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

Chapter 80 Snape and Severus

(It's bonus time again. This time I have a new idea, hehehe. The professor in the younger timeline is called Snape, and the one who is in love is called Severus.)

Bright sunlight streamed through the dark lake, illuminating the floor. In the quiet room, two men sat embracing on the sofa. The dark-haired man straddled the flaxen-haired man, his head buried in the latter's neck, muttering something and occasionally biting the man below.

"Severus, it's alright, don't mind these little giants, their brains are only so big. Ouch..." This bite hurt a bit, Emeric gently patted his lover's bottom, telling him to be gentle.

But the person in his arms didn't hold back at all, and even bit harder. Emeric narrowed his eyes, raised his hand to pinch Severus's chin, and kissed the biting mouth directly.

Suddenly, a scent emerged from the shadows by the wall, a bitter fragrance that sounded exactly like the person in their arms. The two people who were kissing opened their eyes at the same time, turned to look at the corner of the wall, and Severus, with swollen lips, met the gaze of his other self.

"?"

"Severus, when did you learn how to create clones?"

"Fine, I shouldn't have had any illusions about your brain. Take your hand off me, or get out of my room tonight."

Snape gripped his wand tightly, staring at the almost absurd scene before him: he and a man were sitting in the cellar kissing, and they were even sleeping in the same bed.

"Send me back, or kill you all, and I'll find my own way back."

Emeric tilted his head, completely unfazed, even by Snape's threats. Especially after sensing the life force emanating from Snape, he grabbed Severus's hand, preventing him from drawing his wand.

"May I ask how old you are? Sorry, I'm trying to determine your original timeline. We're in 1998 here, three years after Voldemort's complete death." (This is a personal interpretation, Voldemort is killed off earlier than expected.)

Seeing that Snape didn't speak, Emeric handed him a chair and continued.

"You look to be around 18? You should have graduated by now, right? Have you found a job or joined the Death Eaters?"

"What's it to you?"

Despite being insulted, Emeric wasn't angry. He knew Severus's temper; he used to like to curse him, but now he preferred to bite him instead.

Especially when he went too far, Severus couldn't take it and would bite his shoulder or collarbone, leaving him with many teeth marks all over his body.

"Alright, I'll speak."

Seeing Emeric's pathetic state, Severus rolled his eyes at him. He never saw him so good-tempered before, acting cute and needing to be coaxed after just a few words.

"Until Ellie finds a way to send you back, you'll need to stay with us for a while. We'll give you an identity that will allow you to move around Hogwarts. I believe you can keep your identity a secret, right?"

"Can."

Adhering to the principle of speaking less to avoid making mistakes, Snape observed the way the two interacted and could see that Severus trusted Emeric. After Emeric was sent to fetch Dumbledore, he spoke up.

"Don't you love Lily anymore?"

"That's not love. We never loved Lily. Don't rush to refute me. When you truly love someone, you can't help but want to kiss them, hug them, and can't stand being alone with them. You can think about whether you had those thoughts about Lily."

Before Snape could come up with an answer, Emerick returned with Dumbledore.

"Dumbledore, my past self traveled to the wrong timeline. Do you know how to send him back?"

"Severus, I've just lived a long time, not an encyclopedia. You can ask Gale about this when he gets back."

Snape stood quietly in the corner, watching Severus and Dumbledore argue. He couldn't understand why he was willing to teach at the school; shouldn't he be with the Death Eaters?

Filled with questions, Snape quietly observed and came to the conclusion that his future self was insane, not only falling for a man but also being able to get along peacefully with Dumbledore.

Emeric felt a pang of sympathy for his slender lover and wanted to fatten him up a bit, so that he would have some flesh on his body like Severus did now, instead of being so thin.

With lunchtime approaching and fearing Snape might get hungry, he grabbed a biscuit and stuffed it into Dumbledore's mouth to stop him from arguing with Severus, effectively gagging him.

"Fufu, two servings of black pepper roasted chicken, one serving of pumpkin sweet soup, one large serving of pine nut corn, three servings of tomato spaghetti, one serving of sesame glutinous rice balls, and four cups of black tea (unsweetened). Please deliver them as soon as possible, thank you."

"Yes, young master, Fu Fu won't let you go hungry for too long."

Emeric breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Dumbledore sit down obediently to prepare for his meal. Over the years, Dumbledore's temper had grown increasingly spoiled by Gellert, and he was acting like a spoiled old child.

Fufu quickly prepared a bunch of dishes and brought them over. The four of them ate quietly. Snape hadn't originally planned to come, but he couldn't argue with Emeric and couldn't beat him either, so he was dragged to the table and sat down. After taking the first bite, he buried his head in his food.

Snape was a little dazed, having not eaten this much in a long time. Over the years, he had been eating whatever he wanted, sometimes going a day or two without eating when he was busy, only realizing he hadn't eaten when his stomach started to hurt.

He could tell that Severus was being well taken care of, both from the furniture in the cellar and from Severus's own condition; he was destined for a good future.

When lunch break ended, Severus was a little unhappy because he had to teach the trolls again.

After Severus left, Snape and Emeric looked at each other in the cellar. Snape remained suspicious of Emeric, while Emeric didn't know how to appease Snape. Snape finally couldn't resist asking Emeric the question he had just asked Severus.

"Actually, I'm not sure if Severus's feelings for Lily were love before, but I know he loved me."

"Why are you so sure?"

"You and he are the same person. Would you let someone you don't like stay by your side forever?"

Snape paused for a moment. Indeed, he wouldn't allow people he didn't like to be around him, and he didn't really like Lily being so close.

"Besides, Severus really likes it when I hold him. What else could it be but liking him?"

For the next week, Snape stayed in the cellar, observing how Emeric and Severus interacted, trying to apply it to himself and Lily, but he found it utterly unbearable. Whether he was holding Lily while reading, or Lily was clinging to his waist, he couldn't accept it at all.

"It's time to go. I hear the clock ticking."

After finishing his lunch, Snape calmly uttered these words. He knew when he was going to leave, which was why he was able to stay here so peacefully. Severus, who always knew him well, also knew that Snape knew when he was going to leave, so he and Emeric were not in a hurry at all.

"Take these with you. They are all your favorite recipes. And this, you can look at it when you get back. If you want, give it to Dumbledore. If not, just leave it. It will destroy itself in a couple of days."

After Snape left, Severus asked Emeric what he had given him.

"What will you encounter at 18, including at what age you will meet me? Pave the way for me at 13."

"Aren't you afraid I'll refuse to take this route after seeing this?"

"Don't be afraid, fate will bring me to you. Even if I don't meet you when I'm 13, I will fall in love with you in a few years."