HP North Star's Radiance

“Of course,” Winnie’s voice came from inside the closet. “How many summers do you think you’ll have during your school years? Only seven.”

Winnie hugged the clothes and smiled bitterly, saying, "When I was little, I always felt that those summers were so long, and sometimes I even felt that I couldn't find any fun and was extremely bored. But after one summer, the atmosphere at school changed. It was as if everyone had a fire hidden in their hearts, wanting to burn all the peaceful happiness to pieces."

"At that time, I knew that it would be difficult to have such peaceful and beautiful summers again in the future. In any case, Little Pley, don't waste your youth. Treat every activity that may make you happy as if it were the last time you could have it in the future, and experience it to the fullest."

"When you look back years later, you won't regret it and be surprised to find that your youth ended in a seemingly hot and boring summer."

Prarese took the clothes from Winnie's hands and said softly, "I thought you would find me some brightly colored clothes."

“Then you’d never wear it, no matter what! Little Pry, do I look stupid?” Winnie said matter-of-factly.

Winnie Brown is quite a unique character; sometimes she's childishly funny, and sometimes she's as serious as a politician—well, she was indeed a Ministry of Magic employee in the past, and sometimes she inadvertently reveals her heavy past.

The clothes Winnie gave Praris were relatively conservative but stylish: a V-neck, mid-length lantern-sleeved white shirt paired with cropped gray-brown plaid pants, a neutral-toned outfit.

Winnie was taller than her, and the half-length sleeves and capri pants that fit Winnie were just right for Praris.

“I knew someone like you would suit this kind of clothes,” Winnie said, leaning against the door with her arms crossed.

Praris asked curiously, "What kind of person am I?"

“People who live with their brains,” Winnie said.

Praris put the hat on his head and said with a smile, "I like that way of putting it."

Winnie took her to Liberty Department Store: "I prefer Liberty to Harrods. Harrods stores are too small and a bit crowded, and it's easy to get lost while shopping there."

Liberty is on Regent Street, selling things like jewelry, ornaments, perfumes, women's clothing, and fabrics.

Some of the jewelry here is even bigger than Dumbledore. One of the shopkeepers told Prarese, "Child, this necklace is two hundred years old."

His tone made it sound as if the necklace were a person.

Winnie wasn't lazy at all while shopping; she went from one floor to another as if she never got tired. She didn't buy many things, but they were all very unique.

“Muggles may not have much imagination, but their designs are beautiful,” Winnie said.

Once they were outside, Winnie pulled a large box of chocolates from her bag: "Here, kids should have something sweet."

These are souvenirs sold on the first floor. Winnie lingered there for a long time, and Prarese thought she was craving them.

“I’m just here to accompany you shopping…” Praris said.

Winnie smiled brightly: "Hush money. Don't tell Priscilla when we get back that I bought a bunch of useless stuff again. Do you want some Italian food?"

Just as Praris was about to say something, he heard a familiar voice: "Prince! Are you Prince?"

Praris turned around and saw a girl with a round face wearing a long sundress. It took her a while to recognize her as Sofia Joseph.

Sophia exclaimed in surprise, "Prince, you look completely different! I thought you went to school. Sister Mayne said you were taken in by that dark-skinned teacher."

"You're right, you're very different from before."

Prarese said without hesitation that Dumbledore knew better than anyone where she came from, so naturally he had nothing to hide in front of Winnie.

Sofia said proudly, "A believer offered me a job. I can read, and she let me work as a clerk in her company."

“You’re only fourteen,” Prarese said, “but she’s a minor!”

Sofia said nonchalantly, "Anyway, I look like an adult enough. I can get married at sixteen, so am I supposed to stay in a convent forever? I don't want to be a nun."

"Don't you want to go to school?" Praris asked.

She remembered Sister Maine fighting for Sophia and Fiona's opportunity to go to school many times.

Sofia said, "Please, not everyone is as lucky as you. Is this your teacher?"

Winnie stood behind Prareas and waved to Sofia: "Yes, I'm her teacher. I teach art."

“Sister Maine would be very pleased to see you like this,” Sophia said, her tone completely different from when she was in the convent.

Praris laughed: "Are you talking about you and Fiona?"

“You’ve misunderstood her. She’ll be happy as long as we’re doing well, no matter which child it is,” Sofia quickly said.

Prarese didn't want to argue with her, nor did she mention what Maine had said to the professor in front of her.

After saying goodbye to Sophia, Winnie ordered food while saying, "I didn't expect you to have grown up in the Muggle world. It must have been tough for you in Slytherin."

Praris shook his head: "Actually, it's alright. Apart from you and a few teachers, no one knows what my family is like. You'll keep it a secret, right? There are some mixed-race people in Slytherin too. We might bicker among ourselves, but there's never been any ostracism."

Prarese was a little surprised that she really didn't know her own identity. Had Dumbledore not told her anything?

“I understand,” Winnie said, suppressing a laugh. “They’re all bullying Gryffindor.”

“Looks like you guys were like that back then,” Praris said.

Winnie shook her head: "Back then, we were more like adversaries. Gryffindors weren't as well-behaved as you are now. I remember once, when I was in my first or second year, I heard that a Gryffindor had hung a Slytherin student upside down from a tree."

Praris was a little surprised: "This is really not right. These days, Slytherins are all talk and no action."

“That was really too much. Even my Gryffindor friends at the time couldn’t stand it,” Winnie said sadly. “Let’s not talk about that.”

Prarese realized that her Gryffindor friend must have some bad past, so she stopped talking about it.

They returned to Diagon Alley before dark.

Praris had expected to run into an old friend, but he hadn't expected to feel any sadness at all. Those painful memories of the monastery were like dandelion seeds, easily blown away by the wind.

