HP North Star's Radiance

Astoria seemed to understand, but not quite. She said with difficulty, "I don't think I'm that powerful."

“But you already have your own thoughts, based on your own judgment in reality, not on what others have given you.” Praris used magic to wet a handkerchief and wipe Astoria’s face. “Thoughts are also a kind of power, and you are a wizard with great potential.”

Magic is a power that relies heavily on emotions, thoughts, and the mind. Joy and pain, love and hate, can all empower a wizard.

“Lia, this is our first lesson of the semester.” Praris pulled her to her feet. “When you’re worried about Grace, I believe you’re thinking of all the bad things that might happen.”

"Of course, I believe you also recalled the happy times you spent together. Were those happy times for you?"

Astoria nodded without hesitation.

“Lia, I’ll teach you the Patronus Charm,” Praris said with a smile. “That requires you to recall the happiest moment of your life.”

Chapter 218 The Deans' Kindness

Astoria had a high aptitude for the Guardian Charm; she didn't fail on her first attempt to summon her Guardian. She successfully released white smoke, as clearly visible as breath in winter.

"Lia, you did a much better job than I did back then."

Praris was lavish in his praise.

Astoria touched the white mist and asked curiously, "Praris, don't you learn all magic instantly?"

"Is that how you see me?" Praris wasn't afraid to expose his weakness and said frankly, "My guardian spirit only reached the same level as you now around the second time."

Prarese was telling the truth, but what she didn't say was that the interval between the two incidents was less than ten minutes.

Astoria pursed her lips, lost in thought; she probably didn't agree with that statement.

After a long pause, she shook her head solemnly and said to Praris, "No, Praris. How can we see our true selves without a mirror? I can do this because you show me details that I can't even see myself, and you show me the direction I need to learn—you are my teacher, my mirror."

Praris paused for a moment, then quickly smiled.

Actually, being a teacher is not a bad feeling.

—The premise is that there are more students like Astoria and fewer students like Marcus.

In seventh grade, the textbook used for herbalism is still "The Complete Book of Carnivorous Trees," but the focus is mainly on the second half of the book and reviewing the content of the NEWT exam.

It is a well-established fact that carnivorous plants exist. Common examples include the Venus flytrap and pitcher plant, both of which eat small insects.

In the herbalism theory of the magical world, a very basic logic can be derived: since small carnivorous plants can eat insects, it is not impossible for them to eat people if they are large and strong enough.

The knotted vine we learned about in sixth-grade herbalism class is an example of an aggressive herb. It looks like a broken tree stump covered in knots, but if anyone tries to take its pods, it will extend tentacle-like vines to attack them.

On the first day of the new semester, Ms. Sprout served up a typical carnivorous plant—the Bloodvine.

Unlike the knotted vine, the bloodthirsty vine can truly "eat people" in a certain sense.

Bloodsucking vine is a rather dangerous herb. It emits a strange fragrance to lure animals closer, then uses its thorny vines to entangle its prey and suck its blood. The more the lured animal struggles, the tighter the vines will wrap around it, until the thorns drain the animal's blood, leaving it a dried-up corpse.

Students were required to learn three areas of knowledge:

1. What plant leaves can resist this fragrance?

Second, how do you break free if you are accidentally entangled by a bloodthirsty vine?

Third, learn how to collect the sap of the blood-sucking vine.

Ms. Sprout used several small bloodvines for her classes. These small bloodvines could only prey on small animals like rabbits and mice, making them relatively safe for the students.

“Who can answer these questions?” Ms. Sprout asked.

The students in the herbalist's class looked at each other, and for a moment no one spoke. Just as Ms. Sprout decided to speak herself, Neville slowly and somewhat nervously raised his hand.

Ms. Sprout immediately looked at him encouragingly and said with a smile, "Neville, you speak."

Neville stammered, "I...I think it's rosemary juice, right?"

"Excellent answer!" Ms. Sprout's eyes were full of satisfaction. "Five points for Gryffindor!"

