HP North Star's Radiance

"Things are getting boring," Praris thought. "This won't do; I need to add some spice."

Praris couldn't give the Carlo siblings any chance to defend themselves. If they insisted that Praris hadn't explained things clearly and tried to shift the blame, that wouldn't be what he expected!

Around 4 or 5 a.m., Ernie stood up from the soft sofa in the Hufflepuff common room, reached for the invisibility cloak, and put it on.

Hannah was doing the same thing opposite him; her hands were trembling slightly from nervousness.

Ernie tried to keep his voice down: "Or I can go by myself!"

“No! Ernie, I’m not afraid!” Hannah said, clenching her fist. “I’m just a little excited!”

For her mother's sake and for her own, Hannah had waited far too long for an opportunity to take revenge on the Death Eaters. She was willing to do anything to disgust them.

Ernie had to pour some cold water on Hannah's enthusiasm: "Wait until you succeed before you get excited!"

He took the fake Galleon out of his pocket and stared at it intently until the numbers on it changed.

"Let's go!" Ernie said quickly. "Navie and his men have made their move!"

Badgers live underground, have a keen sense of smell, and are nocturnal. This Hufflepuff class leaders, like the school's iconic animals, swiftly slipped out of the common room and moved nimbly in the dim firelight.

Neville told them that, according to other DA investigations, Prarese Prince had put her experimental rare herbs and materials into Snape's storeroom.

According to intelligence, Snape left the castle that evening, presumably to attend a meeting with Voldemort. They can use this opportunity to sabotage the medicinal herbs!

The ice and snow are melting, and the high water season is approaching, but Snape's office is halfway between the foyer and the underground passage. Before the high water season fully begins, a quarter of his office window will be above water, and Hannah is small enough.

They went up to the first floor, entered the classroom, and opened the window facing the lake.

Hannah was much lighter than Ernie, so Ernie grabbed Hannah's left wrist tightly with both hands, allowing her to hang successfully on the water.

"He collapsed to the ground, completely unconscious!"

Hannah's spell struck the upper part of the window with a crisp shattering sound. She leaped through the broken window.

After the sound of shattering glass rang out, the countdown to their capture began.

No matter how much Neville and his men try to stall, they can't hold out for long. Forcibly holding off Alecto will only cause more casualties. Ernie and Hannah must hurry!

As everyone knows, badgers can run incredibly fast when hunting or encountering predators. Ernie, who was left in the classroom on the first floor, immediately turned back and ran towards the stairs like the wind. As he ran, he clearly heard a commotion coming from upstairs.

After leaping with faith, Hannah landed steadily on the ground and immediately spotted the herb box on a separate desk.

Ginny said that Prince would use these herbs frequently, so he wouldn't keep them in a very hidden or hard-to-reach place.

But Hannah never imagined that this was the complete opposite of what was supposed to be a rare herb!

Hannah didn't have time to think; her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would jump out of her throat. She stammered, "Fire...fire roars!"

Chapter 254 Ignition and Extinguishing

"I'm afraid I can't do it!" In her anxiety, Hannah's hands almost formed a ritualistic gesture in front of her chest. "I'll be a burden to you all!"

Hannah never imagined that she would be working with Ernie to sabotage Prince's herbs, and that she was the mastermind behind the plan!

"How could that be!" Ginny, a lower-grade student, patted Hannah on the shoulder confidently. "We chose you because we believe you can do it. Hannah, if you don't believe in yourself, don't you believe in the two of us?"

Hannah genuinely believed in the two of them. Not only her, but all the DAPs present believed in Ginny and Neville. But she just couldn't believe in herself.

"This is different!" Hannah stammered. "Our previous operations were all small-scale, but this time it's not!"

"Hannah, look." Neville placed his notebook on the table and invited Hannah to look at it together. "First, we need two students who are familiar enough with underground architecture, and that must be Hufflepuff."

Hannah nodded involuntarily, but in her heart she felt there could be other Hufflepuffs.

"Then, we need two Hufflepuffs who are strong enough, and that's you and Ernie. You're both seventh-year students, the earliest members of the DA, and you've received training from Harry, so you're more experienced. You're also prefects, and your abilities are recognized by the school."

The image of Ms. Sprout's kind voice echoed in her mind: "Hannah, you are not a second choice. When I was choosing prefects, you and Ernie were the only ones I thought of."

“Looking from the clock tower across the street, I can be sure you can jump into that window,” Neville said earnestly. “Finally, this is important, don’t you want to teach those Death Eaters a lesson? I’ve always believed that our families will be proud of what we’re doing now.”

This plan was refined with Prarese's help. Therefore, a large part of the reasons that persuaded Hannah were explanations Prarese had given to Neville, which he had noted down in his notebook.

But his last words were different; they came from the bottom of Neville's heart. Anything that could thwart Voldemort's plans would be a form of revenge by the families of the victims against Voldemort!

This is a challenge, but also an opportunity—a chance to help Hannah build confidence, face her own abilities, and seek revenge.

In Professor Snape's office, Hannah almost thought she couldn't succeed. Just as she was in despair and decided to try again, risking her life, a light appeared.

Ernie hates torches.

He was very familiar with the underground and first-floor building structures and did not need lighting. During a rapid run, the invisibility cloak could be lifted by air currents, and firelight could reveal his location.

Huff, huff! Huff, huff!

“Damn little bastard!” Alecto’s voice rang out behind Ernie, who could no longer tell if it was near or far. “I can hear him running! Down there!”

not good!

