HP North Star's Radiance

Ron and the others are now discussing Prareas, but Hermione can only remain silent. She promised Prareas she would keep it a secret, so she can't reveal what Prareas did: the letters he wrote in second year, the way he ignored her in third year.

This feeling is unpleasant; you know your pen pal is a nice person, but you can only endure your friend's rude speculations about her.

Hermione sometimes wondered, why should all Slytherins be condemned because of the mistakes of a few?

This wasn't Ron's fault, Hermione knew that perfectly well. Gryffindor and Slytherin were sworn enemies, and their fathers had always been at odds. This inherent misunderstanding stemmed from his family and from everything he had seen and heard since childhood.

Hermione, seeing Malfoy's arrogant demeanor, would only want to punch him in the face. But if Prader stood before her, she would only think: How did she do that! I will surpass her one day!

Not all Slytherins are the same. If it were any other Slytherin, who would dare to stand up to their teacher for their classmate?

Hermione felt that both Prasris and she were growing. Prasris had ignited her ambition to go further and taught her to see Hogwarts from a different perspective. Prasris may have also gained some Gryffindor-like courage, which made her dare to stand up and protect her friends.

Although Hermione didn't like Praris's friends.

“Miss, I would prefer that our relationship be one of personal friendship, rather than based on our positions. If we presuppose each other's positions, then we will be unable to discuss most issues at Hogwarts.”

This was written in Prarese's second letter after she consulted him on behalf of Hagrid.

Hermione hastily stuffed the food into her mouth, gave a cursory goodbye to Harry and the others, and headed towards the library. Without reliable outside help for the time being, she could manage on her own!

Prader, whom Hermione had been thinking about over and over again, was discharged from the hospital. Draco followed behind her, holding his breath and remaining silent.

Praris turned around abruptly and said coldly, "Mr. Malfoy, are you going to put on a show of suffocating yourself in front of me?"

Draco nearly bumped into her, and instinctively said, "Who are you talking about—"

Praris sneered, interrupting him: "Do you think I fully support you just because I stood up for you? I only protected you because I was afraid Moody would kill you! And I know he would never dare to really hurt me in front of so many people."

"Hmm—pretty impressive. Launching a sneak attack in front of so many people, is that it?"

Draco turned his head away, unable to look her in the eye.

Praris reached out and forcefully turned his head back: "Look at me, what are you thinking?! Do you know what your family is most famous for? Even if the Malfoys really did something, they won't leave a single fingerprint."

“You’re quite different, Draco. You failed to get things done and even got caught red-handed, didn’t you? I thought you’d improved last year!”

"Either defeat your opponent fair and square, or outsmart them so the victim has nothing to say. But you, you outsmarted them fair and square, and got caught! Don't mention your father to me; if he knew, he'd be too ashamed to face this!"

Draco finally couldn't take it anymore. He shoved her hand away and was about to say something angrily when he met her bloodshot eyes.

He covered his face in dejection, and after a long while, he managed to stammer out, "I! Uh—I'm sorry."

That's strange, Praris thought.

“I accept it. There won’t be a next time,” Praris said coldly. “Go on—finish the good deed you’ve done.”

"Where?"

"What do you think? Go get scolded!"

Professor Snape's office.

Praris was prepared to be scolded harshly.

Look, yesterday morning Professor Snape told her to stay away from Moody, and yesterday afternoon she had a bloody showdown with Moody in the foyer.

But it would be better if he actually scolded her.

The most terrifying thing was that Professor Snape didn't say a word to her; he just stared at her with disappointed eyes.

His eyes were filled with "idiot," "fool," and "Gryffindor," along with other unspoken insults.

You know, it's even dirtier than being verbally abused.

Time seemed to stand still in the office, with only the crackling of the fireplace remaining.

“Miss, I think you know what I’m about to say.” Snape paused, each word clear yet meaningful. “You’ve grown up. So you think my words don’t matter anymore, don’t you?”

At this point, saying "yes" or "no" will both lead to certain death. The best way to survive is to bow your head in shame.

The silence was suffocating. Praris's reason told her that only a few seconds had passed, but her emotions made it feel like an eternity.

Finally, Snape said slowly, "Miss, read aloud what I told you yesterday."

"Stay away from Moody; he won't show mercy to Death Eaters and Slytherins." Praris's exceptional memory played a somewhat insignificant role at this moment.

"Ah, you have a great memory!"

Snape narrowed his eyes, pursed his lips, and stared intently at Praris.

"How come you can't remember anything at all when you were in the foyer?" Professor Snape asked earnestly. "Could it be that there's some kind of magic in the foyer that causes people to lose their memories and reason?"

"Not saying a word? It seems you've not only secretly learned Brown's idiotic spells, but also her muddled mind and her ridiculous stupidity!"

Professor Snape's conversation with her lasted for more than ten minutes, but in reality, the professor himself only said the few sentences mentioned earlier.

This period was mostly marked by an uncomfortable silence and Praris's self-reflection.

Chapter 71 Occupational Surgery

Prarese's observational skills were extraordinary, and she also spent a considerable amount of time with Professor Snape.

Most of the time, Professor Snape was a very reserved person; he rarely revealed his emotions. Positive emotions were obvious, but even negative emotions were deeply hidden.

Therefore, Prarese easily realized from his unusual behavior that the professor was angry—angry at her recklessness, at her arrogance, and at her lack of responsibility for her own life.

