HP North Star's Radiance

“Look at this… valiant Gryffindor warrior.” He said in a low, slow voice that everyone could hear, “Professor Caro said you were unwilling to use the Cruciatus Curse on your classmates in class. But today—you pointed your wand at your classmate, and she was attacked and seriously injured while she was focused on making potions and completely unprepared.”

The students watching immediately began to whisper amongst themselves, like the buzzing of mosquitoes and flies. This commotion made Neville, who had just suffered in the office, feel irritated and dizzy. He felt nauseous and could only purse his lips tightly, glaring at Snape with hatred.

Prareas… their partner, Nawi felt ashamed. He hadn't been unaware of the problem; Prareas's cooperation could minimize the DA's losses, but what about her own? She was clearly a member of the DA, a partner of Nawi's too!

Should you choose one person, or more people?

Should we abandon one person, or abandon more people?

Guilt tormented Neville, keeping him awake night after night as he pondered whether there was a way to have the best of both worlds.

The answer is, no.

If such a method existed, wouldn't Praris have thought of it?

Neville is a clumsy man; he lacks the quick wit of Hermione and Prader and can only rack his brains to exhaustively list possibilities one by one.

Prader couldn't pretend she lacked the ability, because her mentor Snape, who was overseeing the task, knew her capabilities perfectly well. Prader also couldn't refuse the task, otherwise Voldemort and the Death Eaters would certainly not let her go.

Her only option was to keep going until she could no longer continue, such as when she was seriously injured.

Neville was fully aware of what Praris was about to suffer, yet he still chose this only path, preparing to hurt her with his own hands.

Everyone in DA had been waiting, waiting for Neville to decide when to completely destroy Praris's mission. Neville had postponed it for a long time with various excuses, and now that even Praris had agreed, he had no reason to continue suppressing it.

When Neville and Ginny opened the medicine box together, they both saw the small silver-white pieces inside.

"I'll do it!" Ginny said without hesitation. "Shooting the Quaffle into the scoring ring is my forte!"

Ginny was always so brave and fearless. Except for a time when she lacked confidence in her own feelings, she rarely hesitated or wavered. Her steadfastness and courage always served as an inspiration to the team.

"No, Ginny," Neville said, almost without conviction. "Let me do it!"

His decisive action at that moment was the result of countless considerations. Neville believed that if someone had to suffer the torment of a guilty conscience for hurting their companion, he hoped it would stop with him alone.

This wasn't easy; Neville spent a long time mentally preparing himself. He had to hypnotize himself, telling himself it was also for Praris's freedom, before he could muster the courage to throw that silver object.

Neville, in his younger years, had heard of Prasris, who was said to be a very powerful witch. Neville thought she looked somewhat cold and frightening, and strangely resembled Snape.

Since having this thought, Neville has been even less able to look Slytherin in the eye—he is terrified of Snape from the bottom of his heart.

In fourth grade, Neville was punished by Snape and forced to gut a toad. Neville, who had a toad as a pet, couldn't get over the mental hurdle!

Ultimately, Prarese was the one responsible for overseeing the execution of the punishment, and her actions completely changed Neville's opinion of her.

Prareas was as intimidating as ever; her strict demeanor during questioning instilled fear in Neville, making him extremely vigilant. However, she didn't criticize Neville's mistakes; it seemed that in her eyes, a mistake was simply a mistake, as normal as eating and drinking.

Yes, a mistake is a mistake, it's not a big deal. Admit your mistake, face it, and you'll get the right answer. The rest is just remembering it and learning it, that's all.

There was no humiliation, no punishment, nothing else that made Neville feel ashamed; he was told that his mistake was simply to learn how to do it right.

This witch wasn't targeting Gryffindor; in the face of knowledge, everyone is equal. When she asked questions, if she made a mistake, even Malfoy would get a scolding from her.

Therefore, when Ginny told Neville that Prareas was Talia, Hermione's trusted companion, and a D.A., Neville accepted it without much struggle.

“I suppose you think this is fair, and brave,” Snape’s cold, sarcastic tone pulled Neville back from his reverie. “You call this justice, is that it?”

"Look at this self-proclaimed hero. His parents—the Longbottoms—were supposedly heroes among the Aurors, sacrificing everything to become... all show and no substance. Yet, their only legacy—their fine son—is wielding a knife against his unsuspecting classmate and taking pride in it!"

Snape's words made Neville tremble, but he couldn't tell if it was because his parents had been used as weapons against him, or because he had actually hurt his companions, or both.

"I don't know whether it's their current predicament or seeing their only child so... pathetically incompetent, despicable and shameless that is more painful for the couple? Perhaps, at least Bellatrix Lestrange has spared them from witnessing this... disappointment."

