus was actually quite confident about Horcruxes.

Voldemort kept this secret very well, except for Dumbledore, who discovered the truth through clues and eventually found his Horcruxes one by one.

His subordinates didn't even understand how their master had achieved immortality.

It is precisely for this reason that, at this point in time, Severus never imagined that anyone could compete with him for the task of finding the Horcruxes.

However, an unexpected incident occurred on Batistuta's side.

First, he managed to escape Barty's control and flee his home. Then, he even managed to find Voldemort's old home—Gaunt Manor.

On his way to Little Hangleton, Severus reflected on what he had done over the past few months and how it had affected Barty Jr.

The reason he was able to break free from Barty's control so early was largely due to Severus's involvement in the potion poisoning case, which had a very negative impact on the Ministry of Magic. This meant that Barty, the Director, had to spend a considerable amount of time working instead of staying at home.

It was from that time that Barty Jr. also contacted the werewolf Greyback, asking him to create a bigger commotion to cover his escape.

This is the period when problems are most likely to occur, because before Barty Jr. carried out his escape plan, he was under the control of the Imperius Curse and had no ability to take care of himself.

Of course, it's also possible that Barty Jr. had already discovered something beforehand, but in the original story, when he escaped from home and broke free from Barty Sr.'s control, Voldemort had already secretly returned to England to prepare his resurrection plan.

At that time, Barty, who was also busy working to resurrect his master, had no need to bring Voldemort back.

As Severus was pondering this, he arrived at Little Hangleton.

Finding the old Gauntlet house here was no easy task. After asking around among the residents of Little Hangleton, Severus walked four or five miles to Big Hangleton as dusk fell, finally arriving at the dilapidated, old and decaying house.

The walls are covered in moss, many of the roof tiles have fallen off, and the rafters are exposed here and there.

The house was surrounded by dense nettles, which grew so tall they reached the windows, which were very small and covered with thick layers of grime. A dead snake was nailed to the door, and it looked like no one had been there for a long time.

But from the residents of Big Hangleton, Severus also learned that someone had come looking for this abandoned old house some time ago.

Severus approached the door with the dead snake nailed to it, and just as he was about to push it open, he saw a fresh, green leaf beside the decaying door.

Although the yard of this house was overgrown with weeds, there were no trees at all, and the tall oak trees outside the yard did not have leaves like these.

This leaf must have come with someone, and only recently, otherwise it wouldn't have remained so green.

Severus simply remained silent and slowly drew his wand from his sleeve.

Several names swirled in his mind, but finally settled on the one that seemed most likely.

Without hesitation, he squinted and pushed open the door.

The room was dimly lit, with dust and moss almost completely covering the windows, allowing only a thin, weak yellow halo of the setting sun, which had already dipped to the horizon, to shine in and onto the young man sitting in the old armchair.

“I thought you probably wouldn’t come in after you guessed there were people in the house, Senior Snape.”

Barty's voice remained relaxed, completely devoid of the tension and fear his men displayed. On the contrary, he seemed to be the victor in this competition between him and Severus to see who could find the Dark Lord first.

Severus glanced around the room; the things were in disarray and clearly showed signs of having been ransacked.

"In your heart, why would I dare not come in?"

He looked up at Barty again.

“You should know what this house is, who it used to belong to, but now you’ve made a mess of it and think I’m afraid to come in.”

Barty didn't avoid Severus's gaze; instead, he stared directly into Severus's eyes.

"You found a master in Albania?"

Severus scoffed.

"This question is unnecessary. You were there at the time and you also felt the master's call."

“You are looking for a master, and you have indeed found one, but there’s something wrong with you.” Little Barty’s eyes also turned cold. “Your so-called loyalty is different from everyone else’s. It’s neither true loyalty nor like those fools who just want to gain benefits from their masters.”

"You have other intentions, bigger and more dangerous ones!"

“My loyalty is not for you, so no matter how you evaluate it, it doesn’t matter,” Severus said calmly. “I don’t care about other people’s opinions. As long as my master trusts me enough, that’s enough.”

At this point, his gaze toward Little Barty became somewhat dangerous.

"But what you did is different; you took the master's things."

"That was left by the master, a clue to find him," Little Barty exclaimed.

Severus sneered and drew his wand.

"Is that really true? Where did you hide that thing?"

Little Barty's face was icy cold.

"I will simply return it to its owner."

Severus laughed at his answer, shaking his head and looking at Barty with pity.

“I’m giving you a chance, Crouch. If the master doesn’t know about this, you might still retain some illusions of loyalty.”

"I want to see my master!" Little Barty kept repeating this sentence.

Seeing him like this, Severus put away his wand and took out a teacup without any hesitation.

In a one-on-one duel, Severus certainly wouldn't be afraid of Barty Jr., but if there were an easier way, Severus wouldn't mind at all.

When the teacup lid was opened and Voldemort's transparent, ethereal figure emerged, his voice was clearly hostile.

"Am I being too lenient with you, Severus? If it weren't for finding the unicorn, your constant interruptions would make me very unhappy."

“Master, I have come to Little Hangleton as you instructed, but Barty Crouch Jr. is here as well, and it seems he has taken something from you,” Severus said respectfully.

