HP North Star's Radiance

"If your clumsy trap has even the slightest flaw that could be discovered, end it. There is no second chance."

Prader wasn't sure which of her words had moved or convinced Professor Snape, but she had achieved her goal. She agreed, bid farewell to the professor, and left Snape alone by the window.

Chirp chirp chirp— Chirp chirp chirp—

A small bird with an orange breast and blackish-grey back landed on the windowsill, chirping melodiously. It stared at Snape inside the window with its big, watery black eyes, tilting its head every now and then.

"Severus, it's a robin!" Lily exclaimed happily.

To get a better look at the robin, she backed away while tilting her head back, but accidentally stepped on a pebble and nearly fell, letting out a loud cry. Luckily, Severus grabbed the belt of her skirt, and Lily barely managed to maintain her balance.

Lily seemed to find this very amusing. She looked up at the clouds in the sky and had some lovely fantasies: "Severus, do you think there's a kind of magic that can create clouds like cotton candy? When someone is about to fall, it can inflate and appear under their body so they won't get hurt."

Severus was somewhat interested in discussing magic-related topics, even though this magic didn't sound very powerful—but was turning flowers really that powerful?

They lay on the grass, Lily in charge of letting her imagination run wild, and Severus in charge of considering their feasibility.

Lily was getting tired of talking. She put her hands behind her head and brought up the robin in the tree again: "My mother said that robins are born from April to July every year, fly south from October to November, and fly back in March or April of the following year... They have come back from the south and grown into adult birds."

What are you muttering about?

Severus wasn't interested and gave perfunctory "uh-huhs" and "yeahs".

"Mother said we should cherish every robin we see in spring," Lily's voice rang out beside Severus. "They've endured all the hardships of the past, traveled a long way back to their birthplace, and are about to welcome a warm and happy spring and summer..."

Snape stared intently at the robin tilting its head on the windowsill. He knew that Prass had nothing to do with robins, but he still hoped that the girl would have the opportunity to experience spring and summer from April to July. For this, he would do everything in his power to act as a "safety valve."

Ginny finally found an opportunity to contact Prarese.

The Carlo siblings chased after them like sharks smelling blood, always ready to help. The house was crowded and noisy, not a suitable place to use a two-way mirror.

She managed to hide, wiped the mirror haphazardly with her sleeve, and then tapped it with her wand.

Time ticked by, and Ginny was worried that Prares was in a place unsuitable for using the two-way mirror, which might prevent her from making the trip.

"That's it!" Ginny's lips curled into a smile, and she asked softly, "Are you alright?"

“It’s not bad,” Praris said calmly. “Do you need potions? I’ll try to get you some.”

“No, no need!” Ginny quickly shook her head. “We have a way to get the potion. But you, I heard about your leave of absence.”

"What?" Praris said sarcastically, "You've come to criticize me, huh?"

Ginny sighed inwardly. If she hadn't experienced Harry's prickly exterior, she'd probably be furious too. She retorted, "Why would you think that? Of course we're worried about you!"

“You’re actually better than your brother,” Praris said, offering a compliment that wasn’t quite a compliment. “So, what brings you to me?”

Ginny said sincerely and frankly, "Do we only contact you for personal gain? We're genuinely worried about you!"

Pralis had never seen anything like this before. Aside from Hermione and her "family," the Order of the Phoenix and the D.A. only sought her out to exploit her power, usually without any reward. But fate had turned around, and now she was being shown concern for no apparent reason.

She felt a little uncomfortable and avoided Ginny's intense gaze, coughing twice: "Use this opportunity to connect for serious business."

“What do you mean by ‘not doing anything important’?” Ginny chased after Praris, “What does Snape want you to do? If it’s too much trouble, I’ll take the whole DA to give him a hard time and make sure he can’t boss you around anymore! We just blew up the pipes, broke the school rules, and threw swamp and dung balls down the second-floor hallway today…”

"What a devil!" Praris exclaimed. "No wonder Filch was cursing in the foyer."

“No.” Praris’s tone softened a bit. “You guys just need to take care of yourselves. Keep the other DAs away from me and the people around me, so I don’t have to take action.”

For such a long time, no one dared to mess with her, and Louise's example of making an example of her must have worked. But DA isn't the type to back down easily, and Ginny and Neville must have done their best as well.

Ginny grinned and took a slight breath: "This is something I have to remind you of; we're afraid it will be difficult for us to stop the others any longer."

She and Neville were struggling to find a way to prevent Prareas from helping them while also keeping the DAs from messing with Prareas. It was like a battle between their own brains.

