HP North Star's Radiance

"When you and Porter are separated by only a hair's breadth, the key to deciding who wins is no longer external conditions, but courage from within, and whether you can go all out at the crucial moment."

Praris extended a finger and poked Draco in the chest: "Draco, that fake bottle of Felix Felicis was the courage I borrowed for you."

Slytherin boys' dormitory.

Draco lay half-reclined on the bed, his long legs dangling off the edge, his feet touching the floor. He rested one hand behind his head, staring intently at a potion bottle the size of a thumb beside the bed curtains.

It was a potion bottle bound by a silver chain, hanging lightly above Draco's bedside, like a heart suspended high in the air.

Through the empty potion bottle, he seemed to hear again the voice of the wicked witch who loved to torment him.

“Courage is borrowed, but skill is not. Your sharpness in crucial moments, your speed, and your skill in dodging the ball are all things you have worked hard to develop. After all, you found the Golden Snitch at sixty points, which was unexpected.”

"After thanking the great Praris, thank yourself too! Young man, you deserve it!"

After saying that, Praris gave him a sly smile, turned around and ran away like a light-footed deer, leaving him standing alone by the corridor, clutching his chest with his good hand, staring blankly into the wind for several minutes.

"Draco, I'm hungry. When are we going to eat?" Goyle's hoarse voice rang out, his massive body blocking the light from Draco's head. "Where did this empty bottle come from?"

Draco sat bolt upright, scratching his hair in frustration: "Don't touch it!"

Nott's laughter came from the other side of his bed, and he murmured, "Ah, spring—"

"Huh? What spring?" Gao asked blankly.

Draco shouted, "Let's go! Didn't you say you were hungry? What are you standing there for? Can you eat air to get full?"

Theodore Nott once again let out an undisguised jeer.

By the end of May, temperatures in the Scottish Highlands began to rise, and the weather started to get hot.

In May at Hogwarts, the sky is a clear, bright blue, and the clouds drift like they've stepped out of an oil painting. Sunlight shines brightly through the glass windows, like flickering flames at the bottom of a cauldron. The lawn is covered with brightly colored flowers, as lively as a Quidditch pitch during a game.

Just as restless as the weather is the students' despair over their final exams.

By this time, even the most playful Stella had to live the ascetic life of Praris. She wished she could drown herself in a sea of ​​books, reading until she wore out her quill pen and doing so many problems that she turned her hair into a messy bird's nest.

Okay, Prarese only qualifies for the first point; the latter two points belong exclusively to Miss Stella, who is preparing for the exam.

Prarese rested his chin on one hand and used the other to turn the pages of his book: “Dear Miss Stewart, if you had used the time you used to spend playing chess, gambling, drinking, betting, and gossiping to review your NEWT, you wouldn’t be so anxious now.”

Stella looked like she was about to vomit her soul out: "If I had to be as diligent as you every day, what fun would there be in my school life!"

Praris clapped his hands: "Well said! As a reward, you'll read 'Advanced Potion Making' a few more times!"

Stella sometimes felt like a fishing net with holes, the river of knowledge flowing through her mind without leaving a single fish, only making her even more foolishly clean.

“Aurora is entirely responsible for my current situation!” Stella firmly shifted the blame.

Praris shook his head in disgust: "Don't blame Professor Sinister. She lost a lot of money betting on Gryffindor, and you two got drunk and ruined one of her star charts."

This wine refers to the one from Marcus's private collection, the one he used to thank Stella.

That being said, Stella's grades were still among the best in Slytherin's upperclassmen. Often, outstanding people have higher expectations of themselves, while ordinary people are used to settling for less.

Of course, if one's life goal is to drift along, what's the difference between that and being carefree? It's just regrettable that most people can neither drift along with a clear conscience nor immerse themselves in learning with undivided enthusiasm, like Millison.

However, she has made great progress this year.

