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

Chapter 135, Match 2

"Airi, why don't you go back first? I'll call you over when Al comes back."

"It's alright, I have plenty of time today. I can't teach Severus with Karkaroff here, so I'm quite free right now."

Emeric wasn't having any of it. He was determined to cause trouble for Dumbledore today. Anyone who almost got taken away by the headmaster in their dormitory would get angry, especially when Dumbledore wanted to use him as a tool in the competition.

Tomorrow is the second match, and anyone would connect the dots if something like this happened. If he shows up in front of Karkarov, the crowd will surely explode.

"May I ask what Al did?"

"It's nothing, they just want to package me up and turn me into a competition utensil so they can put me right in front of Karkaroff and watch me argue with him."

Hearing Emeric's calm tone, Gellert knew he was truly angry this time. Well, he'd better wait and see; there was no escaping it this time.

Dumbledore didn't return with the phoenix until noon. He strolled around the school and finally decided to let Ron be Harry's target in the contest, since he couldn't catch Emerick.

As for Draco, forget about it. If Emeric and Severus found out, they would both be cursing him, plus Lucius's threat.

"Gail, I'm back. Why do you look like that?" Dumbledore turned around following Gellert's gaze, and Emeric was sitting right behind him.

"Hey, Ellie, what are you doing here? How about we go get lunch?"

Dumbledore felt a little guilty, thinking that Emeric hadn't recognized him and hadn't bothered him all morning, only to find out he was waiting for him here.

"No, just say so if you want to see the school blown up." Emeric suddenly felt bored, said this sarcasticly, and left the principal's office.

He felt that Dumbledore was family, but since Dumbledore hadn't thought of him at all, there was no need to keep bothering him. He might as well go back to sleep.

----------

The next morning, by the Black Lake

Harry held a clump of gill sac grass in his hand, which was kindly sponsored by Emeric, since Krum next to him also had some. Now he just had to wait for the match to begin.

Hermione was calm when she found him in the morning. She had roughly guessed what the competition was about. "Harry, the thing you'll miss the most is Ron. He went missing yesterday at noon. Luckily, Ellie told us to keep our brooches on, so you don't need to worry about his safety. Focus on the competition later."

He is able to remain so calm now thanks to Emerick's leak of the questions. However, judging from the others' expressions, they probably already knew the questions as well. In a sense, they are competing on the same starting line.

Bagman looked around to make sure everyone was there. "Our warriors are all in position. When I blow the whistle, our second competition will begin. The competition lasts one hour, and they have to take back what they stole from the mermaids."

"Three...two...one!"

A sharp whistle broke the silence, and cheers and applause erupted from the stands. Emeric, hiding in a corner, had long suspected that Karkaroff would leak the questions. After fighting for so many years, didn't he know what kind of person Karkaroff was? If he weren't worried about putting Dumbledore and Severus in a difficult position, why would he be hiding?

Right now, he was simply afraid of causing Severus trouble; Dumbledore's life or death was no longer a concern. He reached out and pulled the blanket over his head, telling Garian to call him when Harry came out.

The calm surface of the lake concealed the struggle beneath. Harry dodged the mermaid's gun and tail, then swam to the right, where the most mermaids were, which should be where Ron was being held.

Luck smiled upon him; the first place he found to be imprisoned was Ron. Harry picked up a stone and hurled it at the chains binding Ron's feet, but to little avail.

After dodging the mermaid's attack, Harry picked up the javelin on the ground and tried to cut the chains, but perhaps because he was weaker than the mermaid, he only managed to make a small cut.

With half the time gone, Harry decided to take a risk. He lured a mermaid over and used his chains to block all the attacks. The chains broke in no time, and Ron was almost swept away by the current.

Harry was startled and quickly grabbed him, swimming upwards until their heads surfaced. He was glad he had practiced swimming during the summer holidays, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to carry Ron by himself.

The two men surfaced, and he, surprisingly, was the first to finish the race. He pushed the man onto the platform, and Harry climbed out of the lake, his hands on the ground, like a water ghost coming ashore.

Hermione quickly handed them two towels. If she wasn't afraid of being maliciously penalized by Karkaroff for using a spell, she would have dried them off directly to prevent them from catching a cold.

"Young Master, Harry's out, wake up!" Garian patted Emeric beside him, nudging him several times before finally waking him. He suspected Emeric had been out having an affair last night, otherwise why would he be so sleepy?

"woke up."

Emeric yawned. He'd been feeling sleepy again these past few days; how could this adult symptom keep recurring? Last month, he wasn't getting enough to eat, and even Severus was eating four meals a day because of him, gaining quite a bit of weight in that month.

Severus, sitting in the audience, covered his face and yawned. The thought of having to endure several more months of this could only console him that Emeric was almost an adult and that this terrible reaction would soon disappear.

A few days ago, whenever Emeric was free, he would sleep with his cat in his arms. If Dumbledore hadn't insisted on him coming, he wouldn't have been so tired.

Thinking of this, Severus glared at Dumbledore and decided to put mustard in the healing potion this month. He had tried it and it wouldn't affect the potion's efficacy; in fact, it would make the drinker cry. However, he had to coax Emeric for a long time after trying it.

After the match ended and the scores were tallied, Emeric and Severus were both drowsy and wide awake; they hadn't been awake for this long in the entire month. Hearing Dumbledore announce the disbandment, Severus forced himself to stay awake and walked beside Flitwick; they still had a meeting to attend.

Emeric had long since drifted back to the cellar. He went into the bedroom and fell asleep immediately. The adjacent second bedroom had turned back into a storage room. He and Severus were now sharing a bed.

Meanwhile, Draco was pulling Harry around to check for injuries, and Draco was terrified. The Black Lake had limited visibility, and there were not only mermaids but also giant squid. What if a scratch led to poisoning?

"I'm fine." Harry obediently let Draco roll him over and gently pat his head. "I wore protective gear, I'm really not hurt. Can I have a hug?"

The two huddled in a corner and embraced. Harry, smelling the intense rose scent on Draco, couldn't resist nuzzling his cheek. He really loved it.