HP North Star's Radiance

“Pansy washed it.” Daphne rested her chin on her hand, a wicked smile on her face. “She got it dirty while wiping her face.”

Pansy affectedly wiped away imaginary tears with a handkerchief, yelling in a shrill voice, "None of you three are any good today!"

Praris and Daphne burst into laughter, and Draco, caught in the crossfire, exclaimed, "Me too?"

"You too! You've won!" Pansy began to sing mournfully, "Miriam—come back soon—without you—what will I do—"

"I don't see what the point of bringing Bosder back is," Draco, who had been shot, mocked her. "Want to lose with you?"

Pansy got angry and started scratching Draco from a distance. Praris tried to block her, but ended up getting scratched in the stomach by her.

Pansy thought she had tickled Praris's ticklish spot, completely forgetting that Praris wasn't ticklish at all, and her current laughter was entirely due to Pansy's amusement.

Draco hid behind Praris, made a face, and infuriated Pansy again.

After laughing and making a fuss, Pansy decided to go to the bathroom to wash her face, while Daphne went to tidy up her sister, all in order to have a peaceful Christmas.

Only Praris and Draco remain here.

"Were you and Pansy like this when you were little?" Praris asked.

"You're jealous!" Draco's face, which had been gloomy for many days, could no longer hide his smugness. "My father said that we Malfoys only have one person in our hearts—you can rest assured!"

Praris couldn't stand him! Was Draco always forced to choose between melancholic composure and cheerful arrogance?

She was forced to explain clearly and precisely: "Curiosity refers to feeling something new and interesting about something unfamiliar or unknown—do you understand?"

Draco said narcissistically, "Of course I understand, you're just too embarrassed to admit you're jealous."

Praris hardened his fist.

“Generally, pure-blood families are familiar with each other to varying degrees.” Draco stopped there, “That’s how I, Pansy, Nott, Zabini, and others got to know each other.”

“Pansy has always been like this since she was little, but she’ll put on an act in front of her elders. I guess…” Draco vaguely recalled, “around the time I entered Hogwarts, she suddenly became nicer, like she’d taken the wrong medicine, and she stopped being so mean to me. It was kind of creepy, but it was a good thing, wasn’t it? By the time I was in my third or fourth year, she was back to how she was before.”

Draco shrugged: "Only my mother has always misunderstood that she is exceptionally well-mannered and has a wonderful personality."

“Don’t say that,” Praris said, frowning. “It’s not like I took the wrong medicine.”

As long as no one else has been harmed, Prarese will never deny a relationship that was genuinely given.

“No, I’m not!” Draco said matter-of-factly. “Unless you admit you’re jealous—you’re so good to Pansy, if you’re not jealous, I am. We have to be fair, don’t we?”

Pralis really couldn't understand how this guy could be so good at acting cute; she could never say things as directly as Draco.

“I won’t say,” Praris shook her head. “Didn’t you just tell me to relax? I believe you, and I’m not jealous.”

Draco quickly turned his head to the other side, looking at the relief on the wall, his eyes blinking as if sand was in them, his fair neck turning red: "Okay, barely passable."

"You..." Draco suddenly said, "Are you still spending Christmas at Hogwarts?"

"Hmm?" Praris became alert, "Why are you suddenly asking this question?"

"If you need me, I can stay with you."

Draco's voice was so low that Praris could barely hear what he was saying unless he was sitting next to him.

Praris asked in surprise, "Aren't you going home to spend Christmas with your mom and dad?"

Draco remained silent.

His mood has been like this lately. Occasionally, he'll feel a little better because of his friends, but these good moods are always so short-lived, as rare as a sunny day in November.

Prarese thought she knew why Draco had suddenly said that.

Previously, he had felt guilty for indirectly hurting Praris by mocking Harry about his family, and had invited Praris to "join" their family at the Black Lake.

He probably thought Prares would be lonely spending Christmas alone, but it was impossible for him to actually invite Prares to Malfoy Manor—which had become the headquarters of the Death Eaters.

