HP Starlight

With the Halloween party over, Esther's hopes are dashed.Owl didn't come back with her permission form on time, and she probably had no hope of going to Hogsmeade.

"Maybe you should go to the owl shack, maybe an owl is flying there with your permission form," Orion suggested.

"It's too late, curfew will be coming soon. I don't want Filch to get caught." Esther was about to give up.

"You can wear my cloak, you know." Orion leaned into Est's ear and said.

Esther was a little moved.She negotiated with her roommate to help her take cover, then donned Orion's invisibility cloak and headed straight for the owl shack.

The Owl Shack is on the top floor of the west tower.In order to facilitate the entry and exit of the messengers, there is no glass on the windows, and the night wind makes the shed even colder.Esther walked around the owl droppings and leftover bones on the ground, but there was no owl she sent away, and there was no Lucinda.She was a little reconciled, since it was here, it would be better to wait, maybe an owl might fly towards her in a while.

She found a relatively hidden corner and huddled there, wrapped the robe tightly around her body and looked out, hoping to see the little figure delivering the letter immediately.Being idle and bored, she began to imitate Professor Babazi's movements and use her fingers to cast spells without a wand.She could only feel the thin power flowing in her body, and it collapsed when it reached her fingers.She tried a few more times and still made no progress.She took out her wand and waved it, and instantly felt the power condensed on the wand.She sighed for a moment, and she really couldn't do without a wand.

The temperature in the tower was getting lower and lower, Esther waved her magic wand to warm herself up, who knew that she fell asleep soon after being warmed up, and even had a dream.In the dream, she got the signature and went to Hogsmeade with her classmates, and then Hogsmeade seemed to become Diagon Alley.She pulled Liona and Orion to order a large ice cream, but when it was served, the ice cream turned into a steaming cauldron.Professor Snape was standing beside her frowning, hitting her on the head with a stir stick.

Esther woke up with a fright and found a big owl standing on top of her and pecking her head again and again.It was the owl she had sent to deliver the message.She angrily took the letter off it, took out a few biscuits and fed it.The owl did not dislike her attitude, and happily ate the biscuits and flew to the shelf to rest.

Esther looked at the sky, it was the darkest time before dawn.She came out of the shed with the letter, and saw a figure hurrying in from the gate of the castle from a distance.

Professor Snape?Esther recognized it at a glance. After all, no one in Hogwarts could walk except him, and there was a gust of wind that toppled his robes.But come back from outside at this time?when did he go out?What are you doing?Esther's questions followed one after another.But that's good, at least knowing that he didn't sleep, you can hand him the signature form, maybe he changes his mind and lets her go?

Esther quickened his pace and rushed down the owl shed, only to find that Professor Snape had already entered the entrance of the dungeon.She waved her wand to make the sound of her footsteps quieter before catching up. She didn't want the headmaster to find out that she didn't come home at night.

Finally Esther caught up with Professor Snape before he entered the door, but she was taken aback by his expression.It was a Professor Snape she had never seen before.The light from the surrounding torches did not add a trace of blood to his face.His pale, empty eyes were as dead as dead.And what makes Esther the most uncomfortable is the grief and grief around her that is captured by her keen perception ability.This emotion clung to her tightly like a thorn, stinging her, making her breathing painful.She was completely controlled by the other party's leaked emotions.She stood there motionless, until Professor Snape disappeared from view.

When Esther recovered, she took a few deep breaths to calm herself down.But the brain is running non-stop, what happened to Professor Snape?What made him so sad?Is it related to going out?The inhuman, eccentric black-robed professor would be sad?Will be sad?

But Esther didn't have too long to be curious, and she needed to decide as soon as possible whether she wanted to fight for another chance to go to Hogsmeade.

Esther hesitated briefly and decided to take the risk.She walked to the door of Professor Snape's office and knocked lightly a few times.

The door opened in response, and Professor Snape was sitting behind the desk as usual, his sharp eyes cast on Esther from his dark eyes, and he was completely different from before.Even the suppressed emotions around him disappeared.

This is different from what I thought, and Esther was taken aback.In just a few minutes, it changed into a completely different look. Is the person I saw just now and the person sitting here sure the same person?Esther couldn't react for a while, just stood at the door in a daze.

