HP North Star's Radiance

Pansy patted Praris on the shoulder: "What is she whispering about? Is there something we can't hear?"

“No, it’s what Gryffindor can’t hear,” Praris said, stopping her eating.

“We’re not Gryffindor,” Pansy said, looking a little unhappy.

Praris raised an eyebrow, looked at her, then at Malfoy, and suddenly realized: "If Malfoy thinks it necessary, he will tell you."

At the Gryffindor dinner table.

“They must be plotting something. That Slytherin girl and Malfoy just looked at you,” Ron said.

Harry poked at the sausage, head down, and said in a low voice, "Is it possible that she's just talking badly about me?"

"Why would you think that? But it's normal for Slytherins to talk bad about you," Ron said, looking puzzled.

“When I went to get the book today, you know, I witnessed that! I ran into Prince when I ran out,” Harry said, sounding a little guilty.

“Is Prince that girl?” Ron asked.

"No, it's the one next to her with her hair up."

"Then why her...?" Ron couldn't understand.

"Because she was there too."

Ron mumbled between bites, "I always feel like she'll make Malfoy cause you trouble."

Ron was right; the next day was Harry's first Quidditch match.

Slytherin hastily made a banner that read "Potter Will Lose," placing it below "Slytherin Will Win," and the lettering was even larger than the "Gryffindor Will Win" banner made by Gryffindor. As soon as the Gryffindor players came out, the Slytherins immediately booed in unison.

Stella reserved a seat for Praris and Millison, near the teacher, and as she chatted with Professor Sinister, she said, "I'm betting a Galleon on Slytherin to win."

“Oh, this is bad practice, Stuart! Look, Professor Snape is glaring at us,” Professor Sinister said with a smile to Snape in the middle of the stands. “Severus, believe me, I absolutely did not agree to her.”

As soon as Snape turned to look at the arena, Sinister whispered, "You bet on Slytherin, what should I bet on!"

“You can bet on Gryffindor!” Stuart winked playfully.

Sinister said helplessly, "But Slytherin has won many times already. Fine, fine, one Galleon, Gryffindor."

“Pry, Bosde, are you joining us?” Stuart asked, looking at the two of them.

Praris shook his head: "I'll pass."

Millison pondered for a moment: "I bet on Gryffindor."

“Bersd, you’ve betrayed the organization!” Stewart exclaimed in surprise.

Millison shook his head: "No, Praris mentioned a concept called risk hedging. If Slytherin wins, I'm happy for everyone, it's not a loss. If Gryffindor wins for the first time ever, I'll barely make some money to compensate for my wounded heart."

Senesta laughed, momentarily losing her voice: "Prince, Burst, you two are hilarious! Oh, that scared me to death, Professor Snape turned around and glared at me!"

“Aren’t you a teacher? Why are you afraid of Professor Snape?” Millison found it unbelievable.

Praris, holding up his binoculars, said, "The teacher was a student once too."

Sinister readily accepted: "Plareze is right. Hogwarts is a wonderful place; it often reminds me of my student days, and I often forget that I am now a teacher."

"You guys, stop chatting and focus on the game," Stella said, drawing everyone's attention back to the match.

Professor Sinister nudged Stella and said disdainfully, "You're the one who talks the most, and you're also the one who makes us take things seriously!"

Strangely, Prarese, still holding the binoculars, thought to himself, "Something seems off with Porter's broom."

Prareas had been looking at Marcus, their prefect. But just as she turned to Potter, Potter's broom suddenly started acting up, nearly throwing him off several times.

But this doesn't look like a broom going out of control. According to the cases in the book, a broom going out of control would at most cause him to rush in a certain direction or fall down, rather than repeatedly throwing Porter down.

This should be told to the teacher, but he is a Gryffindor, and it's a Slytherin vs. Gryffindor match now.

What if her overflowing compassion saves Potter, thus hindering Marcus's chances of winning? Conversely, what if she pretends not to see and lets Potter fall off the broom and die?