“Actually, I’ve had a pretty good Christmas at Hogwarts in previous years. I wasn’t lonely at all,” Praris said with a smile. “I could sleep until noon, and I’d have lunch and dinner with the professors, which were always very lavish. I’d also drink with Myrtle. You even caught me once on the eve of your departure from school…”

Prarese tried to talk about what she did at Christmas, but there were some things she just couldn't say, so it seemed like she was desperately trying to cover it up—she couldn't very well say that she spent Christmas with the Order of the Phoenix and slept in the same bed with Winnie, and that she was very happy, could she?

Although Draco knew that she had sided with Dumbledore, that she was involved with the Order of the Phoenix, and that she had a relationship with Winnie, there were some things Draco couldn't say because he was constantly under Voldemort's nose.

Even if she said it aloud, in Draco's eyes, she was still clinging to a friend with no blood relation, and still looked pitiful.

Chapter 237 Christmas at the Pig's Head Bar

“Are you sad for me?” Praris asked.

This is very rare.

In the past, Draco would never have felt compassion. If he saw someone else's misfortune, he would want to rush over and rub salt into their wounds.

“Personally, I don’t really care how we spend Christmas,” Draco said somewhat reluctantly. “But my mom thinks it must be hard for my dad to be alone… unable to come home.”

That was the first Christmas the Malfoy family didn't all gather together, but Narcissa still prepared Lucius's share. Lucius's empty seat accompanied Narcissa and Draco through their Christmas dinner.

After dinner, Narcissa told Draco, "This is only temporary. Your father will be back with us soon."

Draco had no regrets about mocking Potter; they had always disliked each other, and Potter had often retaliated. What bothered him was that in insulting Potter, he had inadvertently hurt Praris.

Draco had no doubt that his father would return. But Prass was different; she spent Christmas after Christmas alone at Hogwarts, without even the expectation that any of her relatives might come back—he vaguely knew that having something to look forward to was better than having nothing at all.

Draco didn't believe he was showing sympathy for Pralis. Pralis wasn't someone who needed sympathy; she was as strong as Draco's mother, Narcissa.

Draco simply… he couldn’t describe the feeling. It was like a dragon trapped in its egg, hearing the crack of its shell for the first time. A ray of light from a strange world shone through the crack onto its face; it couldn’t understand what it was, and it felt both terrified and curious.

Prarese's gaze softened, and she whispered to Draco, "I'm seventeen, and I've spent over a dozen Christmases alone. Before today, this Christmas seemed no different from any other Christmas—but now it's different."

Draco looked at Praris, not understanding what this meant.

“It makes me so happy to hear that you care about how my Christmas was. It makes my Christmas special.” With that, Praris pulled a pocket watch from his pocket and said with a smile, “I’m going to remember this moment.”

Draco felt a heat rising in his head, like the heat of a Quidditch victory, but with an indescribable difference.

He regretted not reading enough, so much so that he couldn't describe his current feelings, leaving him only to stare blankly at Praris's actions, like a clumsy Froebeest caterpillar.

“However—” Praris suddenly said, “I’m not spending Christmas at Hogwarts. When you go home, I’ll be on the train too.”

Now, the ways to leave Hogwarts are strictly restricted; she can only leave by blending in with other students, and she will inevitably run into Draco and the others on the train.

Draco asked, "So where are you going?"

“I can’t tell you,” Praris said calmly. “I don’t want to deceive you, so this is the only answer.”

Draco seemed a little angry, but he had to console himself that at least she hadn't made up any excuses. He gave a dry laugh: "Then I'll give you a present after Christmas, anyway, you wouldn't receive it if I gave it to you on time."

This retaliation seemed rather weak, almost negligible; it was more like a promise to see Praris again after Christmas. After all, there was nothing he could do to stop Praris from doing what he wanted—it always was that way.

“I’m waiting for your gift,” Praris said, as if making a promise.

On the morning the train was to depart, Praris neatly packed all the medicines he might need into his suitcase.

She wore a long black trench coat over a dark brown vest, black trousers and boots, and a dark green scarf around her neck.

The other Slytherin students were also surprised to see Praris on the train home for the holidays.

Pan Xi couldn't help but say, "You can't run around outside at this time. These days, the search team will do anything to earn merit and money."

The search party is a temporary team tasked with capturing Muggle-born wizards. This team is a mixed bag, including all sorts of people, who arrest anyone they encounter on the road and then release wizards who can prove their lineage.