"Miss Collins, I hope you really have something important to get you up early in the morning, or - at all - to go to bed?" Professor Snape's voice made Esther feel a hint of danger.She put all her energy into thinking about what she was going to say.

"I'm sorry, Professor, for disturbing you so early. It was too late when I received the permission form last night, and you were not there when I was looking for you." Esther wanted to use Snape's going out to create a last chance to go to Hogsmeade .She bet that Professor Snape had left the castle last night, so it wasn't her fault for not turning in the form on time.

Snape frowned at Esther, and after a while said, "Take it here."

Esther handed over the permission form apprehensively, and found that there was a pure white lily on the desktop where there were usually only piles of papers.In a room full of slime and taxidermy, this living flower stands out.

Esther couldn't help but think of Professor Snape's grief just now.Did you pay homage to someone last night?Esther thought.But she didn't dare to ask any more questions, she just said cautiously, "Professor, can I go to Hogsmeade today?"

"Okay." Professor Snape said nothing more.

"Thank you, Professor." Esther controlled herself not to be overly excited, and cheered silently until the office door closed behind her.

Esther took another catch-up sleep before everyone got up, which made her feel better.After breakfast, Esther stood in the queue and waited for Hogsmeade with her classmates.Filch took a long list and checked them one by one. When he saw Esther, he deliberately looked at the list for a long time, as if hoping to erase her name with his eyes.

"Congratulations on our coming to Hogsmeade, let's have a toast." Leona in the Three Broomsticks said with a smile to Esther and Orion holding a butter beer.

Esther clinked her glass in response, and then took a long gulp, with a ring of white foam hanging from her mouth.

"Hahaha, you are the old man with a white beard." Leona said with a happy smile, and then took a big sip to let herself wear a "beard".Orion looked at Leona with a shallow smile, and seemed to be very happy.

Since everyone was very novel when they came for the first time, they visited almost all the shops and even visited the screaming shack from afar.By the time they got back to Hogwarts, their pockets were full of Honeydukes and Zonko's Joke Shop.

On the second weekend after returning from Hogsmeade, Hogwarts ushered in the first and most gunpowder-flavored Quidditch match-Slytherin vs. Gryffindor.

Gryffindor's lineup has been greatly adjusted this time. The newly added female Chaser and a pair of twin batsmen make the Slytherins feel difficult.

"Collins, can't you just get out of line with the other guys, the Bludgers they hit you break up our lineup every time," Rivers snarled angrily.

Esther was also very angry. She was looking for the Snitch, and it was impossible to focus on everyone on the court.Moreover, the twins on the opposite side were obviously quick-witted and quick-moving, and they kept hitting the Bludger towards her, restricting her movement.She didn't even blame her companions for not being able to come and help her out, they had an opinion first.

Fortunately, the seeker on the opposite side was not strong, and was swayed left and right by Este during the fight.By the time he steadied his broomstick, Esther had caught the Snitch, ending the race.

Esther and her friends finally got used to the study life of the third grade slowly.But that doesn't mean they're happy about it.

Leona looked at the Ash Snake scurrying around in the ice and snow, feeling desperate.When she first took the class, she was thinking about fluffy animals.But after three months, apart from the invisible creatures, the ones that can be seen are more terrifying than the other.Esther had a great time, blocking the way of the fire gray snake from time to time, and secretly making the magic fire grow more vigorously, hoping to get a few fire gray snake eggs.

Orion is also often annoyed by ancient runes.Every time he bites the quill pen and thinks hard, trying to connect the translated words into understandable sentences, it makes him feel that his hair is about to fall out.

The arithmetic and divination chosen by Esther is okay, if it doesn't require a dozen parchments for each calculation.In one assignment, she broke two quill pens in order to deduce the possibility of the future.

Among the compulsory courses, the one that shocked them the most was Professor Babazi's Defense Against the Dark Arts class.Because of the different ways of casting spells, Professor Babazi would unconsciously ignore the movement of swinging the stick, and the demonstrations were mostly replaced by gestures.This prevents them from casting most of their spells.In addition, every time Professor Babazi mentioned the content of the previous courses, he would think that they had already seen it, but in fact they had only seen the spelling of the names of those monsters.

