HP North Star's Radiance

The water level of the Black Lake has begun to rise, gradually submerging the windows of Professor Snape's office day by day.

“That’s right,” Sinesta replied.

“That’s good,” Praris said slowly. “Mr. Florin left in the spring, which is a good season… winter is too cold.”

Yes, spring is a wonderful season.

Florin lay on the grass with his head tilted to the side, his ear pressed against the grass, his heart closely connected to the earth, one of his eyes looking towards the spring-filled mountains and fields, and then becoming a part of spring, creating new life.

Chapter 258 Ramblings on the Astronomical Tower

In the inky sky, stars were scattered like chess pieces. Praris saw Taurus, with the Hyades cluster in the center, its limbs outstretched. Its close friends were Aries and Gemini.

Sinister's long, curly hair flew in the wind from the Astronomical Tower as she gazed at the deep blue sea above her with tender, loving eyes: "Even before our ancestors became human, they were already looking up at the stars."

When Praris was very young, Depp and Sylvia would take her stargazing. Back then, her understanding of the starry sky was very different from what it is now.

In the works of Muggle author Hans Christian Andersen, the Little Mermaid ascends to the world of fairies after her death, flies to the side of the Sky Daughter, brings happiness to people through her kind work, and creates an immortal soul for herself.

What about humans? Humans are born with a soul.

In the past, Florin had done good deeds, bringing joy and happiness to many young wizards.

Wizards have no faith, and Praris, who came from the monastery, is not devout at all.

But at this moment, Praris gazed up at the blue ocean, where stars seemed to coalesce into white bubbles. Among these bubbles, would the wizard Florin be granted entry into a blissful heaven, to find happiness?

Allow her to be superstitious for a while, allow her to be vulnerable for a few hours, allow her to grieve for someone, to feel regret for someone, allow her to be irrational because of the departure of a "family member"... After all, her heart is not made of stone.

Sinister filled his glass to the brim, adding extra orange to Praris's glass: "Kids shouldn't drink too much."

“I’m an adult,” Praris retorted.

"Really?" Sinister was a little surprised. "You're an adult? So fast!"

“There are downsides to living on high ground,” Praris said sarcastically. “Rapunzel has no idea what’s going on down below.”

What is Rapunzel?

"A long-haired girl living in a tower in the Muggle world."

Sinister nodded affirmatively: "I'm also a long-haired girl who lives in a tower."

"Hello, Professor Lettuce." Praris was very cooperative.

“That’s amazing,” Sinesta said again. “When I first met Stella, she was this small, but a little bigger than you were at that age.”

Prarese said, "She's older than me."

“I mean, oh right, you were all freshmen.” Sinister suddenly realized something useless. “Back then, she was so temperamental and explosive, like those honey badgers back in my hometown.”

“The Hufflepuffs probably disagree with you,” Praris reminded her.

Sinister said nonchalantly, "Sprout has a very good temper and won't mind."

“You’re just taking advantage of Hufflepuff’s temper!” Praris shook his head.

Sinesta would bully honest people; Scamander was described as "dying" in her words to comfort a little girl; and she even used the Hufflepuff badger to describe people.

It's quite rare for Sinister to have both a good relationship with Hufflepuff and a deep friendship with Slytherin.

“You’re all so grown up now, and you’ll be graduating soon too.” Sinister drank his wine like water, gulping down several mouthfuls in a row, and let out a big, comfortable sigh. “It feels like a dream; I still feel like I graduated not long ago.”

“Being a professor is a comfortable job for me, but it’s also a cruel one.” Sinister lay sprawled on the carpet, tilting his head back and glancing sideways at Praris. “I’ve made some lovely friends among you, and soon I’ll be sending you all away. I’m always gaining and always losing.”

“Nothing is lost.” Praris propped himself up with one hand, looked at the witch wearing the starry sky pendant, and whispered, “Stella hasn’t forgotten you, and neither have I. We’ve graduated from here, but we’ll always be your friends.”

Sinister blinked, her bright eyes seeming to well up with tears, but upon closer inspection, it was clear she wasn't. She reached out to Praris, who took her hand and obediently pulled her to sit up.

“Praris, if you and Stella die, I will forget you without hesitation.” Sinister looked into Praris’s eyes and said sincerely, “Some stars disappear from the sky, and some stars are born in the sky, but the sky does not change because of the disappearance of a single star, and neither will I.”

"If you die, I will forget you, as if I had never had you."

"I will make new friends at every Quidditch match, gamble a little with them, drink on this carpet, gossip together, and do the things we've done together."

Sinesta's eyes reddened slightly. She choked back a sob, but quickly regained her composure: "So, this is not a peaceful time, nor a safe time. Try to live—otherwise, a heartless witch like me will not grieve for a friend I've only known briefly, like you do."

Prarese looked at Sinister, and Sinister looked at Prarese.

Sinister noticed that Prares's eyes were very dark, but her own deep blue dress with silver threads was reflected in her eyes, unexpectedly resembling a starry sky.

“That won’t do, Professor Sinesta.” Prareth gave a gentle but firm smile. “You’ve already given me your feelings, how can you take back what you gave me? That’s just outrageous.”

Sinister said, "Then we'll see how you perform."

The two chatted about many things in a rambling, unrelated way. However, their conversation only revolved around the past, several years ago, and neither of them mentioned anything from the last two years.

Finally, Sinister put out all the torches, and the two of them lay down together on the carpet to look at the stars.

“Speaking of which—” Sinesta said, “do you know how our connection came about?”

“Stella?” Prarese turned to Sinister. “She saved the spot for us, and you were there too.”

Sinister said, "Even earlier than that."

At that time, Stella was reviewing Owls but no longer had her fourth-grade textbook.

