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

Chapter 28 Small Goals for the Future

Emeric saw that it was quite late and knocked on the door of the potions room. "Severus, it's time to sleep. It's almost eleven o'clock. You have a lot of classes tomorrow and you need to get up early."

Severus pretended not to hear the noise outside, and continued to observe the color change reaction in the crucible, adding something every now and then, completely ignoring the dark figure approaching him.

Uncharacteristically stubborn, he didn't want to give up the experiment. Holding the stirring rod, he gradually slowed down the stirring speed, watching the color become increasingly blue. He was very satisfied; this was the most successful experiment he had done recently. He picked up some petals from a distance to add to the mixture, when suddenly two hands covered his crucible.

"Severus, go to sleep early. I'm all alone in the room, and I'm scared."

"Thank you for reminding me, Mr. Emeric. I forgot to prepare a room for you. My mistake."

Severus glanced regretfully at the flower in his hand, the one he had plucked from Emeric's head that day, and carefully put it back into the storage box.

He didn't want to be woken up by the heat again, so he tidied up the storage room next to the bedroom and used Transfiguration to create a bed. He figured he already had the rest in the Emeric Ring, so he didn't bother with anything else.

"Alright, go to sleep early. Go wash up in my room, or if you prefer a spotless room, I respect that." Severus went back to his bedroom to prepare for sleep, leaving Emeric in the empty room.

Emeric had no interest in tidying up the room; he simply took out a blanket and a temperature control device to ensure he wouldn't freeze to death.

Unable to fall asleep even after closing his eyes for a long time, Emerick simply sat up and sorted out what he needed to do next.

1. The prophecy states that only one of Voldemort and Harry can survive, therefore Harry's magical abilities and physical attributes need to be improved.

2. Lily Evans's bloodline magic requires Harry to return to Privet Drive for a period each year to maintain the spell; the protective measures during this time need to be improved.

3. What happened that led Severus to act as a protector, going against his own nature to protect the child of someone he disliked?

4. The entire Malfoy family are Death Eaters, but Lucius's suggestion that Draco get close to Harry indicates internal divisions within the Death Eaters, suggesting the possibility of developing an inside agent to protect Severus.

5...

As night deepened, more and more words appeared in Emeric's notebook. He dipped his brush in ink and wrote the last word. If things continued as they were, Severus would die. He would either die protecting Harry, or Voldemort would discover he was problematic and kill him outright, or he might be tortured to death.

Emeric instinctively bit down on the flesh in his mouth, and soon his mouth was filled with the taste of blood. The sharp pain stimulated Emeric's nerves.

"call"

Of all these things, only one is most important: to keep Severus alive.

He wanted to establish a spiritual anchor point to anchor Severus's soul.

No, that's not right. He wants to make a rope to tie to their souls, so that wherever Severus goes, he can find him and follow him. (Suddenly, there's a faint smell of a male ghost.)

Thinking about this, Emeric couldn't sleep at all. He started flipping through his inherited memories and came across a couple's contract, but it didn't match their progress.

Master-servant contract? No.

A partnership contract? He didn't even win her over; in Severus's mind, he's probably just an annoying kid.

If Emeric discards all the contracts and keeps only the partner contract, he'll definitely be able to win over his wife.

A soul-locating magic rune has been found. It requires tearing off a sliver of soul and drawing this sliver on the person you want to locate. This will allow you to sense their safety and position.

He also wanted to use the partner contract, but Severus obviously wouldn't agree. The magic runes were different; he just needed to find a way to make Severus dizzy for a while.

Young people's love is always so passionate; they are willing to give everything for the one they love.

The quiet night, the empty room, and his overactive thoughts all contributed to Emeric's excitement, causing his brain to become uncontrollably active.

He wanted to know when he fell in love with Severus—was it his gentle soul, his relentless struggle to escape the mire and climb ever upward, or his sparkling eyes in the fields he loved?

It's hard to explain, he doesn't know when, but his heart followed Severus. When he wanted to keep the light in Severus's eyes, he knew he had fallen for him, wanting the empty eyes to shine like obsidian, and to keep shining forever.

Emeric rested his chin on his hands, staring intently at the wall, trying to spot Severus sleeping next door. He sat there blankly until morning, and then until the next morning.

He drank a bottle of energy drink and a bottle of radiance booster with a blank expression, and even considered whether to drink a blood tonic. In the end, he let himself off the hook, because the medicine he brewed himself really tasted awful.

"Severus, wake up! Get up now, have breakfast, and you'll be ready for class."

Emeric planned to wake Severus early so they could wash up together and have some physical contact.

"Snap"

The door was suddenly ripped open, and a hand slammed into Severus's chest. Emeric froze, his hand instinctively brushing against the small protrusion on his palm through the thin silk.

"Looks like Mr. Thaddeus slept well last night, he's got the energy to bother his professor this morning. Why don't you get your dirty hands off him, are you getting addicted to touching him?"

"I'm sorry, Severus, I... I didn't mean to."

Emeric patted Severus's clothes, pretending nothing had happened, and turned to say, "Go wash up, I'll come back later."

I walked over to the sofa and sat down, staring blankly at my right hand. What I had just brushed against was...

Emeric's face turned completely red. Although he was a pervert who wanted to rub his entire body against Severus, it was just a thought. This was the first time he had touched a place other than his hands while both of them were sober.

When Severus came out of the bedroom, he thought Emeric had brought something out again, because there was smoke coming from the living room.

"Mr. Emeric, are you planning to bake your own breakfast today?" Severus was a little embarrassed, but after washing up, he became annoyed at being woken up, and his words started to be sarcastic.

"Mr. Emerick, please handle two buckets of daffodil roots today, grade third-year papers, and of course, clean the cellar." He was unhappy, and the other guest shouldn't be happy either; he was just that unreasonable.

Feeling he had tormented Emeric, Severus vented his anger, letting out a smug snort and glancing triumphantly at Emeric.

Emeric quickly lowered his head to hide his expression, pretending that the sky had fallen to avoid Severus noticing anything. He was already kicked out of the room; if he were kicked out of the cellar as well, he would really cry.

After Severus left, Emeric hugged his clothes and couldn't help but sigh that his Severus was really too cute. Even if he was being a nuisance, he would never punish him. Should he suggest that Severus learn from Professor Filch?