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

Chapter 157 Cleaning the Refrigerator

The man stood on the balcony, using small scissors to trim off the excess leaves. His experiment had hit a roadblock. Rather than staying in the lab racking his brains, he might as well bask in the sun and maybe inspiration would suddenly strike.

Touching the sunflower's flower head, Severus felt quite pleased with his skills in raising it to such a large size. Of course, he didn't show favoritism and touched the other potted plants as well.

These were all brought back by Emeric from who-knows-where. He would move them to Sprout's greenhouse at the start of the school year and then move them back during the summer vacation, year after year.

After tending to the plants, Severus went downstairs back to the living room, where washed grapes were laid out on the dining table. Emeric was upstairs carving something, so the workaholic had a different person today, which made him feel a little uneasy.

Normally at this time, Emeric would hold him and rub his wrists or massage his shoulders, but now that he was suddenly alone, Severus felt uncomfortable.

He felt that, just like before Emerick was gone, he should find something to do, but after thinking for a long time, he couldn't remember how he used to pass the time.

It seemed that he had never felt bored before. Severus was stunned. He began to recall the days before, and it seemed that there was really nothing else to do except brew potions day and night.

Looking back now, I realize that my life was like that of a walking corpse, devoid of any joy. I spent all my time revolving around the cauldron, with nothing to do but brew potions.

Severus was lost in thought as he stuffed grapes into his mouth. He only realized he had finished them all without noticing when he stopped touching them. He put the empty plate aside and started eating another dish of nuts.

Soon, Emeric came down in his slippers. After a series of hurried footsteps, a silver bracelet appeared on Severus's wrist. The black woven rope, strung with silver bamboo, paired with his fair wrist, gave him an air of aloofness.

"Hmm..."

Before Severus could ask him what use he was, Emeric kissed him first, pressing him down in the chair and kissing him for a while before finally releasing him after he had had his fill of kissing.

"Tsk," Severus touched his chapped lips, his face darkening as he looked at Emeric. "If you want to suffocate, just say so."

"No," Emeric smiled ingratiatingly, quickly changing the subject, "Do you like this bracelet? I used a leather cord, it'll be more secure that way."

"Hmph, go cook." Severus reluctantly forgave his earlier actions and sent him to the kitchen to cook.

Emeric picked up the empty plate from the table and went into the kitchen. He hadn't decided what to make for lunch yet, so he turned to ask Severus if there was anything he wanted to eat.

"I can't think of anything."

"Oh, I see. Let me see what's in the fridge," Emeric said as he rummaged through the fridge. "There are some wontons, some leftover meat from last time's roast, and the rest will take a long time to stew. Oh, and there's some bread here too."

"Severus, it looks like we need to clean out the fridge. There's a lot of leftover stuff that'll go bad if we don't eat it soon. How about we eat the bread and meat for lunch first, and I'll make a sandwich? We can clean out the fridge this afternoon."

"Yes, add more lettuce."

Emeric spent the entire afternoon in the kitchen, cleaning up a pile of leftovers. He only made a little bit of everything, except desserts, and since Severus ate frequently, the cakes in the fridge were all fresh.

After washing and drying his hands, Emerick reached out and hugged the man leaning against the door. "Finally finished sorting things out. I didn't realize we had so much food left uneaten. We don't even need to think about the menu for the next few days."

"Aren't you tired after working all afternoon?" Severus nudged the person on top of him. "Go sit down."

He spent the whole afternoon with Emeric, and the two chatted as they tidied up, so they didn't feel too tired. "Let's eat the wontons tonight. I want sour soup." Severus looked at the pile of wontons with displeasure and decided to eat them first.

"Okay, let's eat those fish balls while we're at it, and stir-fry some lettuce too, how about that?"

"Make it a little spicy for me."

"Then add just a little bit, and sprinkle some black pepper." Severus has been eating well lately, so Emeric is willing to give him a little chili oil and hasn't been so strict with him.

"...Can you two be a little more discreet in broad daylight?" Lucius crawled out of the fireplace, feeling like his eyes were about to go blind. What were these two doing hugging each other in broad daylight?

"Why are you here again?" Severus pulled Emeric to sit on the sofa and asked Lucius.

"Here's a reward for you, the unicorn horn you handed over," Lucius said, handing a box to Severus. "Can you two stop sticking together? Even Cici and I aren't as clingy as you two."

"Heh, Narcissa kicked you out of the room, huh?" Severus grinned maliciously, a hint of schadenfreude in his eyes. "Just say you're envious, don't beat around the bush."

"Emerick, what's wrong with you? Can't you stand Severus's mouth? Aren't you afraid of being poisoned?"

"No, Severus is very good to me. Lucius, why don't you go back and bring Narcissa a gift? Maybe she'll forgive you." Emeric added insult to injury, stabbing Lucius straight in the heart.

"No wonder you two are a perfect match. Don't you ever poison each other when you kiss?" Lucius was furious at being teased.

Severus placed several small bottles on the coffee table, watching him intently. Lucius immediately fell silent, picking up the bottles and stuffing them into his pockets. Besides beauty potions, there were painkillers, healing potions, and medicines to alleviate the lingering effects of excruciating pain—all of which would be very useful to them.

He forced a smile. "Yes, I really was kicked out by Cici. She wants to know how Draco is doing. Emeric, can you tell me?"

Mentioning Draco, Emeric put aside his intention to tease Lucius and took out a box. "He's been busy training lately. These are photos taken by Sarafina. Now you can rest assured."

The first photo shows Draco, covered in sweat, fighting Harry, with Ron on the ground next to him, having been knocked down by Hermione. Below are solo photos of Draco, group photos with others, and his handwritten letter.

"Thank you." This time, Lucius was truly grateful to Emerick. Draco wouldn't have to suffer with him at the manor and could train with his friends.

"Stay for dinner, there's nothing to eat if you go back now," Severus said, trying to persuade Lucius, who had just stood up. The refrigerator needed to be emptied anyway, and having another person like this would allow Emeric to use up more food.

"Severus, you truly are my best friend." This moved Lucius deeply.

"I'll go cook, you guys chat." Emeric gently withdrew his hand from Severus's back and placed a pot of tea and some snacks for them.