The pure-blood families looked down on the search party, like Pansy, believing them to be "unscrupulous" and disruptive to their normal lives. But under Voldemort's rule, who dared to say anything?

"Why would I be afraid of the search party?" Praris asked calmly. "What reason would they have to arrest me?"

Seeing Praris's confidence, Pansy reluctantly relaxed.

After getting off the train, it was almost evening. The ground of Platform 9¾ was covered in snow, making it a bit slippery to walk on. The students looked a bit like waddling penguins.

After exiting Platform 9¾, Praris headed toward the Muggle ticket office.

The Muggle ticket seller told Praris that he could take the Northeast Line train to the Scottish Highlands, which runs directly from London to Inverness and takes just over seven hours.

"If the driver's eyebrow isn't twisted," the Muggle ticket seller joked.

This is an old joke about British rail. There are always various reasons for train delays, but not all reasons can be explained clearly to passengers. The authorities simply give up and use all sorts of nonsensical explanations to gloss over the situation.

The Muggle train's speed was almost the same as the Hogwarts Express? Praris calculated the time, bought a ticket, and boarded the train again.

The Muggle trains are far less orderly than the Hogwarts trains.

As long as there are more people of varying education levels and character on the bus, you will never have peace and quiet, and you may even have to endure the “gentlemanly” behavior of some “British gentlemen.”

This almost makes one wonder if students are corrupted by the harsh realities of society after graduation, leading to a precipitous decline in everyone's quality within a few years? Or is it that there are really that many people in Britain who haven't received enough education?

unknown.

In short, the odor attack from the "gentleman" smoking on the train, and the vocal attacks from the loud housewife and child, made Praris, who had been on the train all day, unable to bear it any longer, so she had to use wandless magic to give herself some peace and quiet.

She covered her face with her hat and slept all the way from London to Scotland.

When Praris took off his hat, he indeed found signs of pickpocketing on the suitcase. However, due to magical limitations, the three-armed thieves were unable to open it or steal it.

It was late at night when they arrived in Inverness. Praris slept for a few hours and felt much better.

The reason she didn't use Apparition directly was that Pralis couldn't just return to Hogsmeade in broad daylight; she couldn't explain why she ended up in Hogsmeade for Christmas.

Secondly, she knew nothing about Hogsmeade. Even though she had gotten some information from her Slytherin classmates, Death Eaters wouldn't operate so brazenly on weekends when students were out and about—Professor Snape would never allow them to do so.

Furthermore, she was carrying a briefcase filled with a large amount of potions, which could cause significant trouble if lost during battle. The Muggle train was a safer option.

The strange thing is, Hogsmeade really is different from before. Praris observed Dementors and figures patrolling the village from a distance, which was probably due to the curfew that Pansy and the others had mentioned.

"Slughorn wants us back at Hogwarts before sunset," Pansy said. "Otherwise, we're in for a rough time."

To avoid Death Eaters, you need the Disillusionment Charm; to avoid Dementors, you can't have any emotions... No, that won't do. Praris looked down at her feet. Hogsmeade in December was covered in snow, and she would leave a trail of footprints in it.

Being absolutely rational is not difficult, but using a high-level illusion spell while constantly erasing footprints with magic—even for her, the possibility of failure is very high.

I've got it. As long as we seize the opportunity and are fast enough, we don't even need to worry about the Death Eaters' line of sight.

Praris used the Insight Charm to observe the Death Eaters' movements from a distance. After confirming that they were far away from the Hog's Head, he quickly calmed himself down, waved his wand, and Apparated directly to the entrance of the Hog's Head.

Dementors perceive through emotions and cannot hear. The Death Eaters, far from the Pighead Bar, were not alerted by the faint whooshing sound absorbed by the snow.

Praris pressed herself against the bar's wooden door, glanced down at the lock, and the door clicked open. Without hesitation, she quickly pushed the door open, went inside, and turned to close it.

Dementors are deaf, and Death Eaters are too far away to hear them, but—Aberforth is not deaf.

With a wand pressed against Praris's back, Aberforth said menacingly, "Fool, you've come to the wrong place! I don't have any gold here, only a wand that can punch a hole in you!"

“It’s me,” she whispered. “Praris.”

Aberforth put away his wand and said angrily, "Girl, you almost fell for one of my evil curses!"