That Boy Is a Monster

"That's because," he raised his head, meeting Dumbledore's gaze without fear, his voice filled with the meticulously disguised fanaticism and disgust of a biased scholar, "that boy is a monster."

"A monster?" Dumbledore's eyebrows rose slightly.

"Yes, a monster with an 'intuitive' talent in Potions Mastery that I have never seen before." Snape's voice became hoarse and low, as if stating a disturbing fact.

"He ignores recipes, ignores rules, relying entirely on his so-called 'Eastern theories' to mess around. But the things he brews contain a kind of... a deeper level of pharmacology that I cannot understand. This is dangerous, Albus! Extremely dangerous!"

He took a step forward, lowering his voice, his tone full of urgency.

"This talent, unfettered by theory, who knows what he will concoct in the future if it is not guided and studied? A panacea that can cure everything, or a plague that can destroy the world? I must know where his limits are, I must grasp the core of his theories! Giving him access to the Forbidden Section is to expose more of his secrets, to place this uncontrollable 'talent' under our surveillance!"

This speech was impeccable and reasonable.

Packaging an extremely selfish "transaction" as a necessary "academic research" conducted for the "safety of the magical world."

Dumbledore listened quietly, his expression unchanged.

After a long while, he slowly nodded.

"Your reasons sound... very convincing, Severus," he said softly. "Hopefully, your research will bear fruit. After all, geniuses always need to be treated with more caution."

His gaze seemed to penetrate Snape's disguise, seeing the deepest secrets of his heart.

Snape felt a layer of fine cold sweat seeping out of his back.

"Of course, Headmaster." He gave a stiff bow, then turned and, with a flick of his black robe, almost fled from the suffocating office.

The moment the door closed, the smile on Dumbledore's face slowly disappeared.

He looked at the gloomy sky outside the window, a deep, indescribable worry flashing in his blue eyes.

Lin Yuan...

This name, like a stone thrown into a calm lake, stirred up ripples in his heart, one after another, that could not be calmed.

The next day, the sky cleared.

The Quidditch pitch was bustling with activity, colorful flags waving in the wind.

Gryffindor and Slytherin, these fated rivals, were about to stage the first peak showdown of the year.

Harry Potter, the youngest Seeker in history, nervously followed Wood into the stadium. His heart was pounding like a drum, and his palms were sweaty.

In the stands, Ron and Hermione waved a huge banner with crooked letters that read: "Potter Will Win!"

And in the highest, most inconspicuous corner of the Gryffindor stands.

Lin Yuan leaned against the railing, holding a rare book borrowed from the Forbidden Section, "Analysis of Ancient Curses and Counter-Curses", reading with relish.

For him, the only value of this noisy match was an excellent opportunity to observe the "Practical Application of High-Level Dark Magic" up close.

"It's starting."

As Madam Hooch blew the whistle and the fourteen players soared into the sky, Lin Yuan's Divine Soul, like a large net, instantly locked onto every trace of Magic Power fluctuation in the area above the pitch.

The match proceeded intensely.

Harry displayed his innate flying talent, like a red-gold hummingbird, nimbly weaving through the whistling Bludgers, searching for that golden glimmer.

Just then.

A stream of cold, malevolent Magic Power silently wrapped around Harry's Nimbus 2000 from the direction of the main seating area.

"Here it comes." Lin Yuan's gaze shifted from the book, calmly looking in that direction.

In his Divine Soul vision, he could clearly "see."

Professor Quirrell's lips were moving silently, a continuous, vicious curse emanating from him, attempting to interfere with the core "Levitation Stabilization Array" on Harry's broom.

The broom began to shake violently, Harry gripping the handle tightly, swaying wildly in the air, as if he was about to be thrown off in the next second.

A gasp went up from the stands.

Hermione's face turned pale with fright.

However, Lin Yuan's brow furrowed slightly.

Because what he "saw" was far more than that.

Next to Professor Quirrell's black line of curse, another stream of Magic Power, equally secretive but of the opposite nature, was emanating from Snape's direction, like a tough barrier, stubbornly resisting the invasion of the curse.

"Oh? A Counter-Curse..." A researcher's interest flashed in Lin Yuan's eyes. "One is applying Entropy Increase, trying to collapse the stable structure; the other is constantly injecting Negative Entropy, forcibly maintaining its stability. The two forces form a delicate dynamic balance on the broom, a small Magic Artifact. It's like... walking a tightrope."

He could easily cut off both lines.

With just a thought, he could annihilate those two streams of Magic Power, which he considered "crude and unbearable," in an instant.

But he didn't.

"This is the 'protagonist's' tribulation, and also the nourishment for his growth. External interference will contaminate the experimental data."

He simply watched quietly, like the most indifferent observer, recording the collision data of these two opposing laws.

In the end, it was Hermione's simple and crude "physical attack" that broke the deadlock.

A small cluster of blue flames ignited on the hem of Snape's robe.

Snape cried out in pain, his Counter-Curse interrupted.

And at the very moment he was interrupted, Quirrell also stopped casting his spell because Hermione had knocked him over.

With both forces disappearing at the same time, Harry's broom instantly regained its stability.

And at this moment, he saw that fleeting bit of gold.

He dove down, like a bolt of Lightning, giving chase.

Finally, under the unbelievable gazes of the entire audience, he couldn't brake in time, lunged forward, and, while gagging, spat the small, golden ball that was still fluttering its wings into his hand.

"Harry Potter has caught the Golden Snitch! Gryffindor wins!"

Lee Jordan's roar echoed throughout the entire field.

The Gryffindor stands instantly transformed into a joyous ocean of red and gold.

Amidst the deafening cheers.

Lin Yuan slowly closed the ancient book in his hand.

"Data recorded." The energy confrontation model between "Curse" and "Counter-Curse" has been preliminarily established. Conclusion: Inefficient, needs optimization.

He turned around, and amidst the thunderous background noise, he calmly walked towards the library.