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

Chapter 26 Sneaky Cat, Injured Kitten

(I always feel like my plot writing is dry and uninteresting.)

In the dim night, a fair hand picked up a fruit, gently wiped off the dirt, and put it into the basket beside it. The dark figure stood up and continued walking forward. Severus was very satisfied with tonight's harvest.

With the medicinal supplies provided by Emeric, evening herb gatherings in the Forbidden Forest became a form of leisure and recreation. Severus, carrying a small basket in one hand and a small hoe in the other, slowly walked to his herb garden, having been too busy to tend to these herbs lately.

He trimmed the excess leaves, pulled up the weeds on the ground, and picked the mature herbs. The man's slightly cool body temperature warmed up from the labor, and fine beads of sweat scattered on his forehead.

Emeric transformed into a kitten and stared at Severus. The bird told him that some annoying people had entered the woods, so he transformed into a cat to follow the snake and prevent it from escaping.

As they walked, they smelled a fragrant herbal scent. The cat decided to change its companion. It liked the smell. It hid its paws, its predator instincts concealing its presence, and stealthily followed Severus.

The kitten crept closer and closer, unaware of Severus's tense body. Severus sensed an animal approaching, his body screaming for him to run, but reason held him back. Running would make him prey, and the beast might just be passing by hunting; retaliating before being attacked would clearly provoke it.

"Professor Snape, someone is attacking the unicorn! Harry and Draco couldn't escape! Go and save them!"

"Damn it, Granger, calm down and tell me where they are. I'll go find them. You go find the headmaster."

"They're there, around... around there are moonflowers, less than a hundred meters away from the moonflowers."

Upon hearing Moongrass Severus's voice, he realized where they were. He tucked the things on the ground into his button pocket, and feeling that the hunter beside him had disappeared, he breathed a sigh of relief, no longer worried about being attacked from both sides.

On the other side, Emeric heard Hermione's cry for help and immediately ran towards the scent carried on the wind. He needed to get rid of Quirrell before Severus arrived, as the mark on Quirrell's head could easily be exposed by Severus.

He wanted to kill Quirrell outright, but Dumbledore said he was still useful and that the thing on Quirrell's head should be used to train Harry. He wanted to pretend he didn't understand Dumbledore's words, but the whip in Gellert's hand made it clear to him.

"Harry, don't look back, run! You can't get caught!" Draco recognized the face under the purple hood and decided to stay behind so Harry could go; he couldn't be caught here.

Draco shoved Harry aside, urging him to hurry and find the professors, as only they could save his life.

"Armor Protection"

"Deeply etched in one's heart"

The first-year wizard's magic wasn't enough, and his armor quickly shattered. A giant cat pounced on him, shielding him from the spell. Emeric staggered to his feet, the pain radiating from his bones making him wish he could knock himself unconscious.

Emeric pushed Harry and Draco behind a tree, then turned around to focus on Voldemort, as he couldn't use his wand in his Animagus form.

"Thunderous Explosion"

"Blazing Flames"

"Fainted and collapsed"

Emeric leaped onto a tree trunk to escape the spell, jumping back and forth between several trees. After jumping three trees in a row, his stamina was rapidly depleting.

"Huff, huff." This won't do. Voldemort will be exhausted before he runs out of magic. Emeric is panting heavily, squinting as he observes his surroundings, trying to find a way out.

Before he could find a solution, the scent of medicine emanating from Severus wafted on the wind. It was too late; Emeric leaped from the tree, and Voldemort's Crucifixion struck him squarely in the bullseye.

Having taken the second piercing blow, Emerick's bestial instincts took over the body. He attacked like a wild animal killing its prey, pouncing forward and slapping Voldemort to the ground. He pinned Voldemort down with his paws, and seeing that the prey couldn't escape, he wagged his tail contentedly. His huge cat head lowered, ready to bite the prey to death and enjoy the fruits of victory.

"Airi, stop! Let him go! Leg-locking curse!"

The poor kitten was bound by its four paws. Voldemort released Quirrell's consciousness, urging him to run. Under the moonlight, Voldemort's eyes were fully exposed on the back of his head. Severus gripped his wand tightly, ready to block the Killing Curse.

Quirrell didn't dare look back as he ran into the forest, thankfully he had hidden his face.

"Godfather, let go of Ellie! Ellie just blocked two Cruciatus Curves! It was Professor Quirrell! He has Voldemort on his head! They're the ones who wanted to kill the unicorn!" Draco was terrified. He grabbed Harry's hand tightly and came out from behind the tree to explain, crying as he begged Severus to let go of Ellie. When he saw the horns, he immediately guessed who the strange cat on the ground was.

"Professor Snape, it was Allie who saved us. Allie was injured while saving us."

"What happened in Severus? Why is there an injured unicorn here?"

Severus ignored Dumbledore and McGonagall, who had just arrived. He took out a hemostatic agent for the unicorn and casually knocked out the wriggling cat next to him. Emeric collapsed to the ground unconscious, his huge body shrinking into a kitten.

Fortunately, Emeric gave the unicorn some life force, and Severus's wounds began to heal after using a potion. Although he was a little surprised as to why it was healing so quickly, the important thing now was Ellie.

Severus held the kitten in his arms, his limbs still trembling from time to time even though he had fainted. He didn't have any painkillers with him, so he would have to go back and feed it.

Harry, who was standing next to Draco, wiped away Draco's tears while filling in the details that Draco hadn't mentioned.

When Dumbledore saw the kitten in Severus's arms, he took out a drop of phoenix tear and dripped it on it. The kitten, which was still trembling, began to calm down and fell asleep in Severus's arms.

"I'm sorry, Severus, I need you to take care of Ellie for a while. He'll probably need you during this time. I think only you know how to alleviate the damage from the dark magic."

"Ha, Dumbledore, I'm not here to babysit your child. I have classes to attend. A seventh-year troll, why don't you ask your old flame to babysit? Isn't he the most free?" Despite saying this, Severus didn't loosen his grip on the cat, even instinctively tucking it closer to his chest to keep it warm. He couldn't resist teasing Dumbledore; he hadn't forgotten the grudge of having his child snatched from him last time.

"Gale will be very busy from now on. Ellie has given him a lot of work and won't have time to take care of him. I'm going with him too." Dumbledore looked at Severus apologetically, wanting to reach out and touch the obedient cub, but Severus glared at him and pulled his hand back, muttering that he was stingy.

Severus glanced disdainfully at Harry and Draco beside him. Both were children, and Elijah could get hurt without crying, while these two, who weren't injured, couldn't stop crying.

Severus took the cat back to the cellar, watched it quietly for a while, and then couldn't resist taking out a comb to brush the cat's fur and trimming its nails with small scissors.

After he finished showering, he tossed the cat into the dirty clothes on the sofa and prepared to go to sleep. Emeric, who had been unconscious for a long time, woke up and was very unhappy about being in the clothes. Although he still had an animal consciousness, he was still annoyed and started yelling at the top of his lungs, yelling pitifully.

Severus coldly opened his eyes, exhaled to suppress his urge to beat the cat, wiped Emeric's entire body with a towel, grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and put him on the bed, saying fiercely, "You can sleep on the bed. If you make a sound again, I'll kill you and make medicine for you tomorrow."