Library Encounter and Ripples in the Contract

During the twenty-four hours when [Lumos] was ineffective, Lin Yanqing truly felt the inconvenience of a magical life. As he walked back to the Ravenclaw tower from the Great Hall in the evening, he had to stick close to a seventh-year student holding a glowing orb to avoid tripping on the dimly lit spiral staircase. This gave him a more concrete understanding of his reliance on magic.

After the punishment period passed, System Cub reappeared, full of energy.

"Host, host! Don't be discouraged! (??????)??" A small beast emoticon waving a glow stick popped out. "According to big data analysis, persistent, non-aggressive contact is the key to breaking the ice! Cub has customized a new mission for you!"

[Ding! New repeatable mission released: [Silent Observation]]

[Mission Description: At least once daily, in a non-confrontational environment, ensure the bound target, Severus Snape, appears within your field of vision for no less than five minutes. (Mission can be completed once daily)]

[Mission Reward: Daily reward of 1 Gold Galleon, an additional reward of [Potion Ingredient: Standard Pack]x1 for completing seven consecutive days.]

[Failure Penalty: None. (????) (Isn't Cub very thoughtful?)]

Seeing this mission, Lin Yanqing breathed a sigh of relief. There was no penalty, and the requirements were greatly reduced, just "observation." This seemed to better fit their current stalemate and could avoid provoking Snape's rebellious nature.

An opportunity arose in the library.

Hogwarts' library was an excellent place to complete this mission. Snape seemed to be a regular here, always curled up in a fixed corner near the Restricted Section's shadows, with more books piled in front of him than his thin frame seemed able to bear. Most were extensions of Advanced Potion-Making and Magical Drafts and Potions, and even some obscure texts on Dark Arts Defense.

Lin Yanqing began to consciously choose seats near Snape, but at a safe distance. He would usually borrow books on Magical History, Principles of Charms, or introductions to Eastern Magical Systems (the latter allowed him to reasonably incorporate some modern thinking into discussions), pretending to be immersed in his own studies while dedicating a portion of his attention to completing the "five-minute" observation task.

He observed that Snape was extremely focused when reading, his lips sometimes moving silently, as if reciting formulas or incantations. As his fingers traced the complex runes on the pages, a near-devout seriousness would surface. Occasionally, when he read something particularly ingenious, a flicker of pure, seeker-of-knowledge light would flash across his usually gloomy dark eyes.

But more often, he was like a startled hedgehog. Any slight approaching footsteps would cause him to tense up instantly, closing or shielding his book, his eyes warily scanning his surroundings until he confirmed there was no threat, then slowly relaxing. Lin Yanqing also noticed that when a few haughty older students in Slytherin robes walked past him, they would cast disdainful or dismissive glances, and Snape would bury his head even lower, the pressure around him growing colder.

These observations gave Lin Yanqing a more three-dimensional understanding of the eleven-year-old Severus Snape: a boy whose talent was beginning to show but who was isolated due to his background and personality, forced to protect himself with coldness and sharp edges.

This "silent attention" continued for several days. Snape had clearly noticed Lin Yanqing's presence. In the first few days, whenever Lin Yanqing sat near him, the sense of rejection radiating from Snape would intensify dramatically, and he would even immediately pack up and move to a farther seat. But after a few days, perhaps realizing that Lin Yanqing was truly just "sitting there reading" and never attempting to speak or approach, his reaction was no longer so intense. He simply turned his icy profile towards Lin Yanqing's direction, as if trying to freeze him.

Until one Transfiguration class.

Professor McGonagall asked them to turn a beetle into a button. This was quite difficult for first-year students. The classroom was filled with the sounds of incantations and the rustling of beetles crawling around.

Lin Yanqing concentrated, waved his wand, and uttered the incantation. His beetle flickered, its back becoming somewhat smooth, showing button-like patterns, but its thin legs were still stubbornly twitching. It was a partial success.