“But we’ll try,” Ginny clenched her fist to encourage herself, “try to direct our anger at others!”

Prarese found Ginny's actions rather cute, and she said with a relaxed smile, "If you can't stop her, so be it. I can handle it. Mr. Louis is a good example."

Ginny gasped again. Louis... Louis was stunned by Praris's punch; his chest was covered in bruises, and several ribs were broken, making him look like he'd been punched by a brown bear.

At the time, Louis was only focused on being aggressive and violent. When Professor Flitwick helped him up, he clutched his chest and almost knelt down again.

Mrs. Pomfrey fed Louis bone-storing medicine and then lifted his clothes to apply medicine to remove the bruises, so that everyone who came to visit saw his miserable state.

Ginny used this incident to warn everyone not to provoke that female demon without a clear plan and thorough preparation.

"If it weren't for Professor Flitwick, Louise would already be in the hands of the Carol siblings," Ginny said, exasperated. "It would only be worse than it is now!"

Ginny's words came from the heart. Prarese only used one move against Louis, and that was an offensive strategy, not even going all out, yet she had already beaten Louis to this state. Who knows what might happen if she really got serious!

"Thank you for going easy on me," Ginny said.

Prarese said, "You're welcome, it's my pleasure."

After checking on Praris's situation, Ginny "went offline".

Ginny's concern was just a short break; Prarese still had to pick herself up and get back to work.

Three days later, Praris, fully prepared, sought an audience with Voldemort.

Still in the drawing room of Malfoy Manor, Voldemort didn't even allow Snape to listen in, only meeting her alone to hear about Prasris's research.

Prareas even brought a prop this time, a dried pine cone—provided by Draco.

"Can you find pine cones in the spring?" Praris asked in surprise.

Draco, with one arm draped over the sofa, sat crookedly and casually uttered a single word: "Bought."

To be honest, you can find some pine cones left over from the snow in the spring, but Draco wouldn't stoop so low as to pick up muddy pine cones from the dirty ground.

Sure enough, it turned out that he remembered someone in Slytherin had picked up pine cones as decorations.

"That idiot who hangs his blanket out to dry in the snow in winter." Draco's mouth started attacking indiscriminately again.

Ah, it's that wizard who grew up by the Mediterranean.

These interesting stories still bring a smile to Praris's face when he thinks about them.

Prareas showed the pine cone to Voldemort, then gently placed it into the water glass. The pine cone, once in the water, began to bubble continuously before gradually closing up.

“Master, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what things are both strong and fragile,” Praris said methodically. “Then I thought of a pine cone. It’s fragile when it’s open and spread out, but it becomes much stronger when it’s closed and closed up.”

Prass couldn't very well tell Voldemort that her inspiration came from Winnie's waterspout spell, could she? That would probably trigger some student PTSD in Voldemort.

"This led me to an idea: the strength of the soul may lie in its density and introversion. If I could develop a potion that could enhance the soul's internal cohesion, or cause it to tighten from the inside, it would most likely enhance the soul's strength."

This is Prarese's open scheme.

In Voldemort's eyes, Prareth should never have known about Horcruxes. However, when the soul's internal energy gathers or coalesces, its resilience and ability to withstand attacks and risks will definitely increase—a conclusion that can be drawn without knowing about Horcruxes.

Chapter 286 Pancake and Whip

When Prareth mentioned "disperse," "gather," and "internal cohesion," Voldemort's heart was instantly filled with turmoil, and his gaze involuntarily turned dangerous.

Each of these words was closely related to Horcruxes, causing his suspicions to rise sharply and soar to the heavens.

Praris tried to ignore his gaze, keeping her eyes fixed on the pine cone in her glass, and continued her reasoning: "If it can't be an internal cohesion like a pine cone, perhaps we could consider chains, forcibly binding the soul like chains, but this method is obviously not as effective as cultivating inner strength..."

A gaze has "power," and people often feel uneasy when they sense someone watching them. Under Voldemort's gaze, Praris paused for a moment before turning around in confusion to meet the Dark Lord's crimson eyes, hesitantly uttering his final words: "Naturally... Master?"

Voldemort was satisfied; he saw the answer he wanted in the witch's eyes.

A leader's essential quality is decisiveness. Both Voldemort and Dumbledore understood the necessity and importance of choosing trust. The difference lies in their approach: once Dumbledore chose to trust, he wouldn't easily doubt, while Voldemort treated trust as a gift that could be withdrawn at any time, always holding back and constantly scrutinizing it. Like his relationship with Snape, he held both respect and suspicion.

