The [Silent Attention] quest had given Lin Yanqing a new habit. Every day, he would set aside some time to complete his "five-minute observation" near that fixed corner of the library. During this time, he had even relied on Ravenclaw's thirst for knowledge and the occasional Gold Galleons rewarded by the system to order several introductory books on Eastern herbalism from the owl post office, making his presence in the magical books section seem more reasonable.
Snape seemed to have tacitly accepted this "coexistence" as well. He no longer left immediately whenever Lin Yanqing appeared, merely treating him as an eyesore that was harmless. A strange, silent balance was maintained between them.
However, that 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 overlapping incantations and the sounds of objects breaking as the students struggled to restore deliberately cracked teacups to their original state.
Lin Yanqing focused, recalling the key points of the spell and the proper flick of the wrist. His Sandalwood Wand seemed naturally suited to such delicate work. After a single attempt, the cracks on the teacup before him began to slowly mend. The process was slow, but the results were obvious.
"Excellent, Mr. Lin! Five points to Ravenclaw!" Professor Flitwick praised in his high-pitched voice.
Lin Yanqing breathed a sigh of relief. Instinctively, his gaze passed over several classmates and landed on Snape across 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 forceful, but the cup only glowed faintly, and the cracks were mending so slowly as to be almost imperceptible. Clearly, this spell, which required patience and fine magical control, differed from the explosive, result-driven potion-making he excelled at. A trace of barely noticeable irritation traveled through the contract.
Just then, James Potter successfully repaired his teacup. Excited, he turned to say something to Sirius Black beside him, but his elbow accidentally knocked into a fist-sized Crystal Ball on the table that was being used to practice the Levitation Charm. The Crystal Ball rolled off the table with a rumble, its considerable weight sending it straight toward the back of Snape's head as he concentrated on his spell!
"Watch out!" Lily cried.
Snape sensed the rush of air behind him and whipped around, but it was already too late to completely avoid it. He instinctively raised an arm to block, his pupils shrinking.
In that lightning-fast instant, Lin Yanqing felt as though an invisible hand had clenched around his heart! It was not because he had seen the danger, but because through the soul contract, a powerful sense of crisis that belonged to Snape, along with the magic he had summoned in an instant, surged through his entire body like an electric current!
The hand holding his wand rose almost beyond his control—not toward the incoming Crystal Ball, but as though drawn by some force toward Snape! His mind was completely blank. He had not cast any spell at all, yet a faint but swift milky-white light burst from the tip of his wand on its own, striking the Crystal Ball in midair with perfect accuracy!
Bang!
A muffled thud rang out. The Crystal Ball was struck by the white light only inches from Snape's arm. It did not shatter; instead, as if wrapped in a layer of soft energy, it abruptly changed direction, slammed into an empty chair beside it with a thunk, then rolled to the floor.
The entire classroom fell silent in an instant.
Everyone had seen it. They had seen James's mistake, the Crystal Ball flying toward Snape, and Lin Yanqing's lightning-fast, wandless, silent... something that could not even be called a Standard Spell. It was more like an instinctive burst of magic.
Professor Flitwick pushed up his glasses in surprise, then hurried over to pick up the Crystal Ball beside the chair. After examining it carefully and finding it completely unharmed, he looked at Lin Yanqing with astonishment. "Merlin's beard! A Silencing Charm? And with a deflection effect as well? Mr. Lin, this... this is truly astonishing magical instinct! Another ten points to Ravenclaw!"
James Potter's mouth fell open, his face flushing and paling by turns. Sirius Black lost his careless expression, his eyes sharpening with interest. Lily patted her chest and let out a huge sigh of relief, looking gratefully at Lin Yanqing.
And Snape...
He slowly lowered his blocking arm, his face even paler than when he had failed to cast the Mending Charm. He did not look at James, Professor Flitwick, or even the Crystal Ball that had nearly struck him. His gaze, like two ice-coated daggers, fixed itself on Lin Yanqing.
The curiosity and confusion from before were gone from his eyes, replaced by nothing but utterly cold scrutiny and a trace of... furious alarm at being seen through.
He had felt it clearly! At the moment danger descended, it was not merely that Lin Yanqing had acted. More importantly, he had felt the magic within him, which had flared up in that instant, seem to produce an indescribable resonance and pull with Lin Yanqing's white light! It was like... two streams that had originally flowed independently suddenly converging at a crucial point, erupting with even greater force!
