HP North Star's Radiance

Praris's lips twitched slightly, and she patted Astoria's shoulder with satisfaction. She walked around to face Astoria, placed her hands on her knees, and bent down to look at Astoria's face.

Now, Astoria is above, while Praris looks up below.

Prarese said gently, “Of course, I understand how you feel. It’s not a good feeling, is it? We all want to protect the people we care about, but it’s not easy, it’s very difficult.”

Astoria's eyes flickered, revealing her unease.

Praris reached out and took her arm, whispering, "You know, I got 12 Os in the OWLs assessment. My spellcasting and defense against the dark magic are barely passable."

Astoria nodded; she had heard about it from her sister—it was more than just good!

Praris smiled and said, "I watched you come to Hogwarts and grow up. You are like my sister to me."

"You shared your troubles with me, how can I just sit idly by?"

"If you truly want to protect Jones, I'm willing to share some useful spells and learning techniques with you."

Astoria was stunned. It took her a long time to realize what Praris was talking about.

"Really!" Astoria exclaimed in surprise. "You'd like to teach me?"

“No, Leah.” Praris shook his head. “I’m sorry, I’m very busy and don’t have the time. I can only write them down on parchment at most; you’ll have to study and understand them yourself.”

“That’s enough!” Astoria said happily. “I… Kiki and I will thank you!”

Praris emphasized, "This is a secret between the two of us, and you can't tell anyone else, not even your sister. She won't allow me to help you do whatever you want, especially to protect a Muggle wizard."

“I know!” Astoria nodded emphatically.

Praris smiled and straightened up: "Come on, silly girl, cheer up, everything will be alright."

Prareas had been following Astoria and her friend Grace for a long time.

Astoria is the most likely and most easily converted pure-blood wizard that Praris discovered in Slytherin.

At that time, they were merely Daphne's rebellious younger sister and lowly friend.

Praris and Daphne are friends, but that doesn't stop her from paying attention to Astoria's development or from helping Astoria and her friends when the time is right.

She never truly or directly changed Astoria's decision.

What gradually changed Astoria's mind was her friendship with her friends, and it was Astoria herself who resolved to become stronger to protect a Muggle witch.

Prareas simply gave her a push at the right moment.

If Jones were alive, Astoria would stand against the Death Eaters for Jones's sake.

If Jones dies...

Praris didn't want to think that way, but even if she didn't want to, she knew what the outcome would be.

Regardless of Praris's motives for helping Astoria, Astoria looked up at Praris—her sister's friend—with a heart full of gratitude.

Pry was such a smart, strong, and kind senior!

Praris escorted Astoria to the common room, just as Draco's sarcastic voice came from the front: "What a competent prefect! I thought you didn't like doing this!"

Astoria quickly waved to Praris and ran away.

Ah, yes, that's true. Praris was once reluctant to fulfill his duties as prefect.

Pralis knew what Draco was angry about; she had been so busy lately that she had neglected him.

Strangely enough, Draco, for some reason, hadn't contacted her until today.

Praris shrugged. "Didn't you recognize her? That's Astoria, Daphne's sister."

“Of course I know,” Draco said. “I thought you were busy teaching Potter a lesson.”

Praliss doesn't see herself as being in a position to defeat Porter, but realistically, she'll have to do so sooner or later to become stronger.

Praris frowned and said, "Pretty much... What have you been doing these days? You haven't even handed in your Transfiguration homework?"

This is what Pansy told Praris: Draco didn't hand in his Transfiguration homework last class and was warned by Professor McGonagall afterwards.

“Praris! Yeah, how unruly I am!” Draco grumbled as he moved closer to Praris. “You’re always busy with your own things, and you finally come to see me just to talk about this kind of thing?”

Praris noticed that Draco was changing the subject; he didn't want to talk about the Transfiguration assignment.

Praliss was a bit annoyed. She was the one who encouraged Draco to take more courses, and now Draco wasn't handing in his assignments on time... Maybe it wasn't Draco's fault.

Praris could only reassure him: "Okay, it's my fault. But if you can't handle it, you should come to me. I can always make time for you."

Hearing Praris's words, Draco's expression softened considerably, and he reluctantly said, "Of course, I'm not stupid."

In fact, despite Prareas's promise, it is still very difficult to free up time for Draco from her schedule.

This semester, Harry seems to have completely blossomed, displaying extraordinary potion-making talent.

Slughorn said to everyone, "Even I rarely encounter students as talented as the two of you, especially Harry. Of course, Praris, you've also progressed very quickly!"

