Hogwarts: This holy light is righteously evil

Chapter 174 Draco's Homecoming

Three crookedly wrapped gift boxes sat outside Filch's office.

Fred and George turned the corner of the stairs and happened to glance back at the scene.

A snoring sound came from the smallest box, audible across half the corridor.

He'll like it.

Fred said.

George nodded.

"At least Mrs. Lorris will like it."

Puni walked behind the two without saying a word.

He had just been standing at the door of the administrator's office, watching the twins arrange the three gift boxes one by one.

Hearing muffled thuds coming from the office, one knows that the first gift has been opened.

The three of them stopped at the same time.

The next second, Filch's roar burst through the crack in the door.

"Weasley!"

Fred grabbed George and ran.

Puni didn't move.

He heard Mrs. Lorris sneeze twice through the wall, followed by a string of even more offensive curses.

"What's in the first box?" he asked.

Shampoo.

George turned around and said, "It was made by house-elves. Just a little bit will clean it very well."

"We put in a little too much."

Fred added.

Filch cursed again.

Puni imagined the administrator and Mrs. Loris being chased by bubbles and couldn't help but laugh.

The next morning, Filch was indeed sweeping the floor outside his office.

His complexion was still not good, but his hair was excessively frizzy. The greasy strands had been washed away, and even his perpetually furrowed brows didn't look so dirty and messy.

Mrs. Lorris squatted at his feet, her fur fluffy from the washing, and stared at the twins at the other end of the corridor.

Fred whispered, "Looks like they've come in handy."

"There's one box left."

George gave a reminder.

The largest package lay at Filch's feet; he had carried it in and out of his office, clearly too afraid to open it.

Puni asked, "What's inside?"

Cat food.

"For Mrs. Lorice."

The twins each said one sentence.

Puni looked at the large box, then at Filch.

The administrator was sweeping the scraps of paper on the ground into a pile with a broom, the broom handle turning white from gripping it so tightly.

"He'll probably treat it as a contraband first."

"What a pity."

Fred sighed.

George also sighed.

Mrs. Lorris slowly walked over, bypassed Penny, and brushed against the hem of George's robe.

George looked down at it.

"The person involved knows who is good to them."

Fred reached out and scratched the cat's chin.

"Don't touch my cat!"

Filch charged at them with a broom in hand, and the twins took off running.

Mrs. Lorris followed for a couple of steps, as if she wanted to chase after them but couldn't bear to leave her unopened portion of cat food.

Puni stood there, watching Filch's face turn blue with anger, and suddenly felt that the castle finally looked a bit like it usually was.

In the afternoon, he went to Hagrid's cabin.

Ya Ya barked first from inside the door, making a loud noise as it bumped into the tables and chairs.

When Hagrid opened the door, he was wearing an apron and holding a baking tray in his hand; the room was filled with the smell of burnt rock cakes.

"Perfect timing, come in quickly."

Hagrid moved the baking tray behind him. "I tried another batch."

Puni glanced at the shiny black rock cakes on the table and sat down by the stove.

"I've come to ask you to look after a magical creature."

Hagrid immediately put the baking tray down.

"What animal?"

"The purple-horned beast was recently acquired from our family's breeding farm. It's timid and not suitable to remain confined to the manor. I'll take it with me after the holiday."

Hagrid's eyes widened instantly.

"A purple-horned beast? You mean the real kind with purple horns?"

Puni nodded: "It won't hurt people, but it will discharge electricity when it's scared. Don't let strangers get close, and don't let it go hungry."

"Then we'll stay in Luwei's old shacks," Hagrid said immediately. "It's big enough, right next to the Forbidden Forest, and quiet. I'll go pack it up tomorrow."

"Where's Lou Williams?"

"It's still guarding things under the trapdoor on the fourth floor."

Hagrid paused after speaking, then added, "I feed it every day."

Puni looked at him but didn't expose him.

Hagrid has been busy with the Forbidden Forest and the Christmas dinner lately, so it's hard to say whether he'll remember this.

Two days later, the house-elf quickly moved the cage to the clearing at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

The purple-horned beast huddled in the deepest part of the cage, its purple horn flashing.

