HP North Star's Radiance

Now, she even faces a future where she might be separated from Draco because of her bloodline!

……

A multitude of thoughts raced through Praris's mind, like Cornish elves released from their cages.

Kindness... what good have these things brought to her and her loved ones? Why should she treasure them?

If Professor Snape had been less kind and acted as recklessly as the Carroll siblings, he could have avoided some unnecessary suffering.

Those people call him a murderer and Voldemort's lackey, right? Then let's just confirm it!

"Tired?" Draco asked in a low voice. "Then let's go back to the castle."

Praris looked up and asked, "What do you think of... what I did today?"

"What happened today?" Draco asked. "You mean, the Cruciatus Curse on Longbottom?"

"Is there anything else worth mentioning?"

“Good, nothing else.” Draco thought for a long time before saying, “In my opinion, this isn’t like you.”

"How to say?"

“Crawb angered you,” Draco said slowly. “Pansy thought you turned Crabb into a horned toad and were going to cut off his arms and legs. But you didn’t; you just turned his shrunken toes back to their original size.”

“Harper annoyed you too.” Draco said, a gleeful smile spreading across his face at the rival who wasn’t even worthy of being called a rival. “You only managed to make him stink, and you even managed to cure him. I bet you have plenty of ways to make him stink for the rest of his life.”

“In short, you’re not acting like a Slytherin at all,” Draco said. “If I were as strong as you, Potter would know what it means to be defeated.”

"The greater the power," a familiar voice seemed to echo in Praris's mind, "the more restraint is needed."

Surprisingly, Praris couldn't recall whose words they were, and quickly put them out of his mind.

On the other side, Ginny rushed into the school infirmary, ignoring Barron's warning that "no chasing or roughhousing here," and suddenly lifted the white curtain in front of Neville's bed.

Ginny, panting heavily, after mentally preparing herself, saw Neville lying blankly on the bed, staring at her.

"You're—alright?" Ginny's voice trailed off as Neville fell silent. "What happened? I heard from Seamus and the others that Praris tortured you with the Cruciatus Curse during Defense Against the Dark Arts class! I can't believe it!"

“More or less,” Neville said, panting heavily, almost igniting Ginny’s temper. “But she didn’t torment me.”

Neville had thought about this matter carefully.

The first to be challenged to a duel were Crabbe and Seamus, with Seamus having no expectation of resisting the Crucifixion.

If Amicus Caro makes the decision, coupled with a ruthless Crabbe, it could lead to irreversible consequences.

"So she challenged me to a duel." Neville even suspected that he might be part of Praris's plan. "Hermione said that she had extremely precise control over magic. She must have been certain that she could use the Crucifixion Charm without causing me irreversible mental damage."

No one present was a better choice than Neville. Because of his parents, he had sufficient knowledge of the Cruciatus Curse, and through years of hatred for the Death Eaters, he had developed the ability to resist it.

Ginny exclaimed in amazement, "I have no idea how she did it! It's almost... almost impossible."

The Cruciatus Curse can only be released by having the thought of torturing someone. How did she manage to have the thought of torturing someone without actually cruelly torturing them, and still be able to stop?

This is just as contradictory as Praris Prince himself!

But Prasris's plan was indeed very effective. She successfully used the Cruciatus Curse on Gryffindor, interrupted the class, and kept Amycus entangled in the infirmary by Madam Pomfrey, preventing him from continuing his lessons.

“She gave us a wake-up call!” As the new initiator of the DA, Neville felt a strong sense of responsibility for this rebuilt organization. “This week, we must find a way to strengthen the DA’s willpower and ability to resist dark magic. Praris can help us escape once, but there can’t be a second time.”

"I wish Harry were here," Ginny said, missing her boyfriend a little. "He's the best at this."

“I miss Harry too,” Neville said with some worry. “I wonder how he’s doing out there—those of us who stayed at school can’t hold Harry back!”

"Ginny, how did you manage to contact Praris last time? Could you ask her if there's any way to resist dark magic?"

