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

Chapter 154 Uninvited Guest

Early in the morning, Spider's End Alley welcomed an uninvited guest.

Severus sat on the sofa, ignoring the mad Bella in front of him, while a sleeping kitten was in his pocket. He slowly turned the page, his fingertips tracing the spine of the book.

"Didn't you say Thaddeus was with you? Where is he?"

"I told you he bought the place next door, it's next door," Severus glanced at the woman in front of him, and his mood worsened when he noticed the carpet was covered in footprints. "If you want to find him, go next door. I don't have him here."

She couldn't find him next door either; Emeric was still in her pocket. She didn't even want to pretend, let alone hide next door. If he got angry, he might just sit on Bella and kill her.

"What do you want with him? Don't delay the Dark Lord's business, or he'll punish you."

"Don't scare me, my master wouldn't do that."

Severus saw more and more footprints on the floor, and he finally couldn't stand it anymore. He hated people who would barge in for no reason and not care about hygiene.

"Master also wants a unicorn horn. Find a way to get it." After weighing the options, Bella reluctantly revealed the matter. She had originally intended to snatch it herself to claim credit.

"I understand, you can leave my house now." Severus stared intently at the blanket at Bella's feet, which had just been punctured by a high heel. He kept telling himself to stay calm.

"I'll report to my master that you're not cooperating with my work. You'll be in for a world of hurt." After saying this, Bella left immediately. She was in a hurry to go back and complain, and maybe next time she would see Severus covered in blood as punishment.

"Whatever." Severus didn't even blink. Voldemort needed him to get information from Hogwarts, so he couldn't kill him or do anything to him.

After everyone left, Severus walked around the house to make sure they hadn't left anything behind to spy on him. Then he took the cat out of his pocket and rubbed its head in revenge. It was all Emeric's fault.

"Meow~"

Emeric shook his head as he was being rubbed, and he put his two paws on Severus's face, trying to steady himself in this way.

Do you still have any unicorn horns?

After venting his anger, Severus reached out to stroke the kitten's fur and rub its chubby paws. The kitten's skin felt incredibly soft. He hadn't expected any response from Emerick yet, and was completely absorbed in petting the cat.

After he had his fill, he put the kitten on the ground, turned Emeric back into a human, and casually waved his wand to remove the footprints and dust from the ground. Severus was still quite annoyed.

"Come here and let me hug you for a while." Ever since he discovered that Emeric could hold him completely in his arms, Severus has especially enjoyed hugging him, feeling particularly safe when he is nestled in Emeric's arms and enveloped in them.

"Let me massage your hands."

"Hmm, my left hand is a little sore."

"What do you want to eat for lunch later?"

"I can't think of anything, you decide."

Severus thought for a while but couldn't think of anything to eat. The weather had been a bit hot lately, and he was craving something cool, but Emeric had been keeping him from eating anything cold.

Thinking of this, Severus glared angrily at Emeric, refusing to let him eat the iced glutinous rice balls he had been longing for, saying he was afraid he would get a stomachache after eating them.

"How about cold noodles for lunch? It's a bit hot today, I'll turn the temperature up a little later, and we can also have passion fruit lemon tea with it, okay?"

"Can."

Perhaps sensing his resentment, Emerick surprisingly ate something cold. Although he usually drank plenty of iced beverages, the more he was forbidden from eating something, the more Severus wanted to eat it.

After massaging his left hand, he handed him his right. Severus nestled lazily in Emeric's arms, his left hand, which had been a little sore, now feeling very comfortable. Severus felt a surge of pride at the thought that Emeric had taught him massage, since neither Dumbledore nor Gellert had ever enjoyed it.

"When did you two get together?" Lucius emerged from the fireplace. He had just been assigned to appease Severus, but he never expected to witness such a shocking scene.

"No way? No wonder the contract terms were so good. So you two got together. Then why are you bothering me in the middle of the night?"

"What brings you here?" Upon realizing it was someone else, Severus picked up a strand of Emeric's long hair, twirled it around his finger, and played with it without moving it.

Seeing his friend's lazy demeanor, Lucius wished he could gouge his own eyes out. He wondered if he was really blind, otherwise how could he have only discovered the affair between the two of them now?

"He sent me over to appease you, afraid that Bella would make you quit. I guess the unicorn horn you brought yesterday was useful, otherwise why would he consider the feelings of his subordinates?" Lucius rolled his eyes, and all three people present knew perfectly well who the "he" he was referring to was.

"I understand," Severus nodded, then said, "Draco is safe. He's in Nurmengard, protected by Dumbledore. You and Narcissa can rest assured."

"That's good."

Hearing what he most wanted to know, Lucius felt a huge weight lifted from his shoulders, and he was now in the mood to gossip about his friend and Emeric's relationship. "When did you two get together? How come you kept it from me for so long?"

"It hasn't been long, why are you gossiping like this?" Severus was in a good mood and offered a brief explanation, letting Lucius look him over.

"Oh, just pretend I don't exist. I don't really want to go back right now. Let me stay a little longer." He'd get scolded whether he went back now or later, so he might as well wait until later to feel better.

"Whatever, I'm going to work. Just don't blow up my house." Severus got up and went upstairs. A sudden idea had flashed through his mind, and now he was going to give it a try.

Emeric followed him out of the living room, leaving Lucius sitting alone, bored. His eyes darted around, and when he saw the dried flowers on the fireplace had turned into sunflowers, he realized that his friend had completely let go, and even leaned on Emeric.

"Severus, dinner's ready." Emeric knocked on the door and came in, reaching out to clean up the scattered pieces of medicinal herbs on the floor.

"Let's go." Severus put down the herbs he was holding. "Lucius's gone?"

"Yes, he left not long after we left the living room."

"I was planning to talk to him about Draco and Harry Potter, but he just left."

"It's alright. He saw how we were getting along today, so he'll probably guess what happened soon enough. We'll just go and see what happens."

Emeric guessed that Severus was up to a prank, and he was also eager to see Malfoy make a fool of himself. If Voldemort hadn't been watching Harry, he would have had Gellert throw him back.