To his front-right, James Potter had successfully turned his beetle into a slightly crooked but functional button and was proudly showing it to Sirius. Lily's button was exquisite, earning Professor McGonagall's praise.

Lin Yanqing subconsciously cast his gaze towards Snape's seat on the other side of the classroom. He saw that under a precise beam of magic, the beetle in front of Snape instantly transformed into a pitch-black, smooth, flawless button, even with subtle embossed patterns around the edge.

"Perfect, Mr. Snape!" Professor McGonagall's stern face showed a hint of approval. "Five points to Slytherin."

However, just as Snape slightly relaxed due to his success, perhaps disturbed by the laughter from James's side, or perhaps eager to try a more refined magic micro-manipulation technique he had just read about, he unconsciously attempted to cast a minuscule spell with his wand tip on the button to maintain its luster.

But his control faltered slightly. The magic that escaped from the tip of his wand, like an uncontrolled thread, lightly brushed against a glass of clear water placed on the desk, intended for cleaning quills after class.

"Crack!"

A crisp shattering sound, particularly jarring in the not-so-noisy classroom. The glass cup exploded, water splashing out and wetting the front of Snape's robes and the tabletop.

The entire class's attention instantly focused on them.

Several Slytherin students let out low chuckles. James Potter laughed outright: "Haha! Looks like our 'Potions genius' can't even hold a cup steady!"

Snape's face instantly turned pale, then flushed with shame and anger. He clenched his wand tightly, his knuckles white, his lips pressed into a thin line. The light that had just ignited in his dark eyes due to his success instantly extinguished, replaced by deeper gloom and embarrassment. He stared fixedly at the mess on the table, as if trying to burn it away with his gaze.

Lin Yanqing's heart clenched as well. Through the contract, he clearly felt the overwhelming sense of humiliation and self-loathing, so strong it was almost suffocating.

Just then, Lin Yanqing noticed that the "half-finished button beetle" in front of him, still stubbornly twitching its thin legs, seemed to be affected by the slight magical explosion and Snape's uncontrolled emotional fluctuations. It struggled and rolled off the table, falling with a "thump" right into the puddle of water at Snape's feet, its thin legs still paddling helplessly.

Professor McGonagall frowned and walked over quickly. "Scourgify." She waved her wand, cleaning up the water and glass shards, then gave Snape and the fallen beetle a stern look. "Mr. Snape, your post-class magic practice needs to be more cautious. Mr. Lin, please control your transfigured object."

The minor classroom incident quickly passed, and Professor McGonagall continued to guide other students.

But in that moment, Lin Yanqing caught a subtle shift in Snape's gaze. At his most embarrassed moment, the "half-finished" transfigured object from the Ravenclaw next to him had also made a fool of itself. In a way, it seemed to... subtly share some of his embarrassment? Although the thought was absurd, the sharp rejection Snape felt towards Lin Yanqing seemed to pause for an extremely brief moment.

He still didn't look at Lin Yanqing, merely silently cast a silent repair charm to restore the cup (a charm far beyond a first-year's level), then continued to look down at his perfect button, as if nothing had happened.

But Lin Yanqing knew something had changed.

That evening in the library, when he sat down in his usual spot again, Snape, for the first time ever, didn't leave immediately, nor did he exude such a strong aura of coldness. He remained immersed in his thick potions book, only occasionally, extremely quickly, glancing in Lin Yanqing's direction from the corner of his eye, with a deeper, more complex curiosity.

"Daily mission complete! Reward issued! (★ ω ★) Host, you're making progress! He seems... less eager to drive you away now?" System Cub analyzed the data.

Lin Yanqing looked at the lonely figure immersed in the sea of books in the distance, silently responding in his heart: "Perhaps, he's just starting to think that I, this 'accident,' am not yet worth wasting too much emotion on to drive away."

And this, for the current situation, was already considered "progress."