HP North Star's Radiance

It wasn't until this moment of acceptance that Praris truly gained Voldemort's trust.

Peter Pettigrew stood to the side, completely dumbfounded.

The gap between people can sometimes be greater than the gap between a person and a mouse. Praris refused the Dark Lord right to his face, and instead of being tormented by the Dark Lord in a fit of rage, she received an internal promotion! It's as bizarre as someone telling Little Star that they slapped someone, and that person praised them for doing a good job.

In truth, the most advantageous environment for Praris to perform would be one without interference from others, but Pettigrew was already standing there. Voldemort knew what Pettigrew was thinking, and so did Praris. He was completely transparent to these two monsters, utterly powerless against them.

"If you need anything, just have Little Star run the errands for you," Voldemort casually promised, adding, "Did you hear me?"

This was clearly not meant for Praris, and Little Star meekly agreed.

"Get out," Voldemort said.

Little Pettigrew fled again, as if running away. Having already decided to take over serving Praris, he ran even faster.

“Master, your kindness has overrated my potion.” After Pettigrew left, Praris said calmly, “This is the potion you are taking. How could I be careless and stop here so easily? I think it still has some minor flaws that need adjustment, as well as the current problems of long production time, high production difficulty, and extremely low yield…”

Achieving a goal shouldn't lead to complacency. The approach of dawn is often when we're most tired, and the moment of victory is often when we're most prone to failure. Praliss cannot allow Peter Pettigrew's thoughts to help Voldemort escape her emotional and psychological traps; she must be more cautious and refine her persona, just in case.

In her mind, which had been operating under the brain-blocking technique for a long time, a barely perceptible thought flashed through Praris's mind: she could not fall before dawn, even though she did not know when dawn would come.

Overjoyed, Voldemort readily agreed, and he was also pleased with Praris's composure.

When you presume someone is suspicious, everything about them becomes a suspect. When you trust someone, you don't need to be constantly on guard. Voldemort still wouldn't completely trust anyone, but in reality, he was much more at ease with this witch.

After leaving the reception room, Praris did not go directly back to her temporary laboratory, but went straight upstairs and knocked on Draco's door.

There was no sound coming from the room, but the door in front of them was quickly opened.

Praris burst through the door with lightning speed, grabbed Draco, and slammed him against the door. Draco leaned against the wooden door and instinctively locked it with a click.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked.

Praris was very close to him, and she asked, "How did you know it was me?"

“No one else comes to my room,” Draco said slowly. “My parents knock and then just push the door open, but my aunt never knocks.”

The former stemmed from long-standing trust in each other, while the latter was due to a complete lack of respect for Draco.

“I think—” Draco said, “that only you would wait for me to open the door after I knock.”

In this house, besides his parents, Prarese was the only one who respected Draco.

The next second, Prareas hugged Draco.

"What's wrong with you?" Draco asked again.

Praris said, "It's okay."

"Are you really alright?" Draco asked.

Praris asked with her eyes closed, "Can't I hug you if there's nothing wrong?"

“No,” Draco said, “of course you can.”

Draco couldn't tell if Praris was sad or exhausted. She held him, the distance between them almost nonexistent, yet Praris's emotions remained remarkably restrained, making it difficult for him to gauge them. He could only guess that she was tired, exhausted from nearly two weeks of hard work during the Easter holiday.

Suddenly, Draco scooped Praris up in his arms, causing Praris's alarm bells to ring. She yelled, "What are you doing?"

“I see, you’re not feeling well now,” Draco said slowly, walking straight to his bed.

Praris thought to herself, "Even if things aren't great, I could easily take on ten of you without a wand." But she didn't say it aloud, wanting to see what Draco was planning to do.

Draco walked to his bedside, laid Praris down, and gently covered her with the blanket, tucking in the corners as he did so—a gesture he probably learned from Narcissa.

He took two steps back and sat down in the armchair by the bed, saying softly, "You don't look well... Why don't you sleep here for a while? I'm going to read a book. I'll wake you up if anything happens."

This guy… Praris smiled helplessly to himself, he really doesn’t know how to talk!

