In the latter half of November, Hogwarts grew increasingly gloomy. The surface of the Black Lake was always gray and murky, and the occasional cold rain tapped monotonously against the castle windows. The weather seemed to affect the atmosphere within the castle as well, as an invisible tension spread through the damp, chilly air.
Inside the Room of Requirement, the pace of work grew ever faster. A plain ceramic cup had indeed appeared in one corner of the laboratory—it had been brought by Lin Yanqing. Most of the time, it sat empty, but occasionally, when Snape brewed himself some invigorating black tea with a pungently strong flavor, he would casually tap the empty cup with his wand, signaling for Lin Yanqing to help himself.
There were no words and no exchanged glances. This became their new routine, a pragmatic sharing of resources that revealed the essence of their current relationship better than any pleasantries could: they were silent allies engaged in a dangerous experiment.
Tonight, they were carrying out the final important potion pre-treatment before the full moon. Snape was more focused than usual, even carrying a faint, barely perceptible urgency. He had poured nearly all his waking hours into this place, and the dark circles beneath his eyes had grown more pronounced. Through the contract, Lin Yanqing could sense a fire burning within Snape—a mixture of passion for research, hatred for the Marauders, and some... intense desire to prove his own worth.
"Silver powder. Stir clockwise seven times, at a constant speed." Snape's voice was hoarse, carrying the terse edge of a command. He was carefully adding some starlight-glimmering powder into a crystal bowl filled with dark purple liquid.
Lin Yanqing immediately complied, steadily rotating the silver stirring rod with his wrist. His movements had become quite practiced; he could almost anticipate Snape's next need. It was precisely because he was so fully focused that, when that familiar voice which had been silent for quite some time suddenly exploded in his mind with cheerful electronic sound effects, the hand holding the stirring rod trembled almost imperceptibly.
"Ding-dong! (≧?≦)? Detected that the host and contracted partner have shared a room for over 100 hours! Tacit Understanding UP! Hidden quest triggered—[Warm Comfort]!" Quest Description: The contracted partner's physical and mental fatigue level has reached 85%! Please provide effective mental or physical comfort within one hour! Bitter invigorating beverages will not be accepted! Quest Requirement: Make the other party drink a warm, sweet beverage. Quest Reward: Magic Shimmer Candy x1 (slightly relieves mental fatigue), System Points +50. Failure Penalty: The host will randomly receive either the [Uncontrollable Hiccups] or [Itchy Fingers] debuff for 24 hours. (￣ε(#￣)
Lin Yanqing: "..." He nearly jabbed the stirring rod outside the crystal bowl.
"Cub!?" he shouted incredulously in his mind. "You vanished for so long, and the moment you came back, you issued this kind of quest?! And what the hell is that requirement about 'bitter invigorating beverages will not be accepted'?!"
"Waaah~ Doesn't the host miss me? (╥﹏╥)" System Cub immediately projected a crying chibi Bowtruckle emoji. "I've been quietly recording data in the background! And look, host, the bat... ah, no, the contracted partner—his dark circles are almost darker than a panda's! He needs sugar! This is science!" Right after that, a tiny animated owl waving a little "Go!" flag popped up.
Science, my ass. Lin Yanqing complained inwardly, but he had to admit that although the system was childish, its observation was correct. Snape was indeed in terrible condition, holding himself up entirely on willpower and bitter tea that was practically potion-grade.
The problem was, how was he supposed to make Snape drink something sweet? That was harder than making a troll dance ballet.
At that moment, Snape seemed to notice Lin Yanqing's brief pause and slightly uneven breathing. He raised his head, his black eyes sweeping sharply toward him beneath the eerie green light, carrying both inquiry and a trace of irritation at being interrupted.
"What is it?" His voice was cold and hard.
Lin Yanqing quickly steadied himself, his mind racing. He set down the stirring rod and adopted an appropriately Ravenclaw-like expression of curiosity and scholarly interest. "I just suddenly thought... Snape, do you think the magical conductivity of the Thestral tail feather powder we're using might be affected by ambient humidity? The humidity seems higher today than it was a few days ago."