Ginny doubted Neville would believe it was just a matter of luck. But if she were to approach Praris… oh, right! Myrtle! She could ask Praris through Myrtle.

Ginny couldn't help but sigh, no wonder Hermione trusted Prader; she was truly a reliable and powerful ally!

A reliable and powerful ally is doing unreliable things.

Back at the castle, Praris felt an itch to practice the dark magic she remembered.

Praris managed to suppress those rebellious and dangerous thoughts. But her eagerness to experiment with dark magic hadn't ended.

To be honest, Praris felt that since they were all magic, there was no difference between studying black magic and studying other types of magic; the only difference was that black magic was more powerful and dangerous.

Chapter 230 The Influence of Black Magic

Black magic is a relatively complex concept.

In a narrow sense, black magic mainly includes curses, as well as some extremely cruel magic that can cause permanent damage.

The former mainly refers to unforgivable curses and blood curses, etc.

While the latter may not be considered unforgivable, it is still regarded as black magic due to its characteristics, such as Fiendfire, which can devour everything but is extremely easy to lose control of.

The Shadowstep spell, invented by Professor Snape and capable of leaving permanent wounds, is also in this category. However, because this spell has hardly been used, it is not well-known and does not belong to the category of dark magic familiar to the general public.

Black magic, in a broader sense, also includes other offensive spells. These spells are categorized as poison spells and evil spells.

Among them, poison curses are classified as illegal, even more evil than evil curses, and their essence is closer to the narrow definition of black magic. Examples include the transfiguration torture curse mentioned by Lockhart, the gut-pulling curse invented by Urquhart Harallow, and the skull-expanding curse that can enlarge a person's head, etc.

The original intention of a curse is not necessarily malicious. Harallo was actually a healer who invented the Gut-Removing Curse out of the idea of ​​facilitating treatment.

There are also some lethal spells permitted for use in duels, which are less effective than poison spells and are called evil spells. Examples include thunderous explosions, flying sand and stones, and obstacles.

Unlike the yellow sandstorm that Praris uses to confuse others, the flying sand and stones are enough to destroy objects and even seriously injure opponents.

This has given rise to some legal issues related to wizardry, such as: which is more serious, using the Cruciatus Curse on a wizard without causing death, or using a Thunderclap Explosion to cause death? The former is a red line in wizardry law, while the latter directly involves a living human life.

The latter may seem more serious, but in wizarding legal practice, there is not much difference in the judgments for the two.

Because a wizard's power is highly tied to their emotions and soul, even a weakened Unforgivable Curse is extremely malevolent and painful. Using it corrupts the caster's soul, shakes their mind, and exposes them to potential dark temptations, triggering their darker side.

Therefore, before Voldemort's regime came to power, wizards who used the Unforgivable Curse on people, even if it didn't amount to murder, would be charged and imprisoned in Azkaban if discovered.

As a wizard who did not find pleasure in torturing others, Praris adopted an efficient yet dangerous method in order to gain a fuller understanding and more precise control over the Crucifixion.

She actively amplified and fermented her negative emotions, mimicking the flawed and twisted psychology of Death Eaters like Amycus, immersing herself in malice that made the Cruciatus Curse seem like an extension of her own arm.

The effect of this is very noticeable.

Initially, Praris only understood dark magic theoretically. But everyone knows that theory without practical application is just castles in the air. Now, after an immersive experience with the emotions of a dark wizard, she wields the Cruciatus Curse with ease.

The negative effects of this were that her emotions became more volatile, she became more eager to become stronger, and her interest in dark magic intensified.

Compared to the depravity caused by passive factors, it is more difficult for Praris to resist the corrupting influence of this evil. Because everything she is now is the result of her overconfidence; she has let the wolf into her house, opened the door to malice, and provided fertile ground for negative emotions to sprout.

Praris's family and teachers taught her the power of love. As a result, she consciously or unconsciously forgot her dark past, and easily overlooked foolish prejudices and provocations—there were just too many fools!

Moreover, these things are no longer important to her.

For example, if someone goes astray in their research on advanced potions and questions Praris, she's happy to debate with them and learn together.

