HP North Star's Radiance

The girl told Ms. Gray that someone had done something bad with the Ravenclaw tiara. She needed to know where the tiara was to protect her family.

“How do I know you’re not lying to me too?” Mrs. Grey said, her eyes gleaming. “One Slytherin student lied to my mother, saying he was afraid I’d be in danger outside, and in the end, he was the one in danger. Another Slytherin student said he understood me, but it turned out he was just trying to get something out of me.”

“Madam,” Praris said, “what use would I have for a crown? You’ve surely heard that I’m already the top student in this school. Perhaps a crown can bring more wisdom, but I have no further desire for it.”

“What do we need so much wisdom for?” Prares said softly. “Exceptional wisdom is a treasure, but it can sometimes become a source of suffering.”

Upon hearing this, Ms. Grey floated down to her from the air: "Don't you yearn for more wisdom? Don't you desire greater power?"

“If I could,” Praris looked up at her, “I would trade these things for a happy life, even if I were to live a mediocre and unproductive life.”

Prarese doesn't deny that she had such thoughts, but she's only saying it to Ms. Gray now; she still needs to do something on her own.

However—if sacrificing her intelligence could make Voldemort disappear from this world, and allow her, Winnie, and Mrs. Priscilla to live a peaceful and happy life, then she would rather be as stupid as Crabbe and Goyle.

Ms. Grey thought differently. She remembered what Salazar Slytherin had once told her: "Helena, sometimes people are made up of the lives they haven't lived, and shaped by the things they desire but can't have."

Helena didn't understand this statement. She thought that people were shaped by what they possessed and written by their experiences.

How can something you don't have or haven't obtained shape a person into who they are today?

But as it turns out, Salazar Slytherin's words were not without merit.

Her lack of care and yearning for wisdom transformed her from Helena into the ghostly Mrs. Grey. This girl's longing for family and happiness brought her to the forefront.

She and I are the opposite of each other, Helena thought, so—

"Myrtle, you can go out now," Helena said.

As soon as Myrtle left, Helena said, "I stole the crown from my mother."

"So should I call you Miss Ravenclaw?" Praris asked.

“Call me Helena,” she said. “Plares, don’t believe men, especially Slytherin men.”

Miss Helena, with her exceptional intelligence, stole the Ravenclaw tiara, claiming that her lover, the Bloody Barrow—a Slytherin student—was sent by her mother to find her…

Chapter 118 The House of Requirement

After Helena refused him once again, the Blood Man Barrow killed Helena and then committed suicide.

This is why Barrow the Blood Man wears shackles.

“What’s the use?” Praris looked up at Helena. “Does repentance change anything? Does his shackles make any difference to you, to those you love, and to those who love you?”

Helena was stunned. She had always felt that Barrow the Blood Man deserved his fate. But this was the first time someone had asked her what use Barrow the Blood Man's repentance was.

“You’re right, it’s all useless,” Helena said. “To me, it’s just a poor performance.”

She is dead, and that cannot be changed.

The only solace that Barrow the Blood Man could find in his confession was in his own conscience.

At this moment, Prass was unaware that her uncle Snape was doing the same thing as Barrow the Blood: redeeming his soul through confession.

Across a millennium, these two men, both influential figures in Slytherin, committed similar crimes—killing the people they loved.

However, one acted intentionally, while the other acted unintentionally.

However, one is direct, and the other is indirect.

—It was as if fate was playing a cruel joke on Slytherin.

What does Snape's confession have to do with Lily?

Not at all.

Repentance cannot redeem Lily, who is already dead; the only thing that can redeem him is his own soul.

Perhaps Snape knew this, which is why he volunteered to protect Lily and the child left behind by his nemesis.

“In short,” Helena said softly, “that was the last time I saw the crown. I put it in a hollow tree in Albania.”

"Albania……"

Praris retrieves her memories.

Professor Quirrell encountered Voldemort in the Albanian forest, was seduced by him, and became his servant.

In other words, a part of Voldemort once hid in Albania and had the potential to come into contact with the diadem.

But if he hadn't known it was Ravenclaw's crown, he might not have turned it into a Horcrux.

"It's our tradition for Ravenclaw ghosts to flirt with students."

Myrtle's cheerful voice suddenly rang out.

Myrtle was killed by Voldemort, who was a student at the time she was at school.

There aren't many ghosts from Ravenclaw; Praris knows of only two.

“Miss Helena,” Praris asked softly, “I’m not the first student to know about this, am I?”

Helena nodded hesitantly: "There's another person... I don't know... I think he understands me very well and knows how to please me... but after I told him about the crown, he never came back to visit me again."

Praris suddenly felt a little guilty.

If the unrequited love between humans and ghosts is a tradition of Ravenclaw ghosts, then is the tradition of Slytherin ghosts deceiving Ravenclaw ghosts?

