On the first day of December, Hogwarts awoke to a sudden cold snap. Thick frost patterned the windowpanes, and even the suits of armor in the corridors seemed frozen more rigid than before. The atmosphere within the castle was several degrees colder than the weather itself.
Snape had returned.
At dawn, he appeared soundlessly at the dungeon entrance like a ghost. The hem of his black robes was damp with night dew, his face nearly translucently pale, but in those black eyes burned suppressed fury fierce enough to set ice ablaze—and a... near-fanatical triumph.
He went straight to the Room of Requirement without even returning to the common room. The moment Lin Yanqing sensed the surging, chaotic, and intense emotional fluctuations through their contract, he immediately set aside everything he was doing and hurried over.
In the laboratory, Snape did not throw himself into his work as usual. He stood before the workbench with his back to the door, his shoulders tense. Hearing Lin Yanqing enter, he did not turn around. Instead, he spoke in an unnaturally calm voice, one more chilling than a roar:
"They have a passage." His voice cut through the cold air like a blade scraping across glass. "Beneath the Whomping Willow. On the full moon, Potter, Black, Pettigrew... and Lupin." He placed particular emphasis on the final name, with undisguised mockery and triumph.
He whirled around, cold light flickering in his eyes like a venomous snake that had spotted prey. "I saw him go in, and I saw him come out... looking like a sick stray dog that had just crawled out of a gutter." A cruel curve touched his lips. "'His condition is improving'? Heh... Just a beast barely wearing human skin before the hunt."
He did not say the word "werewolf," but every syllable carried a pointed implication. His fists were clenched tightly, his knuckles white with force. Clearly, he was struggling to suppress the urge to expose them and take revenge at once.
"We need evidence," he said, as though speaking to Lin Yanqing and trying to convince himself at the same time. "More direct evidence. Seeing them come and go is not enough... I need to know exactly what lies at the other end of that passage! I want everyone to see what kind of... monster the great Gryffindor students favored by Dumbledore are protecting."
His plan was obvious, and even more dangerous—he wanted to enter that passage.
Lin Yanqing's heart sank. He walked to the workbench, ignoring Snape's eyes scorched by rage, and picked up the Wolfsbane Potion base Snape had sealed the night before, now initially stabilized. He carefully inspected its clarity.
"The other end of the passage is nothing more than a hiding place." Lin Yanqing's voice was calm, forming a stark contrast to Snape's agitation. "Considering the Whomping Willow's aggression and the way it conceals the entrance, that place clearly does not welcome visitors. The risk of forcing your way in far outweighs the value of any 'evidence' you might gain."
He set down the crystal vial, then finally looked at Snape. His gaze held the pure calm of a researcher. "Our research is heading in the right direction. The potion has already been initially stabilized. Rather than risk proving a mystery whose answer is practically certain, we should focus our efforts on refining it. This"—he lightly tapped the crystal vial—"is what can truly make an impact."
He was trying to draw Snape's attention away from a dangerous act of revenge and back toward the relatively safe realm of academic research. He was reminding Snape that they held a more powerful weapon in their hands.
Snape stared at him fiercely, his chest rising and falling slightly. He understood Lin Yanqing's unspoken meaning—do not act rashly; they had a better way. Rage churned in his eyes. He hated this rational restraint; it made him feel belittled and bound.
"You think I should endure it?" The words squeezed out from between his teeth. "Watch them move freely through the castle with that... thing? Put everyone's safety in danger?"
"I think," Lin Yanqing said, meeting his gaze without yielding, "that alerting them before you have absolute certainty is the most foolish choice possible. Unless you are certain you can nail them down completely in one stroke, any rash action will only make them more vigilant. They may even... bite back."
He paused, then added in a tone carrying the faintest hint of warning, "And do not forget last night. If you could discover them, can you be sure no one else discovered you in that same darkness?"
The words were like a basin of ice water poured over Snape's blazing fury. The fanaticism in his eyes faded slightly, replaced by a flicker of alarm and a deeper gloom. He remembered the sensation of being watched the previous night. Though he could not be certain, Lin Yanqing's warning made it impossible for him to ignore the possibility.
"Ding-dong! (｀?ω?′) Emergency side quest [Shadow Watch] status update! Potential threat level has risen! Host, closely monitor the contract target's movements. Initiate the forced intervention procedure if necessary!" System Cub popped up an elf emoji holding a red warning sign.
Snape fell silent. He abruptly shoved past Lin Yanqing and went to the shelf in the corner. He picked up a bottle containing an ink-black potion that bubbled continuously. It was a Magical Solvent he had been researching in secret, one with extremely potent corrosive and concealing effects.
"Evidence... I will find it." He muttered to himself, his tone no longer so agitated, yet even more stubborn and cold. "In my own way."
He did not say he would charge into the passage immediately, but neither had he given up. He froze his fury and turned it into deeper calculation. Without looking at Lin Yanqing again, he resumed adjusting that dangerous solvent as if their conversation had never taken place.
Lin Yanqing knew his attempt at persuasion had failed. Snape was like a stubborn young wolf that had been provoked; once he set his mind on something, he would never turn back easily. What Lin Yanqing could do was no longer stop him, but... protect him from the shadows as much as possible, preparing escape routes and safeguards for the more dangerous actions that might come.
He silently went to his own workbench and began sorting through the seemingly useless little items awarded by the system. His gaze settled on the unused [Concealment Charm]. Perhaps he needed to prepare more.
Only the faint sounds of materials being processed remained in the laboratory. But this silence was no longer merely one of tacit understanding; it was filled with the tension of a coming storm. Snape was brewing his tempest, while Lin Yanqing silently began weaving the strongest protective net he could for him.
Outside the window, December's frigid wind howled past. Beneath frozen Hogwarts, dark currents surged.
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