But if someone were to discuss with her why Muggles can't make potions, Praris would simply think that person was delusional, looking at them with a calm gaze—what else could it be? Because the reaction for making potions requires the wand to operate!

If you don't even know such a simple and basic concept, then you're just a Muggle who hasn't even taken Potions class and knows nothing, so there's nothing to talk about.

She often views some incredibly foolish provocations with this attitude.

Such restraint and tolerance, when combined with unrestrained indulgence, can easily turn into another extreme. Just as a strictly well-mannered noblewoman in a Muggle opera is more easily seduced into elopement.

Astoria arrived, bringing her homework to be "judged."

In the empty classroom, Praris deftly tossed an apple into the air and caught it perfectly. The next second, the apple was thrown away at incredible speed.

Astoria's gaze never left Praris's movements. She immediately raised her wand and aimed it at the apple diagonally in front of her: "Tear it apart!"

The spell was launched, and the apple reached the location Astoria had predicted, only to be shattered by the magic with a loud bang.

“Not bad.” Praris said slowly, his eyes lowered. “Continue.”

After saying that, she pointed to the fruit plate next to her: "Pears."

"Pear, come here!" Astoria shouted immediately upon receiving the command.

The only pear in the fruit platter flew towards Astoria at incredible speed, and she caught it in a flurry of activity.

“Very well, I’m going to attack you now,” Praris said, but made no move.

"Armor protection!" Astoria reacted in advance upon receiving the command.

The next second, a wild chestnut hit Astoria's armored defenses and fell to the ground.

“Right now, it’s a wild chestnut,” Praris said quietly. “Lia, what if it weren’t a chestnut, but a killing curse?”

The Ironclad Charm can defend against many types of attacks, including most physical and magical damage. However, it has a limit and cannot withstand overly powerful spells, such as the Killing Curse.

The instant the Ironclad Curse appeared, Praris's first thought was to unleash a Killing Curse. That would easily break Astoria's defenses and kill her.

Praris smacked his head in frustration, inwardly cursing himself: What am I thinking? This is Astoria, their little sister whom they've watched grow up!

Praris asked sternly, "Tell me, what should you do?"

Astoria looked down at the tips of her shoes: "Find cover."

"Why didn't you find cover?" Praris pressed.

Astoria looked at Praris with trusting eyes: "But why would you cast a killing curse on me?"

"You know I didn't think that way?" Praris poked Astoria with his index finger, saying with exasperation, "Potter trained Longbottom, but when I used the Cruciatus Curse on Longbottom, he couldn't even react!"

"Once you enter combat, your opponent is your enemy and could potentially kill you. Regardless of whether your opponent shows any signs of using the Killing Curse, you must find cover before engaging in combat, instead of standing idly in open ground. During combat, you should look for opportunities to adjust your position, constantly moving closer to cover, ensuring you can always take cover behind it."

"Are you listening?"

"I'm listening!" Astoria said sweetly, "But this is just practice, we'll just pay attention next time."

“Next time? Leah, life doesn’t offer that many next times. The only valuable thing is this one.” Praris shook his head. “If you always think there’s always a next time when you’re practicing, and you always think you can correct your mistakes next time… when you’re actually facing an enemy, do you think the enemy will be so kind as to allow you another chance?”

Prareas asked herself honestly, if this real enemy were her, and Dumbledore hadn't stopped her, the other person's life would have already come to an end.

“Praris, I… I’m so sorry,” Astoria whispered.

Prarese rarely criticized Astoria. She always offered the girl more praise and patient explanations than serious criticism. Just as Winnie believed in her, Prarese always believed in Lydia's abilities.

Now, she clicked her tongue in annoyance and shook her head: "Why are you apologizing to me? Leah, your life is your own. Just be true to yourself."

"Come on—let's continue!"

Next, the two of them practiced some other practical offensive and defensive spells. Astoria performed very well, remembering to leave herself a way out while attacking; her only drawback was that she seemed unusually tense.

After practice, Astoria sat on the table opposite Praris, her hands supporting her sides, and looked up at her.