HP North Star's Radiance

Two figures cloaked in black hurried across the cobblestone path in front of Malfoy Manor. After experiencing Voldemort's methods, the Dementors, which Praris had previously found chilling, now felt strangely cool to him from afar.

As Prarese walked, he recalled that Professor Snape was not the problem; the real problem was Voldemort's choice of the location for Prarese's experiments.

Because of the irreplaceable value of the Hogwarts Library, especially the Forbidden Section, Voldemort decided that Prasris's initial data collection, literature research, theoretical deduction, and the stages that did not involve core secrets would all be completed at Hogwarts. However, all the core experiments that directly involved the soul in the later stages had to be moved to Malfoy Manor.

Voldemort was not averse to taking risks, but all risks had to be within his control.

On her second encounter with the Dementors, Praris realized that her back—the clothes beneath her cloak—was completely soaked. Sweat drenched her shirt and robe, causing Praris to shiver slightly in the Dementors' chill.

Prareas didn't have time to think too much. He subconsciously maintained his Occlumency and followed Snape's footsteps, quickly leaving the area around Malfoy Manor.

Only when she reached the Muggle neighborhood was Praris's tense nerves allowed a moment's relaxation. Instantly, all the suppressed physiological and psychological reactions surfaced; her legs felt weak, and she couldn't help but lean on a lamppost for support.

"Don't stop!" Snape warned Praris sternly. "Others could walk by at any moment!"

The "others" Snape referred to certainly weren't Muggles—this was the path they had taken to Malfoy Manor, and it would be the path other Death Eaters would take. Realizing this, Praris nodded slightly, tensed his nerves again, and mustered his strength to continue.

Finally, the two arrived at the place where they had landed. Snape, carrying Prasris, Apparated back to Hogsmeade Village and entered Hogwarts through the cast-iron gate with the warthog statue.

At Malfoy Manor, Prass's sense of time seemed to be distorted. She thought a great deal of time had passed and that it should be dawn by the time she returned to school, but the clock hands in the moonlight indicated that dawn was still two or three hours away.

Wow, it's worth celebrating! Under such difficult conditions, her night blindness has actually improved significantly. Special thanks to Barney the house-elf!

How strange! Even though half her body was submerged in darkness, her eyes were surprisingly still visible. Praris thought optimistically, perhaps this was a good omen!

Rather than being optimistic, Praris was simply out of options.

Their return only caught the attention of Alecto, who was on night patrol. Alecto's inquiries only earned her a warning from Snape, telling her to refrain from asking about her master's orders.

Alecto glared at their retreating figures with a disgruntled look, then continued his patrol, gritting his teeth and muttering to himself, "I'll have to catch this little rascal and get my revenge!"

In the principal's office.

Prarese sat on the floor, utterly disheveled, his right leg bent, head bowed, panting as if trying to make up for all the breath he had held in the previous hours. Snape, meanwhile, sat silently in his seat, his forehead resting on his clasped hands.

After a long silence, Snape said in a low voice, "Prareth, I'm sorry."

Uh?

Praris paused, looking up at the professor, who seemed somewhat dejected, with a slightly bewildered expression. "Why are you apologizing, sir? It wasn't your fault! To be honest, I thought I'd never be able to go back to Hogwarts. It feels pretty good to be back here!"

This reminded Prarese of what Sinesta had told her: the feeling of being able to go back to school after graduation was absolutely amazing—even though she hadn't graduated yet, and even though Sinesta wasn't going back to her own alma mater.

Snape wasn't the type to reveal his true feelings to others, and he couldn't explain the reason to Prarese.

He wrote to Praris, brought her to the wizarding world, and taught her... Snape's sacrifices were not to make her a Death Eater like himself, nor to lead her into darkness!

No one—no loving elder—would want their child to repeat their own mistakes. All of Snape's efforts with Prader were aimed at preventing her from becoming herself.

But this became a joke as Praris became more and more like himself, to the point that he actually became a Death Eater.

Praris tilted his head, as if he had noticed something, and used his hand to prop himself up to stand up, throwing the hood behind him.

“Sir,” Praris said softly, “this seems to be the first time you’ve called me by my first name when I haven’t done anything wrong. May I consider us more like family?”

Snape stiffened, but did not answer.

“My life—” Praris chuckled softly, “started from a very low point. After surviving, I found life in the monastery bearable. After no longer having to eat black bread and wash clothes in icy water, I thought life would be better than before. I think you, like me, don’t miss the powerless days of being a powerless Muggle.”

"The other sisters in the convent—the two you met, Sophia and Fiona—one became a clerk, and the other remained a nun in the convent. Fiona was unhappy with her profession, but she continued as a nun, albeit somewhat haphazardly. Sophia, on the other hand, was quite content with her profession, because she had earned it herself."

"For me, the power I have now is all earned through my own efforts and abilities. All the choices I made were my own, so there's nothing to regret."

"Sir, I have no regrets or sadness, so I don't want you to regret or be sad for me, okay?"

Snape did not respond, but Prarese, knowing him well, knew he had tacitly agreed.

