HP North Star's Radiance

She is a prisoner of herself.

To draw a circle around oneself and imprison oneself in the wilderness of life.

Author's Postscript

This book is the author's first book on Tomato, which took almost a year to complete and contains more than 1.3 million words.

I've worked diligently for a year, not seeking praise from readers, but only hoping not to be criticized.

(Of course, you can criticize if you want; I'm not saying you can't criticize. Just criticize me, not Aunt Luo or the characters I created. If the characters aren't well-developed, that's the author's problem, and I admit my writing skills are limited.)

First of all, thank you, J.K. Rowling. I first encountered Harry Potter in the school reading room, in a tattered copy of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" with its cover covered in tape.

Going to the reading room to read Harry Potter during lunch break is a very ordinary but happy memory. The only downside is that the temperature is just right, warm in winter and cool in summer, and the rustling of the lemon eucalyptus trees is very rhythmic, making it easy to fall asleep.

Those ordinary days, I don't know why I remember them for so many years. Maybe it's because I thought they were just ordinary back then. I only realized they were ordinary because I can never go back... and then my thoughts wandered again.

The reading room only had the first three books at the time, all of which were available in both Chinese and English versions. So I read them over and over again, ostensibly to learn English. But strangely enough, even though I read them so many times, I still forgot a lot of the plot.

Perhaps it's like how people live and die simultaneously, and memories are formed and forgotten at the same time? It really feels like a pool that's being filled and drained at the same time... (I don't know why I'm starting to drift off again, but this statement makes as much sense as "the bigger the banana, the bigger the peel," so I'll leave it here.)

Before writing this book, my friends and I had a heated discussion and came to what we considered a very sophisticated viewpoint—fan fiction is inherently out of character (OOC).

Because a thousand readers will have a thousand Hamlets, but the only Hamlet that isn't out of character is the one in the author's mind. That's the original Hamlet; everything else is just infinitely approaching it (what limits, what calculus, my head hurts).

Therefore, I've come to the conclusion that it's impossible to achieve true non-OOC (out-of-character) content, but it's possible to respect the author and the original work as much as possible.

My friend thought it was a silly and pointless effort. Does being out of character (OOC) really have different levels of quality? But I still tried my best. I don't know if I succeeded, but I can say I did my best.

Perhaps, fan fiction itself is an adventure of "using my interpretation to simulate the original that I cannot fully reach"! Success or failure is important, but the process of the adventure is also precious enough.

Secondly, thank you to my dear readers.

To be honest, I thought about giving up many times while writing. When I first started writing, I cared a lot about the reviews and was afraid that I would write poorly and be ridiculed online.

Thinking about it later, with my skill level, I wouldn't even have the chance to be laughed at! So I felt relieved, hehe.

But at the same time, because I cared about it, and seeing that many people wanted to read it, I persevered with the support of my readers, and somehow ended up writing the ending and many extra chapters.

However, I probably won't be writing any more side stories for a while, because I'm about to mark the story as finished, and it seems there's a limit to the number of side stories that can be written after that. So, barring any unforeseen circumstances, this should be the end of it!

My only growth might be that I'm gradually able to forgive myself, but not completely. At the beginning, I still hope to get less scolded! You guys really spoil me, hahaha.

My takeaway from this year is that most people who can persevere in writing are courageous. It's difficult to stick with something just because you're interested. Creators are always sensitive, but online writing is unlike traditional writing submissions; you inevitably receive a lot of external feedback. Without a strong heart, it's impossible to continue on this path.

But I'm different. In this unmasked online world, I've been quite lucky. Most of my readers are very kind. Many have told me they read whatever I write, and that it's good for their digestive health. Later on, when I was frequently sick, people would advise me to take good care of myself.

There's something interesting between us that you might not know. Because I never figured out how to set up automatic thanks, I've been manually typing in your IDs. My input method and I have ended up remembering a lot of readers' names, some of which are really funny, haha. Maybe this is a way for me to remember you all more deeply—it's worth it.

In this book, readers may notice changes in the characters' personalities. Yes, most characters with growth arcs undergo personality changes. Even Professor Snape, in his thirties, I made him "grow" (I almost laughed again).

First, it must be acknowledged that the author's writing skills are indeed limited, and the process of change was not described in a smoother, more fluent, or more easily understandable way.

Secondly, the change in character design is due to the change in environment. Based on the author's own experience, their personality and behavior changed before and after starting school, especially after moving into boarding school. For example, Hermione in the original story initially adhered strictly to school rules, but soon began going out at night.

Finally, the article is just too long. I forget what I wrote earlier as I go on, and sometimes there are bugs that I can't fix.

(But there are also some genuine bugs, such as the prophecy issue. I revised the first few chapters many times, but it was impossible to fix them, and I didn't want to lose everyone's comments because of the revisions, so I simply left them as is.)

There's one more thing I must apologize for. Because I often work part-time as a tutor, I sometimes unconsciously come across as a bit "preachy." I don't want to be like that, and I've tried hard to correct it, but haven't succeeded yet. If I've offended anyone, I apologize profusely.

(Perhaps this postscript of mine is also preaching; it's really hard to fight against oneself.)

Also, if the author quotes something, it is written in the footnotes. But sometimes it may be internalized and used unconsciously without the author's knowledge. Sometimes the author's comments are blocked by the review. I apologize in advance. If there is any infringement, please call me in the author's comments. I will provide a one-stop service for annotation, deletion and modification.

And another thing, the author wrote short essays and short stories ranging from a few hundred to ten or twenty thousand words for magazines during his student days.

