Magic Resonance and Unforeseen Trouble

The "Silent Observation" quest had instilled a new habit in Lin Yanqing. Every day, he would set aside time in his usual corner of the library to complete his "Five-Minute Observation." During this period, he had even ordered a few introductory books on Eastern herbalism from the owl post, thanks to Ravenclaw's thirst for knowledge and the occasional Gold Galleons rewarded by the System. This made his presence in the magical books section seem more reasonable.

Snape seemed to have accepted this "coexistence." He no longer left immediately upon Lin Yanqing's appearance, treating him instead as an unsightly but harmless fixture. A peculiar, silent balance was maintained between them.

However, this balance was soon shattered by an accident during Charms class.

This week, Professor Flitwick began teaching them a more challenging spell—the Mending Charm. The classroom was filled with the sounds of incantations and shattering objects as students struggled to repair intentionally cracked teacups.

Lin Yanqing focused, recalling the spell's key points and the flick of his wrist. His Sandalwood Wand seemed to have a natural affinity for such delicate operations. After one attempt, the cracks on the teacup before him began to slowly heal. Though the speed was slow, the effect was significant.

"Very good, Mr. Lin! Five points to Ravenclaw!" Professor Flitwick exclaimed shrilly.

Lin Yanqing breathed a sigh of relief and, subconsciously, his gaze swept past several classmates to Snape on the other side of the classroom. Snape's lips were pressed tightly together, his eyes focused as he waved his wand at the cracked teacup before him. His movements were precise and strong, but the teacup only glowed faintly, and the cracks healed almost imperceptibly. Clearly, this spell, which required patience and fine control of magic, was different from his usual explosive, results-driven potion-making. A trace of imperceptible irritation was transmitted through the contract.

Just then, James Potter successfully repaired his teacup and excitedly turned to say something to Sirius beside him, his elbow accidentally knocking a fist-sized crystal ball used for practicing the Levitation Charm off the desk. The crystal ball rolled off the table with considerable weight, flying directly towards the back of Snape's head, who was concentrating intently on his spell!

"Watch out!" Lily's cry rang out.

Snape sensed the wind behind him and whipped his head around, but it was too late to fully dodge. He instinctively raised his arm to block, his pupils constricting.

In that split second, Lin Yanqing felt his heart clench as if gripped by an invisible hand! It wasn't because he saw danger, but through the soul bond, a strong sense of crisis belonging to Snape and instantly mobilized magic surged through him like an electric current!

His wand-holding hand rose almost uncontrollably—not pointing at the flying crystal ball, but as if pulled by some force, towards Snape's direction! His mind went blank; he hadn't cast a spell, yet a faint but swift milky-white light burst from the tip of his wand. It arrived faster than the crystal ball and precisely struck the airborne object!

"Bang!"

A dull thud. The crystal ball, just a few inches from Snape's arm, was hit by the white light. It didn't shatter but was enveloped by a soft energy, instantly changing direction and landing with a "thump" on an empty chair beside him before rolling onto the floor.

The entire classroom fell silent.

Everyone had seen it. They saw James's mistake, the crystal ball flying towards Snape, and Lin Yanqing's lightning-fast, silent, wandless... it couldn't even be called a standard spell, more like an instinctive burst of magic.

Professor Flitwick pushed his glasses up in surprise and hurried to the chair to pick up the crystal ball. He examined it carefully and found it unharmed. His gaze towards Lin Yanqing was filled with astonishment: "Merlin's beard! A Silencing Charm? And with a deflection effect? Mr. Lin, this... this is truly astonishing magical instinct! Another ten points to Ravenclaw!"

James Potter's mouth hung open, his face flushing and paling. Sirius Black dropped his nonchalant expression, his eyes sharpening with interest. Lily patted her chest, letting out a huge sigh of relief, and looked gratefully at Lin Yanqing.

And Snape...

He slowly lowered his blocking arm, his face paler than when he failed to mend the teacup. He didn't look at James, nor Professor Flitwick, nor even the crystal ball that had nearly hit him. His gaze, like two ice-pick daggers, was fixed intently on Lin Yanqing.

In his eyes, the previous curiosity and confusion were gone, replaced by a completely cold scrutiny and a hint of... shocked anger at being seen through.