Hagrid crouched outside the cage, even speaking softly.

"Don't be afraid, no one here will touch your corners."

The purple-horned beast stared at him for a long time before spitting out a small puff of purple sparks from its nose.

Quickly grab the care instructions and get ready to correct Hagrid's way of addressing him.

Hagrid just named it "Purple Sweet Potato".

Puni glanced at Kuai Kuai, and the little elf swallowed his words.

"Prepare food three times a day according to the menu. When it's scared, it will hide in its hole. Don't pull it out by force."

Quickly hand the parchment to Hagrid.

Hagrid stuffed the paper into his inner pocket.

"I've got it."

After he finished speaking, he went to find hay, with Ya Ya following behind in circles.

As Puni left, he glanced back and saw Hagrid already lying by the cage, talking to the purple-horned beast about Ruwei, Aragog, and every animal he had raised as a child.

Kuai Kuai did not leave immediately.

It set up a small tent on the edge of the open space, inside which were moss that the purple-horned beasts could eat, dried fruit, and several covered buckets.

Hagrid was about to open the cage, but Quick stopped him.

"Not yet, Mr. Hagrid, it needs to get used to the taste first."

"I know, I know." Hagrid withdrew his outstretched hand. "I just wanted it to see what was happening outside."

The purple-horned beast lay in its cage, its ears pressed back against the ground.

Yaya smelled it from a few steps away, but Hagrid pulled her away by her collar.

Quickly place a small bowl of chopped berries outside the cage door, then retreat to a distance.

Nobody urged it.

After a long while, the purple-horned beast stretched out its nose from the shadows, sniffed it, and then rolled a berry into its mouth.

Hagrid was so happy he almost shouted it out. He quickly turned and glared at him, but Hagrid quickly pursed his lips and just nodded vigorously.

Puni stood aside and watched for a moment.

"It doesn't like the cage."

Quickly, he said, "It used to roam freely in the mountains. After it was sent to the manor, it broke through three fences in a row. The master dared not let it run away anymore, so he decided to send it to Hogwarts."

"Why doesn't it want to stay on the farm?" Hagrid asked.

He quickly fell silent for a moment.

"Someone wants its horns."

Hagrid's face darkened.

He looked at the animal huddled in the cage, then at Kuai Kuai.

"Who?"

"It's already been dealt with."

Puni said.

Hagrid didn't ask any more questions.

He took the parchment out again and examined each line more carefully.

The writing is so dense that it even lists its fear of thunder at night and its tendency to hide when it smells unfamiliar spices.

"I won't let anyone near it."

Hagrid said, "Even teeth won't work."

As if understanding its own name, Ya Ya let out a wronged hum.

For three days, Hagrid came to the open space every morning.

He first changed the water for the purple-horned beast, then placed the food in its designated spot, and then sat on a fallen tree trunk to do his own thing.

Sometimes he repaired the shed door, sometimes he whittled wood, and sometimes he simply spread the newspaper on his lap and read it slowly.

He didn't stare at the cage, nor did he get too close.

On the evening of the fourth day, the purple-horned beast voluntarily approached the cage door.

Hagrid was scratching Tooth's ear when he heard the noise inside and immediately stopped.

A purple horn pierced through the cage bars and gently touched his sleeve.

Hagrid didn't move.

"hello."

He said.

The purple-horned beast touched it again.

He quickly stood at the tent entrance, saw this scene, and put down the bowl he was holding.

Puni smiled too.

"You can let it walk around inside the enclosure tomorrow."

Speak quickly.

Hagrid nodded, his beard twitching.

Before leaving, Puni went around to the fourth-floor corridor.

Muffled breathing came from behind the trapdoor.

Louie had clearly smelled the food, and all three of his heads rubbed against the door.

The elf placed several large buckets of meat aside, and Puni took out a note that Hagrid had written for him from his pocket.

There is only one sentence above.

Remember to remind me to feed Luwei tomorrow.

Puni folded the note and put it back in his pocket.

"I knew it."