Yes, yes, that's always been the case.

Praris thus became a light, fleeting "also" after a shift in the meaning of a sentence.

Praris didn't like this assessment, but she had no choice but to accept it.

Encountering a genius is a despairing thing.

Prader wasn't meeting Harry Potter for the first time. But it was precisely because of this that she felt pain, that she understood how quickly Potter had changed.

If Harry had always been this good, Prader might not have been so surprised. If Harry had put in countless efforts to defeat her, witnessing the process, Prader would have been completely convinced.

But no, neither of the above two are true.

Harry is like Odin, the Muggle in Norse wizarding legend, who drank from the fountain of magic and suddenly gained extraordinary magic and wisdom, becoming a legendary great wizard.

She seemed to understand how others had felt about her in the past—as heavy as a mountain, as insurmountable as a mountain.

Prader gave Harry his first dose of Felix Felicis. At the time, she only hoped that Harry would survive and not let down everyone who had done so much for him.

Looking back now, how ridiculous!

For Harry, wouldn't this kind of help be like an ordinary person donating to a rich person? Is she to Harry now like a snowman falling from an avalanche?

This was the third time she had declined Slughorn's invitation to dinner.

In the dim light of the underground classroom, Praris sat alone in front of the crucible, watching it gurgle softly.

An unprecedented loneliness enveloped her; she was like this crucible, with hot soup boiling inside her, but only a few fleeting bubbles rising to the surface.

Prarese was not unfamiliar with geniuses, such as Professor Snape, who taught her.

But the young Professor Snape and Prarese were not from the same era—who would go to find a professor who was ten or twenty years older than them to compete with while still a student?

This was the first time Praris had felt pressured by his peers.

Praris stood up and looked to his left.

To her left front, there was another crucible.

The crucible was smaller than the one Praris usually used, and the liquid inside was a bright yellow, like molten gold flowing out.

This is a pot of Felix Felicis.

After sending out the previous bottle of Felix Felicis, Prarese began preparing a new bottle, just in case.

Praris couldn't help but have a vile idea: if... if she drank Felix Felicis before class and then started making potions, could she defeat Potter?

—Has she gone mad?!

Praris lowered his head, clutching his head tightly, feeling his brain buzzing.

After a long while, she slapped herself hard.

Praris, what's wrong with you?!

There are no excuses, absolutely no excuses.

There was no Ravenclaw crown before her, nor any external temptations.

She was just jealous and got the idea to take a shortcut.

"Don't you know?"

There are no shortcuts to becoming stronger!

Yes, she could have won by any means necessary, but Felix Felicis could only temporarily enhance a person's abilities and condition; it couldn't make her truly defeat Harry.

Once the effects of the drug wore off and her luck ended, she was still a loser.

Cheating means she admits defeat, that she has truly been defeated by her opponent, and that she acknowledges Harry Potter as invincible.

Praris took a deep breath and scanned everything in front of her from left to right.

That was Prass's first cauldron, a second-hand cauldron bought with the Hogwarts Poverty Fund, which accompanied her for several years.

That was a copy of "Advanced Potions Making" given to her by Miss Stella, who believed that Praris would become the next Potions Master.

Those were the herbs Praris used to make potions, some of which were a gift from Lady Sprout. She had told Praris that if she couldn't order in time, she could always get some from her—she would always support Praris.

That was the cauldron Professor Snape had given her. She was about to make potions on her own, and the professor had given her one of his unused cauldrons—but Prairie knew it was actually new.

That was the first crucible Praris bought with her own money. She brewed several batches of poisonous tentacle growth agent for that crucible.

Praris closed his eyes, tilted his head back, and let out a long breath.

She will defeat Harry Potter.

I will use my own strength to completely defeat him in potion-making.

"Praris!"

Hermione cheered inwardly.

God knows, Harry and Ginny went too far.

They both kept using Quidditch training as an excuse to fool Slughorn. Only Hermione couldn't find a suitable reason and was forced to attend the party.

Hermione was always wondering what excuse Prarese had given. Prarese hadn't come either, but Slughorn didn't urge her to.

Hermione knew that Harry had recently become engrossed in the old textbooks of Half-Blood Prince, and she was really afraid that Prairie would ask about Harry—Hermione really didn't know what to say!

“Praris! Welcome!” Slughorn laughed and stood up to greet her. “This is your first time attending my dinner party!”

Slughorn invited Praris to sit down and said to him, "You said you were busy researching a new potion, has it been completed yet?"

Praris shook his head: "No, I think my progress has stalled and I need to readjust my approach."