HP North Star's Radiance

During the battle with the Department of Mysteries, Harry feared he wouldn't be lucky enough to save Sirius's life. So, he drank an entire bottle of Felix Felicis in one go.

Harry felt excessively good after drinking Felix Felicis. His brave and fearless appearance made him look like a suicide squad charging on the front lines of a battlefield, leaving the DARSA members completely stunned.

Hermione guessed that perhaps it was because he had tasted the benefits of Felix Felicis that Harry, when faced with the possibility of obtaining another bottle of Felix Felicis, did not hesitate to try the notes in the Half-Blood Prince book when he had no clue what to do.

"Aren't you going back?" Praris asked in a low voice.

Hermione glanced at Ron's retreating figure from afar and said calmly, "I'm on my way now. See you next time."

Prareas blinked. It seemed that there was absolutely no possibility of a romantic relationship between Hermione and Ron.

If Hermione still harbored unspoken feelings for Ron, she could never have been so open about it. After all, unrequited love is characterized by hesitation, clumsiness, a hand reaching out but then withdrawing, and a guilty conscience.

Once most of the examinees had finished their exams and were relaxed enough to sit and watch, Praris approached the examiner.

“This is outrageous!” Susan Burns exclaimed in disbelief. “The Prince exams ended so quickly!”

After being rebuked by Daphne last time, Simon couldn't help but say this time, "I suspect she practiced Apparition when school started."

Ron was a little sullen because he failed the test by leaving his eyebrows in the same place.

Upon hearing Seamus's words, Ron unexpectedly replied, "Haven't Prince always been like this?"

“Seamus, you haven’t seen what happened in Potions class! Prince, Harry, and Hermione drew Slughorn’s full attention! As for us? We were as insignificant as small fry in a pond!”

Once they were out of the Great Hall, Hermione couldn't help but say to Ron, "You actually defended Praris—I mean, a Slytherin."

Ron looked down at his shoes and muttered, "How amazing! What do you think about publishing this in the Daily Prophet—Ron Weasley actually knows which of his comrades are who!"

Hermione glared at him speechlessly, then couldn't help but laugh.

Seeing Hermione back to her old self made Ron feel a little better.

For a while now, Ron has been pressing Harry about Hermione and Krum, and Lavender has been talking to Harry about Ron—Harry is getting really annoyed by the two of them!

He said to Ron, somewhat irritated, "No matter who Hermione is with, she's first and foremost our friend, isn't she? Just like with me, no matter who I'm dating, you'd never stop treating me like a brother!"

Harry was actually a little guilty when he said those words, but he still spoke his mind with that guilt.

“You’re right…” Ron said dejectedly, then his eyes widened quickly. “Wait! You heard everything that day?”

He didn't want to recall what Ron and Harry talked about afterward.

Through Hermione's repeated use of the word "friend," Ron seemed to have come to understand some questions he had never considered before, and also faced his own feelings squarely.

Yes, he liked Hermione, and his relationship with Lavender was undoubtedly too hasty. Hermione wasn't concerned about who he liked, but rather disapproved of such irresponsible behavior. This led to his crushing defeat in his one-sided contest with Krum.

The only saving grace is that at least they are still friends.

Ron couldn't help but touch his face.

Two days ago, he was slapped by Lavender for telling the truth.

Snapped--

"Do you think my love is so cheap? Do you think that just because I'm not smart or famous, I can be summoned and dismissed at will, used as a tool to win other people's affections?"

"You're wrong! Ron Weasley!"

"I dare say, I, Lavender, am a warm, kind, generous, and beautiful girl! I'm braver than you; I dare to pursue the person I like—that's the you from the past!"

"And now, we're finished!"

"It turns out you're just a rude, arrogant, fickle coward! I truly regret misjudging you, actually being moved by your courage to overcome yourself on the field!"

Losing me is your greatest loss!

"The only thing you could call a morally upright and courageous act was standing before me today and admitting your mistake—don't take this as a compliment; it's just that I have nothing else to say!"

After saying that, Lavender threw all the red tulips she had painstakingly picked out at Ron, then ran away crying angrily.

Ron stood there, dumbfounded, holding the wilted tulip that had been hit, his face burning with pain. It took him a while to realize the unfamiliar feeling he was experiencing.

He actually felt that Lavender, who had just cursed at him, was more radiant than ever before.

For the next two days, Ron felt incredibly guilty towards Lavender. He wanted to check on her, but he was also afraid to see her red, angry eyes.

Worse still, whenever Ron and Hermione get even a little closer, Lavender will glare at Ron with a vengeful look.

The highly empathetic Harry, a graduate of Prairie's private tutoring program, told Ron, "Lavender probably thinks you're trying to get Hermione and Krum into a relationship."

So it was glaring at Ron, not Hermione.

The next day, Praris got up early.

Praris is such a diligent person; even when she's waiting for bad news, she'll be there early, and she'll be far ahead of everyone else when it comes to getting to heaven.

Sure enough, she ran into Meryl as soon as she left the dormitory.

Meryl seemed to have just returned from outside; her eyes lit up as soon as she saw her: "Prareth, Professor Snape is looking for you."

Looks like bad news, Harry succeeded.

Praris sighed and nodded to Meryl, "I understand, thank you."

Meryl chuckled and said to Praris, "Don't worry, when has Professor Snape ever punished you?"