Praris cast a spell, making her clothes dry—and with a faint fragrance.

Come to think of it, this was Winnie's little housework trick...it's so nostalgic. Winnie's "Household Magic" segment has long been replaced by other contributors. Praris thought somewhat biasedly, none of them did it as well as Winnie.

“Alright.” Snape regained his usual composure. “Miss, let’s review this meeting.”

Chapter 273 Even Heavenly Garments Have a Flaw

Snape wouldn't tell Prarese that she handled it quite well.

Despite Voldemort's repeated attempts to push him along, Prareas managed to withstand the pressure and even carve out some room for himself. Even Snape didn't think he could have done any better... however, he always harbored doubts about Prareas's fabricated identity.

Praris didn't hesitate for a moment when asked about this: "This is nothing to worry about."

Draco, Pansy, and Astoria only knew that Praris was half-blood, and since they were all closely tied to her, they were trustworthy. Even if these three betrayed or tricked her, it would only make Marcus's aunt seem a little rebellious. Anyway, Ella Rozier was always known for her eccentricities and never had a good reputation.

Aside from a few professors and the principal, only Marcus and Stella truly knew the inside story; they were also Praris's guarantors. Revealing the truth would be tantamount to admitting they helped Praris falsify her Muggle-born board registration. This was something even Marcus wouldn't do.

Upon hearing Prarese's assertion, Snape immediately warned her sternly: "Miss, underestimating the enemy and over-trusting allies can be fatal mistakes at crucial moments."

“Understood.” Praris was not one to stick to her own opinions; she nodded slightly. “Sir, I will write to inquire about Marcus’s schedule.”

Stella was a smart woman. As long as Prarees specifically mentioned "cousin" and "aunt"—that is, Marcus's mother—in his letter, Stella would know that it was about the files that required her attention. Even if she didn't think of it immediately, with her traditional politician's keen sense, she would definitely notice the suspicious point of Prarees' concern for Mrs. Flint.

“It’s funny,” Praris said, his words dripping with sarcasm. “Sir, the Dark Lord has asked you to oversee me.”

“That’s because the Dark Lord knows nothing about our relationship!” Snape pointed out again sharply. “That’s a very important point, otherwise he wouldn’t trust you, wouldn’t have involved me in this matter, and certainly wouldn’t have had me monitor you! You should be glad you were cautious enough, not find this ridiculous!”

“Well… not very cautious either.” Praris’s eyes darted around as she said frankly, “Harry, Hermione, and Ron all know about it.”

Snape slowly raised his head.

Praris returned his smile with an awkward one.

Snape said nothing, but it was as if he had said everything. He abruptly threw off his cloak, stood up quickly, facing the windowsill with his back to Praris.

Based on Prasley's understanding of Professor Snape, she guessed he was suppressing his anger. Perhaps he still hadn't forgotten what Prasley had gone through that day, so he ultimately couldn't bring himself to directly reprimand her.

“Sir, I know you don’t like Harry Potter, and you don’t trust them,” Praris said calmly. “But I can’t stand by and watch him use your work to gain fame, even if he didn’t know it was your notebook at the time, even if you had just tossed it aside long ago—but I care.”

"Don't worry," she said calmly. "Harry owes me a bottle of Felix Felicis and a lot of favors, Ron owes Bill Weasley his face, and Hermione... needless to say. She's rational enough to know my importance and has promised to keep it a secret. Besides, the whole world knows they don't get along with me, so who would believe their nonsense?"

Prader's initial act of standing up for Professor Snape was indeed partly impulsive. However, she wasn't naive and wouldn't forget to rectify the situation and resolve the trouble she had caused afterward.

"Didn't you ever consider that Potter's leaky, hole-in-the-headed brain?!" Snape suppressed his anger, pinpointing the problem incisively, "He'll spill everything!"

“Ah—no, not at all,” Praris said softly. “Sir, Harry and I have made an unbreakable vow.”

At that time, Prareas didn't fully understand the meaning of an unbreakable vow, and even attempted to perform magic with only the two of them. If Prareas was like this, Harry was even more ignorant, so the vow they made was actually invalid—yes, without witnesses, a spell cannot be performed, and therefore has no effect.

Later, during Harry's Occlumency training, Prairie deliberately invited Hermione as a witness to complete the ritual and fulfill the promise, for which Hermione teased him.

Therefore, the decision on whether or not to speak out can only be made by Hermione—she is a witness and is capable of making a rational choice based on self-interest rather than emotion.

It was then that Hermione finally believed that Praris had indeed grown up in the Muggle world, and that all of these spells and potions were learned by Praris himself, rather than through the influence of his family environment.

Hermione was surprised to discover that Prader wasn't omniscient and omnipotent, and that he could make mistakes too! Compared to the stereotypical image of him as omnipotent, this Prader seemed more real and relatable to her.

Snape stood by the window with his eyes closed, unable to understand why even the calm and composed Prareus would do this to him!

But—do you really not know?

Does he really have no idea why Prarese is acting on emotion?