As he spoke, he walked naturally toward the small table holding the tea set, turning his back to Snape as though he merely intended to pour himself some water during their academic discussion. Blocking Snape's view with his body, he smoothly pulled out a small jar of magical honey labeled "Fizzing Bee Candy Flavor" from inside his robe—where he had made a tiny pocket using the Undetectable Extension Charm, specifically for storing those system-produced little things that could not see the light of day. He swiftly scooped out a large spoonful and put it into his ceramic cup. Then he picked up the kettle—filled with boiling water continuously replenished by the house-elves—and poured himself a full cup.
A cloyingly sweet fragrance of cream and toffee instantly filled the laboratory, creating a bizarre contrast with the existing scents of sulfur and herbs.
Snape immediately frowned, as though profoundly uncomfortable with such an "unprofessional" smell.
Holding the steaming, golden honey water, Lin Yanqing turned around with an experimental look on his face and continued the subject. "Perhaps... we could try establishing a localized constant-humidity barrier before processing the Thestral tail feather powder? Of course, it's only a preliminary idea." As he spoke, he seemed entirely unaware of how out of place the drink in his hand was in the laboratory, casually extending the cup toward Snape as naturally as if he were sharing an experimental hypothesis.
"Want to try it? The house-elves' honey is said to... replenish one's strength." His tone was flat, without deliberate ingratiation, more like he was offering a possible new material.
Snape's gaze rested for a second on the liquid giving off an "immature" sweet scent, and he openly showed an expression bordering on disgust. His lips moved, as though he wanted to spit out a few sarcastic remarks. But then his eyes met Lin Yanqing's seemingly calm yet unmistakably insistent gaze. He glanced again at the other boy's equally pale fingers, made so by prolonged handling of delicate materials.
Silence fell. Only the instruments hummed.
Snape's Adam's apple bobbed. He loathed this weak, childish sweetness. But... the endless late nights and intense mental exertion had indeed left his stomach faintly aching and his temples throbbing. At that moment, the cloying scent unexpectedly stirred within him a strange desire for "relief."
More importantly, he understood the meaning in Lin Yanqing's eyes: this was not flattery. This was necessary replenishment, provided by a "co-conspirator" to maintain the team's peak efficiency.
He abruptly reached out and nearly snatched the cup of honey water from him, his movement so rough that the scalding liquid almost splashed out. He did not look at Lin Yanqing. Instead, he tipped back his head and, as though downing a potion, drank the sickeningly sweet liquid in huge gulps with tightly furrowed brows and an expression of grim resolve.
After finishing it, he slammed the empty cup down onto the workbench with a clank. His cheeks seemed to take on the faintest flush from the sweetness and holding his breath, but it quickly faded.
"Disgusting," he judged viciously, wiping the corner of his mouth with his sleeve as though something filthy had touched it. "A stupid flavor."
However, Lin Yanqing clearly saw that Snape's tightly furrowed brow relaxed by an almost imperceptible millimeter afterward. The wire-tight exhaustion flowing through the contract also seemed to genuinely lessen by the tiniest amount.
"Ding-dong! ?(?＞?＜?)? Quest [Warm Comfort] completed! Reward has been issued to the System space! Host, you're amazing!" A flower-scattering little badger emoji bounced merrily around Lin Yanqing's mind.
Lin Yanqing ignored the system's clamor. He picked up the empty cup and walked to the sink, calmly picking up where he had left off. "As for the constant-humidity barrier, perhaps we could draw on the Water Breathing Rune from Ancient Runes..."
Snape gave a cold snort but did not answer. He simply turned his attention back to the potion in the crystal bowl, as though the episode involving the sweet drink had never happened.
Yet during the work that followed, he would occasionally press his tongue unconsciously against the roof of his mouth, where the excessively sweet taste that had somehow driven away a trace of chill still seemed to linger.
Outside the laboratory, the cold rain continued to drum against the castle. Yet some solid sheets of ice seemed to have been eroded by a sudden, childish cup of honey water, leaving behind an invisible crack.
Before you continue