HP North Star's Radiance

Praris left without looking back, and Draco turned and glared at Goyle: "Who wants to share a carriage with her!"

Gao Er awkwardly shrank his neck. You were the one who greeted me first, you were the one who argued with me, and you were the one who said we shouldn't share a carriage.

Milison, Pansy, and Daphne were already chatting in the carriage. Next to Daphne was a long-haired little girl who looked about half like her, sitting timidly in the corner with her hands supporting her on the seat.

Milison ruthlessly pushed Pansy out: "You go to the other side, I'm sitting with Pray!"

“You’re such a big kid, Bersde! Praris doesn’t want you anymore!” Pansy wailed in a high-pitched voice.

Daphne held up the mirror, looking at herself from all angles, and said sarcastically, "Pansy, what's the difference between you and Milison? Oh, Milison, I don't want what you don't want!"

"Who are you calling a thing! Daphne Greengrass, you're dead!"

Pansy lunged at Daphne with bared teeth and claws, and Daphne frantically dodged, while Astoria in the corner clutched herself tightly in panic.

Praris leaned against the carriage door with a stern face and said slowly, "Ladies—keep your voices down, the soundproofing in here isn't good!"

After a while, the girls finally calmed down and switched from using their hands to talking.

“Look at you two, can’t you learn from Pray and set a good example for the little girl?” Milison rolled her eyes at Pansy and Daphne with disdain.

Astoria lowered her head shyly to eat the snacks Praris had given her—the Leaky Cauldron's appetizers: onion rings and crispy peanuts.

Daphne covered her mouth and laughed: "Mirison, you sound just like my mother! Oh, Daphne, look at your sister, you'll corrupt Leah!"

After saying that, Daphne turned to Pansy and said, "Pansy, do you have a picture of that handsome guy? Let me see."

Pansy said incredulously, "What are you thinking? We've only known each other for a short time! If he sends me photos this quickly, I'll dump him even faster!"

Pan Xi declared firmly: "Men shouldn't be too open; a little reserve is what makes them lovable!"

"Oh? Is that so? You're really reserved, but you'll dump him because he's not enthusiastic enough," Daphne said with an "I understand" look.

Milison looked utterly desperate: "Someone get these two out of here! Astoria, don't listen to anything they say!"

Praris, who was reading a book, couldn't help but smile. Oh, right, the book she was reading was a story of Norse wizards.

Astoria asked softly, "Borsd, will I be assigned to Slytherin?"

Praris looked up at Milison, and their eyes met.

Millison cleared her throat: "Ahem, getting into Slytherin isn't easy, Miss Greengrass. You'll have to go through a rigorous test."

Astoria dropped the peanuts from her hand onto the table and asked nervously, "What kind of test is it?"

"Why ask so many questions! You'll find out when the time comes," Daphne, the older sister, ruthlessly interrupted Millison's fake science explanation.

Praris laughed to himself. Growing up is a process of repeating the mistakes of those who came before us. We have finally evolved into adults with a perverse sense of humor.

At 3:34 p.m., it started to rain. The pattering against the window was very soothing, and the girls all became drowsy.

Daphne, who claimed to hate her sister, took off her cloak and covered the sleeping Astoria with it. Even Praris, who usually didn't take naps, propped her head up with her arm and dozed off little by little.

Crackling and popping—crackling and popping!

Praris couldn't help but turn his head away from the light shining in the corridor. The lights in the train had been turned on at some point, and it was pitch black outside the window, so he couldn't see anything clearly.

"Are we almost there?" Astoria, who had woken up at some point, whispered as she huddled in her sister's cloak.

She said that because the train gradually slowed down.

“No,” Praris said, drawing his wand from his wizard’s robes. “It’s not time yet.”

As soon as she finished speaking, a commotion broke out in the train corridor. Clearly, the others also felt something was wrong and were curious as to why the train had stopped midway.

There was a clattering sound, like something falling from the luggage rack, and then all the lights went out in an instant, as if someone had cast a fire-extinguishing spell.

Like the opening of a horror movie, Praris couldn't help but think.

“Praris?” Milison called her name in the darkness.

Praris raised his wand and said to the carriage door, "It's alright, close and lock the door!"

Although there was no lock, the carriage door was magically locked by Praris, and no one could open it anytime soon unless someone more powerful than her used a lock-picking spell.

They were on the magic train, unable to go anywhere, and unaware of what was happening. Rather than recklessly running out and encountering some unexpected event, it would be much wiser to stay where they were and observe how things unfolded.

"Shh, Millie, let me listen," Praris said, pressing her ear to the door to hear what was happening outside.

At first, there were the sounds of students' footsteps. The weight and force distribution when young students land are different from those of adults, making them easy to identify.

After a while, even the students' footsteps stopped, and the surrounding area was quiet, with only faint sounds coming from the other end of the carriage in the distance.

A little while later, the sound of an adult's footsteps passed by their carriage and headed towards the front of the train.

Not long after the adults' footsteps disappeared, the car lights came back on, as if nothing had happened.

Praris straightened up, squinted for a moment in thought, then raised his wand and released the door-locking spell.

"Play, what's wrong?"

Daphne loosened her grip on Astoria, and Astoria reached out and grabbed her sister's sleeve.

Praris shook his head: "There was a small problem, but a teacher has resolved it. Don't worry, the train has started moving again, and we'll be at school in a little while."