Prarese felt she couldn't make the decision, so she stood up and tried to walk down to Professor Snape, who was a little below her, to let him make the decision.

After all, Professor Snape was the head of Slytherin.

Hermione and Ron also noticed Harry's unusual behavior. Hermione believed that Snape was casting a curse that affected the broom, and she decided to solve the problem by setting Snape's robes on fire.

The stands were crowded, and Hermione was in a hurry. She accidentally bumped into Professor Quirrell and knocked him down in the front row, without even having time to apologize.

Just as Hermione had successfully set Professor Snape's robes ablaze while crouching next to him, and turned to take a few steps with her head down, a wand was pointed at her and stopped in front of her.

"I thought you were a kind and warm-hearted person, but you've really surprised me. Is this your and Potter's conspiracy? To take advantage of his illness and harm our Dean?"

Hermione looked up and saw Prasley Prince from Slytherin, the girl who had helped her and Neville find the toad.

Just as they were facing off, Harry Potter's excited voice suddenly rang out from the sky: "I've caught the Snitch!"

The Slytherin common room was filled with a somber mood.

Millison, holding the Galleon she had won, said dejectedly, "I'm not comforted at all!"

Meanwhile, Prarese next to her was holding Milison's kitten Nina, stroking its fur over and over again, recalling what had happened on the field.

Praliss took two steps down, intending to find Professor Snape to rescue Harry Potter. Just then, she saw a furtive figure: someone was crouching next to Professor Snape, casting a Fire Charm, and about to leave!

Prareas glanced at the terrain, took a couple of steps around, and blocked her only escape route. To her surprise, the thief was none other than Hermione Granger from Gryffindor.

Without hesitation, Praris pointed his wand at her and uttered that question.

Hermione panicked a little, afraid that Snape would discover what she had done: "No, I have a reason for doing this. Let me go first, and I will tell you later."

Prareas, of course, refused, but Hermione vowed she would give Prareas an explanation. Under Hermione's pleading gaze, Prareas told herself: I just want to hear what she has to say.

However, it wasn't long before Malfoy indirectly avenged Professor Snape and Prader.

Malfoy provoked Potter, and during the argument, he knocked over a flowerpot, "casually" splattering dirt everywhere, and then ran away. Before Harry Potter could react, he was met with Filch's angry face and was punished by having to clean the toilet.

Milison said cheerfully, "This is the only good news lately. Well done, Malfoy."

Ever since Potter knocked Prareas away, Millison has rapidly become Malfoy-like, and coupled with her Slytherin Quidditch failure, she's now a complete anti-Potter. Prareas, on the other hand, hasn't shown much reaction.

“Millie,” Praris shook her head. “An eye for an eye. Harry Potter bumped into me, but Draco helped me get it back. Let’s just consider this the end of it.”

Millison said incredulously, "I'm standing up for you."

“Yes, but that’s enough,” Praris said, putting down the watering can. “Ultimately, we have more to do than keep focusing on people we hate. If I keep reading and doing homework, I’ll get an O. If I keep targeting Potter, what will I get? A medal? The Order of the Anti-Potter?”

Moreover, Harry Potter didn't do it on purpose, at least not in the case of knocking Prader.

As darkness fell, Praris told Millison that she had something to do by herself and asked her to go back to her dorm first.

Hermione Granger kept her promise and waited for her on the terrace of the Astronomy Tower.

“Prareth,” Hermione said, turning around.

Praris emerged from the shadows: "It's me."

“Um, Harry asked me to apologize on his behalf. He didn’t bump into you on purpose,” Hermione said, setting the stage for the conversation.

Praris didn't say anything: "Okay, and then?"

“You might not believe what I’m about to say, but it’s true. You may not have seen it, but when I did that, Harry’s broom was getting out of control,” Hermione stammered.

