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

Chapter 88 Entering the Home

Calvin kicked his son, who was blocking his way, aside. Ever since he came home for vacation, he had been like a lost soul, standing in the study every day with a book in his arms, blocking the way. Even if he was his own son, Calvin had long wanted to throw him out.

"Alright, what's with this attitude all day long? If you miss him, go ahead and do it, don't block the way."

Emeric shifted his gaze and continued to stare blankly. He wanted to go too, but the problem was that he had promised Severus before the holiday that he wouldn't bother him. Plus, with the snacks and food in the cufflinks, he no longer had any reason to cook for him in case he went hungry.

Adhering to the principle of "out of sight, out of mind," Calvin decided to give the study to Emeric, letting him do whatever he wanted as long as he didn't tear down the room.

"It's all your fault for passing on your love-struck brain to Ellie."

"Okay, my bad. If I don't like him, I'll kick him out. It'll be good for him to go find Snape. Shall we go to Vancouver? The weather is perfect right now, and we can watch fireworks tonight."

"Can."

Ambrose skillfully stroked his hair, leaving all the work to Emeric during his and Calvin's trip. What a good father he was, giving his child opportunities to grow.

And so, Emeric appeared on the streets of Spider's End, looking radiant and fresh.

"Knock knock knock"

"Severus, my father and grandfather have been kicked out of their home. Please take them in!"

After knocking for a while, the person inside finally couldn't stand it anymore and ran out to open the door. Emeric was so engrossed in knocking that he didn't hear the sound coming from inside.

"Click".

"Smack."

The moment the door opened, his hand landed on Severus's chest. The soft touch made him unable to resist pressing it. The next second, he immediately turned into a kitten and squatted at Severus's feet, afraid that if he was any slower, he would end up on the streets.

"Meow, meow." The cat was wrong, forgive the cat.

"Don't play dumb. Explain why you're at my doorstep. If I remember correctly, you told me before your vacation that you wouldn't bother me. So what are you doing here now?"

"Meow~" The cat likes you.

"If you keep pretending, I'll make you a real idiot."

Severus took out a bottle of purple potion, the liquid inside bubbling and churning, and it didn't look like anything good at all. He picked up the cat, held the bottle to the cat's mouth, and pretended to feed it.

This trick has frightened many young wizards, but not Emeric, especially Emeric in cat form. The kitten reached out its paws to grab the medicine bottle and licked the bubbles inside.

"?"

"Are you really stupid? You'll put anything in your mouth."

The man, dumbfounded, carried the cat into the house, afraid that if the noise continued, Muggles would notice.

"Mmm~~" It tastes so good!

The man squinted, trying to recall what had been in the bottle to drive Emerick mad. Suddenly, his expression changed, and he felt a headache coming on. It contained sparkling wine and purple frosting—the cat was drunk!

"Damn it."

He didn't have any hangover cures on hand, so he had to make one on the spot. But he didn't dare leave the cat in the living room, for fear that the living room would explode the moment he left. He had never underestimated Emeric's ability to cause destruction.

Severus was getting a little frustrated after taking the cat off the potion stand for the third time. The potion, which should have taken half an hour to brew, was still not ready after an hour. It was all Emeric's fault. After sitting quietly for ten minutes, the cat started running around again.

He tried holding the cat in his arms, and the drunken kitten would knead his chest, rubbing his pectoral muscles with each stroke. This eerie sensation made him want to throw Emerick out. He also couldn't bring himself to use a petrification spell on the cat, so he could only let it run around until Emerick wrapped himself in a scarf.

Severus's eyes lit up instantly. He picked up a scarf, wrapped the cat into a ball, and tossed it onto the sofa. He was very pleased to see Emeric rolling and struggling on the sofa. Only then did he calm down and start brewing the hangover cure.

Without biological interference, Severus's work efficiency was very high. The potion was ready in less than half an hour, and he directly administered it to the cat in the ball's position.

Severus played with the cat ball with great interest. He was curious about Emeric's expression after he sobered up. Would he want to bury himself in a hole or die on the spot?

Unfortunately, he was wrong. Emeric rubbed his hand with his head while meowing, not feeling that there was anything wrong with his state.

"Turn back into a human or speak human language, or become a stray cat."

"Explain why you're at my doorstep?"

"My father and father-in-law have gone on their umpteenth honeymoon. They didn't want to take me with them because they thought I was in their way, so they threw me out. Fufu and Semi were taken away by them too. I didn't want to stay at home alone, so I ran away to find you."

Emeric answered Severus's question honestly, stating that he had indeed been kicked out this year, unlike last year, and that there was no deception involved.

"Then why don't you go to Dumbledore and Grindelwald? They are your guardians. Why bother your poor old professor?"

"Severus, you're still young. Where are you old or pitiful? Don't talk about yourself like that. Besides, I'd rather be a stray cat than go looking for them."

Emeric first refuted Severus's perception of him, then said with some disdain that being a stray cat was better than going to Dumbledore's house, and then he added.

"Besides, I like you, and you are my only choice forever."

The man suddenly felt that the cat in his hands was a little hot, so he quickly untied his scarf and threw the cat out of his arms, afraid that if he stayed for another second, Emeric would say something even more hurtful.

"Severus, please take me in! I can cook, do housework, wash clothes, and clean, just like at school. I'll help you with your experiments, okay? Please!"

Severus was somewhat tempted; he found it hard to refuse someone to help him during experiments. Although he felt that something strange might happen if Emeric stayed, the man's confidence in his own abilities made him agree.

"Go cook, I'm hungry."

"Okay~, is there anything you particularly want to eat?"

"Fried dumplings, and anything else is up to you."

After trying it once, Severus fell in love with the crunchy texture, especially the filling. Unfortunately, there were only two portions in his cufflinks, and he hadn't had enough.

"Okay, I'm going then!"

Emeric knew it was a success when he heard Severus order the food, and excitedly rushed to the kitchen to cook.

When it was time for bed, Severus finally realized where his ominous premonition came from: there was only one bedroom and one bed.

Emeric was already climbing on the bed as a cat last year; this year he might climb on the bed in human form.

Severus rubbed his temples, feeling a bit of a headache, and finally decided to sleep on the sofa. Surely there wouldn't be any problems if the two of them slept separately?

Emeric sensed his thoughts and offered to stay the night, saying that he would buy the house next door while he was away after dinner.

Tonight's a makeshift bed. We'll finish the renovations tomorrow, then we won't have to worry about who sleeps on the sofa. Before Severus knew what he was thinking, he could still take advantage of him, but now that he knows he'll be thrown out if he dares to, he might as well take the initiative and make a good impression.

"Alright, you can go now."

"Um... Severus, could I use the bathroom? The one next door hasn't been cleaned yet, and I'm worried it'll get dirty."

"Go."

Severus didn't care and told him to go wash up, but for some reason he had a bad feeling. When he saw Emeric come out of there with a red face and his underwear in his hand, Severus's face turned black.

"Um... um... Severus, I washed it for you. Where should I hang it to dry... or should I just use a spell to dry it?"

"roll"

After snatching the item from his hand and pushing it out the door, Severus's reddened ears slowly faded. He felt the fabric in his hand was very hot, so he casually threw it on the sofa, but immediately regretted it and picked it up and stuffed it into the closet drawer.