What I mean is that the author probably hadn't written a truly long novel before. This book also lacks an outline; if you had to name one, it would be Rowling's original work. I told my friends in September that I was almost finished! But it wasn't actually finished until November.

So sometimes I really can't control where I get in the story; I just write whatever comes to mind, like I'm sleepwalking.

So if you feel that something is off, it's probably my fault (laughs).

Early on, some people asked me why I wrote about Slytherin. It's because when I first started reading Harry Potter, I had a prejudice against Slytherin. The process of changing my mind was also the process of developing an interest in Slytherin.

I really enjoyed watching "Lurking" and thought Yu Zecheng was a typical, complete person. Not just a character, but a person, a three-dimensional person.

At first, I thought Yu Zecheng must be a Hufflepuff, a person with a strong sense of life (someone who lives life to the fullest).

Later, I came to believe that he possessed the courage of Gryffindor, the loyalty of Hufflepuff, the wisdom of Ravenclaw, and the unwavering will and determination of Slytherin.

At that time, I thought, yes, that's how people are.

This is a three-dimensional person; it makes me feel like he truly lived.

Humans are inherently complex. I believe that to understand what kind of person someone is, we need to ask two questions: first, what kind of person do you choose to become, and second, why do you make that choice?

With that attitude, I went to see Slytherin.

I think no normal person would use negative words to belittle themselves. In the eyes of Slytherins, they must have had a complete, self-consistent, and sufficiently good (or acceptable) value system.

Slytherin's self-perception:

Shrewdness is essentially wisdom.

Assessing the situation and making decisions is essentially a strategic vision and a superior art of survival.

Protecting oneself wisely is essentially about rationality and knowing when to retreat.

Ambition, in essence, is an ideal or aspiration.

Pride, in essence, is self-respect and self-love.

—That's great!

Other things like determination and unwavering will...

That's even better!

I don't want to whitewash Slytherin; a whitewashed Slytherin isn't Slytherin. Slytherin is green, but also silver-gray.

I just want to write about Slytherin, about a Slytherin as a human being, with strengths and weaknesses, capable of both good and bad deeds. I want to write about how Slytherins think, make decisions, struggle, and find themselves.

Traits are merely a tool; they are neutral and innocent. What makes them base or noble is the human heart that uses them to achieve their ends.

Regulus's determination to destroy the Horcruxes, in order to make Voldemort a mortal with weaknesses, was noble.

Did Peter Pettigrew lack resolve? He was determined to betray his good brother to save himself, and that resolve was despicable.

But I gave Pettigrew another chance at the end—Puttus gave him a potion and let him choose what he would do with his determination if he had another chance.

He is both despicable and noble; the difference lies in the human heart he embodies when he uses his resolve.

In a world filled with prejudice and predicament, chaos and rules coexisting, how would an individual with powerful energy and self-will choose to conduct themselves, and how should they conduct themselves? How can they make their own choices among all imperfect options and bear all the necessary costs?

These are the questions I've been thinking about throughout the writing process.

This reminds me of what Dostoevsky said: "Man is a mystery, and it should be unraveled. If one spends one's whole life unraveling it, then life is not wasted." I want to unravel it because I want to be human.

Yes, being a good person.

They're not the kind of people who are particular about timing and tact.

It's about how a person thinks, what they aspire to become, and what they don't want to become.

I tried to understand Aunt Luo and the characters I created, to imagine what they would do. Sometimes, my writing might not have been good, and I might not have fully expressed my thoughts, but I put in the effort.

Speaking of books, I remember a reader asked about book lists before. Actually, I forget most of what I read after I finish it. When I remember which sentence I need, I have to go back to the original book to find it, but often I can't find it no matter what I do, which makes me very anxious.

This is a list of some books that I still remember and that may have been mentioned in this fanfic, mostly British and Irish literature. There might be some from other countries, but I may not remember them all. It's also possible that some of these are listed here but I haven't actually used them.

(PS: The author has read this, but that doesn't mean the author supports or likes it. It's just because the author has a balanced diet, eats everything, uses quantum speed reading, can read ten lines at a glance, and forgets everything after reading it...)

(PPS: There are also non-quantum speed, such as the Harry Potter book, which I have read many times.)

I read the classic Ma Ainong and Ma Aixin translation, and some parts of the translation are truly artistic.

I always remember a line from the last chapter, which in the original text is: "The morning of the first of September was crisp as an apple."

The literal translation is that the morning of September 1st was as refreshing as an apple.

Ma Aixin and Ma Ainong's translation is: The morning of September 1st was as crisp and golden as an apple.

The use of synesthesia—touch, hearing, and sight—is particularly brilliant—I'm at a loss for words! But reading Harry Potter is definitely worthwhile!

United Kingdom:

Harry Potter 1-7

Original screenplay for "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them"

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Rowling and Dainette

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

The Chronicles of Narnia

The Complete Works of Shakespeare

The complete works of Shakespeare

(I couldn't find the complete set; some copies were missing, others were missing.)

Dubliners and Ulysses

(It seems the latter was not finished watching.)

James Stephens, *Irish and Celtic Myths*

The Gadfly

(I think Paul and I read different books.)

Jane Eyre

Wuthering Heights

"pride and Prejudice"

The Moon and Sixpence

Tess of the D'Urbervilles

Most of Oscar Wilde's works include: *Salome*, *De Profundis*, *Lady Windermere's Fan*, *The Picture of Mr. W.H.*, *The Picture of Dorian Gray*, and so on.

Most of Virginia Woolf's works: *A Room of One's Own*, *To the Lighthouse*, *Mrs. Dalloway*, *The Waves*... (I haven't finished reading some of them; they're stream-of-consciousness style, hmm).