Snape tried his best to avoid thinking about the problem.

In his limited life, no one had ever acted impulsively for him before.

Even Lily... even Lily, when he was publicly humiliated, was too stingy to utter a single "Stop cursing," and instead had to argue with that damned James.

And what about Prarese? It wasn't even a matter of life and death; it was just a notebook that Snape had long since forgotten and tossed aside, yet it made her abandon her composure and stand up for his reputation in a place he didn't know about.

Okay, okay, I let my emotions get the better of me!

Snape disliked connecting with people, believing that connection meant being prepared for pain. However, people inevitably have to interact with others, so pain is an inevitable part of life.

He hated this feeling—this child wasn't the same as the one he knew anymore, and all these extra, intense emotions were like those giggling children being led around by their fathers on the streets of London, so noisy they gave him a headache! They had to be ripped out of his head and thrown away immediately!

Snape dismissed these thoughts, then remembered Prareas's words about an "unbreakable vow"—if Potter were to die breaking his promise before the final battle...

"How's Potter's Occlumency training going?"

"Uh, barely passing..."

In Snape's eyes, the phrase "barely passable" was equivalent to "not good enough," even if the evaluation came from Prares's mouth.

“Later, things seemed much better—but I couldn’t verify it.” Praris could only reassure him, “Sir, please rest assured, I made important limitations on the oath. Harry is only ‘not allowed to voluntarily reveal the oath,’ not ‘not allowed to reveal the oath at all.’ After all, what I was worried about at the time was that Harry might casually reveal things related to me for some emotional reason.”

Snape paced back and forth in front of the window.

Becoming a Death Eater was something Pralis could not have foreseen. If she hadn't become one, it would have been merely annoying, not fatal. Under these circumstances, her decision to take the oath was undoubtedly reasonable and prudent—in Snape's eyes, Potter was such an impulsive person that one couldn't afford to be careless.

But now that Prasris has become a Death Eater and occupies such an important position, Voldemort cannot ignore her. Once he learns the truth from Potter's sieve-like mind, both Prasris and he will be in danger.

“Remember, what I’m about to say is important,” Snape said gravely. “We are indeed distant relatives, but I have long used that to control you, to make you do my work, invent and improve potions, and do other things. Therefore, we have both kept this a closely guarded secret.”

“Then, my connection with Harry could very well be Dumbledore’s instruction to you.” Praris quickly picked up the thread, continuing to cover up the lie. “You and Dumbledore are both elders, and your supervision of Harry and the others isn’t comprehensive enough. Therefore, Dumbledore needs someone of my status—that’s why I have dealings with Harry and the others.”

The two of them, talking back and forth, successfully plugged all the holes again. They truly deserve to be called two people who can fake Voldemort's actions.

Regarding Harry, Prader never trusted Harry's self-control. Even if Harry did have the ability to restrain himself, it was still extremely unreliable in the eyes of Prader and Snape.

Prarese trusted four things: the binding force of the oath, the Occlumency technique she herself had taught, Hermione's stabilizing effect, and the Death Eaters' belief that Harry wouldn't believe her... Ultimately, it was Harry's personal morality and self-control.

Among the Death Eaters, the safest secret is the one whose very existence is unknown to anyone. Snape thus established the premise of "keeping it a closely guarded secret," allowing them both a reasonable excuse not to mention it.

Voldemort is certainly interested in Praris, but he is currently more inclined to focus on Praris's research. As long as Voldemort concentrates his attention on potions, he can effectively avoid developing suspicions for no reason.

But what if they were discovered? Snape and Prareas didn't just prevent it beforehand; they also planned for what would happen afterward.

Yes, Prareas could certainly report this to Voldemort himself, thus revealing their relationship. However, Voldemort wouldn't stop at simply believing Prareas's one-sided testimony; he would inevitably continue investigating, making the scope of the truth's revelation unpredictable.

People tend to trust the truth they discover themselves more than they are told. If Voldemort obtained this information because of the connection between Harry and his soul, then he discovered it himself, which is more trustworthy than if Prarese had given it to him willingly.

Thus, in Voldemort's eyes, both Prader and Snape were responding to his questions under duress. Responses received when the person being questioned is emotionally unstable are usually more trustworthy.

Prarese and Snape also made sure to control some of the details to ensure that there would be no discrepancies when they were subjected to Legilimency.

Time slipped away silently, and the dark sky had turned into a lighter blue-purple. Praris had to leave.

Before leaving, she tidied her messy hair in front of the office mirror to avoid arousing the curiosity of classmates who needed to get up at night when she returned.

Looking at his reflection in the mirror, Praris gradually stopped what he was doing and asked hesitantly, "Sir, Sylvia... she doesn't seem to be doing well... is she?"

"You care about her?" Snape sneered.

Praris nodded at first, then quickly shook his head: "To be honest, I neither love her nor hate her. It's just that without her, there would be no me. I also wouldn't know you, Winnie, and Ms. Prie."

Sylvia's actions were far too complex for Praris to summarize in a few words.