"I believe you have seen your own fears last semester, haven't you?" Professor Babazi looked at the unresponsive students with an exaggerated expression, "Didn't you learn Boggarts last semester? Well, that's actually quite Simple, it doesn't matter if you haven't seen it. We're going to talk about the real scary creature in this class-the dementor. Does anyone know anything about dementors?"

"They guard Azkaban," someone said.

"They'll suck happiness and make people despair," said another.

"What you say is true to the children. Dementors are one of the darkest creatures in the world. They feed on people's happiness and hope, leaving only despair and pain. They have no eyes and use their senses to judge their position. Also say Muggles can't see them, but they can feel them." What Professor Babazi said seemed to be no different from textbooks, "To be honest, there is no such thing in my hometown, they can't survive in the tropics. But as A kind of dark creature, you still need to understand."

No wonder it was like an endorsement, he had never seen it before.The Slytherins were a little dissatisfied.

"The only way to resist the dementors is the Patronus Charm, the incantation 'Calling the Guardian'." He gestured in the air with his hand, and a silver cheetah gradually formed in the air, running around them. "This spell is a response to your positive emotions. We don't use it against dementors in Ouagadu, but we use it against Voldebats.

"My Patronus you see is a cheetah. This is the physical form of the Patronus Charm. Everyone is different. Of course, you may not be very formed when you learn it at the beginning. But it doesn't matter, everyone can practice it now."

I don't know if it's because Professor Babazi didn't explain the movement of the wand clearly, or the spell is too difficult. In short, no one can summon even a trace of silver mist before the end of get out of class.

When Professor Snape came to the common room at night, the Slytherins were sitting by the fireplace complaining about Professor Babazi's teaching methods.

"He doesn't teach us wand movements, it's all gestures," the junior Slytherin complained.

"He's always using silent spells without knowing it, without even telling us which spell he's going to use." The senior Slytherins complained too.

"I always thought—" Professor Snape said lazily, seemingly indifferent to everyone's complaints, "Slytherin students have their own way of learning Defense Against the Dark Arts and don't completely rely on the professor. The wand action book is very clear, and senior students can also guide you. Silent spells are a must-have skill, and you can’t expect the opponent to shout out spells in battle. This is not the reason why you can’t learn it.”

"But the Patronus Charm he taught us today, no one in the senior grades will know it." said Brst, who was in Esther's class.

"That is indeed a profound spell. It doesn't matter if you don't learn it, it's beyond the class, you just need to understand it. Even adult wizards, few can truly and completely release the Patronus." Professor Snape said blankly explain.

"Professor, do you know how to do it? Can you demonstrate the wand movement for us?" Burst said unwillingly.

With an elusive expression on Professor Snape's face, he hissed, "I don't think your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is himself, Miss Burst." Then he turned and walked out of the common room.

During the Christmas vacation, Esther couldn't figure it out after thinking over and over again.Although Professor Snape was strict and even harsh, he would agree to most of the Slytherins' demands for study.What's more, he is a well-known person who has a lot of research on black magic. A mere Patronus Charm should be easy for him.But he turned down Burster's request.won't he?It is said in the book that black wizards really cannot release the Patronus Charm and will be backlashed.Would Hogwarts allow a dark wizard to be a teacher, or even a head?

But if he could, why wouldn't he show it?Esther suddenly remembered Professor Snape's intense sadness on Halloween, maybe he didn't have positive emotions?But remembering his sneer when he deducted points from Gryffindors, it still makes him happy, doesn't it?

Sadness, happiness, emotions, Esther's thoughts were mixed together.

"What are you thinking? You've been in a daze for a long time." Aunt Connie handed Esther a glass of eggnog.

"Some emotions have something to do with magic." Esther said vaguely.

"It's really complicated. The release of many magics is affected by emotions, and some magics are designed to cover up and hide thoughts and emotions." Aunt Connie also took a sip of eggnog.

"Hiding emotions? What kind of magic is that?" Esther seemed to have found the reason for the huge changes in Professor Snape that morning.

"It's a kind of magic called Occlumency, which is used to seal one's mind, to prevent being spied on by another magic called Legilimency, to protect one's thoughts and feelings, or to avoid the influence of Legilimency on oneself." Aunt Connie explained.

"Can I practice?" Esther was very interested.She remembered being unable to move by Professor Snape's emotions last time, and she felt that it was necessary for her to practice to avoid encountering this situation again.

