HP North Star's Radiance

Compared to Snape's assessment of her, his criticism of Potter and the others was nothing.

Snape sneered, "Take your trash back with you and don't let me see it again. If you want to repay your professor, you'd better not say you studied under me after you graduate; that would be the best way to repay me."

Praris didn't pay attention to what the professor said.

He always said one thing but meant another, doing everything he was supposed to do while grumbling and cursing.

Praris nodded: "Okay, I'll bring the improved wolfsbane potion. But, Professor..."

"explain."

Praris said, "In a book about dark magical creatures, I saw a spell called the 'Patron Saint Charm,' which is said to ward off Dementors. But I also saw that it can only be used by people with pure hearts. The dark wizard Radien was once devoured by maggots when he used the Patron Saint Charm."

What are you trying to say?

She said, "How do I determine if I can use it?"

Snape looked at her calmly and said, "Do you think that learning dark magic means being judged as having an impure heart? Then some wizards who are respected by many people can no longer use the Patronus Charm. Compared to that, you should be more concerned about whether you can learn it at all."

"Then how can I find my happy memories?"

Praris frowned; she seemed neither in much pain nor much joy.

Snape said, “Miss, that’s up to you. Do you think I’m all-powerful? You already know what the spell is. The rest you have to find within yourself, in your memories.”

Chapter 53 The Happiest Memories

Praris avoided everyone and sat on the large lawn by the Black Lake. The continuous gray clouds, like the edge of a Dementor's black robe, exuded a damp and uneasy atmosphere.

She often felt that the power of magic was rather unreasonable.

To defeat Bogut, you must use humor to combat your inner fears.

To defeat Dementors, you must use genuine joy as a shield against despair.

And what about the three forbidden spells? If you don't have enough malice and find pleasure in harming others, you'll never be able to unleash their true power.

Where can she find happiness?

She must have been happy when she left the monastery. But that happiness was like the seaweed at the bottom of a black lake, cold and fleeting, swaying with the aquatic animals that swam to and fro.

At that time, she did not believe in the arrival of a new life and was wary of everything around her, believing that everyone who approached her had an ulterior motive.

How can friendship with ulterior motives be considered genuine affection? How can happiness based on pretense be considered true happiness?

Later, she left Hogwarts and went to Diagon Alley to begin a new chapter. Tom had stated from the beginning that he was acting on behalf of Professor Snape, and Miss Winnie was Dumbledore's woman.

One cannot be too clever. If she cannot see anything, she will be happy to have a friendship without considering what might be hidden behind it.

But she saw it. Discovering the truth is like uncovering a magician's tricks. When you know the secrets behind a magic trick, no matter how amazing the magic trick is in the eyes of others, it won't make you gasp in surprise during the performance.

"Plares" stands at the crossroads of memories. Ahead lies an unborn future, while the past ends with five years she lost for no apparent reason. And in the present, she is lost between an uncertain happiness and a pain that has already been overcome.

She had become accustomed to overcoming pain; it was a skill she had honed through misfortune. She had defeated the monastery that had once brought her unhappiness, defeated all the insecurities that might have led her to drop out or be forced to leave school, and defeated difficulties and setbacks.

But what's trapping her now is a kind of happiness that's hard to define as happiness.

White steam rose from Praris's wand, like wisps of smoke. This was her way of remembering how she and Mrs. Sprout had planted flowers and fertilized them together.

The guardian spell transformed into the warm breath exhaled in winter, short yet intense, carrying with it the laughter from the beauty salon.

The magic then transformed into a hazy mountain mist after the rain, long yet heavy, seemingly cold yet once inexplicably warming her—it was like Professor Snape sitting in front of the fireplace grading her papers.

The magic turned into a faint white light; it shone, but only as scattered stars. Within it lay the kindness that Milison and the other Slytherin students had shown her.

While researching information about guardian charms, she thought it wouldn't be too difficult.

For truly happy people, their lives are relatively uneventful. If they haven't experienced pain, they won't understand the meaning of happiness in comparison. For example, Draco; he clearly has a hard time learning the Patronus Charm.

Praris believes that those who learn the Patronus Charm too early must have experienced unhappy times, or even misfortune. For those who lack joy, even the slightest bit of happiness can be perceived as bliss.

But she was so greedy, so insatiable, that her definition of true happiness was so strict that she stagnated.

Praris lay on the grass, the wind blowing through it, making the leaves rustle and billow in the breeze, causing Praris's wizard robes to billow.

She closed her eyes and felt the wind, when suddenly an idea struck her, and she raised her wand: "Protector!"

A burst of silver light erupted, transforming into a lithe cat. Its entire body was silvery-white, not bright enough for daytime, yet still radiating a soft glow. The guardian spirit leaped lightly, circling her once before vanishing into specks of silver light in the sky.

Prarese covered her smiling lips in surprise; it was unbelievable. She thought she would be stuck in this dilemma about "happiness," unable to convince herself.

But she never expected that her happiest time would be on an ordinary evening this summer.

That evening, a cool breeze was blowing, and no one she loved or who loved her was by her side. She simply stood on the street, letting the summer wind blow her robes. She simply lay under the starry sky, gazing up at the stars in the evening breeze.

It turns out that the person she loved most was herself, and the person who truly made her happy from the bottom of her heart was also herself. Her happiness did not depend on anyone else, but on herself, and it arose from her most genuine feelings.

She was so lucky that she had already experienced what was the happiest memory for her long before she even realized what could be called her happiest memory.

Many people believe that the happiest moments must come from some earth-shattering event or from someone unforgettable. But happiness is sometimes so ordinary that you don't even realize how happy you are at that moment.

Praliss dragged her heavy satchel back to the Slytherin common room, her steps as light as her Patronus's; she still owed Professor Snape a debt.

