HP North Star's Radiance

Boss Zhang asked Astoria, "What's your sister's name? What does she look like? What does she like? I can choose magical items suitable for her based on her characteristics."

“Her name is Daphne, and she looks a lot like me, but she’s a bit taller,” Astoria gestured as she spoke. “She likes classic, sparkly jewelry.”

“Western classics and Eastern classics are different,” Mr. Zhang said slowly. “Laurel is a specialty of the Mediterranean, but in Chinese characters, it has the same name, ‘月桂’ (yuegui), which refers to the laurel tree in the moon…”

Boss Zhang told the group the story of Wu Gang and the cassia tree on the moon. A deity named Wu Gang made a mistake and was punished by being forced to chop down a cassia tree on the moon. The cassia tree was five hundred feet tall, and once it was chopped down, it would immediately grow back, so Wu Gang could never finish chopping it down.

Prarese blurted out, "That sounds like Sisyphus."

"What is Sisyphus?" Pansy didn't know the Muggle story.

“A king in Muggle mythology,” Grace said. “He told the river god about the missing daughter and in exchange for a river that flows all year round. Then he was punished by the god who took the river god’s daughter. That god had Death kill him, but he fooled Death, so Death punished him by making him push a stone up a mountain every day, but the stone would roll back down after he got up the mountain—he could never end his punishment.”

“This Muggle is quite clever,” Pansy shook her head. “Unfortunately, the only thing a person can’t refuse is death.”

Ms. Zhang and the owner of Ruomu Zhai have different views. She said, "If you don't resist, who can be sure that death is something you can't refuse? The most fascinating thing about life is that you don't submit."

“That’s probably what Voldemort was thinking,” Grace blurted out, drawing the attention of all the Western wizards present. She seemed a little bewildered. “Isn’t that right?”

Praris shook his head, both amused and helpless: "But that doesn't mean sacrificing someone else's life—but he's one of our Slytherins, after all."

The Slytherin concentration present was extremely high; they understood Praris's meaning but dared not continue. In the years following the war, Voldemort became a topic that Slytherins would not readily discuss, just as Durmstrangers rarely mentioned Grindelwald.

Seeing that the atmosphere was turning sour, Mr. Zhang quickly took out some products for Astoria to choose from.

The first one is a bronze mirror of the moon palace. In the middle of the back is a cassia tree, on the left is the jade rabbit pounding medicine, and on the right is Chang'e flying in the sky.

"This is the Moon Palace Mirror, which many foreign customers love," said Mr. Zhang, turning the mirror towards Astoria with a smile. "You can ask it, 'How's the weather today?'"

"How's the weather today?" Astoria asked, then suddenly remembered, "Does it understand English?"

The mirror immediately displays the sun, temperature, wind speed, humidity, and recommended clothing for the day.

“Of course,” Mr. Zhang added, “You can have it recommend styling and makeup looks for you.”

“Uh—” Astoria didn’t know what to say, so she could only repeat what Mr. Zhang had said, “Recommend a stylist and makeup.”

On the mirror, Astoria had a pair of large earrings on her ears, but they didn't look out of place at all, and her eyebrows had also been modified.

"Wow!" Pansy patted Millison's arm. "This is great! This is great! With your automatic headband, I won't have to worry about my hairstyle every morning!"

Mr. Zhang enthusiastically invited Milison to try it out. Milison ordered the bronze mirror to be styled with a hairband, and then the automatic hairband to braid the hair according to the image in the bronze mirror. In just a few words, it freed up his hands.

"Buy it!" Milison decided immediately.

Astoria covered her face and had no choice but to look at the next item. In the end, she bought a small and exquisite silver sachet with a laurel tree pattern, as well as a large quantity of matching Chinese magical spices.

Mr. Zhang said, "There is a constant leveling rack inside, which will always keep it balanced and prevent leakage."

Western wizard tourists were having a shopping spree at Duobaolou. Praris bought Winnie a bracelet made by a Chinese wizard, with twelve beads, each representing a zodiac animal and possessing its own magical charm.

The others didn't come out empty-handed either. Draco bought a huge amount of Chinese alchemical items and metals, so much so that the shopkeeper gave him a small booklet about the history of Chinese alchemy.

Diagonally opposite Duobaolou is "Beast Garden," which resembles "Eeyra Owl Shop"—Chinese wizards had a far greater variety of pets than their British counterparts.

“We deliver carrier pigeons; almost everyone keeps one,” Wang Wenwen winked. “So it’s not owls knocking on the windows of the little Chinese wizards, it’s carrier pigeons!”