The path he was used to walking suddenly felt unfamiliar. Ernie hurried down the stairs, almost slipping and falling down the stairs several times.

Ernie descended to about halfway down the stairs and saw the door to Snape's office, which was partially obscured, only to be horrified to find that it was still closed!

Has Hannah not succeeded yet?

Ernie immediately reached for his wand, deciding to force the door open regardless of whether Hannah could open it from the inside.

The mission can be done again; failure is failure, but you only have one partner. In the past, he could say unpleasant things to Harry for Justin's sake; now he can decisively abandon the mission and choose Hannah!

Inside the office, a raging fire burned on the desk, just like Hannah's ignited courage and confidence.

Mission accomplished, Hannah immediately rushed to the office door and reached for the latch.

Snape's office was clearly only for intruders, and Hannah opened it as easily as any ordinary door.

As soon as she rushed out of the office, before she could even react, Ernie grabbed her and pulled her along at breakneck speed.

"You did it!" Ernie whispered, though his tone was anything but a question.

Hannah replied, "Yes!"

They ran very fast, but Alecto was no slower. Ernie and Hannah could clearly hear the Death Eater's curses; the sound was clearly underground!

This can't go on. They need to knock on the vinegar bucket to get into the common room, and they might get caught by Alecto at the main door!

Should we hide in the classroom? Or run to the kitchen? Or perhaps the restroom?

None of these are good options. Alecto Caro certainly won't leave without being searched! Hiding only delays the time it takes to be caught, it doesn't mean you won't be caught!

Whoosh!Whoosh!Whoosh!

……

Ernie stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

The torches in the corridor went out one after another, and the underground building was plunged into darkness in a very short time!

Although Alecto is a Slytherin, her student days were at least a decade or two ago.

Once the underground corridor was plunged into darkness, she could not see the way and was far less familiar with the place than the two Hufflepuffs who had been studying there all along!

They quickly relied on muscle memory to rush to the door of the common room, banged on the vinegar bucket a few times, and then narrowly escaped by leaping inside.

Thanks to Hufflepuff, their "home" had a thick, plush carpet, so neither of them got seriously injured.

Susan, who had been waiting for news, quickly ran over, helped the person up, and then immediately relayed the message of safety through the fake Galon.

“Let’s get back to our beds in the dorm,” Susan said calmly. “Those Death Eaters won’t let this go; they might even call Ms. Sprout over to check!”

Although the possibility is extremely small, it was mentioned in Prares's reminder to Neville, and then passed on to Hufflepuff, who was in charge of its execution.

Hannah was still shaken, and her legs were trembling as Susan helped her walk towards the girls' dormitory.

“Susan!” Hannah whispered.

Susan responded, "Hmm! What's wrong?"

"Susan!" Hannah called again.

Susan was a little confused: "I'm here, what's wrong?"

"Susan!" Hannah's voice was filled with excitement, tinged with a hint of tears, "Susan, Susan, Susan!"

"Hannah, are you alright?" Susan asked, a little panicked.

“Susan, sob sob sob—” Hannah cried, “I did it! I burned them! I did it!”

Susan was moved by Hannah's emotions, and tears welled up in her eyes: "You did it, Hannah!"

Hannah remembered Neville's words and sobbed, "My mother will be so proud of me!"

Seeing Hannah's excitement, Susan couldn't help but think of her aunt. She remembered how serious her aunt was, yet how she had always affirmed Susan's every step of growth, saying that her grandparents would be proud of her…

“Yes, she will,” Susan said confidently. “She will definitely be proud of Hannah!”

This harrowing early morning ended in turmoil—dawn broke. But for DA, the challenges were far from over.

Alecto had experienced a nightmarish early morning. Now, her gaze swept over every Hufflepuff entering the Great Hall with a murderous intent, but she still couldn't get to the bottom of it.

She hadn't seen what the two Hufflepuffs looked like, and none of the two who came in seemed particularly tired—which was natural, as Hannah and Ernie had been trying to sleep as required by the mission before and after the operation.

The purpose of "sleeping by imperial decree" was to prevent Alecto from determining the identity of the sabotaging DA through his mental state!

Now, Hannah and Ernie deliberately walked separately, so that Alecto wouldn't associate them with each other. Hannah walked with the three girls, Susan and Linnie, while Ernie wandered into the hall alone.

At the Slytherin table, Praris, seemingly oblivious to the events of the night, listlessly nitpicked at his breakfast: "That pig died such a tragic death!"

Daphne was confused: "What?"

"The sausage's skin is roasted like an old woman's heel—old, wrinkled, and cracked!" Praris exclaimed shockingly. "The meat inside is bitter and salty; anyone who didn't know better would think this pig died by jumping into the Atlantic Ocean!"

Pansy chuckled: "This pig has definitely eaten more salt than I've walked roads!"

“That’s a lot of experience,” Praris said.

Daphne was amused by the two of them: "My sausages are surprisingly good. This pig might be half in the sea and half gazing at the stars."

"Or is it a pig with ideals?" Praris pondered for a moment. "Alright, forgive it for being so unconventional."

After saying that, Praris picked the extremely salty sausage and placed it on the side of his plate.

The three girls finished their breakfast amidst nonsensical chatter, strolled out of the Great Hall, and then naturally finished their morning classes. Finally, they were called to Snape's office by the Carol siblings.

This is quite strange; Amicus has skipped his afternoon nap and is once again giving up his lunch break.

In fact, let alone taking a nap, he probably won't be able to sleep at night.