Upon hearing his words, Voldemort's entire demeanor clearly changed!
His ethereal, transparent body then rippled violently, and he abruptly turned to look at Little Barty, who was trembling and kneeling on the ground.

The moment Barty appeared, he recognized him as the master he had been longing for.

At this moment, he could no longer control his emotions, and he no longer had the contempt and recklessness he had shown when facing Severus. He knelt down on the ground with tears streaming down his face, just as he was about to raise his head and call out to his master.

A roar, almost like a howl, suddenly rang in his ears.

"What did you find here?!"

The angry voice made Little Barty tremble violently, then he looked up in terror, his face filled with confusion and innocence. "I, I, Master."

"Tell me! Barty Crouch! What! You found! Here?!"

Voldemort's voice, which sounded lower than before but was even more terrifying and furious, rang out again.

Little Barty was extremely panicked; he was like a child abandoned by his parents, pitiful and helpless.

"One ring, a ring. I... I came here to find you, my master. I've always wanted to find you and bring you back."

He kept explaining and pleading, not even knowing what he had done wrong.

But Voldemort fell silent at this moment. He just stared coldly at Barty, and after a long silence, he asked again in a voice that seemed to have become calm, even gentle and soothing.

"And then, after you got that ring, what did you discover?"

Severus, who was watching the show from the sidelines, crossed his arms and stared at little Barty kneeling on the ground like a pitiful wretch. He knew this was Barty's last chance.

If he were to tell a small lie, saying that he found nothing on the ring, Voldemort, after calming down, might consider that he needed manpower upon his return and wouldn't do anything to him.

After all, he had also entrusted Lucius and Bella with one Horcrux each for safekeeping.

However, this time, Barty Jr. crossed a line. It wasn't something he gave out voluntarily; rather, Barty Jr. found it on his own initiative.

However, given Barty's loyalty to Voldemort, how could he possibly lie to his master?

He pulled the resurrection stone ring from his person, his voice trembling and stammering as he recounted his discovery of the ring.

"This ring contains a part of you, its owner. It was him who gave me hints and showed me many things."

"There's the golden cup you received from a witch, your experience of returning to Hogwarts to seek employment, and the locket you hid in the seaside cave."

Voldemort's voice became even softer, but the barely suppressed iciness sent a chill down Severus's spine.

"And then? What did you do after seeing these images?"

"I... I've been searching for you, following the locations in these images. I tried to find the witch's whereabouts; I went to that seaside cave. Inside, I found the locket. I also went to Albania. I went there to find you."

It was as quiet as death.

After Little Barty's voice faded, there was no further sound in the room.

Standing by the wall, Severus knew that Barty was finished.

It wasn't that anyone wanted to kill him; he was courting death.

"Where is the locket you found?" After a long while, Voldemort's eerie voice finally rang out again.

Little Barty, however, did not dare to hesitate for a moment. He took out the locket that he had found in the seaside cave with the help of Rol.

The resurrection stone ring and the locket were placed together. After seeing these two items, Voldemort said softly.

“I’ve always thought you were a very promising young man, Barty. You’re smart, loyal, and have the purest blood and lineage.”

Little Barty, kneeling on the ground, seemed to understand something as well. His body trembled, and he raised his pale, helpless face.

"Severus."

Upon hearing Voldemort's voice, Severus took two steps forward and bowed his head to indicate that he had been there the whole time.

"Take care of him, take the ring and the pendant box, keep them safe for me, don't let anyone else find out, and don't let anyone else know."

After giving this instruction, Voldemort returned to the teacup.

Inside the teacup, he could clearly feel his power draining away at a slower pace, no longer accelerating his weakening. Therefore, he didn't want to waste a single second outside until the unicorn was found.

After respectfully escorting Voldemort back into the teacup and finally putting the lid on, Severus took two steps forward and looked down at Barty.

Little Barty sat slumped on the ground, his eyes vacant, as if his soul had been ripped away.

He certainly understood what Voldemort's final order to Severus to deal with him meant.

Severus bent down and picked up the resurrection stone ring and the locket from the ground.

He could tell at a glance that the locket Little Barty found was obviously fake, and the real Horcrux had actually been switched and hidden in the Black family mansion.

But that resurrection stone ring was as real as it could possibly be!

After putting the ring away, Severus looked at Barty again.

"So I told you not to court death, why did you do it?"

Little Barty, like a puppet with rusty joints, slowly raised his head and met Severus's gaze.

"These two items are very important to the master, so important that no one can know about them. Even knowing a little about them could pose a danger to him, right?"

Severus shrugged.

"See, you guessed it all along, didn't you?"

Little Barty's completely lifeless eyes were fixed on Severus.

"Then what are you waiting for? Your master told you to deal with me, and only my death will be the safest thing for your master. So why don't you do it yet!"

He urged, showing no fear of death, only the eagerness and excitement of a moth drawn to a flame.

"Do it! Kill me! And you too! You found out about this today! You have to die later too!!"

Severus simply raised his wand and looked at him with a smirk.

“If I hadn’t met Dumbledore today, I wouldn’t have hesitated to kill you on the spot. But now, my pure soul is something that old geezer values ​​highly.”

"You should just die in the mouth of the Dementor."

To Little Barty's astonishment, a blinding red light illuminated his entire field of vision.

"Collapsed."

(End of this chapter)