Snape's words sparked another round of discussion among the crowd. The Slytherins sneered at Neville's despicable and incompetent behavior, while the students from the other houses looked on with pity.

Ginny stood among the students, her eyes flashing with resentment and sorrow. She wanted to rush up and punch that rude Snape! But she couldn't.

The reason she could still stand in the crowd, instead of being punished like Neville, was because Neville had voluntarily stayed behind to cover their retreat. In other words, her safety was at Neville's expense; she still bore half of Neville's responsibility and had no right to risk everything.

For Gryffindor, it's such a simple thing to rush in while shouting about friendship!

The struggles of the past six months have gradually taught her that courage alone is insufficient. True courage is a combination of courage and wisdom, and the ability to control one's impulses is also a remarkable form of courage, indicating that she has gained the upper hand in the struggle against her instincts.

So Ginny could only stand in the crowd, clenching her fists, forcing herself to watch Neville be humiliated. She told herself: Ginny, watch all this, don't hide, remember this moment. You must become stronger, so that your enemies cannot break your spell, and you will have the power to protect your companions.

“You…you mentioned my parents.” Neville’s voice trembled, but grew louder. “Yes, they were driven mad by torture, but they never yielded! They didn’t betray anyone! You stand here, wearing Dumbledore’s title, yet…yet you do the same things as Lestrange! What difference is there between you and her!”

Neville's rebuttal was undoubtedly powerful.

You call me despicable, but I think what you've done is even more despicable than mine. What right do you have to judge me?

“Yes… I’m incompetent. I do terribly with my Potions homework, I’m always forgetful, and many people think I’m not even as good as a Squib!” Neville said slowly but firmly. “But you can insult my abilities, but you can’t insult my character, you can’t insult my family! I’m not a wizard who bullies people for no reason! I would never torture anyone!”

“Snape and Carole, you know perfectly well what you’re asking Prader Prince to do! I won’t feel a shred of guilt if you blow up that classroom!”

Guilt... there is, but not for that classroom, but for the price paid for them—the harm done to my classmates.

“Is that so?” Snape said with a sneer. “Then tell me—what exactly have I asked my students to do?”

Neville remained silent. He knew Voldemort had given Praris the task of researching potions, but he didn't know exactly what Praris was researching. Praris had never told them her full mission.

"Can't say anything?" Snape said sarcastically. "Gryffindor loses another sixty points for Mr. Longbottom's foolish attempt to display courage he doesn't even possess—thank him, it's Mr. Longbottom's 'gift' to you!"

Sixty points!

Harry only got 60 points for protecting the Philosopher's Stone, while Neville lost the same number of points!

“Snape! You know in your heart what you’re making her do! You deserve it, and she… she deserves it too!” Neville gritted his teeth, looking at his classmates. “He wants you to hate me, to think I’m the source of the trouble, but the real trouble… is them!”

Neville glared fiercely at Snape and the Carrow siblings: "Without them, how could Hogwarts be in such an unstable state! They are the source of fear and trouble! No, don't hate me just because you can't hate them! We shouldn't hate each other!"

The Carol siblings couldn't hold back any longer. That damned Longbottom was too inflammatory; they had to shut him up!

Amicus silenced Neville with magic, while Alexios began to attack unilaterally, trying to erase the words Neville had just said.

But this was precisely the beginning of failure.

They shouldn't have silenced him before Snape completely "defeated" Neville; it made it seem like they were just covering their mouths because they couldn't win the argument, and that Snape had no better reason to argue.

Snape knew this, but he didn't say anything, tacitly allowing the Carol siblings to drag things down—as if he could stop those two pigs from doing something stupid!

After everything was over, Ginny dragged her tired body to the Room of Requirement and, with renewed spirits, led the remaining DAs to continue training.

Prior to this, she had already suppressed the crowd's anger and prevented them from rescuing Navee.

"Neville was captured to reduce our casualties! Now we're going to walk right into a trap? Wouldn't that be a waste of Neville's sacrifice?" Ginny said, barely suppressing her worry. "Professor McGonagall is already working hard to reduce Neville's punishment! What we need to do is train harder, improve our abilities, and then devise a comprehensive plan before rescuing Neville, instead of rushing out to our deaths in a moment of emotion!"

Ginny herself told herself not to let her emotions get the better of her, but in reality, she was constantly overwhelmed by worry. In the past, she was the one who acted impulsively, while Neville was the one saying "Don't act impulsively." Now that Neville has been arrested, she's become the one shouting "Don't act impulsively."

Seeing everyone channel their grief and anger into strength and train even harder, Ginny also tried to tell herself to cheer up.

Ginny looked around, corrected a few DA errors, and then saw the medicine box in the corner... She wondered how Praris was doing.