The Slytherins were on the sofa discussing Gryffindor's defeat; the next match was Ravenclaw versus Hufflepuff. This match would determine the winner, who would then face off against Slytherin.

Millison said smugly, "You're back, Pry! I need to check your Potions homework!"

Praris couldn't help but laugh: "You're so loud in the Slytherin common room saying you want to 'reference' my Potions homework?"

The sounds of older Slytherins trying to suppress their laughter could be heard from all directions.

Stella laughed and said, "Miss Burstdle, we won't report you if Slytherins don't bully other Slytherins, but you should at least 'reference' someone slightly above you, otherwise your paper will have phoenix feathers and a hen's body."

Praris was quite exasperated. He wondered which Slytherin member couldn't hold back their laughter any longer, but the forced laughter really did sound like a fart!

Milison grinned foolishly: "Right, if I actually copied Pray's homework, it would be like Longbottom's shrinking potion. No, I mean reference."

Prarese sat down under the trophy rack, rolled up his sleeves, and prepared to give Milison some pointers on his paper.

Just then, she heard Miles' voice: "Draco, why did you stop talking?"

Draco's voice was muffled: "What's there to say about Potter? He smashed his broom! Let's talk about our upcoming training!"

Miles looked surprised: "This is not like something you would say! Well, it's time to do this."

Millison waved his hand in front of her face: "Play, what are you thinking about?"

Praris immediately snapped out of it and said, "It's nothing, my research has made great progress, it's worth celebrating."

Millison's face lit up with surprise: "Really? That's great! I'm having Wellington steak tonight!"

"Why are you eating steak when my research is progressing?" Praris asked, puzzled.

Millison patted his chest and said proudly, "Plares, I'm so happy for you!"

Praris covered his face in exasperation: "Alright, alright, I'm happy for you and for me. I deserve a steak too. Now let's look at your paper. Ah, what? You didn't write a single thing! It's just pure 'references'!"

By late November, Praris finally managed to squeeze in time to develop a cheaper, combined version of the wolfsbane drug.

The new drug retains the basic functions of rationality and clarity after transformation, and its effects last for six hours, with refills available. However, it has a side effect: the user will be unconscious for six hours after reverting to human form.

All things considered, the only advantage of this low-end Wolfsbane Potion 2.0 is probably its extremely low raw material cost.

Professor Snape nodded slightly upon seeing Prares's second version.

Despite his opening remarks being a scathing critique of Prarese, Prarese could still sense that the professor was actually quite satisfied with her experimental results.

Keep in mind, he didn't even call them "garbage"!

What Praris didn't know was that no potions apprentice's first independent research experiment would be a replica of Damocles's famous work.

If she succeeds, it will truly be a miracle in the history of potions.

The following weekend, Hufflepuff was defeated by Ravenclaw. This meant that it was impossible to decide Slytherin's opponent between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, and an additional match was needed.

Gryffindor will face Ravenclaw to determine the team that will ultimately play against Slytherin.

Therefore, Marcus put his team through intense training, and Draco, eager to avenge his previous defeat, fully cooperated with Marcus's training demands. So much so that we hardly ever saw him and Porter clashing anymore.

"How could there be such a big change? Wasn't he just imitating Porter's fall in front of him?"

Praris couldn't shake the feeling that Draco was still incorrigible!

That's normal. Old habits die hard, and she didn't believe that a few words from her could have such a profound impact on Draco.

Stella blinked and said slowly, "That's a tactic. Marcus said he wanted to break Porter's mental defenses. But if you ask me, they've just gotten weaker. When I was still on the team, we didn't need any off-court tactics. We could win no matter how we played."

She said dismissively, "In the face of absolute strength, all schemes and tricks are futile! Do you think someone can defeat you and become the highest scorer just by scaring you? Come on, I'm sure no one can."

"So who are you betting on to win?" Prarese said.

Stella blurted out without hesitation, "Slytherin!"

“In the face of intense emotions, all rational thinking is futile,” Praris said with a gentle smile.

Her face screamed, "I knew it!"

Stella laughed in exasperation: "You little devil, trying to trap me? No problem, Sinesta bet on Gryffindor. If I lose, I'll make her buy me a drink."

"Come on, where did you put Ravenclaw?!"

"Oh! Ravenclaw is in the tower, my dear!"

Before Christmas, students have another opportunity to visit Hogsmeade.

Prarese had to go to great lengths to get her girls to abandon their plan to bring all of Honeydukes' stock to school. But then they started vowing to give Prarese a fantastic Christmas present.

Speaking of Christmas presents, Milison and the others were curious about Praris's birthday, but even Praris herself didn't know. So she could only tell them that she didn't have a birthday, because of the advice of an old wizard.

Of course, she no longer feels sad or upset about Christmas because she remembers her first Christmas.

She grew up, another year passed. And the half-blood prince still tirelessly wrote her the exact same notes, all those years later, without a single letter different.

She carefully put it away and hid it in her suitcase, as if it were some rare treasure.

In the girls' restroom, two Slytherin crystal goblets sat on Myrtle's toilet.

In third grade, Praris had grown taller, and her cheeks had filled out a little. Her features were deep-set, her nose high and straight, and her black eyes resembled two beautiful black pearls. Her hair flowed loosely, like black waves. Her expression was often cool and thoughtful, making people hesitant to disturb her.

But now, she's in the girls' restroom, pouring red wine into a wine glass on the toilet.

"Myrtle, what a shame!" Myrtle exclaimed. "Christmas! And you're stuck with an ugly girl!"

Praris raised his glass with one hand and smiled at her: "I'm sorry to say that you'll have to spend the holiday with an unromantic nerd."

"To our utterly defeated lives!" Myrtle cried out loudly.