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

Chapter 108: Making Things Happen

cellar

"What exactly happened?"

"Hehe, I guess Regulus must have had some connection with my elders back then. These two signed a contract, but whether they were a couple or close friends, I don't know. We'll have to wait until they're both alive to find out."

Emeric obediently satisfied Severus's curiosity, which he loved. He loved the way Severus tilted his head curiously, like a kitten, which made him itch with desire.

Since he had been nestled in his arms for most of the day, Emeric felt that if he pushed his luck and asked for another hug, he might get a beating. He figured that if he told him the truth, he might get a reward.

"snort."

"A family heirloom of being love-struck."

"?"

"Severus, what do you mean? I didn't mean it!"

"Shut up, I need to brew potions. Come in and get to work."

"No, let's have dinner first. It's almost 7 o'clock, let's have dinner!"

Once again, Severus, worn down by Emeric, put down the knife in his hand, sat back on the sofa, and waited for dinner with a long face.

"Severus, let's go tell on him after we finish eating, to Gellert, what do you say? I really want to see Albus get a beating from Gellert~"

Without hesitation, Emeric finished his meal and had Fauci clean the room. He then dragged Severus toward the principal's office, never waiting to complain.

"Candied hawthorn".

Severus raised an eyebrow. "How did you know the password to the principal's office?"

"The flowers in the window told me that, hey~" Emeric pointed to the little blue flower in the window. Upon entering, he saw Gellert sitting on the sofa drinking tea.

"Gellert, Albus might have something on his mind. Spend more time with him lately. Today he said that even if he drank poison, he would be fine at his age, saying that he's lived this long."

Emeric sighed, lowered his eyes, and continued in a sorrowful tone, "Did you two have a fight? Do you need my help?"

The strong smell of green tea made Gellert dizzy. It took him a couple of seconds to understand what he was hearing, and then he was even more confused.

"Wait, Allie, shut up. Snape, you tell me, what happened?"

Severus, the scoundrel, spoke slowly, "Dumbledore feels life is meaningless and doesn't want to live anymore. We suspect it's related to your love life."

"Al said that? I understand, thank you, we'll have a good talk." Although he still didn't understand what had happened, he thanked the two for their concern.

"Severus, let's go. I think they need some time alone." Emeric, seeing that things were settled, pulled Severus away. Feeling refreshed after venting his frustrations, Severus gave Emeric a rare smile. "Well done."

He clearly anticipated what Dumbledore would encounter next and was pleased with the outcome. He planned to add fuel to the fire in a few days to make their twilight romance even more intense.

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Ancestral Land of Thaddeus

"Severus, I'm sorry, we should be on vacation right now..."

"Can you really take me to our ancestral homeland?"

Severus ignored Emeric's pitiful act to gain sympathy; he had followed them purely out of curiosity about their family's plantation. He didn't know if it was just his nature, but he always felt that their family liked to grow things wherever they went.

So his little herb garden in the Forbidden Forest was taken over by Emeric and managed very well. Most of the herbs mutated, and he even produced several hybrid plants.

"Of course you can. You have a contract, so you can go in. If Sirius hadn't stopped me from taking Regulus with me, I would have just carried him over and dealt with him much faster."

"I'd forgotten all about it if you hadn't mentioned it. Thanks for reminding me. Now, tell me what's going on with the contract. Think it through before you speak. You know what happens if you lie to me, right?" If he catches a single lie, Emeric is as good as dead.

"Um... um... the magic at the door has been dispelled, Severus, let's go inside first!!!"

"snort."

Hearing the man's cold snort, Emeric broke out in a cold sweat. If Severus found out that he had harbored ulterior motives back then, he would be in real trouble.

Severus was secretly pleased; the fact that he was attractive to Emerick made him genuinely happy. So much so that he developed a new hobby: enjoying watching Emerick's hidden thoughts.

Ever since he broke the ice, he found that Emerick's eyes would unconsciously follow him, to the point that sometimes he wouldn't even realize he was unhappy before Emerick had already comforted him.

The two walked and stopped, seeing many strange and unusual plants along the way. Severus didn't hesitate to reach out and pick them, gathering a large pile of them. He patted his clothes, stood up, and continued walking.

"Severus, we're going behind that door later. Should we go in first or check it out from behind?" Emeric asked, pointing to a door at the fork in the road.

"Go in first, there's no rush."

Pushing open the door, what came into view was a Silas, a size larger than the largest Emeric, lying motionless curled up in a circle against the wall.

Severus's hands were itching; he wanted to knead this big lump of fur. It looked wonderful to the touch, and it was completely different from Emeric. It resembled a giant Maine Coon with some cheetah stripes.

"Are you sure this one is unconscious?" Severus never compromised himself; if he wanted to touch it, he would. Seeing Emeric nod, his hand immediately sank into the fur, and he couldn't help but marvel at how wonderful it felt.

"So soft..."

Severus got more and more carried away with touching him, almost falling for him completely. Emeric, standing to the side, squinted and poked Severus's waist. Seeing that he still ignored him, he angrily wrapped his arms around Severus's waist and whispered in his ear.

"Severus, is it because I don't feel good? Why are you touching me for so long?" His breath and voice filled his ear, and Emeric even kissed his ear while using a sticky, coquettish tone.

"Um... I won't touch it then, just stay away from me, don't be like a slug." He tilted his head away from Emeric's head to free his ears, then reached out and twisted the audacious person.

"You dare to take advantage of me? Don't forget you haven't graduated yet. Give me a two-inch self-criticism by the day after tomorrow, or get out of the cellar."

"Ouch...it hurts...I'll write, okay? But could you please stop touching her? She's a girl, it's not nice to keep touching her."

Severus abruptly withdrew his hand, his body involuntarily leaning backward and falling into Emeric's arms.

"Why didn't you say so sooner? Two self-criticisms."

"I told you as soon as I saw it."

Unfortunately, Severus didn't believe him. This little rascal might have waited so long to tell him just to see him make a fool of himself. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but elbow the person behind him.

"What should we do? Tell me quickly."

"Let me see, it seems to say something like that over there? I guess they couldn't find Regulus, so they just wrote it here."

"Take her away and put her with Regulus. Then stimulate their magic to create a magical resonance, which will break the state of suspended animation."

"I knew it! Bringing Regulus over would solve the problem. Why don't we stay here for a couple of days? Let Sirius bring him over. We can also take a look around the plantation and the old house has plenty of old stuff."

"Can."

They happily decided on their next itinerary.