HP North Star's Radiance

Praris brazenly opened the bathroom door, his sharp gaze filled with displeasure: "Professor Carlo? And—Crabbe? You have such a fetish!"

Her displeased gaze instantly turned to disdain and sudden realization: "No wonder Myrtle called you a pervert outside, she was talking about you—"

Crabbe's face flushed instantly, and he shouted, "Prince, what are you doing here? This restroom is abandoned; no girls use it here!"

Praris seemed to have misunderstood even more, her expression strange: "Crawb, why do you know so much about the girls' bathrooms at Hogwarts?"

"Enough!" Alecto didn't want this farce to continue. She was starting to regret bringing Crabbe along. "Praris Prince, what are you doing here! If your answers are stupid things like going to the toilet or washing your hands, then you can be punished along with those damned Gryffindors!"

Crabbe was right. Because Myrtle wandered around this washroom all day, girls generally didn't want to go in—after all, going to the toilet is when a person is most vulnerable, and they don't like having an audience watching them.

Praris looked reluctant and awkwardly pulled a half-dead silver arrow frog out of his pocket: "Do your homework, Professor Carlo."

“Who does homework in the washroom!” Alecto yelled, “especially in such a dilapidated washroom!”

Praris remained unfazed and said calmly, “Well, I’ll tell you the truth. I’m practicing the Guts Charm, but all I have is this Silver Arrow Frog that was a reward from another Professor Carlo in Defense Against the Dark Arts class.”

“Professor Carlo, I’m wondering if arrow frogs have intestines. If I take them out, they’ll spray all over the place. Maybe I should find a place where I don’t have to clean up to practice—like here, Myrtle’s bathroom.”

"All I have to do is make Myrtle cry, and she'll flood everything. Even if I stick Silver Arrow Frog's intestines on the wall, the toilet water will wash them away. What do you say?"

Praris uttered those terrifying words in a completely flat tone. In the dim and gloomy bathroom, her face was half-lit and half-shadowed, her dark and deep eyes reminiscent of a female ghost from wizarding legends.

"Ah!" Alecto suddenly exclaimed excitedly, "Merlin's ripped socks! That's a great idea! You really care about the hygiene of Hogwarts!"

“It’s my duty,” Praris said matter-of-factly. “After all, Hogwarts now belongs to Headmaster Snape, and we shouldn’t be like those chattering mice running around everywhere, causing trouble for Mr. Snape. By the way, Professor, what brings you here?”

Crabbe knew Alecto wouldn't answer that question, so he reluctantly said, "Some younger students overheard what those guys were saying in the school infirmary, and they told the male nurse to ask Crying Myrtle for help."

"What help are you asking Myrtle for?" Praris said dismissively. "She's a wimp who won't listen to a word and just cries! Are they planning to flood the corridor with Myrtle's tears and the sewers so Filch will be too busy sweeping to deal with them?"

Indeed, Alecto couldn't think of any other use for that crybaby. If it was just causing trouble, she and her brother had gotten used to it these days; it was incredibly annoying and offered no opportunity for merit, a complete waste of time.

Thinking that she had made another wasted trip with no students to punish, Alexios became irritable and inexplicably turned around and berated Crabbe, telling him to come back to her after figuring things out.

After berating Crabbe, Alecto left with a sour face.

Prareas stood with his arms crossed in the doorway of the toilet stall, glanced at Crabbe, and said with disgust, "What are you looking at—how long are you going to stay in the girls' washroom? No wonder Professor Snape put up some restrictions at the entrances to the male and female dormitories, it was to keep out people like you..."

She looked Crab up and down, rolled her eyes, and turned her head to the other side with an expression that said she would get a sty if she looked at him for even a second.

Crabbe's face turned red, his nostrils flared like a train, and he left with a furious expression.

After Crabbe left, Praris waited a while before walking to the sink, dispelling Ginny's illusion spell, and pulling her up.

“I’ll go out first,” Prarese said calmly. “If there’s no movement, go out in two minutes. Don’t go to the school infirmary, just in case Crabbe isn’t giving up. Head towards Professor McGonagall’s office. Go ask Professor McGonagall about Transfiguration.”

Then, she released the mistletoe from its transformation spell, went back to the toilet stall, and hung the withered mistletoe back on the wall.

Ginny asked Prarese, "How did you know there was a bunch of mistletoe in there?"

“This was a Christmas gift I gave to Myrtle a few years ago,” Prarese said nostalgically. “Back then, I had only been friends with Myrtle for a short time.”

Ginny knew very well that Prader had helped Harry and the others find her, so she must know that Myrtle was a Muggle-born witch when she was alive.

As a Slytherin, Prares had become friends with Myrtle years ago and didn't care about bloodlines at all.

"She's a truly unique Slytherin," Ginny thought to herself.