The owner of the animal park sighed, "What I fear most is someone being foolish enough to stew the carrier pigeons!"

“Ah—” Pansy shook her head, “We don’t eat owls!”

A young witch dressed in a black robe with colorful trim and a red base, and wearing a matching hat, said with a grin, "Roasted pigeon is delicious."

"No, no, no!" The boss shook his head more vigorously than Pansy.

Wang Wenwen wiped her sweat and quickly said, "The Chinese Ministry of Magic stipulates that it is forbidden to eat magical creatures. This is a wizard from Baiyue, who always likes to say that she eats everything. She was talking about ordinary squabs, just like you eat turkeys."

Praris blinked. Wang didn't explain why such a regulation was enacted, but every law has a story behind it…

Where is Baiyue?

"South is very close to Hong Kong, where you are transiting."

Chinese homing pigeons serve the same purpose as owls, but wizards also keep other magical animals.

"This is a Li Nu, we usually just call it a cat these days. This is a Chinese Li Hua cat." The round-faced owner called out to the cage with a beaming smile, "Mimi—"

The cat in the cage lazily turned its head.

The boss smiled awkwardly: "It has its own ideas."

"Has her own thoughts?" Millison liked the idea. "I also have a cat, a tabby. Tabby cats in England have their own thoughts, but my cat is different; she's not very bright."

Mrs. Burst wanted the best of everything when choosing a pet, but Millison insisted on Nina. She didn't consider herself a clever wizard, so why should she want a clever cat?

Nina isn't a clever kitten, and Millie isn't a clever child either; that's just how fate brought them together.

"Hey!" The shopkeeper disagreed, disregarding the fact that this was a customer. "That's not how it works. Tanuki don't have to go to school, why should they be smart!"

"That makes sense!" Milison suddenly realized, and in a great mood, bought a bunch of Chinese cat treats.

There are several types of magical cats, mainly tabby, black cat, and lion cat. Tabby cats are intelligent and strong fighters, but they are prone to running away from home. Black cats look scary, but they are extremely loyal and are said to be able to foresee danger. Lion cats are gentle and friendly, and can become completely invisible in the snow.

"We also have spirit dogs," the owner said with a smile, "but they need to be walked frequently, so we don't keep them here. You can make an appointment to see them if you're interested."

In addition, pets also have regional characteristics.

Wizards in the southwest keep five poisonous creatures, including toads, which are also kept by British wizards. Wizards in Beijing like to keep parrots (dangerous and magical animals are prohibited from entering Beijing!), wizards in the northeast keep hunting dogs and gyrfalcons, wizards in the northwest like to keep eagles and horses, and wizards in the southeast even keep koi carp…

Upon hearing this, Draco immediately asked, "Can it really change my luck?"

Praris couldn't help but laugh; he was still just as interested in the change of fortune.

The boss laughed heartily: "Traditionally, it is believed to have such an effect, but good luck—the right time, the right place, and the right people are all indispensable."

...I don't understand, Chinese shamans speak in such a roundabout way.

After walking to the other side, Wang Wenwen glanced at the boss's seat before saying tactfully, "This magical creature... if it's well cared for, the wizard will be in a good mood, and if he's in a good mood, he can use magic better."

This means that it doesn't actually have the function of changing one's luck, but magic is indeed quite idealistic, so it can't be said to be useless.

Chinese shamans are really particular about what they say!

After visiting three stores, everyone had their own purchases. Wang Wenwen then took them to a teahouse for afternoon tea.

This is a small, square building where you can order tea and snacks. There is a platform in front where men and women sit and sing while playing a stringed instrument, which sounds very melodious and pleasant.

“This is Pingtan,” Wang Wenwen said considerately. “It’s okay if you don’t understand it. Many Chinese shamans don’t understand it either. Just have some snacks.”

“The language barrier is not a problem,” Praris said, “but the music and the emotions are.”

Wang Wenwen immediately burst into laughter.

The British are used to drinking black tea, and Wang Wenwen ordered black tea for them, but Chinese black tea tastes a bit different. Chinese wizards have a complete tea set, and they brew and drink it plain without adding sugar or other seasonings.

Wang Wenwen, considerate of the foreigners' tastes, asked if they needed help getting sugar cubes. Everyone except Milison and Praris said yes. However, she didn't get any sugar cubes and brought back a paper packet of granulated sugar, which she would make do with.

Milison waved his hand and said no: "When you go to a place, you should experience its unique characteristics!"

They ate some soup dumplings called "crab roe soup dumplings"—a bit strange, but still quite delicious; pan-fried dumplings with a crispy bottom—also strange, but delicious; and layered cakes and rice cakes—absolutely amazing!