He had the elves deliver meat to him at the appointed time each day, until Hagrid remembered to do so himself.

Puni went to the kitchen and asked the elf to prepare several buckets of raw meat to be sent to the fourth floor.

After doing all this, Puni left the school.

There are still many things to do during the holidays, and since he can freely go in and out of school and home, it doesn't matter.

Puni is doing quite well here.

Draco thought it was alright.

When he returned to Malfoy Estate, Lucius actually came to the platform to meet him.

Narcissa kept asking him if he was eating well and if he was injured, but Lucius only asked one question: "What have you learned this semester?"

Draco had intended to bring up training the next day, but after dinner he couldn't resist taking his wand to the study.

"Father, can we begin now?"

Lucius looked at him and finally took him to the dueling room.

He first demonstrated the disarming spell.

Draco stood opposite him and looked at it three times before raising his staff and chanting the spell.

A red light grazed Lucius's sleeve, knocking a silver cup off the bookshelf.

Lucius glanced down at the silver cup, his expression unchanged.

"good."

Draco straightened his back even more.

Don't be too quick to be smug.

Lucius raised his wand. "Hitting the target doesn't mean you can hit a person. Just use the Disarming Charm and try it with me."

Draco raised his staff and bowed in accordance with the Puni's rituals.

Lucius raised an eyebrow.

"Who taught you that?"

"Puni, he said if you haven't done your manners properly, don't touch your wand."

Lucius offered no comment, only returning the same formal greeting.

"Three, two, one."

""

Two beams of red light collided with it simultaneously.

The practice session did not immediately determine a winner.

Lucius was always a fraction of a second faster than Draco; the moment Draco raised his staff, his red light would already be approaching from the other side.

Draco was in a sorry state, being forced against the wall several times, and soon sweat beaded on his forehead.

"Don't just stare at the tip of my cane."

Lucius said, "You'll look at the shoulders first, then the feet; a person always moves before casting a spell."

Draco took a breath and nodded.

The next time, as soon as Lucius moved his toes to the left, Draco rolled to the right ahead of him.

A red light flew past his robe and shattered the vase behind him.

Lucius did not blame anyone, but simply watched the fragments fall to the ground.

"This time it's better than before."

Before Draco could even rejoice, Lucius had already raised his staff again.

"However, after you dodged, you didn't fight back."

After practicing for another dozen rounds, Draco's wrists became increasingly sore.

But he wouldn't stop.

When Lucius took away Draco's wand for the last time, Draco's fingers were numb with cold.

Narcissa pushed open the door and first saw shards of porcelain scattered on the floor, then her son's pale face.

"Lucius."

Lucius handed Draco's wand back.

That's all for today.

Draco took the wand, as if he wanted to say something.

Narcissa had already come over and touched his forehead with the back of her hand.

"Take a bath, eat, sleep."

Let's continue tomorrow.

Back at the table, Lucius still didn't praise him.

Draco's wrist kept trembling and aching as he cut the steak.

Narcissa had the elf bring the soup to him and added a piece of his favorite pudding to the plate.

"Is the training at Hogwarts very demanding?" she asked.

"Puni won't let me slack off," Draco said.

Lucius looked up.

"What else did he teach?"

Draco then began by talking about dueling etiquette, how Penny made him practice the most basic moves over and over again, how he was disarmed for the first time in the club, and how Penny said that wands are not for showing off.

Upon hearing this, Lucius paused for a moment, his hand holding the knife still.

"That statement is correct."

Draco was stunned.

He waited for a long time before his father continued.

"But don't just copy other people's methods. You are Malfoy. You need to know why you use your staff, and you also need to know when not to use it."

That night, Draco didn't look at the dark magic books he had picked out from the manor's study.

He put it back in its place, then took out a duel logbook and lay down on the table to write down the mistakes he had made that day.

The next morning, as Lucius passed by his door, he saw a light still shining through the crack.

He didn't go in; he just had the elf leave a cup of hot milk at the door.

Meanwhile, Harry and Ron, who stayed at school, were engrossed in the card game.

Several long tables were set up in the auditorium, and students were shouting around the "Battle of the Golden Dragons" card game.

