HP North Star's Radiance

Praris returned to his dorm, sat on his bed, and picked up his class schedule.

Daphne was combing her hair when she saw this and casually remarked, "There's a Defense Against the Dark Arts class tomorrow. I wonder how the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor will teach it?"

They experienced both superficial and substantial content, pure theory and pure practice, and a combination of theory and practice, and they still didn't know which school of thought the new professor, Amicus Kalo, belonged to.

Chapter 220 Don't Know

After undergoing the Owls' test and the Muggle-born registration order, the upperclassmen at Hogwarts actually have relatively few students taking a single course in each house this semester, and the overall teaching model is co-educational.

Take last year's Potions class for sixth graders as an example; students from all four houses attended the class together.

The Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom seems to represent, in some way, the situation of Hogwarts students.

The place was decorated in a gloomy and terrifying manner, with all the curtains drawn and only a few torches lit. The only bright color was a brightly colored object hanging in the corner.

Pansy tilted her head curiously and stood on tiptoe to see what it was, but Praris grabbed her arm.

"What's wrong?" Pansy asked, puzzled.

Praris shook her head at her: "Don't look."

"Why?" Pansy asked again.

“Is she Pansy’s mother?” Crabbe whispered to Goyle. “She’s actually worried that Pansy will be frightened!”

After saying that, Crabbe stepped forward and said to Pansy, "Pansy, that's a wicked bird that's been hanged!"

Pansy turned around sharply, and after being reminded, she finally saw the hanged witch bird on the wall. Among its bright and vivid lime-green feathers, she could see its small head with bulging eyes drooping limply.

"Hey! Crabbe, do you want to die?!"

Pansy was startled and jumped behind Praris as if her feet were on springs.

Even Pansy was frightened, and students from other colleges pointed and whispered about the evil old hag in the corner. Some even covered their faces and peeked through their fingers, looking on with pity.

“It seems—” Amycus’s somber voice came from the classroom doorway, “that the students are quite interested in my new ornament!”

His bulky body squeezed into the classroom, letting out a breathy laugh: "I got this wicked bird from Knockturn Alley, isn't it beautiful?"

“What a pity—” Amicus glanced at the students, his lips twitching twice before revealing a cruel smile, “Its cry was too awful. I was tired of endlessly casting the Silent Spell, so I had no choice but to shut it up completely!”

The students present seemed to be the ones under a spell of silence, and everyone voluntarily shut their mouths, not daring to make a sound.

Satisfied at the students' fearful expressions, Amicus strode towards the center of the classroom.

As he moved, the students quickly made way, and in an instant, a path appeared in the classroom for him to walk through, just like Moses parting the sea.

Amicus seemed to enjoy the feeling of being feared, and he grinned crookedly.

After walking into the middle of the crowd, he casually called out names and then began to speak.

His tone was icy, and he immediately and without hesitation denied Hogwarts' teaching methods: "For the past six years, you have received a cowardly education, and your hearts have become weak and powerless."

"From this day forward, you must abandon those ridiculous ideas of the past, raise your wands, and deal with those Muggles, Mudbloods, and other scum who betray their bloodlines!"

Upon hearing Amicus's statement, some students couldn't help but frown, looking uncomfortable and hesitant to speak.

However, despite the fact that many people seemed to disagree with this view, in the end no one raised their hand to object like Hermione had done before.

Amicus took in the students' expressions, sneered, and said, "Wait here!"

After saying that, he left the students behind and strode out of the classroom.

After Amicus left the classroom, the classroom erupted in a cacophony of noise, like a pot of oil being splattered with water.

Lavender clutched his chest and said, "Merlin, he's terrifying! I didn't dare breathe when he saw me!"

"Professor Carlo actually used that kind of... that kind of word to address someone at Hogwarts..." Terry asked nervously, head down. "What was he doing outside?"

This was the reaction of students from other houses; Slytherin's reaction was different.

Draco's eyes flickered, and he remained silent; Theodore leaned against a pillar against the wall with his arms crossed, seemingly unfazed by such remarks; Pansy was still angry that Crabbe dared to scare her, and glared at Crabbe fiercely.

It seems she doesn't care about Amicus's statement for the time being, but is more concerned about Crabbe's offense.

Crabbe touched his nose, avoided Pansy's gaze, and said to Goyle, "I think this lesson is finally starting to look decent, isn't it?"

A few seconds later, the classroom seemed to have been muted; everyone fell silent. Some even looked terrified and took a few steps back.

Amycus Caro dragged someone into the classroom, a smile of excitement bordering on madness on his face.

The person being dragged was badly injured, his clothes were tattered, his purplish-red hair was a mess like wild seaweed pulled from the sea, and his head hung limply.

“Thanks to the Ministry of Magic for their support!” Amicus smugly enjoyed the students’ expressions, tossing the person he was holding onto the classroom floor. “This is a Mudseed caught by the search party. Director Axley knew we lacked suitable teaching materials and generously gifted him to us!”

The scene that followed was one that many students did not have the courage to recall: Amicus used this Muggle-born wizard to demonstrate to the students how to use the Crucifixion.

The person bounced up helplessly like a stranded fish, only to fall back down heavily.

After demonstrating once, he loudly asked the students if they had learned it.

“I’ve learned it,” Praris replied without hesitation.