“Of course they’ve been punished,” Praris said in surprise. “But it’s not a question of whether or not they were punished.”

Praliss intended to skip breakfast and go find Professor Snape, but as soon as she stepped out of the common room, Draco grabbed her arm.

"What's wrong?" Praris asked softly. "Why aren't you saying anything?"

Draco didn't say a word, but just clung to Praris like an octopus, as if trying to draw courage from the embrace... or something else.

Prareas had no idea what had happened to Draco.

That may have been an avalanche of emotions for him, but others—even Praris—could only see a few snowflakes drifting out.

At Hogwarts, Prader spent half her time learning to respect other people's privacy, and the other half deciding whether or not to cross the line she had drawn for herself in every situation.

She then spent a long time learning not only to understand a person psychologically, but also to feel a person from the heart.

But now, when facing the person she loves with all her heart, the choice between respecting privacy and crossing boundaries is fighting in her heart. Psychology and psychology are tangled together, making it impossible for her to see Draco clearly.

Perhaps it's because it's too close.

When a person looks at something, they can't see it clearly if it's too far away, and they also can't see it clearly if it's too close.

“Draco, listen to me.” Prareus struggled to pull his arms out of Draco’s embrace and hugged him back. “When a person finally realizes that he really is a bad person, he feels relieved.”

Praris gently patted Draco's shoulder, trying to keep his speech steady: "The reason you suffer so much is because even the things you did were not things you wanted to do."

“Whatever you plan to do,” Prarese said, “I’m sorry, but I’d rather you be sad like this than accept the you that never existed in your body.”

"I will always be with you, as long as you still need me."

Draco's torment stemmed from the fact that he dared not, did not want to, and was unwilling to do those sinful things, yet he was forced to do them.

Two failed murder attempts had completely shaken him out of his self-hypnosis, making him realize that he was incapable of carrying out such a "mission".

If he feels even a little better, it proves that he has accepted the self that plotted to kill, and that he acknowledges that he is indeed a cruel Death Eater.

Draco remained silent, without shedding a single tear.

It was a very long time, so long that Pralis's legs went numb from standing, so long that she suspected Professor Snape had been waiting until he was burning with anger, when Draco finally spoke.

“I’m fine,” Draco said in a hoarse voice. “What were you originally going to do?”

"Professor Snape wants to see me." Prarese wasn't going to let this slide easily; she countered, "Are you sure everything's alright?"

Draco forced a smile: "Didn't I just say—I'm fine, why are you so concerned about me?"

Prareas looked up, gazing deeply into Draco's eyes. After a long silence, she said, "I can't not care about you."

She paused for another second, then said, "It's good that you're alright."

Prarese struggled to restrain herself, refusing to push open the closed door to Draco's heart.

Growing up is such a painful thing, like the throbbing pain in the muscles when Prares grows taller.

From the moment she started learning Quidditch, she knew she wasn't the type of person who was good at sports, and her balance wasn't great either, not to mention her muscle pain. So, she was always bumping into things at the Leaky Cauldron and Black Rose Alley, getting bruise after bruise.

How many bruises will Draco accumulate before he gets through this long growing pain? Praris doesn't know.

When a man likes someone, he always wants to show his strong side rather than constantly revealing his vulnerability. This is related to the biological instinct for courtship.

If a man always reveals his vulnerability to a woman, either it's not his vulnerability at all, or the woman is actually his mother.

Seeing Draco's rejection, Praris could only try to close the eye in his heart.

So Prareas headed deeper underground, towards Professor Snape's office. Draco, on the other hand, went in the opposite direction.

“I think Miss Meryl should go to the school infirmary,” Snape said sarcastically. “Otherwise, it’s not a good idea to spend more than half an hour walking from the hallway to the common room, is it?”

Praris ignored his question and asked, "Has Dumbledore decided to proceed with his plan?"

She phrased the question as a statement.

“It seems you had this in mind,” Snape said calmly. “He wanted me to tell you this.”

Praris frowned: "That's all?"

“That’s all,” Snape said.

Praris sensed something was wrong; at the very least, the number of Horcruxes was a major problem.

Dumbledore neither asked to see her nor told her the number of Horcruxes.

This shows that Dumbledore already knows what each Horcrux is and doesn't need Prares's help.

This also means that once Praris knows the number of Horcruxes, he will definitely discover something he shouldn't have discovered from the number of Horcruxes.

Chapter 183 An Unexpected Incident in the Washroom

Dumbledore wanted to hide it, but how could he really keep it a secret?

This cover-up is too simplistic. Since he extracted the memories from Slughorn through Harry, he couldn't completely conceal the truth. Pralis could easily obtain the truth she wanted through Harry.

Truly intelligent people are always moderately arrogant. Facing a wise and experienced man like Dumbledore, if one blindly believes in their own superior intelligence, they are destined to suffer.

Dumbledore must have known that Prareas was capable of this; saying it or not wouldn't have made any real difference. Yet he still went around in circles, making it appear as if he was concealing the truth…

Prareas surmised that the answer lay within the riddle itself. What Dumbledore wanted to tell Prareas was contained within the truth of the matter.

Prarese, having left her office, tapped Hermione through the two-way mirror, but Hermione said Harry wasn't in the Gryffindor tower. Since the person in question wasn't there, she decided to leave the matter aside for now.