The train stopped at the platform. The mountain air was chilly with rain, and Praris rubbed her arms. Then, she raised her wand and cast the Umbrella Charm, standing on the platform watching Daphne push her sister toward Hagrid, the guard of the hunting grounds.

They thought Astoria would be scared, but the little girl only glanced back at them before stumbling and running towards the crowd in the rain.

"Isn't she afraid at all?" Milison asked, carrying Nina's cat cage as he walked at the back.

Daphne scoffed, "I told you, that's just how she is. She always uses a pitiful face to deceive people, but she's actually very bold!"

They helped each other and climbed into the invisible horse-drawn carriage.

"Is this magic? The carriage moves by itself?" Milison asked curiously, lifting the curtain.

Praris shook his head: "I've seen it in the Ministry of Magic's catalog of magical creatures. This invisible horse is called a Thestral."

“How can you know it’s a horse if you can’t see it?” Milison asked.

Prarese said, "Some people can see it, those who have witnessed death and can accept it."

Milison gasped: "Then it's best if I can't see it."

"Look! Look!" Pansy suddenly patted Praris's thigh and pointed outside. "Draco definitely knows about this."

Praris pushed Pansy aside and stared at the hooded, sinister-looking men by the iron gate.

“So that’s why the train had to stop,” Praris said, narrowing his eyes. “Unable to catch Black, the great Minister Fudge got impatient. They were afraid their incompetence would be exposed to the world, so they had no choice but to let the Dementors surround Hogwarts.”

"What if you can't catch the prisoners? Just treat the students as prisoners. Isn't that a kind of prisoner conservation? It's even more than that."

Pansy, Daphne, and Millison all burst into mocking laughter.

When they arrived at the Great Hall, Prarees did not see Professor McGonagall, the Headmaster and Vice-Headmaster of Gryffindor, nor did she see Harry Potter or Granger.

Draco's golden head leaned closer to Praris: "Stop looking, Baby Potter was scared unconscious by the Dementors, and he's probably curled up in his Headmistress's arms for comfort right now!"

Praris reached out and pushed him away: "Who is the new prefect?"

"You always care so much about Marcus. Thanks to you, he's finally able to graduate smoothly," Draco said sarcastically.

Praris, not wanting to deal with this guy who couldn't understand human language, turned to Pansy and asked, "Who's the new prefect?"

“Terrence Higra and Catherine Selwyn, oh, and now it’s our little Leah’s turn,” Pansy said.

To be honest, Prarese wasn't too keen on changing the prefect. Marcus and Miss Farley worked together very well, one firm and the other gentle.

Terence Higgara was the Slytherin Seeker before Draco. He was a fairly disciplined player who preferred to win within the rules. Hopefully, Selwyn will be a strong enough prefect!

The Sorting Hat hesitated for a long time on Astoria's head, and Daphne's face quickly turned ugly.

Pansy comforted her, "Maybe it's chatting with Astoria, just like Praris did back then."

Finally, the Sorting Hat called out: "Slytherin!"

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief for no apparent reason.

Little Astoria skipped to the end of the table and sat down, unaware that her older sister was about to throw a tantrum. Seeing her four sisters watching her, she happily waved.

Millison clutched his chest. "What am I going to do, Pry? She's so cute. I'm starting to feel guilty. How could I have lied to her!"

"So, you're saying you won't be playing with children next year?" Praris looked at her with a penetrating gaze.

Milison touched his nose: "Well, it's not that I don't like to joke around; I'll still joke around if I have the chance."

As expected.

Shortly after, the Sorting Ceremony ended, and Dumbledore began to speak.

He started by talking about the Dementors, and when he paused on the word "invisibility cloak," Prarese glanced at Potter.

It is the invisibility cloak mentioned in the Tales of Beedle the Bard.

Praris blinked. She had suspected this for a long time. It seemed that this was why they could always go out at night without being discovered. Then why didn't they use invisibility cloaks when they sent the fire dragon away?

This way, she wouldn't have felt so guilty that she would have given up the only property she owned at the time.

As for that collection of poems, despite it not fitting Prarese's own character, despite its tattered state, and despite being Muggle material.

But it was also the first genuine gift Praris received, because he liked her, liked that thin, poor, ignorant, confused self filled with resentment towards fate.

But it was something she gave herself. Prarese told herself, "What are you thinking? It was your choice, it's all in the past."

Next, Dumbledore announced the addition of Professor Remus Lupin—who would become the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

The professor seemed to be living a very difficult life, not only in poverty, but also in a lack of positive expectations for life.

Chapter 44 Third Grade

Praris has seen many poor people.

She dared to say that no one present had ever seen as many poor people as she had, not even a wizard who was poor herself.

The monastery often organizes relief activities for the poor. The poor who receive relief include bankrupt individuals, vagrants, those who have lost their ability to work, and widows with several children, among others.

Even among people who are down on their luck, there are differences. Some people, even when poor, will still keep themselves clean and presentable, making themselves look more energetic and positive within their limited resources.

There was a widow who, even when patching her clothes, would embroider flowers on them to cover them up, so as not to show her embarrassment to others.

These people often stop coming to the monastery to beg for food within a few years.

But Professor Lupin was different; even on his first meeting with his students, he was dressed in tattered clothes. He looked sickly, and although his face was still young, his hair was already gray.

People like him suffer far more than just material hardship. Prareas could easily conclude that there is also mental anguish.