In the days that followed, Praris gradually returned to normal.

The paradox is that, in Hogwarts under the supervision of the Carol siblings, she can no longer stop using dark magic, yet she must resist its corruption.

This requires Praris to constantly reflect on himself, continuously polish his true self every day, and maintain a firm will.

"A dangerous activity," Praris thought, "even walking a tightrope at high altitude couldn't be more dangerous."

In just a day or two, Hogwarts students and teachers stopped classes as usual, and the Christmas holiday began.

In the Slytherin common room, Prarese was reading a letter, while Daphne and Pansy were playing wizard chess beside her.

Milison has been learning Portuguese recently. It's been half a year since school started, and all she's learned is how to eat, play, and greet people. All she says all day is "Nao percebi!" and "Diga?"

Praris read, "My sign language has improved significantly compared to Portuguese; they can now fully understand my body language!"

Daphne scoffed: "I think what's improved is the students' comprehension skills!"

“Mirison can’t understand anything, how can he attend classes?” Pansy said worriedly.

“There’s a special potion in South America for exchange students called the Babel Potion,” Praris said slowly. “After taking it, any other language you hear will become your native language. Milison drinks a drop when he can’t understand what’s in class.”

Pansy's eyes lit up immediately: "That's great! After we graduate, we can travel together and we won't have to worry about not understanding what others are saying anymore!"

To dissuade Pansy from this idea, Praris had to pour cold water on her enthusiasm: "The core herbs of the Babel Potion usually only grow deep in the Amazon rainforest. Its growing environment is harsh, and its yield is extremely low. Only the Castelobuscher School of Magic, which is located in the rainforest itself, has a small amount of Babel Potion in reserve. It is simply not available on the market."

Pansy looked dejected again and started poking at Millison's gift.

Because she was on another continent, Millison couldn't send the gifts on Christmas Day itself, so she had to send the owls many, many days in advance to avoid missing Christmas.

As a result, they received Millison's Christmas gifts at the very beginning of the Christmas holidays, which put them far ahead of others.

Each person's gift was a South American specialty that suited their preferences. Praris's gift was a magic gemstone bracelet, because Milison had heard that local shamans wore such bracelets during divination to calm the mind and enhance their third eye.

Chapter 236 Wizard Chess

Praris needed this magical item to help calm her mind, although she didn't actually feel the bracelet had any effect, but it at least served as a placebo.

Meanwhile, Praris and her friends' Christmas presents for Millison were also sent ahead of schedule. Hogwarts is now under strict security, and anything sent out will be subject to rigorous inspection by the Carol siblings. To ensure the items aren't intercepted, they can only send ordinary things.

Praris thought about Milison's love of food and packed some local specialties that Milison usually liked and that could withstand long-distance transportation, such as large boxes of butter cookies, toffee, and honey candy.

Although Milison never said a bad word in her letters, if even the cat couldn't adapt to the new environment, how could she possibly have everything go her way?

Pets getting sick, language barriers, environmental differences... Castelobshe is hidden deep in the rainforest, while England is a place where it snows. How could one easily adapt to South America? It's just that when you're traveling abroad, you always report good news to those who care about you and not bad.

Praris only hoped that Milison, far away in South America, could also enjoy the snacks from his hometown, which brought him some comfort.

“The thought of Milison spending Christmas in the summer just doesn’t feel right,” Daphne said with a strange expression.

As Daphne said this, she stood up and let Draco and Pansy play chess. Crabbe and Goyle were now keen on causing trouble for DA, but Draco was gradually losing interest in such activities and preferred to pass the time playing chess with Pansy!

Seeing Draco leave the game, Prareus handed the letter to Daphne and watched the two of them. Draco's playing style had changed drastically; in the past, he had been more arrogant and aggressive.

In this game, for example, Draco's king is on E2 and his pawn is on C5; Pansy's king is on F6 and his pawn is on H5—this is a typical king-pawn endgame.

Several years ago, Draco played a similar game. If we replace his move with the one he made back then, we would have played pawns C5-C6, attempting to move them to C8 for a change, but this was a seemingly aggressive move that turned out to be a very bad one.

Seeing this, Theodore did not hesitate to move F6-E7, seizing all the advantages.

Draco was immediately caught in a dilemma: if he continued to push forward to C6-C7, Theodore would then move to E7-D7.

In this situation, whether Draco stays at C7 or rushes to C8, he will be eaten by Theodore's king—who has successfully pinned down Draco's soldiers.

Even if Draco sends the White King to the rescue, the King is still too far away; distant water cannot quench a nearby fire, and his troops will still be easily crushed by Theodore's King.

At this moment, facing Pansy, Draco made the brilliant move E2-D3, enhancing the king's safety and dominance.

Pansy chose to move F6-E7, attempting to intercept the C-pawn's charge and change formation.

