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

Chapter 77 Victims Should Not Be Forced

"Little Dragon, I'm here! Professor Snape is here too!"

Afraid that Severus would leave, Harry pushed open the door and went inside. Anyway, it didn't sound like a love triangle, so there was no harm in going in. What if Draco was angry that he hadn't brought Severus along?

"Harry Potter!!!"

"Hmm? Severus, when did you get here?"

"Why can only you guys come, but I can't?"

The culprit had already hidden himself next to Draco, clearly knowing he was likely to get beaten up, so he hid himself first before watching the show.

"Severus, that's not what I meant. Have you had lunch? I still have some dark chocolate brownies, would you like some?"

"Why didn't you ask when I asked? My dear brother Ellie!!!"

"Your love isn't me, go find your Harry."

Draco angrily turned his back to them, burying his head in Harry's arms, determined to avoid seeing or being bothered. Harry, on the other hand, was delighted. How could he not be happy about such a stroke of good fortune? Draco wouldn't usually be this close to him when other people were around.

"Knock knock"

"Airi, I brought Luna with me."

Ariana brought a blonde little witch who looked rather disheveled, as if she had just come from a rather unpleasant journey.

"Hello, Miss Lovegood! Would you like to join our picnic? You're the first friend Ariana has brought to meet us, I'm sure we'll have a wonderful time together!"

"Strange, why aren't you harassing anyone?"

"Maybe it's because I don't have any worries?"

"Excuse me, miss, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Emeric Thaddeus, this blond boy is Draco Malfoy, and that is the savior Harry Potter."

"I'm leaving now. Let me know when you get the results."

Severus stood up and left. He knew how terrible his image was in the young wizards' eyes, and of course he liked that effect, especially when he frightened them.

"You sit here, Harry and I will move over a bit."

"Thank you. What did you call me here for?"

"Is it alright to ask to see Ariana's friends?"

Emeric pulled over the snacks from a distance, picked out a few small sandwiches for Luna, and gave Draco a few coffee-flavored cookies.

"Ariana, come sit here, don't stand."

After the five of them had eaten their fill, Emeric cleared away the remaining food. He felt that now was the right time to talk. Lunchtime shouldn't be used to chat about unhappy things; what if they got indigestion?

"Miss Lovegood, would you be willing to tell us what caused these stains on your clothes? If not, that's alright. Would you like me to ask the fairy to get you some clothes?"

"It's nothing, just some everyday things."

"I see." "Completely cleaned up."

Emeric cleaned the stains off Luna's body. Since she didn't want to talk about it, he decided not to. He couldn't force the victim to confront these things, regardless of whether she cared or not!

"Harry, we have to go to class, help, it's History of Magic class."

"Goodbye, Brother Ellie, let's hurry, the classroom is far from here."

Emeric waved to them, and after they left the Room of Requirement, he took out a bunch of hair ties and asked the two girls if they wanted them; these were his personal stash.

"Airi, I didn't know you had this hobby..."

"What are you thinking? These are leftovers from summer vacation. Have you forgotten that my hair grew to my ankles during that time?"

Ariana then realized that she had thought Emeric and Dumbledore had similar tastes, both liking women's things. She had almost said she didn't understand, but she respected the idea.

"Alright ladies, I have to go to class now. Remember to take the blankets away. I'm leaving now."

"Oh, by the way, Ariana, you'd better not visit your two brothers today or tomorrow; they're a bit busy these days."

After saying that, he left the room and closed the door behind him, as girls need some privacy when they talk about something.

"Luna, why don't you talk to Ellie? He can help you. He definitely has a way to deal with those people."

"Thank you, Ariana, but what happens after this is resolved? If this group is gone, there will be another. At least they didn't make me drop out of school, right? Besides, I don't know him well, so I can't trouble him."

"I know you care about me, but it's okay, I think it's fine as it is."

"Okay, let's not talk about that then. What did you think of today's picnic? Is there anything you like to eat? I can ask Ellie for it."

"Hmm, I like vanilla pudding, could I have another one?"

"Of course! How about this, we'll have dinner with Airi; the house-elves he brought are amazing cooks!"

"Really? I'm starting to look forward to dinner."

----------

Emeric didn't actually have class. After leaving, he went straight to the cellar. Since Luna wasn't willing to tell him what had happened, keeping him around would only make them uncomfortable.

"Severus, she doesn't want to tell me, so I might have to resort to some underhanded tactics, or perhaps have Father handle it?"

Emeric lay back on the sofa, deep in thought. He finally decided to do it himself. What if his father got annoyed and simply overturned Hogwarts? What if those people, in their desperation, hurt Luna? He couldn't let the victim get hurt again.

"Sigh, Severus, I've been a bit busy lately. Can you give me a hug?"

"Ha, Mr. Thaddeus, get the water out of your head before you speak."

"Okay, okay, then I'll give you a hug."

Emeric walked straight to the desk, reached out and hugged Severus. He could get the reward he wanted by himself, and if he was pushed away, he could act cute and charming, which would soften Severus's heart.

"Since you're so free, finish grading these papers, or get out."

This punishment made Emeric's face turn green. He looked disgusted, as if the things on the table weren't parchment but a pile of slugs, and the young wizards' papers weren't much better than slugs.

He sighed, took the pen from Severus, and buried himself in his work. Once he finished reviewing Severus's work, he could finally relax. But as he touched the quill pen in his hand, he suddenly remembered something.

"Severus, I've ordered a few new cabinets with better temperature control. Could I replace these old ones? I also have a brand new temperature controller that can control the humidity in the room even better."

"Need not."

"Okay, okay."

He knew it wouldn't be so easy to get back into the cellar, but it didn't matter; he had plenty of time. If human form didn't work, he'd try cat form. He had plenty of strength and methods.

One day, he will not only be able to renovate the cellar, but also move into the bedroom and sleep in the same bed as Severus.