Praris didn't seem surprised at all: "Yes, and then what are you trying to say? You're not going to say that Potter's broom was controlled by Professor Snape, and that you burned the professor to save Harry Potter, are you?"

"You really are a smart person!" Hermione thought, recalling what had happened in the carriage. Explaining it to Praris was surprisingly easy!

“I think I know what you’re thinking, but I’d say you’re wrong,” Praris said coldly. “If Professor Snape wanted Harry Potter dead, he wouldn’t have needed to cast a spell on him in front of so many people. He had plenty of ways to make Harry Potter die without anyone knowing.”

“How do you explain that Harry was able to control the broom shortly after Snape discovered the fire?” Hermione exclaimed angrily. “Is it all just a coincidence?!”

Prarese shook his head: "I don't know who's affecting the broom, but it can't be Professor Snape. I've been watching the game, and when Potter's broom went out of control, Professor Sinesta said that Professor Snape glared at her because Professor Sinesta had joined Stuart's little bet."

Hermione paused for a moment: "But you're a Slytherin, you'll definitely defend Snape."

"Could it be that Professor Sinister is also a Slytherin?"

"Perhaps all of the things you mentioned happened, but not at the same time."

Prareas realized he couldn't convince Hermione: "You just don't believe me. In that case, nothing I say will make a difference."

Chapter 11 The Professors' Concern

Prader and Hermione's conversation ended badly; they each held their own opinions and couldn't be persuaded by the other. However, they both tacitly refrained from mentioning it to anyone.

As the weather grew colder, a thick layer of ice formed on the surface of the Black Lake, and the underground Slytherin common room was so cold that it made one shiver.

Marcus would have everyone light the fireplace early, and the Slytherins would gather in the common room to brew tea and chat.

“This is amazing,” Milison exclaimed.

Praris placed the enchanted fire into the bottle containing the potion. The bottle, placed nearby, emitted a faint warmth. This way, even those seats farther from the fireplace were not cold.

This magical fire is called the Gloriosa Flame, invented by a Southeast Asian sorcerer. They have a plant called the Flame Lily, also known as the Gloriosa. The Gloriosa has fiery red flowers and a yellowish-green calyx, which is the prototype for this magic.

Of course, like the Gloriosa lily, this flame is poisonous. Upon contact with a person, it will cause burns along with mild numbness and weakness in the limbs. However, since it is not a real Gloriosa lily, this effect only lasts for a few minutes.

However, without contact with an object, the Gloriosa flame can burn for at least four hours without going out, depending on the spellcaster's ability. Because of its tendency to easily trigger fires and its difficulty in learning to burn, it is not frequently used.

But Prareus used this property to keep Slytherin warm.

Daphne exhaled a puff of white breath: "Come on, we're not snakes. In this cold weather, are we really going to hibernate?"

“This cold world needs Plea,” Milison said, pressing his hands against the jar.

Interestingly, there was a Slytherin wizard who grew up on the Mediterranean coast and had never seen a snowy winter. In his naivety, he saw the sun come out one day and wanted to go to the grass to air his blankets, only to find that the blankets had frozen solid.

“I don’t understand, why would you want to air out your blankets?! We’re wizards!” Marcus said incredulously.

The little wizard said, "The sun-dried blankets smell of sunshine, and I thought they would be very warm."

The Slytherins burst into laughter.

As a result, Marcus asked the older Slytherin for an extra blanket to use.

Malfoy shook his head and patted him on the shoulder: "Don't go out and say you're a Slytherin."

The young wizard was terrified, and Praris quickly translated from English to comfort him: "He means he dislikes you, not that you can't actually say you're a Slytherin."

The little wizard wasn't comforted at all!

Prarese and Malfoy's relationship is much better now; Prarese doesn't argue with him anymore, and he doesn't get so angry that he turns into a pufferfish.

Winter had arrived, and Ms. Sprout had replaced her herbs with more hardy ones. However, since there weren't many hardy plants, she didn't really need Praris's help.