Because Praris couldn't go to Hogsmeade, Millison often stayed with her, which helped her studies to some extent, so that she no longer had to make a big "out of nothing" effort during finals week.

But this only meant she wouldn't have to "create something out of nothing"; it was still a long way from Mrs. Burst's expectations of her.

Compared to her classmates who were worried about finals week, Prader's days were much easier. She followed her pre-made plan to study, continued her research, and skillfully went to her professors to ask for materials.

On his way to find Ms. Sprout, Praris often encounters Crookshanks, the free-spirited cat.

Crookshan has always been elusive, likes to wander around various parts of the school, but recently he has been frequently trying to cause trouble for Praris.

Ms. Sprout joked about Praris, saying, "It seems this raccoon thinks it has found its own kind."

Praris protested vehemently, "No, Professor! That won't do, I don't want to be Granger's pet!"

Ms. Sprout was amused and burst into laughter.

In fact, Praris suspected that he was there to freeload.

He would beg for food from Praris, and quite a lot of it. But contrary to what Granger said, he had little interest in rats, did not eat raw food, and was keen on human food.

Crookshan won't eat in front of Praris; he'll take the food away, and one of the cats will hide and eat it.

The book "How to Get Along with Your Magical Animals" states that pets are afraid to eat in front of wizards, which indicates that they lack a sense of security.

Praris frowned upon seeing this, confirming once again that this was a completely illogical book.

Despite this thought, Praris continued to feed Crook Mountain and asked Barney for some boiled meat with only a little salt.

She always felt that kittens shouldn't eat too much human seasoning, nor should they eat as much as Crookshanks.

This means Nina the cat needs a serious scolding. She's so picky about food that she insists on eating corn every day. Now, her owner, Millie, has punished her, limiting her to a single ear of corn the length of a finger joint each day.

"Crooked Mountain!" Praris cried, "You can't eat this, it's a potion!"

Praris brushed away Crookshank's mischievous paws and closed the basket: "This is medicine for treating human bodies; magical creatures can't eat it!"

This is another quirk of Crookshanks', besides his love of catching mice: he is always very interested in Praris's medicine basket, whether it contains herbs or potions.

Praris warned Crookshan seriously, "If you steal my medicine again, I will really tell Granger!"

That was no use; Crookshank remained incorrigible, determined to steal while Prares and Ms. Sprout were having their intimate moments. In the end, he actually managed to steal a bottle of medicine.

Prarese wrote to Granger to apologize and asked him to bring Crookshan to her for a check-up, promising to take responsibility for Crookshan's health.

Granger quickly replied that Crookshank was perfectly fine and she hadn't seen any medicine; perhaps he hadn't drunk it at all and had simply left it somewhere.

Ms. Sprout looked worried: "Perhaps you should write a letter to Sylvanus and ask if there are any hidden dangers in the cat drinking the wizard's potion."

“I’m really afraid Professor Kettleburn will risk his life to come back to the school and teach me a lesson,” Praris said with a helpless expression.

Fortunately, not long after, Crookshan came back lively and begging for meat, which finally calmed Praris's pounding conscience.

Ironically, she almost thought Crookshan was raising some other human "pets" in reverse, so she asked her for cooked meat for human consumption and stole medicine for human consumption.

But how is that possible?

Which student at Hogwarts, lacking food or clothing, or sick, would not seek Madam Pomfrey's help but instead drink her potions?

Perhaps Crookshanks is just a strange cat-like creature that even its owner, Granger, can't understand, can he?

No matter how unwilling the students are, the final exams still come, as inevitable as death.

Exam week is called exam week because exams actually last for a whole week.

Prarese performed as well as she had for the past two years, and even though she took an extra elective course, she still did an excellent job.

Professor Snape's advice was correct; dropping two less essential courses would allow her to learn enough while living a more comfortable life.

Of all the exams, only Defense Against the Dark Arts truly impressed Praris.

