HP North Star's Radiance

Praris took a deep breath; she didn't want a third Death Eater to appear among the people she cared about.

In contrast to Praris's brief moment of joy, London was filled with a tense and solemn atmosphere.

The BBC reported on the death of a middle-aged woman named Amelie Vance, who was found dead in Westminster, not far from Downing Street.

In other words, near the Prime Minister's official residence.

This incident sparked heated discussions among Londoners.

“What are these policemen doing?” Mrs. Willow grumbled from the kitchen. “This is London! This is Westminster!”

Mrs. Willow, carrying a plate, approached Praris, who had come to freeload: "We pay so many taxes! Is that all we get to feed these lame ducks?!"

“Emilyn Vance?” Praris squinted.

“There’s more!” Mrs. Willow said with some worry, “There was a middle-aged woman named Amelia Burns… who was involved in a locked-room murder case!”

Mrs. Willow, holding her fork, exclaimed, "I thought staying home would be enough, but I can still disappear silently at home! Those lummox at Scotland Yard, I'm going to hire ten pregnant women to poop in their helmets!"

Chapter 142 The Great Depression

Prarese almost burst out laughing; Mrs. Willow's insults were just too funny.

Most importantly, Mrs. Willow could really afford to hire ten pregnant women.

However, Mrs. Willow was just saying it for the sake of saying it.

Since 1986, defecating in public places has been prohibited by public order laws—even for pregnant women.

Although this rule makes Londoners seem very uncivilized... Praris still couldn't help but laugh.

She's not from London!

She was born in Southend-on-the-Sea, Essex!

Furthermore, Scotland Yard is not responsible for law enforcement in London, but rather for the Greater London area (excluding the City of London). It's just that people often use Scotland Yard to refer to the British police.

After laughing it off, Praris's mood began to turn somewhat heavy again.

Although Amyline Vance was dressed as a Muggle, her wizarding features were obvious to Praris because she had lived in the wizarding world for a long time—most wizards don't really succeed at disguising themselves as Muggles.

Amelia Burns is the Director of the Department of Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Magic, and Susan Burns' aunt.

I never expected so many things to happen outside during this time; the Death Eaters have already started targeting some wizards.

Vance and Burns were people who were too far removed from her.

Upon learning of the two men's deaths, Prarese rushed back to Diagon Alley the next day, intending to buy a pile of newspapers from that period from Old Tom.

“Come with me!” old Tom whispered.

As soon as he saw Praris, old Tom pulled her away to hide in the kitchen.

Praris asked in surprise, "What's wrong?"

Hogwarts begins its holiday in the third week of June. The last time she came back was in June, when Old Tom wasn't in the shop, and there were only two clerks.

Praris simply greeted his men and then ran off to find a herbalist to buy ingredients for the compound decoction.

In mid-July, Dumbledore took her directly to the other side of the night to teleport, leaving her completely unaware of the changes in Diagon Alley.

Now... Praris didn't see the guys in the store.

Old Tom, who was well-informed, sighed deeply.

Old Tom already knew that Winnie had become a Death Eater again... He had seen her working with the Death Eaters.

But recently, some Death Eaters came to inquire about Winnie and Purnell. Old Tom then thought of Karkaroff's death in early July, and a chill ran down his spine.

Old Tom wondered, if Winnie was still a Death Eater, why were those guys asking about her?

Meanwhile, Karkaroff, a Death Eater, died a gruesome death, quite unlike the behavior of the Order of the Phoenix and the Aurors.

Most of the time, old Tom turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to such things—this was his survival wisdom.

But Praris is different.

He watched Praris grow up year after year.

He celebrated the girl's first time winning first place, introduced her to a job at Prim Purnell's shop, where she met Winnie Brown...

When facing Praris, old Tom couldn't bring himself to say that it was none of his business.

“In our eyes, you’re still a child.” Old Tom held her hand. “We won’t tell them about your situation, but Winnie…”

“You two go ahead and say it,” Praris said softly. “It’s nothing.”

Winnie had spent a long time in Diagon Alley, leaving no room for maneuver. If Old Tom and the other shop owners pretended to know nothing, they would be committing suicide.

"Oh, little Pry! This is an adult matter!" Old Tom said, his face full of wrinkles. "Just pretend you only stayed at my shop and know nothing about it!"

Praris blinked and turned her head away, not wanting old Tom to see her emotional reaction.

Her time in Diagon Alley was the happiest time of her life. She doesn't deny that she once lived there, and she had long anticipated that there would be a time when she would pay the price for happiness.

Human nature is complex, and she could understand why the people of Diagon Alley had to reveal her relationship with Winnie and others in order to survive.

Nothing is more important than life and death, especially one's own.