The magical beasts released by the high-level cards pounced and rolled on the table, and the loser didn't even want to collect the cards.

Ron was squeezed at the back of the crowd and couldn't see anything.

"Why don't you take out the deck that Puni gave you?" he asked.

Harry shook his head.

"I've played against him a few times, and I always lost very quickly."

"That's Puni."

Ron said, "You can't stop fighting others just because you can't beat him."

Before Harry could answer, Fred and George emerged from the crowd.

The two men each held a stack of competition registration forms, their faces beaming with excitement at the spectacle.

"Want to borrow your card?" Fred asked.

"Can."

George said, "Watch tonight's quarterfinals for us first."

"Clean the place up again."

Ron immediately pushed Harry forward.

The quarterfinals ended later than anyone expected.

Fred was in charge of reading the rules, while George took the register and recorded the points one by one.

Harry and Ron were sent to clean up the table, and then forced to help take the blown-up cards down from the chandelier.

Harry was standing on the chair, and just as he reached for a card, the little dragon on the card suddenly puffed out a puff of smoke.

He was so startled that he stumbled to the side, but Ron caught him from below.

"Be careful!"

"It burned mine first."

Harry said.

Fred whistled beside him.

"Congratulations, you've been identified as an enemy by a paper dragon."

George tossed an old card case to Ron.

"The reward includes several basic cards, which you are not allowed to sell."

Ron hugged the card case like he was hugging a bag of Galleons.

"We will not sell."

"Don't let your eyes wander when you say that."

The next day, Harry and Ron actually used their card decks to challenge people to battles.

We lost the first game and the second game.

In the third round, Ron drew a special little goblin card and was so excited that he almost smashed the card.

Harry looked at the 3D chess pieces on the table that had been blown up and were rolling around on the floor, and suddenly felt that losing wasn't so bad.

Hermione stood by and watched two rounds, and finally couldn't help but point out the rule Ron had missed.

Ron was not satisfied and challenged her to another round.

Hermione used the most common cards to reduce him to only one card in his hand.

"How did you do that?" Ron asked.

"Read the rules."

Hermione said.

Harry couldn't stop laughing.

Harry also thought the holiday was great.

When Harry woke up in the morning, there were gifts piled up at the foot of his bed.

Hagrid brought him a wooden flute he had carved himself, which sounded like an owl's call when played.

The Dursleys sent fifty pence, and Ron held that Muggle bill in his hand and looked at it for a long time.

Mrs. Weasley's sweater was green with a large "H" sewn on the chest.

The last long box came from Puni.

Inside was a wand sheath and a note.

Harry stuck the sheath to his cuff and tried shaking it a few times, but the wand didn't budge.

Ron has one too.

He touched his protective sheath and then looked at Harry's pile of gifts.

"Hermione only sent you chocolate frogs?"

"She probably thinks you'll finish it first."

"That's not a reason."

After breakfast, the three of them took their gifts to the auditorium.

Hermione was already sitting at the long table, with several new books piled up in front of her.

When she saw Harry coming over, she first glanced at his sweater.

"It suits you perfectly."

"Did you send the Chocolate Frog too?"

Hermione nodded.

Ron let out a very dissatisfied snort.

Hermione pushed a small paper bag in front of him.

"Yours is here. You were too busy last night, so I didn't have time to put it in the dorm."

Ron opened the paper bag, inside were two packets of toffee and a book titled "The Complete Guide to Bonds".

His expression changed instantly, and he hugged the book without saying a word.

"I knew you'd want to learn."

Hermione said.

"I already knew how."

"Then don't look."

Ron tucked the book under his arm.

"I was just flipping through it casually."

Harry looked at the two of them, then lowered his head and took a bite of a gummy candy.

For the first time, he felt that Christmas wasn't something that only happened on television.

The day after the Christmas dinner, Penny and Cho both left Hogwarts and returned to Lestrange Manor.

The French branch has accounts to reconcile, and Mr. Delacour had sent an invitation a while ago.

Puni and Qiu were preparing to go abroad together, so they packed their luggage together.