Shadows of the Clock Tower and Unexpected Aid

A week after the Charms class incident, Snape seemed to have completely transformed into a mobile iceberg. He completely ignored Lin Yanqing in all situations, not even sparing him the usual assessing glances from before. But through [Magical Perception] and their soul bond, Lin Yanqing could clearly sense the restless urgency churning beneath that icy exterior—like an invisible clock urging him on.

As expected, on an evening near the weekend, while Lin Yanqing was on his way back to the Ravenclaw tower from the library, he felt a faint tug at his robes. He stopped, casually turned his head, and saw a tightly rolled note being quickly slipped from the shadow of the nearby armor statue.

He continued walking as if nothing had happened, only unfolding the note around a corner. It contained only a brief time and location:

"Midnight. West Tower, below the abandoned clock tower."

There was no signature, no mention of the purpose. But Lin Yanqing immediately understood it was about the "Tranquil Spring Water" operation. The West Tower was far from the main castle, and the abandoned clock tower was rarely visited, making it an ideal location for a secret operation.

At midnight, the castle was plunged into slumber. Lin Yanqing once again donned the Invisibility Cloak, skillfully avoiding the night patrols, and arrived at the West Tower. It was even darker and damper here than in the main castle, the air filled with the scent of dust and old stone. Following the instructions, he ascended the spiral staircase and, below the entrance to the clock tower, found a narrow staircase leading into the wall, half-hidden by a heavy curtain.

As soon as he lifted the curtain, he heard suppressed, rapid gasps from within, and the faint glow of a wand tip, flickering erratically.

Lin Yanqing's heart tightened, and he quickly slipped inside. In the narrow stairwell, Snape was kneeling on one knee, his back to Lin Yanqing, his left hand clutching his right arm tightly. Familiar, abnormal magical fluorescence flickered between his fingers, stronger than the last time in the dungeon corridor! His wand lay on the ground beside him, its light dimming and brightening.

He was attempting dangerous magic alone again! This time, it seemed to have resulted in a more severe backlash!

"Don't come any closer!" Snape roared without turning his head upon hearing the movement, his voice distorted by pain and laced with a clear warning.

But Lin Yanqing had already felt the chaotic, violent, and spreading magical turbulence through their contract. This turbulence was not only affecting Snape but also subtly tugging at his own magical circulation.

"Are you forcefully breaking through the contract again?" Lin Yanqing's voice was exceptionally clear in the confined space. He didn't approach, but his tone was undeniably serious. "Stop! Unless you want both of our magic to go out of control!"

Snape's body trembled violently, whether from the pain of the backlash or the anger of being seen through. He tried to channel his magic to suppress the backlash, but it only intensified the fluorescence on his arm, and cold sweat streamed down his forehead.

Lin Yanqing no longer hesitated. He moved forward swiftly, not touching Snape, but picking up his fallen wand and placing it back into his uninjured hand. "Guide it!" he commanded in a low voice, raising his own wand and pointing it at the core of the Magical Disturbance on Snape's arm. "Repeat after me—Magic flows back, settle within the heart!"

This was a very obscure basic soothing spell, usually used to deal with minor experimental magical outbursts. Lin Yanqing had found it in the appendix of the A Brief Analysis of Ancient Pacts obtained as a System reward. He wasn't sure if it would work, but he had to try.

Snape was exceptionally talented in dark magic and potions, but he was clearly unfamiliar and resistant to spells leaning towards healing and soothing. However, under the threat of his own magic completely spiraling out of control, he gritted his teeth and, almost instinctively, recited the awkward incantation along with Lin Yanqing.

Both their wands pointed at the chaotic fluorescence. Lin Yanqing focused all his attention, guiding his own calm magic through the spell, slowly injecting it into the violent turbulence like a gentle stream. Strangely, due to the connection of their contract, his magic was not rejected. Instead, like a key, it began to guide and sort Snape's frantic magic.

The process was slow and arduous. Snape bit his lower lip, almost tasting blood. He could clearly feel an external, gentle yet firm force operating within his out-of-control magical domain. The sensation made him extremely uncomfortable, yet he couldn't deny its effectiveness.

After more than ten minutes, the ominous fluorescence on Snape's arm finally began to dim and subside. He leaned back against the cold stone wall as if drained, gasping for breath, his face as pale as paper, sweat soaking his dark hair.

Lin Yanqing also breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a wave of exhaustion wash over him. He put away his wand and looked at Snape leaning against the wall. This time, Snape didn't immediately glare at him with hatred. He simply lowered his eyes, his chest heaving, lost in the relief of survival and a complex, indescribable emotion.