The following days were just as Winnie had described—monotonous, tedious, and long. She quickly finished her homework, including the extra assignments Professor Snape had prepared.

Millison replied to her, saying that she had argued with her mother again, "but I will never stop loving you again."

For the first time, Praris realized that she didn't understand English very well.

Pansy also wrote a letter, and they asked Millison for Praris's mailing address.

Pansy says she no longer loves Draco. She goes on a family trip and falls for a Norwegian wizard, who is said to be Durmstrang's student.

"His eyes were as gray as a rainy day in London, his hair as golden as sunshine, and his smile was like a rare sunny day in London!"

With grey eyes and blond hair, Praris bit her lip awkwardly. "Is Pansy eating meal replacements?! What am I going to do if one of my friends is eating another friend's meal replacements?!"

"You've enlightened me. This is how I feel. All I need to do is like someone and enjoy the process of liking them. What the boys think is really unimportant."

Prareas suddenly realized that she had been worrying too much about Pansy's feelings; she had quickly gone from a pure-hearted young girl to the other extreme.

Daphne said her younger sister, Astoria, will be starting school this year.

Daphne said, "To be honest, I don't like her. She's her mother's sweetheart, always acting all docile and weak. But I know she's more rebellious than anyone else. She was born into our family, but she actually thinks Muggle wizards are alright."

Chapter 42 Ravenclaw Internal Cycle

Praris leaned back. If Daphne was going to say that, then she must have fallen for little Astoria.

Draco also wrote to her. Prareus thought he was writing to get scolded, but it turned out he was just asking her to share his thoughts on the alchemy books he had read.

He seemed to think that Prares asked him alchemy questions at the end of the semester because he liked alchemy.

Although this was not the case, the relationship between alchemy and magic was so close that Praris readily accepted and wrote a lengthy reply in response to his academic invitation.

Another student who was studying with her was Granger. This little witch seemed to have tasted the sweetness of studying with a human library, sending a letter every few days. The owl was exhausted by her.

Granger has recently become interested in ancient Egyptian sorcerers, and Prarese found the answer in the Daily Prophet. The Weasleys won a prize for a trip to Egypt, which is good news and will hopefully cheer up their little sister Ginny. She's had a really tough year.

Then came a letter from the school informing third-grade students that they could go to Hogsmeade Village on the weekend, but their parents or guardians needed to sign off on it.

Praris scoffed and burned the piece of paper, which was utterly useless to her. Was she supposed to get Father Dorian's signature? Or her mother, who was in jail? Or her father, who had been dead for eight hundred years?

Finally, here's the reading list for next semester. There are elective courses next semester, and Praderne will have to pay for their textbooks. Thanks again to the kind Ms. Prie for offering her a job.

After a while, Prarese stopped working the night shift, but Ms. Prie firmly refused to let her do so.

Because a murderer escaped from Azkaban, she saw in the Daily Prophet that the man's name was Sirius Black.

“Oh, that’s really true,” Praris recalled Winnie’s expression at this moment. “Prim, he’ll definitely go looking for that child.”

"Who?" Praris interrupted.

Winnie didn't say anything, but Prarese would find out eventually, as long as she stayed at the Leaky Cauldron a little longer.

It probably only took one evening for Praris to learn that Sirius Black was a lackey of the Man of Unknown's man, betraying one of his close associates, killing another, and taking the lives of more than a dozen Muggles. One of his close associates was James Potter, Harry Potter's father.

Winnie was Dumbledore's woman; she was probably afraid that Black would want to avenge his master and would go and kill Harry Potter!

But Praris didn't think so. None of the Mystic's subordinates were captured voluntarily, but Black surrendered without resistance and willingly went to be imprisoned in Azkaban.

In this context, Blake's escape seems illogical. If he wanted to escape, why did he voluntarily go to prison in the first place? What changed his mind?

Prareas suspected that the Death Eater's mark had been rekindled by the Mystic, but Winnie's reaction denied this speculation.

Prarese shook her head and took a bite of Tom's pie. She was curious, but there was no need to get involved.

"We've had fewer customers in the evenings lately," Tom said slowly. "Business isn't good!"

"Tom!" A fat man in a striped cloak rushed in. "Has Harry Potter been here?"

"No way—" Tom said, somewhat puzzled, turning to her and saying, "Pry, did you see it? My old eyes are failing me!"

Praris shook his head: "Since this evening, only three children under the age of fifteen have come into the Leaky Cauldron. Two are girls, and one is no more than ten years old. They all had their parents with them."

This man, who looks very much like a government official, is probably the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge.

Miss Winnie described him as: "He looks like a ball, and he's a timid, nice guy."

As expected of a novelist, Winnie's language is truly vivid and expressive.

“Oh, girl, thank you.” Fudge pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat. “This is troublesome. Where could he have gone?”

Praris watched his retreating figure, blinked, and took a bite of her pie. It seemed Harry Potter had run away from home without telling anyone.

He wasn't the type to cause trouble for others; all his outrageous behavior was based on his own self-assessment or out of necessity. Perhaps his Muggle aunt and uncle did something he couldn't tolerate.

Old Tom noticed Praris chewing on his pie, deep in thought: "Do you want to wait for your friend?"

“That’s not my friend,” Praris said instinctively.

"So, do you want to wait for your classmate?" Tom asked again, unhurriedly.

Praris smiled somewhat helplessly: "I'd like to sit with you a little longer."

Not long after, around the time Prarese had just finished his orange juice, Fudge pushed Harry Potter into the bar.

Harry Potter's face was deathly pale, as if he had made a terrible mistake, something far more serious than just running away from home.

Tom, carrying a lantern, stepped forward to greet the two guests. Halfway there, he turned back and said, "Little Pley, it's time for bed!"