"Of course, I think you are very talented in this kind of magic. After all, you have been able to keep everyone from discovering your magical ability before. This in itself requires a strong control over yourself." Aunt Connie said to her family The talent shown by the younger generation is quite proud.

Aunt Connie found a book about Occlumency for Esther to learn, and also practiced with Esther twice, but Aunt Connie's Legilimency is really not strong, and Esther can hardly resist it.

At the same time, Esther is also training his Legilimency, which is a kind of magic that can be released without a wand. Of course, the effect will be better with a wand.But Esther's object of practice is the Muggles on the street, and it doesn't need strong magic.Although this is somewhat unethical, Slytherin never regards morality as the first standard.Of course, she also has a bottom line, and she will not tell others the secrets she has discovered.

Christmas is always the busiest. In addition to researching new magic, Esther also has to do shopping for her not-too-long gift list.She likes to give books to her friends. For example, last year she gave her roommates the autobiography "I Can Be Magical" by the author of the best-selling magic book. This gift was well received.Author Gilderoy Lockhart is very diligent and has published seven books.Esther desperately wanted him to keep up that pace so she wouldn't have to worry about her gift list for years to come.

Aunt Connie's gloves, the professors' cards, Harry's candy pack.In addition, inspired by the arithmetic and divination class, she gave Professor Snape a quill pen, and the writing was really useless.

But she didn't get a chance to deliver Harry's Christmas present until she returned to Hogwarts.In the past, at Christmas, he would always find a chance to come out and play with Esther.But this year, his aunt's family seems to take him very seriously.She had to give the gift to Aunt Connie to give her a chance to pass it on to Harry.

After the festival, Hogwarts is covered in silver and shining with crystal light.The students all happily stepped into the school gate and shared interesting stories about the holiday with each other.Esther also followed Leona and Orion and listened to them chatting as they walked.Orion is much more talkative now, occasionally cracking some bad jokes.In fact, those jokes were really cold, but Leona was always overjoyed.Esther vaguely felt that the two of them seemed to be developing beyond friendship.She was happy for them and wondered if they found it out for themselves.

"What's wrong with you? You seem to be different, what happened at home?" After separating from Leona, Orion asked Esther quietly.From the last time I heard that Esther's broken family was related to the Death Eaters, Orion always avoided talking about their respective families. I don't know why he took the initiative to mention it this time.

"It's okay, what's the matter?" Esther asked in confusion.

"Oh, really. As long as you're fine. I just feel that you are different from before the holiday. It's just a feeling, it's nothing." Orion didn't ask much when he saw that Esther was fine.

Esther didn't intend to hide it from him, and said with a smile, "It seems that my Occlumency has worked."

Orion asked in surprise, "What did you say? Occlumency? How did you know this magic?"

"Aunt Connie taught me, and Legilimency. I'm also practicing, but my own progress is very slow. Do you want to practice with me?" Esther said casually, guessing that Orion would not be willing Expose your thoughts to her.

"I still can't," Wilkes refused very simply, "I don't think I can learn."

"I also think you don't want to practice with me, maybe I should call Leona. Are you more interested in what's going on in her mind?" Esther looked teasingly at Orion, who was blushing.

Suddenly, a burst of ridicule behind them froze the two of them in place, "I didn't know that Miss Collins's arrogance had happened again. She wanted to secretly practice forbidden spells with her classmates when she was in the third grade. One of them was Gryffindor."

Esther and Orion turned their heads and found that Professor Snape was looking at them with raised eyebrows, as if giving them a chance to defend themselves.

"We—we don't know, professor, we don't know it's a forbidden spell. Yes—I'm sorry, professor." Esther said stutteringly, she didn't expect to be caught by the dean just after she came back.

"'Don't know' is always a perfect excuse to avoid responsibility, isn't it?" said Professor Snape languidly, "but it's a pity that this excuse doesn't work in my case. As your Head Master I have to take precautions Congratulations, Miss Collins, on your week of confinement, come to my office at six o'clock tomorrow night, don't be late."

Looking at Professor Snape's swinging robe, Esther really wanted to step on it.Orion patted Esther on the shoulder helplessly, comforting her and said, "I will borrow you to copy my homework, and so will Leona."