During Easter, Prarese slept on a makeshift bed in the lab room. She had been through tough times, so she wasn't exactly unable to sleep, but she didn't sleep well either.

Now, Praris lay on Draco's soft, dry bed, smelling the scent of his laundry soap, and drifted off to sleep with ease.

Draco slowly lowered the Crown of Nature from his face, staring at Praris's pale sleeping face. After a moment, he stood up, reached out and pulled the bed curtains around the bed before sitting back down in the armchair.

The moment he sat down, Praris opened her eyes again. Her dark, crystal-like eyes sparkled as she looked through the gap in the curtains at Draco's profile, his head bowed as he read.

It was Draco who came to draw the bed curtains for me... There was no sound because of the thick carpet... This time, Praris finally drifted off to sleep.

Praris stood in the middle of the bustling street, lined with all sorts of shops on both sides—the closest to her was Flourish and Blotts, and without a second thought, she stepped inside.

It seemed to be a restocking day; Flourish and Blotts was still piled high with books inside and out. The shop assistants were sweating profusely as they went in and out. When they saw Praliss, they casually greeted her, "Little Praliss!"

“Good afternoon, Bernard.” Prarese nodded to Bernard.

Prarese recalled that the guy was Muggle-born, and the Daily Prophet said he had disappeared almost ten months ago.

Banlin stood in front of the counter, wiping his sweat with a handkerchief as he said to Heidi, "Are you kidding me, Heidi? You're in publishing, you shouldn't be unaware that if the author doesn't write, how can I have a book here?"

“I was just venting!” Heidi said matter-of-factly, then quickly softened her tone, “I really want to know if Salazar Slytherin has found a way to resurrect Vera…”

"Stop reading these kinds of books!" Banlin said. "Your brain is ruined by reading these kinds of books."

Heidi exclaimed in surprise, "Banlin, don't say things like that! Men who say things like that look ten years older—Plares, is school starting soon? Came to buy books?"

Praris smiled and nodded at Heidi and Banlin.

Leaving the two people chatting in the bookstore, Praris continued walking.

Praris saw the Ee-ra Owl Shop, where Riley Carter was carrying a snowy owl cage at the door. She wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand and looked to be in good spirits.

Then came the secondhand shop, and through the window, she saw the brand-new suitcase that Professor Snape had bought for her years ago. It felt a bit unreal; the suitcase was on a shelf that wasn't visible in the window.

She'd bought several secondhand crucibles from the crucible shop, and the owner, Patchett, would always say to her with a sigh, "Praris, don't you earn enough to buy a new crucible?"

Prare readily replied, "Every little bit helps, right?"

Not far from the crucible shop was a pharmacy, where the owner was chatting with herbalist Bradley. Praris had already realized that it wasn't the pharmacy owner who had betrayed her, but Bradley.

It would be a lie to say I don't hate them, but it's not that I hate them to an extreme degree. In the end, it's just a way to survive.

Then there was... Florin's Ice Cream Shop. Florin poked his head out, smiling, and said, "Plares, you're on summer vacation? I still owe you half a scoop of raspberry cheesecake ice cream!"

“…” Praris stood there for a moment before speaking, “Fine, are you going to give it back to me?”

"I'll give it back to you!" Florin shook his head. "You little debt collector!"

Praris sat under a parasol eating ice cream. She couldn't taste anything, but she still diligently finished it.

“I’m done eating.” Praris looked at Florin. “Florin, you’ve kept your promise to me.”

"That's wonderful!" Florin said.

Leaving Florin's ice cream shop, Prarese saw the beauty products store. She pushed open the door and heard the brass doorbell ring.

Ms. Priscilla turned around and smiled, saying, "Darling, you're back?"

“Yes, I’m back,” Praris said softly.

Ms. Prie came out from behind the counter, touched Praris's face with both hands, and said reproachfully, "You've grown taller and thinner. Why don't you eat and rest properly? We'll worry about you!"

“I’m resting,” Prarese said.

Ms. Priscilla tiptoed and touched her face: "Don't be afraid, darling, no matter what, you are still our good child, and we will always love you."

