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

Chapter 5: The Fragrance of Tea Overflows, Proposing Cooperation

Draco got angry and made Harry guess.

Seeing Draco remain silent, Harry immediately realized that Draco was angry because they weren't in the same house. "Sorry, Draco," Harry said, "your father and mother are Gryffindor graduates, so I wanted to go to Gryffindor too. No matter where I am, you'll always be my friend."

Draco's face turned red with anger. "We're not close enough for you to call me by my nickname. Please call me Mr. Malfoy. And which house you're assigned to is none of my business."

He saw a hint of vulnerability in Harry's green eyes, and tears welling up in them, but he couldn't bring himself to shake off his hand.

Harry remembered Emeric telling him on the way, "If Draco says something offensive, look him in the eyes. His eyes will tell you he didn't mean it. Draco just doesn't communicate directly; he's learning from his father. Use a little trick at times like this."

Ellie's teaching was very effective; Draco was so cute even when he was angry, his face was all red, he was so soft to hug, and he didn't want to push me away. Harry hugged Draco with great joy. "Draco, can you forgive me? I didn't mean to make you angry. You're my best friend."

Draco, who had never tasted green tea, thought that since Harry had begged him so humbly, he should forgive him, after all, they were best friends.

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the other side

Emeric hurried and arrived at the cellar entrance at 7:55. He took a package out of his ring and knocked on the door.

"Enter"

On the first day of school, Snape was relieved to finally have time to study the potion journal he had gotten from Emerick, a rare treat when he didn't have to grade homework or brew potions for those little monsters. His good mood vanished the moment he saw Harry.

"Professor, I've come to tutor you in Potions. I hope you haven't forgotten our previous agreement. This is a gift for you; I hope you'll like it." Emeric placed something on the table in front of Snape; inside was a mutated white succulent.

Of course, he wouldn't tell Snape that the herb garden in the manor was full of mutated plants, which he would later use to bribe the professor; it wouldn't be good to reveal his hand so early.

Snape politely unwrapped the gift; it was so light he'd assumed it was some kind of jewelry, the kind Lucius often gave. But upon opening it, his eyes lit up—a mutated plant, a mutated white-flowered one at that.

The hand had its own ideas; it had originally planned to teach him how to process materials today. But accepting a favor was inexcusable, and asking him to return it was out of the question; today would be a long day. "Mr. Thaddeus, are you bribing the professor? What are you standing there for? Are you afraid the poor old professor will fall and injure you?"

What Snape said was completely different from what he did. He took out a lot of materials to teach Emeric how to make a swelling potion.

Hearing this, Emeric felt a sense of familiarity. No wonder he was Draco's godfather; the two were exactly alike, both arrogant and sharp-tongued. Emeric, a master of smooth talk and diplomacy, said, "Excuse me, Professor, I've never taken a proper Potions class and don't know what to do. Could you please teach me from the beginning?"

At 173cm, she's not short, but standing next to Snape, she's only half a head shorter, making her appear pitifully small and weak. This prevented Snape from continuing his sarcastic remarks; he could never really yell at the young wizard who hadn't yet exploded. (If Ellie could grow to 196cm, he could be right up to a kiss, and hug her tightly.)

Emeric arranged the dried nettles, pufferfish eyes, and bat spleen according to the recipe, grinding the ingredients bit by bit as instructed in the textbook. Snape watched silently, pleased that the little snake wasn't being presumptuous. His technique was slightly rough, and the grinding was a little overdone, but he didn't add any extra ingredients.

Many little wizards, whose brains are even less developed than those of trolls, enjoy modifying potion recipes. After all these years, Snape still can't understand why these little trolls think they are better than the Potions Master and can improve the recipes.

Emeric waved his wand and bottled the completed potion. Snape glanced at the potion's color. "Mr. Thaddeus, I'll give you E. The dried nettles and pufferfish eyes were ground too finely, which reduced the potency. Of course, the other steps are fine. We'll continue tomorrow night at eight." Having received a gift—a snake from his own house—Snape felt embarrassed and grumbled.

"Yes, Professor. Thank you for your help tonight. It's getting late, so I'll need you to take me back to the lounge. Thank you." Emeric glanced at the time and realized it was curfew. He then took out a notebook and placed it on Snape's desk. The principle of politeness never hurts, and it applies everywhere.

Snape stared at Emeric. "What do you want? I don't think your poor old professor has anything to gain." He picked up the notebook Emeric had just put down and threw it back.

Emeric caught the journal that was tossed back and sighed. "The professor actually noticed. I was planning to make the request after your experiment was successful." He then took out a stack of books and placed them on Snape's desk. "These are all copies. In exchange, if you restore the potions in the journal, please provide ten vials to Thaddeus. Of course, I will pay you for the materials and labor at the price set by a Potions Master. Also, if you sell these potions, Thaddeus will take 4%, and you will have to bear the cost of the materials yourself."

After taking the book, Emerick handed Snape a contract. "If it's for the school's use, Thaddeus can waive the fee. I already discussed this with Headmaster Dumbledore before I enrolled, so you don't need to worry about the school's arrangements. Everything else is in the contract. Take a look first, and ask me if you have any questions."

Snape paused for a moment, then took the contract and read it carefully. The terms and conditions were clearly stated: the fee and material costs would be based on market fluctuations; regardless of success or failure, research materials would be provided free of charge; ten perfect bottles of each potion would be provided; and the potion maker at Thaddeus Manor would need to be trained. He would receive extra pay for the training and the ten bottles of finished potion. There were some points unfavorable to him, but overall, it was biased towards him.

After reading the contract, he was a little confused. "This contract is in my favor. Any potion master would accept it. Why choose me?" He wasn't blinded by profit because a sane businessman wouldn't offer such a contract.

“Professor, you are the youngest Potions Master, which is enough to make Thaddeus concede some benefits. Moreover, we have our own channels that know some little-known secrets, including but not limited to your ability to improve potions. You don’t need to answer me right away. You can take the contract to Mr. Malfoy or Headmaster Dumbledore. Both of them have deals with Thaddeus.” Emeric smiled at Snape and put the notebook that had just been tossed back into Snape’s hand.

The clear exchange of benefits relieved Snape, even if it was somewhat biased towards him. He got up to escort Emerick back to the common room, then turned and headed towards Malfoy Manor.