The cold wave at the end of January seemed almost tangible, tightly enveloping Hogwarts. The atmosphere within the castle was even colder than the weather. Since that conversation in the Headmaster's office, a silent crack had appeared between Snape and Lin Yanqing for the first time.
They still met in the abandoned classroom, still conducted potion research and analyzed clues, but something had changed. Snape had become quieter and more stubborn. He devoted nearly all his spare time to Advanced Potion-Making, studying the Half-Blood Prince's notes to the point of neglecting food and sleep. Heavy shadows lay beneath his eyes, and he radiated an unapproachable air that mingled exhaustion with feverish excitement.
Lin Yanqing had tried to talk to him again, but Snape's response was either brief silence or a barbed evasion. "If you think Dumbledore's empty words are more useful than actual knowledge, then by all means follow his advice."
That sentence cut off any possibility of further persuasion from Lin Yanqing. He could only bury his worries and focus more intently on completing the system's [Tracing the Source · II] mission—investigating the Half-Blood Prince's identity. He frequented the library, consulted records of past students and bylined articles in Potions journals, and even subtly questioned several upperclassmen who excelled in Potions class. Yet the title Half-Blood Prince sank like a stone into the sea, causing no ripple at all.
"Ding-dong! (?-?) Mission [Tracing the Source · II] has made no effective progress. Suggestion: expand the search range to unofficial records or family collections."
The system's prompt meant that conventional channels would be unlikely to yield any clues.
That evening, Snape was attempting something new. Following an exceptionally complex annotation in the notes, he tried to reverse-fuse an improved Comfrey Essence that stabilized the mind with an extract