During the twenty-four hours when [Lumos] was disabled, Lin Yanqing truly experienced some of the inconveniences of magical life. When he returned from the Great Hall to Ravenclaw Tower at dusk, he had to closely follow a seventh-year student with a floating ball of light in hand to avoid tripping on the dim spiral staircase. It gave him a more concrete understanding of his dependence on magic.
Once the punishment period had passed, System Cub reappeared, brimming with energy.
"Host, host! Don't lose heart! (??????)??" A meme of a little beast waving a glow stick popped up. "According to big data analysis, persistent, non-aggressive contact is the key to breaking the ice! Cub has customized a new task just for you!"
[Ding! Recurring task issued: [Silent Attention]] [Task Description: At least once per day, in a non-conflict setting, keep the bound target, Severus Snape, within your field of vision and observe him for no less than five minutes. (The task can be completed once per day.)] [Task Reward: Daily reward of Gold Galleons x1. An additional reward of [Potion Ingredients · Standard Pack] x1 for completing the task seven days in a row.] [Failure Penalty: None. (????) (Isn't Cub thoughtful?)]
Seeing the task, Lin Yanqing breathed a sigh of relief. There was no punishment, and the requirements had been lowered considerably. He only needed to "observe." This seemed more suitable for their current deadlocked relationship and better able to avoid triggering Snape's rebellious instincts.
The opportunity arose in the library.
Hogwarts's library was the perfect place to complete this task. Snape seemed to be a regular there. He always curled up in a fixed corner near the shadows of the Restricted Section, with more books piled before him than his slight frame looked capable of bearing. Most were supplementary reading for Advanced Potion-Making and Magical Drafts and Potions, with even a few obscure tomes related to Dark Arts Defense.
Lin Yanqing began deliberately choosing seats near Snape while maintaining a safe distance. He would usually borrow books on History of Magic, Principles of Charms, or Eastern Magical Systems—the latter allowing him to reasonably incorporate some modern ways of thinking into discussions—and pretend to be immersed in his own studies while devoting part of his attention to completing those "five minutes" of observation.
He noticed that Snape was intensely focused whenever he read. Sometimes his lips moved soundlessly, as if he were silently reciting formulas or spells. When his fingers traced the complex magical script on the pages, he displayed an almost reverent seriousness. Occasionally, upon reaching a particularly ingenious passage, a pure glimmer belonging to a seeker of knowledge would flash through those perpetually gloomy black eyes.
But more often, he was like a startled hedgehog. Any faint approaching footsteps would make him tense instantly, closing his book or shielding its contents as his eyes swept the surroundings warily. Only after confirming there was no threat would he slowly relax. Lin Yanqing also noticed that whenever several older students in Slytherin robes, arrogant in manner, passed by him, they would give him looks of contempt or disregard. Snape would lower his head even further, and the air around him would turn colder.
These observations gave Lin Yanqing a fuller understanding of eleven-year-old Severus Snape: a boy whose talent was only beginning to emerge, yet who had been isolated because of his background and personality, able to protect himself only with coldness and thorns.
This "silent attention" continued for several days. Snape had clearly noticed Lin Yanqing's presence. At first, whenever Lin Yanqing sat nearby, the rejection radiating from him would intensify sharply, and he would even immediately pack up and move to a more distant seat. But after a few days, perhaps having realized that Lin Yanqing truly was merely "sitting there reading" and had never tried to speak to or approach him, his reactions became less extreme. He merely turned an even colder profile toward Lin Yanqing, as though trying to freeze him solid.
Until one Transfiguration Class.
Professor McGonagall instructed them to turn a beetle into a button. It was quite difficult for first-year students. The classroom filled with the sounds of incantations and the faint rustling of beetles scurrying about.
Lin Yanqing focused, waved his wand, and spoke the spell. His beetle flashed, its back becoming somewhat smooth as button-like patterns appeared on it, but its thin legs still twitched stubbornly. It was a partial success.
Diagonally ahead of him, James Potter had successfully turned his beetle into a slightly crooked but fully functional button and was proudly showing it to Sirius. Lily's button was exquisitely made and earned Professor McGonagall's praise.
Lin Yanqing instinctively turned his gaze toward Snape's seat on the other side of the classroom. Before Snape, under a precise flash of magic, his beetle instantly became a jet-black, smooth, flawless button, its edges even bearing delicate embossed patterns.
"Perfect, Mr. Snape!" A trace of approval appeared on Professor McGonagall's stern face. "Five points to Slytherin."
However, just as Snape relaxed slightly from his success, perhaps distracted by the laughter coming from James's side, or perhaps eager to try a more refined magical control technique he had just read about, he unconsciously attempted to use the tip of his wand to cast a tiny spell on the button to preserve its shine.
But his control slipped slightly. The magic leaking from his wand tip was like an unruly thread, lightly brushing against a glass of water before him that had been prepared for washing quills after class.
Crack!
The crisp sound of shattering was especially piercing in the otherwise quiet classroom. The glass exploded, and water splashed over Snape's robe front and desk.
The entire class's attention instantly focused on him.
Several Slytherin students let out low snickers. James Potter laughed without restraint. "Ha! Looks like our 'potion genius' can't even hold onto a cup!"
Snape's face turned deathly pale at once, followed by a rush of humiliated red. He clenched his wand fiercely, his knuckles whitening, his lips pressed into a thin line. The light that had just shone in those black eyes because of his success went out instantly, replaced by deeper gloom and embarrassment. He stared rigidly at the mess on the desk as if trying to burn through it with his gaze.
Lin Yanqing's heart clenched as well. Through the contract, he could clearly feel that overwhelming sense of humiliation and self-loathing, so intense it nearly suffocated him.
Just then, Lin Yanqing noticed that the "half-finished button beetle" before him, its legs still twitching stubbornly, seemed to have been affected by the minor magical explosion and Snape's uncontrolled emotional fluctuations. It struggled free and rolled off the desk with a tap, landing right in the puddle by Snape's feet, its thin legs still flailing helplessly.
Professor McGonagall frowned and strode over. "Scourgify." With a wave of her wand, she cleared away the water and broken glass, then gave Snape and the fallen beetle a stern look. "Mr. Snape, you must be more careful with magical practice after class. Mr. Lin, please keep your transfigured object under control."
The minor interruption soon passed, and Professor McGonagall continued guiding the other students.
But in that moment, Lin Yanqing caught a subtle change in Snape's gaze. At his most miserable moment, this Ravenclaw's "half-finished" transfigured object had made a fool of itself too. In a sense, it seemed to have... subtly shared some of his embarrassment? Though the thought was absurd, the sharp rejection Snape directed at Lin Yanqing seemed to pause for an incredibly brief moment.
He still did not look at Lin Yanqing. He merely silently used a wordless Repairing Charm to restore the cup—a spell far beyond first-year level—then lowered his head to look at his perfect button again, as though none of it had happened.
But Lin Yanqing knew that something had changed.
That night in the library, when he sat in his usual seat again, Snape unexpectedly did not leave at once, nor did he radiate such intense coldness. He remained immersed in his thick Potions Book, yet every so often, he would cast an incredibly swift glance in Lin Yanqing's direction from the corner of his eye, carrying a deeper, more complicated scrutiny.
"Daily task complete! Reward issued! (★ ω ★) Host, you've improved! He seems... less eager to drive you away immediately?" System Cub analyzed the data.
Lin Yanqing looked at the lonely figure in the distance, immersed in a sea of books, and silently replied, "Perhaps he's only starting to feel that this 'accident' of mine isn't worth wasting too much emotion on driving away for now."
And for the current situation, that already counted as a kind of "progress."
Before you continue