Neville blushed instantly—happily and embarrassed, he lowered his head.

Ms. Sprout pressed on, asking, "So, Neville, can you answer the other two questions?"

Neville, with his head down, quickly shook his head, indicating that he didn't know.

Ms. Sprout didn't press Neville, looking at him kindly and saying, "Alright, alright, it's fine, you've done very well. So—Plares, do you know the answer?"

Apart from the Slytherins, all the students present turned their gazes toward Praris.

Everyone knew that Prader Prince and Draco Malfoy were Snape's favorites. The students were well aware of what Snape had done and harbored considerable resentment towards him.

They assumed that Sprout, the headmaster of Hufflepuff, would speak up for Dumbledore and, at least, wouldn't be as kind to the bright student as before.

But no one expected that after that incident, Ms. Sprout would still value Praris as much as before.

Ignoring the noisy stares, Praris calmly said, "Of course, madam. If someone is bound by Bloodvine, they must not struggle forcefully; instead, they should move as gently as possible."

"In contrast to the fire-fearing nature of the Devil's Web, the Bloodthirsty Vine fears low temperatures and cold. When trapped, using magic to create ice and snow can put the Bloodthirsty Vine into a state similar to 'hibernation,' causing it to stop attacking and loosen its binding."

"Similarly, this is also the method for collecting the sap of the Bloodthirsty Vine. We just need to lower the temperature around the Bloodthirsty Vine to put it to sleep, and then we can start collecting it."

Ms. Sprout said with great satisfaction, "Prare's answer was very comprehensive, a textbook answer! Slytherin, five points!"

After saying that, Ms. Sprout paused for a moment, then continued, "However, I would like to add a practical tip that I learned in practice."

“Since Praris mentioned ‘hibernation,’ we can simply collect the sap of the Bloodvine in winter without having to use magic.”

After adding this little bit of knowledge, Ms. Sprout began to have the students form groups and take turns trying it out.

In the queue, Prarese looked at Ms. Sprout. Ms. Sprout quickly noticed her gaze, gave her a friendly smile, and nodded slightly.

After the class ended, it was lunchtime, and the students left quickly without delay.

Praris stood before the isolated Bloodvine, looking up at its tendrils twining around the wooden frame. She said softly, "Ms. Sprout, I thought you would hate me."

Unlike other students, and even most professors, Ms. Sprout knew very well that Prarese was not only a student Snape valued, but also his cousin.

Most people's first reaction upon learning that Snape murdered and replaced Dumbledore was to hate everything associated with him, and to unleash their malice upon Prares.

In those two short days, they were constantly subjected to hostile stares. Relatively speaking, Gryffindor's Jimmy Percussion and his friends were simply more direct.

But even knowing her identity, Ms. Sprout remained as kind as ever. She said gently and tenderly, "In fact, even now we find it hard to believe that the murderer that night was Professor Snape."

This statement is largely comforting. Many people already believe that Snape was the murderer, and through Voldemort and the Death Eaters, they have pinned the blame on Harry.

But another fact is that it is incredibly unbelievable and heartbreaking to convince the Hogwarts professors that Severus Snape would kill Dumbledore, just as it was to convince them in the past that Sirius Black had betrayed the Potters.

“This isn’t just my opinion, it’s also Professor McGonagall’s and Professor Flitwick’s,” Ms. Sprout smiled sadly and gently. “Some things have happened. But in any case, we all believe that Prarese, you are an independent person, not Professor Snape’s appendage.”

"Regardless of whether Professor Snape did something wrong, we should treat you based on who you are, not on whether Professor Snape did something or not."

This decision was made after discussions among the three deans.

Undoubtedly, the Deans initially had some subtle special feelings for Praris, and these feelings were largely based on Snape and Sylvia.

But over the past six years, the professors have truly gotten to know Prarese, her personality, character, and conduct.

Yes, Prarese is Snape's student and relative, Sylvia's daughter, but she is also Prarese herself.

If the deans once praised Prarese for her genius and thanked her for her willingness to lend a helping hand in times of danger, then they should still treat her based on what she has actually done.