Voldemort wouldn't believe his subordinates' own explanations; giving them a chance to explain was merely a formality. His real purpose was to make them reveal their true thoughts amidst their panicked sophistry. He believed in his own power, in everything he saw through Legilimency.

Voldemort had prepared himself for the final "creation" to be less than satisfactory and was prepared to accept his previous idea of ​​a "protective shield." However, by sheer accident, Praris unknowingly discovered his core weakness.

Indeed, his soul becomes fragile in its disarray.

Prarese's "pine cone theory" was proposed without knowing that Voldemort's soul had split, and its original intention was to strengthen the cohesion of the soul to resist external harm.

But for Voldemort, whose soul was split, this was exactly what made his main soul connect more closely and firmly with the few remaining Horcruxes. It not only stabilized his original soul, but it might even allow him to control or summon the scattered soul fragments more deeply... It was like a pillow sent to someone who was sleepy!

Given Voldemort's arrogance, he naturally assumed that he was the main soul, the core, and that he alone had the right to control the fragments of the soul.

Strengthening the connection between souls also equates to strengthening control over the soul fragments, allowing for a deeper impact on Harry Potter. He even fantasized about whether this method could completely damage Harry Potter's psyche, turning him into a fool and madman like Sylvia, suffering severe soul damage.

“That’s interesting.” Voldemort’s voice was perfectly calm, revealing no trace of the turmoil within him. “Has Snape heard about your research theories?”

Praris paused for a moment, then quickly shook his head: "No, Master instructed that the most core research must be kept secret..."

Snape had emphasized this point to Prairie. Voldemort would never allow anyone other than himself to know about the existence of his soul research. This "anyone" included Snape, a core member of the Death Eaters.

Praris is a special case, as she is both the researcher and the creator herself, and therefore falls into the category that cannot be kept in the dark—how can she conduct research if she doesn't even know what she is researching?

"Including your Potions professor?" Voldemort asked meaningfully.

Prareas seemed to be deep in thought, trying to determine whether Snape was within the scope of secrecy—but she couldn't. After a moment, she hesitantly asked, "Then... Master, should I inform Mr. Snape?"

“No, no need.” Voldemort immediately rejected the idea. “Plares, you’ve done a great job. It’s a… creative and constructive theory.”

His words were full of praise for the young talent, and he casually offered a reward that was very tempting to Slytherins: "Praris, your invention deserves the title of the youngest Potions Master. As long as you complete this research, after you graduate, I will have Axley publish some of your publicly available research results, and have him, on behalf of the Ministry of Magic, award you a title worthy of you in the Daily Prophet."

What a wonderful reward that is purely spiritual, without any substance, and requires absolutely no effort from me!

Voldemort's methods fully demonstrate that he understands his own people well enough—no Slytherin cared about honor.

Praliss's mentor was Snape, a recognized Potions Master. This title undoubtedly motivated Praliss, who was still an "apprentice" but already quite capable, to work even harder for him.

In that sense, Voldemort was much more honest than Dumbledore, wasn't he?

If you think that way, you're making a big mistake.

Wake up! From the very beginning, the nature of Pralis's research meant Voldemort would never publicly reward her. Forget the Daily Prophet; even within the Death Eaters, despite Pralis's frequent visits to Malfoy Manor, the number of people who had actually seen her and knew her name could be counted on one hand!

Prasris possesses the technology to repair Voldemort's weaknesses, and Voldemort will not allow anything to spiral out of control. If Prasris were to gain fame and status independent of Voldemort as a result, it would further weaken Voldemort's control over him.

The so-called "Potion Master" title is nothing but an empty promise that will never be fulfilled; it's like a carrot dangling in front of a donkey that can't be eaten, a zero-cost incentive tool.

After Voldemort described Praris's brilliant and illustrious future, Praris paused very briefly, seemingly digesting the "heavyweight" promise he had made.

Immediately, Praris's eyes changed, flashing with a sharp, ignited edge.

"So, the way my master looked at me just now was because he was considering how to reward me—he appreciates my talent and understands my value!"

A student skilled in potions was promised the title of "Potential Master" before even graduating from school—an achievement that even Snape, the Potions professor at Praris, had not attained!

Praris barely managed to suppress his excitement and said humbly, "Your generosity is beyond imagination. After all, I am still an apprentice who has not yet graduated."

The next second, she changed the subject: "This further convinces me that my research direction is extremely important and of great value... It is my honor to follow you in conquering such a promising field..."

Voldemort was pleased with Praris's reaction.

During the period of getting used to this "tool", he kept trying to figure out the correct way to use it.