This was absolutely no coincidence!
This Ravenclaw had not only bound him with some evil contract—now, that contract was even beginning to affect his magic?!
"I... I didn't mean to..." James said awkwardly, trying to explain.
Snape seemed not to hear him. He spun around abruptly and, without even asking Professor Flitwick for permission, strode straight out of the Charms classroom. The hem of his black robes swept out in a sharp arc, leaving behind a classroom full of stunned teachers and students.
Lin Yanqing stood frozen in place, gripping the wand that was still faintly warm, his heart turning cold. He could feel the emotions at the other end of the soul bond, Snape's anger, suspicion, and a trace of fear that his own magic might be affected, churning like the sea in a storm.
"Host... it looks like... you caused trouble? (°ー°〃)" System Cub spoke weakly. "But that was so cool! The contract's protective instinct was triggered passively!"
A protective instinct? Lin Yanqing gave a bitter smile. That instinct had probably completely destroyed the tiny bit of progress they had made before.
Sure enough, from that day onward, Snape's attitude toward him fell below freezing. Whenever Lin Yanqing appeared in the library, Snape would immediately vanish with all his things, moving as quickly as though he were avoiding a plague. If they met in the corridors, Snape would instantly take a detour, no longer granting him even a glance.
He even began deliberately trying to summon magic far away from Lin Yanqing, as though he wanted to test whether this "resonance" truly existed and how far its effects extended.
Lin Yanqing tried to ease things through system quests, but the [Silent Attention] quest failed repeatedly because he could not complete the five-minute observation at all. System Cub also wilted and stopped issuing new quests.
The turning point came a few days later. While searching the library for a book on the basics of Ancient Runes, Lin Yanqing found a parchment-covered notebook that had been left behind in a secluded corner of a bookshelf. He picked it up and discovered that it was densely filled with notes analyzing the properties of various potion ingredients. The handwriting was familiar and elegant—it belonged to Lily Evans.
He hesitated for a moment and did not return it immediately. He knew that if he gave it directly back to Lily, Snape might think he was deliberately approaching his friend again.
The next day, an opportunity came during Potions class. Professor Slughorn assigned them an improved version of the Boil-Cure Potion—a salve capable of quickly healing minor cuts. The brewing process required handling stinging nettles, leaving many students complaining bitterly after being pricked.
Lin Yanqing watched Snape skillfully handle the nettles while wearing dragon-hide gloves, his movements smooth and effortless. But when it came time to stir the cauldron and add powdered rooster bezoar, Lin Yanqing noticed that the small mortar Snape had brought had somehow developed a crack. He could not grind the bezoar finely enough, which would affect the final quality of the salve. Snape's brow furrowed tightly.
Lin Yanqing took a deep breath. While Slughorn had his back turned to them, he quickly pushed his own intact mortar, containing finely ground snow-white rooster bezoar powder, to the edge of Snape's worktable.
Then he swiftly took out Lily's notebook and pressed it beneath the mortar.
Snape's movements halted. He first glanced at the exceptionally high-quality powder, then his gaze fell on the notebook's familiar cover and handwriting. He abruptly looked up at Lin Yanqing. The ice in his eyes seemed to crack open slightly, filled with shock and disbelief.
Lin Yanqing said nothing. He merely pointed at the notebook, then toward Lily, who was busy over with Gryffindor, and made a gesture meaning, "Return it to its owner." Then he turned back around, pretending to focus on his own salve, which was doomed to fail for lack of a crucial ingredient.
Snape stood where he was in silence for several seconds. Lin Yanqing could feel the frozen emotions at the other end of the soul bond begin to churn violently. In the end, with a speed almost too fast to see, Snape claimed the mortar and powder for himself and swiftly tucked Lily's notebook inside his robes.
He did not thank him. Throughout the entire process, he did not even give Lin Yanqing a second look.
But afterward, when Lin Yanqing appeared in the library again, Snape still would not sit at the same table as him, yet he no longer left immediately. He merely lowered his head further, as though he wanted to drown himself completely in his books.
Lily's notebook and those perfectly timed potion ingredients were like a stone dropped into an icy lake. Though they had not shattered the solid ice, they had finally stopped that bone-chilling cold from continuing to spread.
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