These three professors had all spent a long time with Dumbledore, and their relationship was far closer than that between the headmaster and the dean. Making this decision was not easy for them.

Professor McGonagall, in particular, was someone Prarees had witnessed firsthand that night—her sorrow, pain, inner turmoil, and restraint. Her relationship with Dumbledore was also one of mentor and friend, a deep and profound bond.

Before the start of the semester, Praris had imagined how the deans would treat her—with disappointment, with silence. This current situation, in her mind, was both the least likely and the best possible outcome.

Hearing Ms. Sprout's words, Prarese felt a pang of sorrow, as if she had heard the cry of a harbinger of doom. She took a deep breath and asked earnestly, "Ms. Sprout, even if I still stand by Professor Snape's side?"

“Can we stop you from standing by your loved ones?” Ms. Sprout said sincerely. “But we still hope that you can remain the person you always were and stay true to yourself.”

When Professor Snape accepted the task, Prader knew some things were inevitable. She didn't care how others treated her, but she couldn't be indifferent to how some people treated Professor Snape.

But Praris clearly realized that the reason these people were behaving so badly was because they didn't know the whole truth.

It's not like she and Professor Snape could first conceal the truth, and then presumptuously hate the malice brought about by that concealment, right?

What's remarkable is that chaotic evil and conscious good coexist in this world. While we glimpse the evil side of human nature, we will always be moved by its good side.

As three heads of the House of Deans who were close to Dumbledore, they were able to transcend superficial feelings like "hate the house because of the crow" and painstakingly separate Prader and Snape to judge each other, deciding how to view a person based solely on what they did—perhaps this is why these three professors were able to become heads of the House of Deans.

Praris smiled with admiration: "Madam, you are very, very good professors and deans."

Ms. Sprout found Praris's statement rather endearing. She patted Praris on the back with a smile and said kindly, "Good boy, hurry up and have lunch, or you'll miss it!"

Prarese smiled and waved to Ms. Sprout, then quickly ran out of the glass greenhouse where only the two of them remained.

Today's lunch at Hogwarts consists of roast chicken, roast potatoes, large chunks of dry bread, and a strange concoction of peas, corn kernels, and small pieces of carrot topped with sauce.

“Why are you so late again—” Pansy complained. “We’re not going to come looking for you with a huge pile of food like Millison did!”

"No way?" Praris said, feigning surprise.

Pansy glared at Praris reproachfully: "I won't!"

Daphne, standing to the side, shook her head in disapproval: "I don't believe it."

“I don’t believe it either,” Praris said with a laugh.

"Is Hogwarts going bankrupt?" Pansy grumbled as she cut a slice of bread. "Why are we being fed this junk the very first day of school!"

Just as the girls were having lunch and joking around with each other, a boy with curly hair, medium build, and rosy cheeks walked up behind Praris.

The boy called Prince's name and said somewhat nervously, "Prince, Professor Carlo wants you to come to his office after dinner."

Evening classes were only for astronomy classes. Praris didn't choose astronomy class, and neither did the Carlo siblings, so they had plenty of time to choose.

"Which Professor Carlo?" Praris asked, raising an eyebrow.

The boy explained, "Professor Carlo from Defense Against the Dark Arts, Amicus Carlo."

“I understand,” Praris replied calmly. “I will go.”

After the boys left, Pansy peeled potatoes and said, "This is the new prefect, Aiden Selwyn."

Daphne continued Pansy's words, adding, "Aidan Selwyn is a pureblood, Catherine Selwyn's little cousin."

"He's just not very bright," Daphne said sharply, shaking her head. "It's said that when Catherine was little, she gave Aiden a ball that a dung beetle rolled out of, telling him it was chocolate. He put it in his mouth without thinking and complained that the chocolate wasn't very tasty!"

Praris glanced at her plate and couldn't help but say, "Daphne, do we really have to discuss such pungent topics while eating?"

Daphne and Pansy burst into cheerful laughter.