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

Chapter 187 The Unlucky Couple

While Emeric was engrossed in his studies, Harry and Draco finally received Lucius's angry letter, which was presumably filled with nothing nice.

Before they could even finish debating whether to open it, another owl arrived with a red envelope. Now each person had an owl, so there was no need to worry about who would open it.

"If we don't open them soon, they're going to explode!!!" Ron pulled Hermione to sit some distance away, frantically regretting ever going out today. "Hurry up!!!"

Seeing that no one was taking the envelope, the little owl angrily flew directly above Harry's head, released its claws, and let the envelope fall freely. It then landed on the nearby pebble path, grabbed a handful of pebbles, and flew back to Harry's head, ready to throw them down.

Startled, Harry quickly took out a small nut, placed it in his palm, and held it high in the air as a reward for the little owl's hard work. The bird flew onto his palm, perched firmly, tilted its head, looked at him for a while, and finally lowered its head to gently peck off the nut, indicating that it had forgiven the rude human.

"Brothers! Stop messing around, look at those Roaring Letters in your hands, they're really going to explode!!!" Ron pointed at them with trembling hands, his eyes wide, ready to run away at any moment.

The two gritted their teeth and decided to open the letters immediately. Rather than getting blown up and then having to listen to nagging, they figured it was better to prevent the two letters from exploding. As soon as they opened them, Lucius's roar came out, making all four of them cover their ears.

"Draco Malfoy, you've got some nerve! You dare refuse to accept my letters and go a whole month without replying. Don't you want to go home?"

"Harry Potter, how dare you not reply to my letter? Do you really think you're guaranteed a place at Malfoy Manor?"

Two letters floated in mid-air, sandwiching them between the two men, shouting into their ears. Lucius was clearly furious, wanting nothing more than to beat them both up. But neither of them received a letter; their eyes were filled with question marks. It was impossible for them to both miss them simultaneously.

"Thanks, Ron!" Harry shouted at Ron, plugging his ears.

Half an hour later, the magic on the envelope finally dissipated. Harry took off one earplug, waited a moment, and nodded to them, saying, "The sound is gone, you can take yours off too."

"The principal previously stated that owls would not be allowed in the school until things return to normal. Didn't you tell Mr. Malfoy about this?"

Hermione remembered what Dumbledore had said before. Back then, reporters were sending letters every day, and since the four heads of the household weren't around, the headmaster got annoyed and blocked them all. She remembered having one day to write to their parents and tell them that the two of them were definitely too busy flirting to listen to the headmaster.

"It seems that really is—" Harry scratched his head, looking guilty. He figured he really wouldn't be able to get into Malfoy Manor now. "Little Dragon, you'd better write a letter to explain. Uncle Lucius is really angry. Looks like we probably won't be able to see each other this summer..."

"Let's try to calm Dad down first. Maybe he'll stop ignoring us once he's in a better mood," Draco said, his head throbbing. He rested his head on Harry's shoulder. "You'll write with me later. Dad already considers you part of the family. Don't even think about running away." His eyes fell on the two letters on the ground. If Lucius didn't like Harry, why would he send them to him?

"Shall we—, try out Brother Ellie's terrible idea, and invite Mr. Grindelwald home?"

"You're too late. Mr. Grindelwald and the headmaster went on a trip yesterday, and I heard from Professor McGonagall that they won't be back for several months," Hermione said, closing her book and telling them the sad news.

"Let's study first. Maybe if we get a high score on the O, Dad will forget about it when he's in a good mood."

"Hopefully no one's bothering Aunt Narcissa and Uncle Lucius lately..." Harry felt that Narcissa and Lucius's emotional stability was more important than their grades.

The two people sitting opposite them suddenly separated, looking nervously behind them. "Professor Snape, we're reviewing!!!"

"Ha, Gryffindor loses thirty points, Slytherin loses five points, dating in school?" Severus rolled his eyes at their excuse, his mocking voice growing louder. "Trying to fob me off with that? Do you think I'm stupid? Draco and Miss Granger, you two will serve in the dungeons for a week; Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley, serve in the hospital wing for a week."

He separated the two couples and punished them separately. Seeing the despair on their faces made him feel much better. These past few days, Emeric hadn't been very affectionate, leaving him feeling uncomfortable all over, as if the surroundings were too quiet.

So he found something to do, starting with the rose garden, and then planned to stroll around the castle, hoping to catch even more couples.

"Aren't you leaving yet? Do you want me to ask you to leave?"

"Sorry, Professor, we'll be right there!!!"

Ron instinctively reached for Hermione's hand, but as soon as he raised it, he saw Severus staring at him. He immediately hid his hand behind his back, afraid of being caught out and losing points.

The menacing black-robed figure reappeared in the castle, leaving nothing but desolation in its wake. No couple on a date escaped punishment, resulting in service weeks in the cellar and other areas being scheduled until the next semester.

If Sarafina hadn't come to stop him, Severus would probably have considered sending people to the Forbidden Forest to pick herbs; there were just too many unlucky people.

He had no choice but to give up this entertainment, and now he was idle again, unsure of what to do to fill this strange emptiness. Walking to the window and looking out at the Forbidden Forest, he thought that doing some physical labor might be a good idea.

"Mr. Snape, if you have time, could you come with me to the Forbidden Forest? I need some animal hair. The young master mentioned that you are very familiar with the Forbidden Forest." Seeing the man's boredom, Loina decided to find something for him to do to pass the time. After all, Emeric was her boss, and having never met this legendary professor before, she wanted to observe his state up close.

"Sure, when are you free?"

"How about this afternoon?" She thought for a moment. Noon was definitely not an option; Emerick would kill her.

"Can."

Severus prepared to go back and organize the herb cabinet, picking some herbs that were almost used up. Although Emeric regularly replenished and replaced them, he preferred to pick them himself.

Back in the cellar, Emeric had already set lunch on the table.

"Put the book down," Severus said, washing his hands and sitting down opposite Emeric. "Loina and I are going to the Forbidden Forest this afternoon. Is there anything you want?"

"Please feed my baby unicorns. I haven't been there in ages, I wonder if they miss me."

"Tsk, then give me the food later."

"Thank you, Siever!"