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

Chapter 66 Taking the Baby Again

The soft little body pressed against his heart, its warmth proclaiming his presence. The cub slept soundly nestled in the man's cloak, its tiny hands tightly gripping the man's collar.

On the way back to the cellar, more and more young wizards, under the pressure of being penalized, secretly followed Severus. They were very curious about the child in Professor Snape's arms, especially since only his two hands were visible.

"Whose child is Professor Snape holding? He looks no more than three or four years old."

"I don't know, you're going to step on me if you go over there, stop pushing, I'm about to be pushed out."

"Alright, alright, stop bothering them as they've gone far. Hurry up and catch up."

"Do you think the professor has a child?"

"How is that possible? He's not even married, how could he have such a big child?"

"Hmm? It's not good for kids to talk about the professor behind his back."

Dumbledore stood with his hands on his hips, watching the group of young wizards. It was one thing for them to gossip, but to do it right in front of his headmaster's office was incredibly disrespectful.

How could Severus have given birth to such an adorable cub as Emeric? He had completely forgotten how he had been tormented before, and now all he could see was the child's obedient appearance.

"Hufflepuff deducts five points, Gryffindor deducts five points."

"Go find Severus yourselves, don't force me to have a ghost take you there!"

With his own cub in Severus's hands, Dumbledore was clearly biased. What's wrong with an old man doting on his grandson?

The tracking team walked dejectedly toward the cellar. They never expected that the usually good-natured Dumbledore would punish them, especially the Gryffindor lion cubs. The usually kind headmaster was angry with them, and they felt like the sky was falling.

the other side

After taking the cubs back to the cellar, Severus regretted it. The cold, damp room was not suitable for the cubs to live in, and even with the fireplace on full blast, it only managed to dry them a little.

"well"

He moved his desk next to the fireplace, completely covered the cub in his arms with a black robe, supported the child's back with his left hand outside the robe, and began grading homework with his right hand.

Seeing the papers of the little trolls—oh wait, they're liches. Trolls, after a long training period, can understand human speech, but liches can't. Severus looked at the papers in front of him with a cold expression. When he got angry, he lowered his head and stroked the cub in his arms. The soft touch soothed the man's anger.

"Knock knock"

Emeric was awakened by the knocking. He opened his eyes to find himself in complete darkness, surrounded by the scent of herbs. He instinctively nuzzled against Severus's chest, and a deep voice came from above him as the darkness was lifted.

"Hmm? You're awake? Do you want to get down?"

"Yes, I'm awake. May I sit for a while longer?"

"Of course, are you hungry?"

I'm not hungry.

The little lions, who were diligently working nearby, suddenly widened their eyes, practically ready to unleash a torrent of abuse. "Isn't this supposed to be gentle? Why are you being so fierce with us? So annoying! They're going to stay silent for half an hour; it's driving the professor crazy!"

Meanwhile, Hufflepuff's expressions were much more interesting, as they chatted amongst themselves with their eyes, exchanging glances.

"Tsk tsk tsk, look at the professor's expression, I bet it's his mistress's child."

"I bet it's his lost child, who's only just been found."

"None of you are good enough. I bet he gave birth to it himself, otherwise how could he be so gentle?"

"If you keep moving your eyes around, get out of here, and your detention time will be doubled."

Severus tapped the table impatiently, glancing instinctively at the child in his arms, afraid of startling him. But seeing the child's smiling face, his heart softened; clearly, his cub wasn't afraid of him at all.

After dealing with the last caterpillar and finishing all his work for the night, Severus couldn't wait to drive the man out of his territory; his Gryffindor levels were so high he felt like he couldn't breathe.

"Time Manifests"

"Airi, we should go to sleep."

Severus, whose days and nights were reversed, became particularly concerned about his schedule. He picked up Emeric to wash up, but as soon as he entered the bedroom, he regretted it. The cold bedroom was clearly not suitable for a child.

After hesitating for a minute, he waved his wand, grabbed a change of clothes and pajamas, and carried Emeric towards the headmaster's office. He figured he wouldn't be going back to the cellar for a while, except to brew potions; it was too unsuitable for a child to live there.

"Severus, what's going on?"

"The cellar is too cold, and Emeric is still young and prone to illness, so I'll stay here with you for now."

This was a notification, not a discussion, because after he finished speaking, he closed the guest room door, leaving Dumbledore outside, and even locked the door as if afraid someone would steal the child in the middle of the night.

"It's late, let's go to sleep. I'll make you some medicine tomorrow."

It had been a long time since Severus had slept in Emeric's arms, and he was unusually sleepless. His small body rested on Emeric's shoulder, his warm breath brushing against his collarbone, and the sound of his small heartbeat was particularly clear in the night.

He forced himself to slow his breathing and try to rest as much as possible. He had two classes tomorrow morning, and he couldn't hold on without resting. He needed enough energy to manage two grades of Gryffindors and the curious Ravenclaws.

His biological clock woke the sleeping man. He carefully pulled his arm out from under his pillow, not wanting to wake the child in bed, but he clearly failed.

Emeric woke up the moment he got out of bed, grabbing his sleeve to stop him from leaving, clearly still half asleep but forcing himself to stay awake.

"I have to go to class. You sleep a little longer. When you wake up, find Dumbledore to keep you company. I'll be back at noon."

Severus tried to reason with the cub. If Emeric were awake, he would obey, but now he had just woken up and his brain hadn't started working yet. He was clinging to the man's sleeve and doing things on his own.

Severus conceded defeat once again; if the stalemate continued, he would be late. He hurriedly put on Emeric's clothes, quickly tidied himself up, and finally arrived at the classroom door before the bell rang.

"Bang"

"Even the mandrakes are quieter than you guys, can anyone tell me what's making you so excited?"

The young wizards, who had been scolded a few times, sat up straight. Although they didn't know why today's pre-class activity was so short, they still dared not be disrespectful, in case they were held a grudge. Professor Snape was the best at summarizing things.

Severus ignored the group of eccentric students, casually turned a book into a chair, placed Emeric next to the podium, and took a hairy fruit from the pile of herbs on the table for him to play with. It was non-toxic and pretty, making it a perfect toy.

The child who had been being held finally revealed his true identity, and the young wizards below discovered that it was the school's most popular figure, fourth-year student Emeric Thaddeus. No wonder they hadn't seen this Slytherin senior for so long; he had turned into a child.

"I'm very curious about what happened. I'll go ask the dean later. Aren't you all curious too?"

"You go ask Professor McGonagall, I'll ask our Dean, and if all else fails, we can ask the Hufflepuffs; they'll definitely know."

"But speaking of which, why is the professor so nice to Emerick?"

"I heard they've collaborated, and the senior student and Malfoy are on good terms, so maybe it's a case of 'love me, love my dog'?"

"What are you looking at? Tell us!"

"Ravenclaw, deduct five points."

All the students behaved themselves again. The professor was still the same professor, except that Emeric would scold them a little less, just a little less, and he would still yell at them when he got really angry.