Aside from Slytherins, everyone around looked at Praris as if they were looking at some monster.

Pansy quickly chimed in, "I've learned it too!"

The other Slytherins followed suit, sluggishly and sporadically echoing his sentiments.

"What about the others?" Amicus laughed even harder. "It seems many students haven't learned it yet, so I'll have to demonstrate it again!"

Seamus nearly burst through the crowd, but McMillan quickly pulled him back. He shouted into the crowd, "We've got it! We've got it!"

But it was no use. Amicus unleashed another piercing blow before asking the students again if they had learned it.

This time, he finally received a positive and enthusiastic response.

This class was agonizing for most students. Praris, however, tried to appear as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.

She knew she couldn't stop Amycus Carroll. Before Voldemort fell, there would be other Death Eaters, even without Carroll. The consequences of all her carelessness wouldn't be something she could bear alone.

Pansy's anger had subsided, replaced by a vague fear of Amicus.

After leaving the classroom, she asked in a flustered voice, "Play, Professor Carlo's classes are like Moody's, nothing could be more brutal, right?"

“No.” Draco came up from behind and said in a low voice, “Pansy, let’s talk somewhere else.”

The events of the past seem to have matured Draco, making him realize that a wide, unobstructed lawn is less likely to be overheard than a secluded spot.

“Draco,” Pansy asked sadly, “is it true? You’ve already…”

Draco did not deny it.

Pansy then asked, "This isn't what you wanted, is it?"

Draco denied it: "No, this is what I wanted in the first place."

Denying a person's past is denying what constitutes that person. To deny one's past thoughts, actions, and deeds is tantamount to rejecting one's true self.

Draco wouldn't deny that he once hoped to free his father and restore the family's status by becoming a Death Eater.

“But you don’t look happy.” Pansy’s eyes were glistening with tears, and her lips were turned down. “If this is what you want, why aren’t you happy at all?”

Draco fell silent, glancing at Pansy, then at Praris, and finally back at Pansy's tearful eyes.

He said, "What I wanted and what I got were not quite the same."

Draco, unusually, admitted to the incident, acknowledging his mistake and expressing his regret.

Pansy burst into tears and threw herself into Draco's arms: "Draco! I don't know, I don't know what you've been through! I don't know anything!"

After Prareas revealed that Draco had become a Death Eater, Pansy knew he must have experienced much more than she had witnessed. It must have been far more, far more terrifying, than she knew.

Not all Slytherins are proud to be Death Eaters; Pansy's parents were not.

A good choice is one that offers options and has an exit mechanism; the worst decisions are those that offer no options at all.

Draco raised his hands, looking helplessly at Praris. Praris calmly shook his head at him and reached out to pat Pansy's head.

In the past, Pansy and Draco had many similarities; both were arrogant, bullied the weak and feared the strong, and were actually quite timid.

Draco has changed a lot since then, and Pansy has also changed a lot.

After a long pause, Pansy finally sat up and asked, sobbing, "What was the name of that person in class? What will happen to him?"

It was only near the end of the class that Pansy realized that if Praris couldn't prove his identity, he might end up like that too.

This thought made her restless and filled her with panic.

Draco and Praris exchanged a glance, and finally Draco spoke. He turned his head to one side and said to Pansy, "I don't know, and don't ask."

"Why?" Pansy asked, puzzled.

Draco hesitated, swallowed, and slowly said, "Don't know these people's names, and don't be curious about their fate."

"If you know his name, you will feel more or less emotional, and you will feel uneasy, afraid, sad, and upset for these people—tossing and turning at night."

Draco looked past Pansy at Praris. Her gentle gaze calmed Draco's heart.

Under that gaze, Draco spoke his true feelings: "Pansy, don't be curious. It won't do you any good. The only way to avoid getting hurt is to know nothing."

Pansy vaguely understood what Draco meant. If she hadn't known that Praris was a half-blood without a legal way to prove his lineage, she wouldn't have felt any sympathy or curiosity towards the Muggle wizard in the classroom.

The death of a stranger might only cause a moment of fear. But if the deceased is someone with a name, someone you know, then the event is much harder to forget.

This was only Amicus Caro's first lesson, and he was already treating people as less than human, using a living wizard as a "teaching tool" to demonstrate the Unforgivable Curse to his students.

It's said that using the Unforgivable Curse on someone will land you in Azkaban. But Amicus was completely unharmed; in fact, the wizard who was cursed with dark magic was provided by the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

The students at Hogwarts realized that negative changes were not being stopped by the stone walls of Hogwarts.

Back at the castle, Praris went to Myrtle's bathroom to remind her not to run around outside.

“Those people are cruel to Muggle-born wizards.” Praris looked up at Myrtle, who was slowly floating down. “I wonder if they will do the same to you.”

Others... even if you remind them, they might not listen to Praris; everyone has their own opinions. But Myrtle genuinely believes in her ghost friend.

Myrtle stared intently at Praris's face, then reached out and passed her hand through Praris's head.

She tilted her head and asked, "Plares, what's it like to grow up?"

Praris shook his head: "Growing up can make you strong, but it doesn't make you happy."

Barron is already in fifth grade, and the age gap between him and Myrtle when she was alive is widening. Their relationship can no longer be considered that of peers.

Although Baron showed no intention of betraying the relationship, the sensitive Myrtle was still upset.