Silence spread in the narrow stairwell. After a long while, Snape finally spoke in a hoarse voice, still not looking at Lin Yanqing: "...The Tranquil Spring Water... is in a condensation pool in the clock tower's mechanical room. The mechanism... is protected by old magic, I couldn't open it alone..."

He had finally admitted he needed help. Not through an indirect note, but by directly stating his predicament when he was powerless. For the proud Snape, this was no less than a disguised surrender.

Lin Yanqing nodded. "Lead the way." He asked no further questions and showed no unnecessary emotion.

Snape struggled to stand up and walked towards the top of the stairs with unsteady steps. Lin Yanqing followed behind him, maintaining a one-step distance.

The clock tower's mechanical room was covered in dust and cobwebs, with huge gears and rusted chains frozen in place. In the center of the room, there was indeed a small square pool built from ancient stones. In the moonlight filtering through the broken window, the water within had an unusual, utterly still calmness, like solidified crystal. Around the pool, complex and somewhat blurred Ancient Runes were carved into the ground, emitting faint magical fluctuations.

Snape pointed at the runes: "It requires simultaneously inputting stable light attribute and dark attribute magic to temporarily disengage the protection and retrieve the spring water. The deviation cannot exceed..." He paused, seemingly weighing whether to reveal this crucial piece of information, "...one-thousandth of a Galleon's magical equivalent."

This was an extremely demanding requirement, needing the caster to possess astonishing magical control and... absolute synchronization.

Snape looked at Lin Yanqing, his dark eyes filled with unprecedented solemnity and a hint of uncertainty. He excelled at precise operations but had a low affinity for "light attribute" magic; whereas Lin Yanqing's performance in the previous Charms class and the soothing spell he had just used indicated a good grasp of such calm, positive magic.

"I'll guide the light attribute, you handle the dark attribute," Lin Yanqing said without hesitation, directly assigning the task. This suited their respective strengths.

Snape gave him a deep look and nodded. They each stood on opposite sides of the pool, raised their wands, and aimed at the runes on the ground.

"I'll count to three," Snape's voice was low and serious.

"One..."

Lin Yanqing adjusted his breathing, clearing his mind, visualizing warm, pure light.

"Two..."

Snape's eyes sharpened, and cold, restrained magical fluctuations began to gather around him.

"Three!"

Two beams of magic, fundamentally different in nature yet equally condensed and precise, shot from the tips of their wands, accurately injecting into the ancient runes. The runes instantly lit up, half glowing with a soft platinum halo, the other half suffused with a deep, dark flow.

Both held their breath, maintaining a stable output of magic with all their might. Lin Yanqing could feel Snape's extreme focus and control emanating from his side, as if he had transformed into a precision instrument. As for himself, he channeled all his mental energy to ensure the purity and stability of his light attribute magic.

Time seemed to stretch. Sweat trickled down Lin Yanqing's temples. Snape's fingertips trembled slightly from the exertion.

Finally, when the two streams of magic reached a perfect, fragile balance point at the center of the runes, the light around the pool suddenly retracted. The seemingly solidified pool water rippled gently, returning to the texture of a normal water surface.

"Success!" Lin Yanqing rejoiced inwardly.

Snape moved with extreme speed, immediately using a specially made silver vial to draw a small amount of the incredibly clear spring water from the pool, then quickly retreated.

Almost the next second after he finished, the runes on the ground lit up again, the protection reactivated, and the pool water instantly returned to its deathly stillness.

Snape tightly gripped the silver vial in his hand, looking at the "Tranquil Spring Water" rippling within, then glanced up at Lin Yanqing standing opposite him by the pool. Moonlight streamed through the broken window, illuminating half of his face and Lin Yanqing's tired yet calm expression.

This time, there was no anger in his gaze, no misplaced blame. There was only a deep, complex scrutiny. He realized that without this Ravenclaw tonight, he not only wouldn't have obtained the spring water but might have met a terrible end himself.

He didn't say thank you; that was still impossible for him. He simply carefully put away the silver vial, then turned, and said in a low voice:

"...The ritual can commence."

With that, he merged back into the shadows of the clock tower and disappeared.

Lin Yanqing stood in place, feeling the exhaustion of survival from the other end of their soul bond, and a sense of... finally clearing the crucial obstacle, facing the final step with resolve.

The ritual to stabilize their soul contract was imminent.