Prarese had also prepared a countermeasure. She told Draco that she had only worked at a cosmetics company.

She was a Slytherin, a prefect, a child of pure-blood families and Death Eaters, and had "exposed" Dumbledore for Umbridge.

Now, she only worked at a beauty salon once, through Old Tom's introduction, during a time when the economy was bad—that's nothing.

But to her surprise, the shop owners, including Old Tom, Florin, and Banlin, were genuinely kind and worried about her, considered her needs, and kept her secret.

When you coldly observe the distortion of human nature and think you have seen through the world, the brilliance of human kindness will awaken an indestructible hope.

As she became more familiar with Occlumency, she understood why the Sorting Hat had made her a Slytherin.

—Because she was truly suited to be a Slytherin, not just because of her rebellion against the concept of a "savior".

She wanted to own her own wealth, she wanted to climb the social ladder, and she didn't want to be a lowly person at the bottom of society anymore!

She hated almost everyone in the monastery and even contemplated killing those who bullied her. She had that power, didn't she?

If Hogwarts hadn't invited her at age eleven, she might have used her time at the boarding school as an alibi after leaving the convent, using it as an opportunity to kill Fiona, Sister Mayne, and others who had bullied her.

However... love.

From July or August of her eleventh year, she received so much love, even from people who had no familial relation to her whatsoever.

"Love is a precious treasure," the believer who gifted her the poetry collection once told her.

Prarese said to the believers in a naive tone, "If love is wealth, then poets must have a great deal of wealth, right?"

The believer smiled and nodded: "Yes, he possesses an infinite wealth of love."

"How could the poet have frozen to death?" Praris asked earnestly yet cruelly. "Why didn't he use that wealth to buy some charcoal?"

The believer remained silent for a long while before saying, "Child, love cannot be traded."

Praris pressed on: "How can the value of something that cannot be traded be measured, and how can it be considered wealth?"

The believer fell silent again, and after a while said, "Some treasures reside within us; they are invisible, they are the eternal life force."

Praris's tone was distinctly calm, yet tinged with sarcasm: "But these eternal life forces cannot even allow a person to continue living."

The believers almost fled in panic, but before leaving, they gave Praris a book full of poems filled with love.

The believer left behind his last words: "Praris, I believe you will have different thoughts in the future."

This is practically a curse!

Praris laughed dismissively, thinking the believer was just a brainwashed lunatic.

She prefers tangible wealth to intangible wealth.

She desired a life force that would allow her to live comfortably, rather than an eternal life force.

Praris is not that silly, poor poet!

If it were her, she would only set fire to those sentimental poetry collections and let them become raw materials for warmth!

Therefore, Prareas never felt that the Sorting Hat had put her in the wrong house. On the contrary, its Legilimency technology was quite good.

Unfortunately, love has a magical power.

Love made these people who had no blood relation to her give to her; love gave her the life she has today where she has no worries about food and clothing; love gave her great strength.

Love also made her heart weak, hesitant, and unlike herself, inexplicably giving rise to a longing for more love.

Why do you love me?

How could I not love you all?

"Thank you." Praris reached out and hugged old Tom tightly. "Thank you for your love."

Old Tom was at a loss, and said blankly, "After all, we watched you grow up!"

It took her and Tom a while to calm down.

"Time flies," Old Tom remarked. "You've grown so tall in just one year."

"Really?" Praris didn't feel that way. "I see myself every day, I'm used to it, I don't feel like I've changed much. But why is the Leaky Cauldron bar empty?"

Old Tom shook his head: "Now, everyone's on edge, lots of shops are closed... what's the point of coming to Diagon Alley?"

"What's going on?" Praris asked in surprise.

Prim Purnell voluntarily closed his shop and joined the Order of the Phoenix last year, but the closures of others were not voluntary.

Old Tom told her that Florin had disappeared from the store, apparently kidnapped; Ollivander had also disappeared, but there were no signs of a struggle in the store…

Now, customers avoid Diagon Alley unless absolutely necessary, and businesses in Diagon Alley are all on edge, with only the Weasley Trick Room and the Leaky Cauldron still maintaining their daily operations.

Praris listened in surprise to old Tom's sigh.

Ollivander had a reason to do so, after all, he possessed the technology to make wands—Voldemort might even have Ollivander commission a custom wand for him!

But what is Florin? He's just an ordinary ice cream shop owner, and at his most aggressive, he only ever threatened to tell Ms. Priscilla on Winnie.

Prarese then thought, Florin is innocent, but what wrong has Mr. Diggory done?

War is cruel and an aggression against humanity. Under the crushing wheels of war, it will not hesitate because of a person's strength, nor will it show mercy because of a person's weakness or mediocrity.