Three years ago, Praris lied repeatedly to gain Myrtle's trust in order to find clues to the secret room.

At that time, she was under immense pressure to survive. She was unaware of her relationship with Professor Snape, nor did she know that Dumbledore had already arranged for an additional guardian for her.

Ms. Helena, you should worry more about me deceiving others than about me being deceived by Slytherin boys.

Praris comforted herself, "But you really did become friends with Myrtle, didn't you? If it weren't for you, Myrtle would still be crying right now!"

“I’m sorry,” Prarese said.

Helena shook her head: "What does that have to do with you? It's just that we're always too quick to give our trust."

Helena was like that, and so was her mother, Ravenclaw.

Confirming that the crown is a Horcrux is not the end of the story. The real question is, where exactly is the crown?

“Thank you, Miss Helena.” Prarese bowed to Helena. “I think I have the information I wanted.”

Helena said, "No need to thank me. Perhaps I just hope that you can reunite with your family."

Helena wasn't without regret for her impulsiveness, but what had happened couldn't be changed.

When she returned to Hogwarts, her mother had already passed away.

After becoming a ghost, she lingered in Ravenclaw's tower, in the place where her mother had poured her heart and soul.

Praris came out of the bathroom.

On Christmas Eve, the snow absorbed the faint sounds, and everything was quiet.

“She’s perfectly fine,” Snape said coldly. “She’ll stay perfectly fine as long as you don’t care about her.”

Winnie fell silent; she couldn't deny it.

Just as Voldemort mocked her, saying, "My cowardly and pitiful student, love is poison, and your love is deadly poison!"

Back then, Voldemort failed to become the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts, so he spent all his time teaching Winnie the Pooh.

He wanted Winnie to be intelligent, not foolish, and obedient, yet easy to control. He wanted Winnie to be loyal and never betray him, yet he never gave her the slightest bit of respect.

Frankly, he hopes his students are a combination of a Border Collie and a wolf—possessing both the loyalty and intelligence of a Border Collie and the ferocity of a wolf.

He also wanted to use Winnie to prove to Dumbledore that Dumbledore had misjudged him! That Dumbledore was blind to not making him a professor at Hogwarts.

Winnie's betrayal was like a resounding slap in the face, much like Dumbledore's mockery of Voldemort: Look, even the student you trained is not loyal to you!

Voldemort did not want to kill Winnie, but killing Winnie would be tantamount to admitting defeat to Dumbledore and acknowledging that he was unworthy.

Dumbledore had loyal students like Newt Scamander and Harry Potter, but what about Voldemort's students? They didn't hesitate to betray him and side with Dumbledore!

Winnie's return made her the opposite of the Death Eaters—everyone knew her, everyone looked down on her, but no one dared to mess with her—except for Mrs. Burst, who was jealous of her.

“You’re right, my love is harmful,” Winnie said with a bitter smile.

She composed herself and said to Snape, "The night you asked, Nagini—the teacher's snake—did come back from outside without eating dinner. I think it ate something else."

For example, Arthur Weasley's blood.

“He told me to win over the Americans.” Winnie swallowed. “I made up an excuse to get away with it, but sooner or later he’ll have me contact the Smith sisters again.”

“Contact him and express your surrender,” Snape said calmly. “Charlotte Smith has already boarded the ship in Southampton and will arrive in New York tonight.”

If she hurryed, she could still make it to her sister Elizabeth's Christmas dinner.

In other words, Dumbledore had already informed Ms. Smith about Winnie's situation.

No matter how earnest Winnie's letters were, Ms. Smith would never set foot on European soil again until the war ended.

The Smith sisters, with Elizabeth being the current vice principal of Eva Morney.

Charlotte, the younger sister, was originally a representative of the United States Ministry of Magic of the International Confederation of Wizards, the former head of the Efarmoni Longhorn Water Serpent Academy, and is now a well-known American Charms Master and the author of the Efarmoni Charms textbook.

If Charlotte sides with Voldemort, it will involve the vast network of relationships behind her.

Dumbledore was prepared and would never let Voldemort reap this benefit.

Having said that, Snape turned to leave.

Winnie quickly turned around and said to him, "Could you—"

Could you please pass on a message to Praris for me?

“No,” Snape said coldly. “If you’re hesitant, don’t say it.”

Snape turned and left, his billowing cloak like a dark cloud, taking away Winnie's last glimmer of hope.

Okay, now, she's all alone.

Winnie reached up and put on her black top hat, then turned and walked down a path she didn't want to take—she was going to write Lottie a fake, obsequious, and pretentious invitation.

At Hogwarts, dawn broke.

Despite being on holiday, Praris got up early.

She squatted by the bedside, counting the Christmas gifts she had received.

Among the gifts by the bedside were some names that weren't there before, and some names that were there before—there were no gifts for Winnie, Ms. Priscilla, or Professor Snape.