Prarese lowered her head so that it wouldn't be so difficult for Ms. Prie to press her face against hers, and she made a muffled "hmm" sound.

Over Ms. Prie's shoulder, Prarese saw three cups on the counter: Winnie's large cup and Prarese's and Ms. Prie's small cups.

“Ms. Prie, I am a hypocrite and a cruel person,” Prarese said. “I never tell the truth, I experiment on unwilling people, and I may do even more immoral things in the future. But I don’t think it’s wrong. I believe I have my reasons for everything I do.”

The beauty salon was so quiet that only the pounding of Praris's heart could be heard.

After a long while, Ms. Priscilla gently patted Praris's back and said, "Darling, you must have suffered a lot out there all by yourself, right? I'm sorry I wasn't there for you..."

Praris froze, one second, two seconds... She buried her head in Ms. Prie's shoulder and mumbled again, "Um, Mom, I'm so tired."

From beginning to end, what she needed was not for others to tell her right from wrong, but love, nothing more than love.

It seems someone once said that tears carry the weight of the soul, and when the tears are all shed, the soul becomes light. Praris gradually felt less tired and his whole body relaxed.

Ms. Prie flipped the cosmetics shop sign to "Closed for Business," took Prarese's hand, and walked down the street all the way to the Leaky Cauldron, the place Prarese had come from.

Old Tom served Prarese a sandwich and said with a smile, "Little Prarese, I wasn't kidding you when I said youth is so fleeting, was I?"

Praris recalled his somewhat aloof self from back then and nodded with a wry smile.

Tom said, "Being an adult must be tough, right?"

Praris nodded again.

“It’s alright, little Pry,” old Tom said. “Even though you’re an adult now, you’ll always be a child in our eyes.”

At the Leaky Cauldron, the regulars all gave her kind smiles—the dream was over.

"You've been crying." Draco lifted the bed curtains, looking at her tear-streaked face. "Did you have a nightmare?"

Praris shook his head: "No, it's a beautiful dream."

Why does a beautiful dream cry?

"It's okay to cry when you have a beautiful dream."

Chapter 292 Accepting the Invitation

Over the years, Draco had long since stopped presumptuously trying to decipher the hidden meaning in Praris's words. He took a new handkerchief, went to the washroom, wet it, and used it to wipe Praris's face.

“I can do it myself.” Praris took the handkerchief.

Prarese wiped away the tears she had unconsciously shed in her dream, leaving only the affection given to her by those who loved her, and continued on her journey.

Praris's loss of composure did not come out of nowhere; before this, she had already missed an opportunity that could have changed her life.

Fortunately, perhaps things have taken a turn for the better. Fate has become much kinder to Praris, and everything is progressing quite smoothly. Some of the obstacles she anticipated have been successfully avoided.

Back then, under Voldemort's orders, Bellatrix forced Winnie to personally torture and drive two members of the Order of the Phoenix insane as a pledge of allegiance. Once Winnie completed this step, her past would no longer be "clean," making her an accomplice to the other Death Eaters, with no turning back. After that, even Dumbledore would have no reason to vouch for Winnie.

Winnie and Snape's hands were at least not directly stained with blood, which was the bottom line Dumbledore was willing to vouch for them. Even so, for indirectly causing Lily's death, he still received a "You disgust me" from Dumbledore—something Snape didn't tell Prader.

Professor Snape and Prasri both anticipated that Voldemort would eventually make her do something unclean, cutting off any possibility of Prasri turning back and truly keeping her firmly in his grasp.

Not only Prareas himself, but Professor Snape also didn't want this to happen. So, the two of them meticulously planned ahead, nipping the problem in the bud. And all of this happened behind Prareas's back.

Voldemort had long intended for Prader to participate in a bloody mission. Learning from the Winnie incident, he refined his plan, replacing Bellatrix, who was in charge of intimidation, with another trusted confidant, Snape, as the leader.

On one hand, he saw Snape as trustworthy. On the other hand, the professor's position in a student's heart is different, which could reduce Prader's resistance and give her a push at a crucial moment.