Defense Against the Dark Arts class—to put it jokingly, this was their first practical Defense Against the Dark Arts exam, so it was bound to be exciting!

The students were required to wade through Grindylow’s “bath pool” (which was actually a pond, but the Slytherin students called it a bath pool), pass through Red Hat’s bumpy gopher holes, dodge Hinkpunk who was trying to lead them astray, and finally defeat a new Boggart.

Chapter 62 Boggart of Praris

Boggarts were the students they studied in their first Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

Out of dissatisfaction with Lupin's actions, Prarese willfully fabricated his inner fears during that class, causing Boggart to voluntarily become the moon.

Everything that is meant to happen will happen sooner or later, if not today, then tomorrow, or in the future. Now, the time has finally come for Praris to truly confront his inner fears.

Pralis passed the first three challenges with little effort and stood before Lupin. Professor Lupin glanced at her worriedly and opened the box containing Boggart.

Praris crawled into the box as required by the exam, and the Boggart inside the box changed the moment she appeared, creating a gust of wind.

It had transformed into a person, a woman Praris had never seen in reality. This woman had long, straight black hair and black eyes. She wore a light apricot-colored wool coat with a dark pattern, her belly was slightly protruding, and her face was pale and haggard.

The woman Boggart had transformed into raised her wand at Praris and wept silently.

It was as if a bolt of lightning had struck Praris's heart, illuminating her bewilderment. She had seen this man before! In the newspaper!

She is Sylvia Prince.

Unlike Bogut, she appeared much thinner and more frantic in the newspapers.

Prarese finally remembered that she was taking an exam. Suppressing her chaotic thoughts, she turned Boggart into a crooked doll.

Praliss had been inside the box for quite a while. When she crawled out again, Lupin was already standing in front of it, looking anxious: "Priliss, are you alright?"

Praris managed a weak smile: "I think I'm fine."

Lupin hesitated for a moment, but still gave Praris a high score.

Snape did not explain the situation to him, but he made it clear that the Moon was not the real Boggart of Prince and warned Lupin to stop having unnecessary concern for his student.

From this perspective, this is the first time Prares has faced his own Bogut.

Although she was slower when facing Boggart, this was relative to her own pace. Prarese spent significantly less time on the entire exam compared to the others.

But Praris didn't seem happy about her high score. She was somewhat absent-minded, her thoughts preoccupied with Sylvia.

Earlier, she had secretly vowed not to think about Sylvia. Sylvia's abandonment of her, leaving her in the convent, was tantamount to deciding to "kill" her own daughter.

Whether dead or alive, from that moment on, Sylvia's daughter was dead, and only the orphan Praris survived.

Before the exam, Prarese had wondered what Boggart would become. She used to fear the days of hunger and cold, but as she grew up and became capable of taking care of herself, that fear had long since faded with time.

To Praris's surprise, Boggart transformed into Sylvia, indicating that Praris feared her. But Praris had never even seen Sylvia look like that before, so why would she fear her?

No.

Prarese himself refuted his own doubts.

In that lost memory, Praris may have seen a young Sylvia before he was five years old.

At first, Praris had a very limited understanding of magic and was still used to thinking in terms of Muggle ways.

At that time, she suspected that she had experienced a major trauma, so her brain's psychological protection mechanism made her forget that part of the memory. She also wondered if it was because she was too young at the time and her brain was not fully developed, so she had no memory.

Once she learned the Forgetting Charm, Praris couldn't help but have a new guess: could such complete forgetting be caused by a powerful Forgetting Charm? Someone had cast the Forgetting Charm on her when she was five years old, making her forget her earliest memories.

These speculations could not be verified, and she buried them all in her heart. She didn't want to think about these things, and her obsession with exploring her past was as if she still had expectations of her irresponsible mother.

This makes her seem too pitiful and pathetic.

Bogut's appearance was like a pebble thrown into a lake, creating ripples.