The British still love sweets, and cakes and pastries are extremely popular. Whether it's rose-shaped cakes, Ding Sheng cakes, double-filling cakes, or strip cakes... they're all completely devoured.

Chinese shamans seem to enjoy listening to music while eating. At first, everyone sat upright and listened attentively, refusing to eat the snacks, worried about disrespecting the Chinese musicians.

It wasn't until Wang Wenwen said that this was a meal that could be enjoyed while eating that everyone felt at ease and could start to relax and enjoy themselves.

The pipa player on stage was very professional and played beautifully. It seemed to be a story of a snake falling in love with a human; the translated title was: *Legend of the White Snake*.

Draco and Praris exchanged glances, understanding each other's thoughts—both were reminded of Voldemort's fondness for keeping snakes.

“This story takes place in West Lake,” Wang Wenwen explained carefully, “in Hangzhou, not far from here.”

As we left the teahouse, there was a Quidditch sports equipment store right across the street. Millison said, "The Chinese Quidditch team is very strong!"

Chinese magic potions are very different from those of other countries.

We previously discussed how ancient Chinese sorcerers included alchemists who combined potions with alchemy. Modern Chinese sorcerers still follow this practice, with their potions clearly categorized: temporary potions are liquid, while long-term potions are solid—dark, pill-like substances refined in a furnace.

In China, only professional potion researchers would buy a furnace, because schools provide furnaces for practice, and students practice at home by hand, for fear of the furnace exploding.

The boss smiled broadly, with a hint of pride: "Dynamite was invented during alchemy."

As they left Danxintang, they saw a sign on the door that read: "Special Offer! Confucius's Pillow Elixir! Cures forgetfulness from studying, making it go in one ear and out the other! Your best choice for review week!"

Praris learned a little Chinese before coming to China. But Chinese isn't easy to learn; she only roughly knew what it meant, and turned away, suppressing a laugh.

It turns out that students all over the world are the same.

Despite the terrifying descriptions of China by Muggles from various countries, Praris and his companions received friendly treatment and even booked a tour for visitors from the Chinese Ministry of Magic after leaving Deep Alley.

After leaving China, Millison promptly wrote a travelogue, recounting his experiences from both trips to China, which was published in the Daily Prophet and sparked a very heated discussion.

Dumbledore Part 1

"Going to submit another application?"

At the Potions Research Center, Kaeya craned his neck and asked Praris, casually saying, "Play, give this document to Dr. John for me."

Praris casually took the parchment from Kaiya. These were small things; the two at the research center always helped each other and didn't fuss over such things.

There are no special requirements for visiting Jenas Sitch's hospital room for immediate family members, but non-immediate family members must fill out an application – this is a new regulation added due to the previous incident of reporters taking photos without permission.

"Harry Potter?" the administrative physician asked, raising an eyebrow.

Praris had answered this question countless times, calmly replying, "That's right."

The administrative doctor, his face full of gossip, chattered on and on: "I thought the Aurors were too busy! Potter can still come every two weeks. Look at Anne's boyfriend, always bragging about working at the Ministry of Magic and being exhausted, but we only see each other once a month—you'd think he was the Minister of Magic!"

"Is that so?" Praris pretended to be curious as he listened to the other person's story, then casually covered for Harry, "Harry is just taking a break from his busy schedule; he always comes back at night."

Another physician said, "That's different. Annie's boyfriend took a whole day off."

After dealing with the gossipy administrative staff, Praris delivered Kaiya's documents on the way back and returned to the research center to continue working.

While sorting through the mail in the evening, I found a letter from Hogwarts. Slughorn said he was overjoyed to see her latest findings in "Frontiers in Potions" and to learn that she had been elected a member of Wizengamo a few days earlier. He insisted on inviting her to the Slug Club's dinner party.

They had to find a reason to refuse; that old fox Slughorn was setting a trap. He was so eager to retire again that he was just waiting to coax Praris back to be the Potions professor, then hand the Headmaster's position back to Severus—a perfect escape!

I can't let him have his way... Ah, Draco's been making a racket at home lately, let him be! Her boy loves these moments of being the center of attention and receiving praise.

Moreover, Draco has recently been making headlines in the Daily Prophet, boasting about his invention of the famous Training Gem, inspired by the Boggarts—which is actually a magical pearl.

Activating the magic pearl by placing it on the table will release a fake dark magic creature or magical beast with the average or weaker power of that creature. This is used by students and Aurors to train and familiarize themselves with magical beasts, and is also beneficial for the protection of magical beasts.

The Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts both purchased a batch, and some even requested custom orders to add specific creatures.