Praris is also feeling guilty now. Moody already had a lot of prejudice against Death Eaters, and now he's probably even more eager to find fault with the professor.

Her behavior caused trouble for the professor, making his situation even more difficult. The professor didn't say a word, only hoping she would improve and recognize her problems.

This is another reason why Praris couldn't help but get angry at Draco. If only Draco had thought things through before acting!

Well, that's what she wanted to say to herself too.

I really don't know what got into her. Maybe if she had calmed down a bit, there would have been a better solution, but she still unconsciously raised her wand.

The unpleasant conversation finally came to an end, and Professor Snape said in a low voice, "Is there anything else that's bothering you?"

“No more,” Praris said.

Snape looked her over carefully and said calmly, "It would be best to do that and call the one outside in."

Praliss didn't ask him how he knew Draco was outside; she and Professor Snape always had this unspoken understanding.

Alas—

Draco, who was leaning against the wall in a daze, suddenly turned his head to look at her. He opened his mouth, as if to say something.

Praris glared at him: "Go inside!"

Draco, realizing he was in the wrong, went inside without saying a word.

Praliss didn't have to wait long before Draco came out again, earning himself two weeks of confinement.

Confinement, which sounds serious, actually means not being able to go back to the dormitory after class and having to stay in the office to complete the punishment tasks assigned by the professor.

Hogwarts' punishments are very flexible. If Draco is punished by Moody, he'll probably suffer a lot; if Professor McGonagall punishes him, he won't get through it easily either.

However, Praris's actions rejected both of these possibilities.

As a student who hadn't really done anything wrong, Prarese used treatment as an excuse to take Draco away, interrupting the professors' process of giving him punishment.

After all, Prarese only felt that Professor Moody's punishment was against the school's rules, and strictly speaking, he wasn't wrong.

Moody's physical altercation with students is more deserving of criticism.

Now, she takes Draco to Professor Snape and successfully transfers the power of punishment to the head of the house.

Two weeks of confinement?

At best, it would be chopping herbs in the office, easier than Praris's usual job. Ultimately, it's not impossible to minimize the problems and eliminate them altogether, without having to do anything.

Prasris's battle in the foyer greatly shocked the Slytherin students. They had previously thought Prasris's strength lay in potions, but now they realized that Prasris had secretly advanced to the next level.

This is the typical Slytherin's thought; intelligent people think much more.

After fighting Moody, she still had the energy to find an excuse to take Draco away. What kind of extraordinary reaction speed and willpower does that demonstrate?

Prarese was unaware of her classmates' active ideas; she always had things to do, and they were more difficult than last year.

Because Professor Snape decided to have her learn Occlumency.

“Miss, you know a lot, a great deal.” Snape’s expression was serious. “And your mind is still working its magic, consciously or unconsciously digging into every secret in the world you might come across. This is dangerous for you, for us, and for many others.”

Praris immediately realized: "Leech-of-mind?"

Snape said, “Without a doubt. If anyone were to use Legilimency on you, or cast the Imperius Curse on you, then, my lady, a world without secrets would unfold before them.”

“Uh, Professor. I don’t always do that; I’m much better at controlling my thoughts now.”

Prarese defended herself, saying that although she was indeed uncontrollable as a child, she had improved a lot since entering Hogwarts.

Snape sneered: "That's precisely your danger. If you don't control it, the sheer volume of information you gain through Legilimency will overwhelm some people's minds. But the very fact that you've begun to control your thoughts gives some people the opportunity to safely access your ideas."

"How do you determine when you are being leged on and when what's in your head is what others want? By analyzing other people's thoughts? Then your mind will start working wildly again, revealing things that shouldn't be discovered."

Praris immediately realized that this was a vicious cycle!

Ultimately, there is only one key to breaking the cycle: learning the art of brain shut-off.

The simplest and most basic method of brain block is to empty your mind, not to think about anything, not to recall anything, and not to feel anything.

This is similar to Prarese's past training of himself: curbing overthinking and releasing mental constraints at crucial moments are all forms of brain control.

Controlling one's emotions and memories isn't difficult, but controlling one's active thoughts is more challenging. She's used to thinking, used to stirring up storms in the ocean of her consciousness. To completely empty her mind is like pulling her spinal cord out of her body.

Professor Snape told her, "I will enter your brain and examine your resistance."

The whole process was chaotic, and neither the professor nor she wanted to talk about what happened.

Prareas swore he was really trying to control his mind. But perhaps things had gone too far, and the extremely suppressed thoughts burst open like a suitcase stretched to its limit, quickly pushing Professor Snape out.

Praris couldn't help but think that it was another deathly silence, and that this was happening far too frequently lately.

She wondered what the professor would see. Hopefully, it wouldn't be something that warranted solitary confinement. She still had many spells to master; it would be more worthwhile to spend her time on that.

To be honest, Prarese really didn't know what memories, thoughts, or emotions he had just revealed.

Even the most well-known bibliophiles cannot know the contents of every single book; at most, they may know who bought the book from.

Moreover, Praris also has memories that were passively locked away, an unorganized compressed file containing Winnie's Spells, and a collection of monastery family buckets that she unearthed during her childhood.

Praris stammered, "Professor, I...I didn't mean to, really."

Professor Snape said nothing, but turned his back to her and remained silent.