Autumn had come to Hogwarts, and the castle was shrouded in cold, damp mist. Even the torches along the corridors seemed to burn less fiercely than they had in summer. The pressure of second-year studies had quietly increased, but for some, academics were not their only concern.
The "exchange of supplies" initiated unilaterally by Snape and silently accepted by Lin Yanqing occurred now and then in unnoticed corners like an underground current. Sometimes, Lin Yanqing would find a small roll of rare magical tape at his usual seat in the library; other times, Snape would pick up several fine specimens of lacewing flies in a corner of the Potions classroom. There were no words, no exchanged looks—only the disappearance and appearance of objects, confirming that the "logistical function" of their bond was working normally.
However, the castle never lacked watchful eyes. Especially when the owners of those two pairs of eyes had long held a great deal of "interest" in Severus Snape.
As Halloween approached, the atmosphere grew increasingly festive, and pumpkins and bat decorations began appearing throughout the castle. During Charms class one afternoon, Professor Flitwick was guiding everyone through a little prank spell that temporarily changed an object's color. The classroom was filled with attempts and laughter.
Lin Yanqing successfully turned the feather before him a striking bright blue, earning quiet praise from several Ravenclaw students nearby. Out of habit, his gaze unconsciously swept toward the other side of the classroom.
Snape had succeeded as well. His feather had turned a gloomy dark purple, yet there was not the slightest trace of pride on his face. Instead, the moment he noticed Lin Yanqing looking at him, his eyes turned abruptly cold, and he quickly looked away.
Just then, a lowered voice rose, loud enough for several nearby people to hear and dripping with undisguised mockery:
"See that? They're making eyes at each other again." It was James Potter. He nudged Sirius Black beside him with his elbow, his gaze shifting back and forth between Lin Yanqing and Snape, a malicious smile on his face. "I told you there was something off about those two. A Ravenclaw bookworm and a Slytherin gutter rat—what a... perfect match."
Sirius did not immediately join in. His gray eyes narrowed slightly, carrying a deeper scrutiny, as though he were analyzing a complicated spell. But the amused curve of his lips showed that he was just as pleased to see it happen.
Lily Evans was sitting not far away. She had clearly heard James's words, and a flicker of disapproval and concern passed through her green eyes. She looked toward Snape, her lips moving as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she only sighed softly.
Snape's back stiffened instantly. Through the contract, Lin Yanqing could clearly feel a violent surge of emotion mixed with immense humiliation and fury, shaking within him like tremors before a volcanic eruption. His knuckles turned white from gripping his wand too tightly, and his lips pressed into a thin line like a blade.
But he did not turn around or argue. He merely suppressed all his rage beneath that gloomy mask, like a volcano on the verge of eruption with its mouth forcibly sealed shut.
Lin Yanqing's heart sank. The rumors had finally begun. And they had been spread by the Marauders, the group Snape hated most. He found it harder to bear than any direct prank.
Over the next few days, malicious speculation and hostile stares became as pervasive as the damp mist within the castle. They spread not only among the Marauders, but seemingly in whispers among students from other houses as well. Lin Yanqing could feel the pressure around Snape growing lower by the day, a storm brewing beneath that icy silence.
Finally, on the evening before Halloween, the conflict erupted.
It happened at a secluded stairway leading to the underground classrooms. Lin Yanqing had just returned from the library and was about to head upstairs when he heard familiar voices full of tension coming from below.
"Move, Potter." Snape's voice was cold to the extreme.
"What? In a hurry to find your little Ravenclaw boyfriend?" James Potter blocked the stairway, his voice loud and provocative. Sirius stood beside him, along with a somewhat uneasy-looking Remus Lupin, while Peter Pettigrew cowered behind them.
"I said, move." Snape's voice carried a venomous chill.
"And if I don't?" James drew his wand, wearing the arrogant look of someone certain of victory. "What are you going to do, Snape? Use one of your shady little tricks?"
The instant James finished speaking, something unexpected happened!
It was not Snape who made a move. Through the contract, Lin Yanqing suddenly felt a sharp sense of danger coming from Snape's side! At the same time, from the corner of his eye, he glimpsed two more hostile figures in the shadows below the stairs—Crabbe and Goyle of Slytherin! They had clearly heard the rumors as well, and now they looked at Snape with a mixture of contempt and malicious delight, as if he were a traitor who had stained the house's reputation.
Wolves in front, tigers behind. Snape was surrounded, and the humiliating rumors had been the fuse that lit it all.
Lin Yanqing saw a fleeting, almost desperate viciousness flash through Snape's black eyes. He tightened his grip on his wand, seeming ready to strike without regard for the consequences.
He couldn't let Snape act! Outnumbered, he would definitely come out worse for it! And it would only make the rumors seem true, dragging him into an even more terrifying situation!
At that critical moment, Lin Yanqing did not think twice. He suddenly stepped forward—not toward Snape, but seemingly by accident, stomping heavily onto the stairs with a dull thud.
The sound was especially abrupt in the silent stairwell, instantly drawing everyone's attention.
A suitably surprised expression appeared on Lin Yanqing's face, as though he had only just noticed what was happening below. His gaze swept quickly over James and the others, then past Crabbe and Goyle in the shadows, before finally settling on Snape. With the curious, probing tone of a Ravenclaw, he asked, "Potter? Black? Are you... discussing Charms homework here? I thought I heard quite a commotion."
His appearance, along with that seemingly harmless question, was like a stone tossed into a powder keg on the verge of exploding, instantly breaking the standoff that had been ready to ignite.
James and Sirius clearly had not expected him to appear so suddenly, and a flash of surprise crossed their faces. Crabbe and Goyle in the shadows spat, muttered a curse under their breaths, and turned to leave in annoyance.
Snape glared fiercely at Lin Yanqing. That look was impossibly complicated—there was the embarrassment of having his most pathetic situation witnessed, resistance toward the "help" offered, but seemingly... also the faintest trace of relief after the situation had unexpectedly been broken apart?
He said nothing. Taking advantage of the moment when James and the others had been distracted by Lin Yanqing, he suddenly shoved Peter Pettigrew aside and rushed down the stairs like a black whirlwind without looking back, vanishing into the darkness leading toward the Slytherin common room.
James came to his senses and cursed in the direction Snape had disappeared, then turned an annoyed glare on Lin Yanqing. "Mind your own business, Ravenclaw!"
Lin Yanqing ignored the accusation and merely looked at them calmly. "Dinner is about to begin. Mr. Filch is probably patrolling." He reminded them.
James and Sirius exchanged a glance. Clearly unwilling to invite trouble either, they snorted and left with the others.
Silence returned to the stairway.
Standing there alone, Lin Yanqing could feel violent, tidal breathing and an unquenchable cold fury coming from the other end of the soul bond. Yet this time, that fury seemed to hold a little less of the despair that wanted to destroy everything, and a little more sharpness directed at the rumors themselves rather than at Lin Yanqing.
He knew that what he had done had not solved the problem. He had only temporarily driven away the hyenas watching from the sidelines and delayed the explosion. The rumors would not stop, nor would Snape's situation improve because of it.
But perhaps, within Snape's heart, wrapped layer upon layer in isolation and hostility, an incredibly small mark would remain—when everyone else viewed him through prejudice or looked on coldly, only this Ravenclaw he hated, bound to him by contract, had, in a way he could neither understand nor accept,... stood on his side?
Even if only for one brief moment.
The Halloween feast remained lively, but Lin Yanqing could feel that for some people, this night was destined to be filled with cold bitterness and silent confrontation.
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