He felt it clearly! The moment the danger struck, not only had Lin Yanqing acted, but more importantly, he felt the magic stirring within him at that instant, generating an indescribable resonance and pull with Lin Yanqing's white light! It was as if... two originally separate streams had suddenly merged at a critical juncture, unleashing greater power!

This was absolutely not a coincidence!

This Ravenclaw not only bound him with some kind of evil contract, but now, that contract was even affecting his magic?!

"I... I didn't mean to..." James said sheepishly, trying to explain.

Snape seemed not to hear. He turned abruptly, without even asking Professor Flitwick for permission, and strode out of the Charms classroom, the hem of his black robes sweeping in a sharp arc, leaving a classroom of stunned teachers and students.

Lin Yanqing froze, clutching his still slightly warm wand, his heart turning to ice. He could feel Snape's emotions on the other end of the soul bond churning like a stormy sea, filled with anger, suspicion, and a hint of... fear of his own magic being affected.

"Host... you seem to have... caused trouble? (°ー°〃)" System Cub's voice was weak, "But that was so cool just now! It was the contract's protective instinct triggering passively!"

Protective instinct? Lin Yanqing gave a wry smile. This instinct had probably completely destroyed the little progress made before.

As expected, from that day on, Snape's attitude towards him dropped below freezing. In the library, as soon as Lin Yanqing appeared, Snape would immediately pack up his things and disappear, moving as fast as if he were avoiding the plague. If they met in the corridor, he would immediately take a detour, not even sparing him a glance.

He even began consciously trying to mobilize his magic at a considerable distance from Lin Yanqing, seemingly trying to test if this "resonance" truly existed and its range of influence.

Lin Yanqing tried to ease the situation through System quests, but the "Silent Observation" quest failed repeatedly because he couldn't complete the five-minute observation. System Cub also became listless and stopped issuing new quests.

A turning point came a few days later. While looking for a book on the basics of Ancient Runes in the library, Lin Yanqing discovered a forgotten notebook with a parchment cover in a secluded corner of a bookshelf. He picked it up and found it filled with dense notes on the properties of various potion ingredients. The handwriting was familiar and elegant—it was Lily Evans'.

He hesitated before returning it immediately. He knew that if he returned it directly to Lily, Snape might think he was deliberately trying to get close to his friend again.

The opportunity arose during Potions class the next day. Professor Slughorn assigned an upgraded version of the boil-curing potion—an ointment that could quickly heal minor cuts. The process involved handling thorny nettles, and many students cried out in pain as they were pricked.

Lin Yanqing saw Snape expertly handling the nettles with dragon-hide gloves, his movements fluid. However, when it came to stirring the cauldron and adding powdered rooster stones, he found that the small mortar he had brought had developed a crack, making it impossible to grind the stones finely enough, which would affect the potion's final efficacy. Snape's brow furrowed deeply.

Lin Yanqing took a deep breath. While Professor Slughorn's back was turned, he quickly pushed the intact mortar on his own workstation, which had already ground the rooster stones to an extremely fine powder, along with the snow-white powder, to the edge of Snape's workspace.

Then, he quickly picked up Lily's notebook and placed it under the mortar.

Snape's movements froze. He first looked at the excellent quality powder, then his gaze fell on the familiar cover and handwriting of the notebook. He looked up sharply at Lin Yanqing, the ice in his eyes seeming to crack, filled with astonishment and disbelief.

Lin Yanqing said nothing, merely pointing to the notebook, then in the direction of Lily, who was busy on the Gryffindor side, making a gesture of "returning it to its owner." He then turned back, pretending to focus on his own cauldron, which was doomed to fail due to the lack of key ingredients.

Snape stood there, silent for a few seconds. Lin Yanqing could feel the frozen emotions on the other end of the soul bond begin to churn violently. Finally, Snape, with a speed almost too fast to see, took the mortar and powder for his own use and quickly tucked Lily's notebook inside his robes.

He offered no thanks. Throughout the entire process, he didn't even look at Lin Yanqing a second time.

But after that, when Lin Yanqing reappeared in the library, although Snape still didn't sit at the same table, he no longer left immediately. He simply buried his head lower, as if trying to drown himself in his books.

Lily's notebook and the perfectly timed potion ingredient were like stones thrown into an icy lake. Although they didn't break the solid ice, they finally stopped the bone-chilling cold from spreading further.