Draco then makes a crucial move, moving his King from D3 to E4 to occupy the center position, putting Pansy in a dilemma. She can only make the best choice at the moment, moving her King from E7 to D5 to prevent Draco from following Theodore's original route and capturing her pawns to win.

But this was the best option at the moment, preserving her troops while giving Draco's troops the opportunity to charge. Draco charged through C5-C6, and his king was guarding E4, preventing Pansy from destroying his troops.

Otherwise, once Pansy takes the units at C6, Draco's King will have two options: either take Pansy's King at E4-D5, or take Pansy's units at H5 without any worries—in any case, Pansy's King can't catch up at all.

Next, Pansy moves her king from D6 to C7, preventing Draco's pawns from promoting, but also immobilizing her king. Draco then moves his king from E4 to E5, chasing after Pansy's pawns. Pansy's king is immobilized, and her pawns can only continue moving forward until Draco catches up and eats them, leaving her with no way to escape and forcing her to concede defeat.

"Ah—" Pansy said plaintively, "I feel like I'm hitting a wall everywhere I go!"

Draco couldn't contain his inherent pride; a smile was already on his lips. If he weren't afraid of Pansy beating him up, he probably would have laughed out loud.

But Draco seemed to have thought of something else, and shook his head with a wry smile: "I can't keep learning my lesson!"

Over the years, Draco had learned enough lessons and experienced enough failures. He almost doubted his own chances of winning and could only find a bit of courage in these entertaining little games.

"I've made the decision!" Pansy raised her hand and said, "Draco, you and Praris are both suspended. This is so frustrating, this game was just too frustrating!"

Draco's every move in this game was top-notch, his style was very Prares-like, making it impossible for anyone to win.

“Prai—” Pansy drawled, “Look at my game! When did I start losing? Did I even have a chance to win?”

Praris held the overly sweet Brazilian souvenirs Millison had sent her in her left hand and a teacup in her right. She glanced at Pansy, then at Draco, chewed a few times, and then swallowed.

She gave a very blunt answer: "Panpan, you lost when Draco went for D3—unless his brain is suddenly replaced with Crabbe's. Your only option is to delay the game to the end; you have no chance of winning."

"What a cold-hearted woman!" Pansy yelled. "I will never forgive you, you heartless woman! Daphne, let's attack Gaobushi!"

Although Pansy said that, she was definitely not really angry. A few minutes later, she started playing with the cookies again, taking a couple of bites, getting sick of the sweetness, and then shoving the rest at Praris, forcing her to finish them.

Draco and Prareas, the suspended couple, could only sit on the sidelines and watch the game, while also dealing with Pansy's snacks.

"Are you comforting me? Protecting my self-esteem?" Draco suddenly whispered. "I think I beat Pansy entirely on my own—I'm not at the point where I need anyone's comfort!"

Praris turned his head slightly to look at him and chuckled softly: "Why would you think I was comforting you?"

“There’s not a single lie in this.” Praris said calmly and gently, “When you get to D3, as long as you don’t suddenly go crazy, even I can’t win—but if it were me, I would never give you the chance to get to that point.”

Pansy is a girl who is both fickle and picky. She plays games while unpacking snacks, eating more of the good ones and giving the rest to Praris if she doesn't like them—of course, they are all intact and untouched.

Praris watched helplessly as the snacks accompanying her cup of black tea kept piling up, and silently shoveled half of them for Draco.

"Do you think I'd eat other people's leftovers?" Draco said in a low, somewhat menacing voice, "Even if it's Pansy!"

Praris raised an eyebrow, picked up a bag of cookies, took out a cookie, snapped it into his mouth, and then stuffed the rest into Draco's arms: "Now what?"

……

“This is really boring,” Draco said, then began pouring red tea. “—Where did this sweet stuff come from?”

“Mirison sent it back,” Praris said.

Draco suddenly launched a counterattack: "Just now, I played well, didn't I?"

“What do you think, Draco?” Prares said jokingly. “You’re suspended, just like me.”

Just like me… Draco kind of likes that phrase, but doesn’t want to admit it.

He didn't want to eat the thick layer of icing on the cookies, so he lowered his head and slowly rubbed it off with a small silver spoon. Beneath his wispy hair, which wasn't coated with hair wax, were his pursed lips, but he couldn't help but let the corners of his mouth turn up slightly, making it look like an obtuse "V".

—Praris thought it was cute.

"Ouch!" Pansy lost again, getting sprayed with dirty water by Gao Bushi. "I'm going to cause trouble! Is Mercury in retrograde?!"

“I really don’t understand—” Daphne pulled a handkerchief from Praris’s shirt pocket and handed it to Pansy, clicking her tongue and shaking her head, “How can Mercury, who carries such a heavy responsibility every day, still run so fast!”

Praris looked down at his empty pockets: "This isn't right, is it?"