Fifth graders all need to review, so there aren't any extras to lend her. Fourth graders need their own materials, so lending them to her is even less likely. And there's no way there are fourth-grade textbooks for grades below fourth!

As for those in sixth and seventh grade who had already taken the exams? Snape was much more selective than Slughorn, and not many continued studying Potions. Those who weren't studying it had already thrown away their books, and the high-achieving students who did continue rarely needed to review fourth-year material.

After this screening process, only one Slytherin who didn't get along with Stella remained!

Faced with the choice between asking Professor Snape for old textbooks from previous years and seeking help from her arch-enemy, Stella chose to go to the library and ask Mrs. Pince if she had any donated old books.

That's how she met Praris.

When Stella told Sinesta about it, she exclaimed excitedly, "Isn't it amazing? I'm Stella, you're Aurora, and she's Praris—what a coincidence!"

Stella is a star, Aurora is the aurora, and Praris is the North Star.

Stella had long admired these strange coincidences; that's how she met Sinesta. Stella even studied numerology and divination, unrelated to career planning, simply because she was very interested in the name-based divination section.

During the Quidditch match, Milison invoked Prares's "risk hedging" theory, much to Sinister's delight.

In the years following Stella's departure, Prarese and Sinister maintained intermittent contact.

Sinesta, without her knowledge, sponsored a chat room for Prareas and Hermione. Prareas, in turn, secretly sponsored the Astronomical Tower with star charts and fine wines.

It was because of the initial name Stella suggested that Sinister became interested in Praris, and their relationship did not fade after Stella left.

Praris listened with great interest. She had always known that Sinister had more curiosity about her than others and a strange fondness for her, but she never expected it was just because of a name.

The connections between people are truly wonderful.

"You set up Umbridge, didn't you?" Sinesta blurted out unexpectedly. "After I complained to you about her insulting me, that pink-haired girl made a huge fool of herself."

“What if others don’t like her?” Praris said slowly. “I think there are a lot of people who don’t like her.”

“Intuition,” Sinister said irrationally.

Praris smiled and said, "So you're speaking up for Millison because of me?"

"Speaking up for Milison" refers to Milison's first time on stage as a commentator, when Sinister praised her from the teachers' section behind her, which gave her some confidence in her commentary.

"I've only exchanged one sentence with Professor Sinister!" Millison exclaimed in admiration. "I never expected her to praise me like that; it's truly unbelievable!"

Sinister pursed his lips: "I'm a fair and helpful person!"

“Indeed,” Praris said calmly, “but my intuition tells me that’s it.”

Sinister and Prareas exchanged a glance, and the next second, they both burst into laughter, laughing until tears welled up in their eyes.

With curfew approaching, Praris had to leave.

She stood in front of the astronomy professor's office, hesitated for a moment, and then took off an engraved pendant from her neck.

“My boyfriend engraved this for me; the runes on it represent good luck.” Praris gazed intently at the pendant, then resolutely placed it in Sinister’s hand. “I’m not giving it away, I’m just lending it to you. I hope it brings you good luck in crucial moments. After these unfortunate times, I will take it back.”

Sinister was taken aback and quickly tried to put it back: "I can't accept this!"

“I have a whole box full of little gifts like that—but they’re important nonetheless,” Prarese said honestly. “Things are inanimate, people are alive. They’re important, but not as important as you. I’ll tell Draco, and I trust he’ll support my decision.”

"You want me to live, and I have the same expectation for you. Live until all of this is over, and then give it back to me with your own hands."

Sinister found this argument really strange: "Are you really sure this will all end?"

“No, it doesn’t have to be this kind of ending,” Praris said softly. “But there will always be a life-or-death situation. Whatever the ending may be, live to see it.”

Sinestadt saw the end as Voldemort's defeat, while Prares saw it as the inevitable demise of either the Order of the Phoenix or the Death Eaters.

As long as Sinesta survives until the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters have wiped each other out, she will be safe if the Order of the Phoenix wins, and if the Death Eaters win... Prasris can still serve Voldemort, allowing Sinesta to rely on her power.

At worst... at worst, she can just become Voldemort's personal doctor! She always manages to survive, like a tenacious cockroach.

At the staircase of the underground building, Praris was stopped by Alecto, who asked suspiciously, "Coming back so late...where have you been!"

“Look at the stars,” Prare said honestly. “The stars are very bright tonight.”

Alector's fire flared up instantly!

After the herbs were burned, she and Amicus spent a great deal of time on patrols, especially concerned about the safety of Praris's dilapidated "laboratory".

People as lazy as her brother were forced to cancel their lunch breaks in order to extend their patrol hours.

As a result, Alecto checked every half hour tonight, but the abandoned classroom remained empty.

"Where did that bitch run off to?!" Alecto's brow furrowed all night. "What happened to the workaholic he was supposed to be?!"

“I have to question whether you have been truly devoted to your master’s work!” Alecto’s gaze turned dangerous. “Your loyalty to your master has become distorted!”

Praris, though seemingly unconvinced, calmly replied, "Professor Carlo, do you think I would want to do this?"

“You probably don’t have a full understanding of potion research. It’s never a job that can be done easily. I’ve encountered many difficulties, and there’s even a report specifically for ‘failures’.”

Alecto could never have imagined this.

Not to mention compiling a huge pile of failure reports, if she dared to mention "failure" in front of Voldemort, she would risk being punished and tortured.

“Now, we don’t have as many herbs,” Praris sighed. “I must remain calm and think and judge more carefully than before before conducting experiments, or I will be courting disaster.”

No, those herbs are all in her suitcase!

Alecto couldn't contain his curiosity: "What does the master think of your report?"

"Hmm?" Praris said casually, "Of course I'm to keep going. Can I stop?"