She watched Praris being blown away with her own eyes, yet had no reason to visit him. She walked unconsciously to the wooden box, stroking it, but froze the moment she opened it.

The box was full, filled with magic potions.

Ginny immediately looked in Barron's direction and saw that the nurse was also walking towards her.

“I took it, but I didn’t take it,” Baron said in a very low voice. “I was going to talk to Madam Pomfrey about ‘discarding’ some potions, but she wouldn’t allow it, saying it was unsafe for me and would affect the school infirmary.”

Prarese's original words were: "Do you want the other students to hate you? Barron, if you drag the school infirmary into this for the sake of DA, giving the Carol siblings a reason to search and occupy the school infirmary, depriving the other students of their last space to receive treatment, rest, and catch their breath, then they will definitely hate you—that's human nature."

“So, she prepared these in advance.” Baron said in a voice only he and Ginny could hear, “The smallest bottle is from St. Mungo’s to heal the Cruciatus Curse. She said it wasn’t good enough, but she didn’t have time to improve it, so she’ll just have to make do.”

Ginny carefully took out the last small bottle, held it in her palm, and almost burst into tears.

This is for Neville!

This must be for Neville!

Praliss was forced to serve Voldemort, plotting to sabotage her own mission for the D.A., and suffered such serious injuries, yet she still cared about Neville's safety.

She knew that the DA would most likely not let Neville wait until the punishment was over to go to the school infirmary for treatment, but would try to rescue him, which is why she prepared this bottle of medicine!

Chapter 266 A Capable Assistant

"A 'Potter Watch' settlement was destroyed. The settlement was evacuated ahead of schedule, and unfortunately no members of the resistance organization were arrested. The Ministry of Magic encourages the public to report the Order of the Phoenix and its illegal radio stations, with the highest possible exemption."

"What exemption?" Prare asked sharply, lying on his hospital bed.

Astoria pursed her lips, her eyes flickering, before finally speaking: "To secure an exemption from registration for Muggle-born individuals and their families."

With the Owls and NEWT exams approaching, fifth-grader Astoria and seventh-graders Pansy and Daphne are extremely busy.

The girls decided to take turns visiting Praris, along with the unimportant Draco.

Draco had previously firmly believed that these lousy exams were no longer of much use after the Dark Lord gained power. Now, even he has quietly begun his NEWT review... One can only thank Praris! She prevented Draco from giving up on choosing the subjects he had once wanted!

Astoria's visitation process was more complicated than the other three. The girl had to report on her "homework," gather information from inside and outside the school, and tip off her half-teacher.

After helping Prareas feign unconsciousness and hearing Neville publicly say that the Death Eaters wanted Prareas to do something, she vaguely understood something—Prareas was resisting serving Voldemort.

But what did it matter? Astoria was pragmatic; she didn't think Prares had done anything wrong. Without Voldemort, her best friend wouldn't have had to go into exile, and she wouldn't have to live in fear.

What damned pure-blood ideology! This banner has brought Astoria no benefit whatsoever; on the contrary, it was her good sister Praris who secretly brought news of Grace. With that, the choice is now quite clear.

Upon hearing about the benefits of an exemption, Astoria couldn't help but feel tempted. Although she didn't have any information about the Order of the Phoenix, an exemption... what if she could get one and use it on Grace?

Praris understood and asked in a low voice, "You want this exemption, don't you?"

Astoria lowered her head, avoiding Praris's gaze, and nodded slightly. She was just an ordinary person; it was perfectly normal for her to have selfish motives.

“Silly girl, it’s not your fault for having such thoughts.” Praris chuckled softly. “That’s exactly what they’re after—no one is completely impartial to their loved ones.”

Hearing this, Astoria slowly raised her head, feeling a surge of emotion. Praris was truly wonderful; she always understood Astoria's decisions.

“But Leah, have you ever thought about this?” Praris said calmly, “In a time like this, who do you think would shelter a… wizard who needs to be exempted?”

Prarese's statement translates to: "In a situation like this, who do you think would protect your Muggle-born friend Grace Jones?"

Without a doubt, the Order of the Phoenix.

Astoria opened her mouth, then suddenly realized she had fallen into a misconception.

She thought she could find a way to make Grace the exempted one, but there's an old saying, "When the sea is on fire, the fish suffer." If the location of the Order of the Phoenix is ​​discovered, can Grace really just be arrested and wait for her exemption to save her?

Wait!

Astoria had a sudden inspiration and looked at Praris in astonishment.

Prarese, who returned for Christmas, brought news that Grace was safe and sound.

At first, Astoria naturally assumed the source of this information was Stewart, a Slytherin graduate. But now that Praris has said this…

She asked dryly, "If I'm not mistaken..."