Hogwarts: This holy light is righteously evil

After saying that, Puni raised an eyebrow slightly, then changed the subject and gave Marcos a suggestion: "What you lack most right now is practice. Any skill needs repeated practice, and potion preparation is no exception. As long as you do more hands-on practice and try more, and become familiar with the properties of various ingredients and preparation techniques, you will gradually become more and more proficient, and those small problems will naturally be solved."

He paused, emphasizing his words, and added with a smile, "Besides, you have a perfectly qualified potions master right here to consult. Why get stuck on this? If you have any questions, just go ask your uncle, won't you?"

The uncle Puni mentioned was Marcos's own uncle, Damocles Belby.

This potions master enjoys an extremely high reputation throughout the wizarding world, and his fame even far surpasses that of Severus Snape, who is currently teaching them potions.

Damocles Belby's most significant contribution to his high status was his independent invention of the wolfsbane elixir.

The creation of this potion caused a huge sensation in the wizarding world and brought good news to countless werewolves. Although it could not completely cure the werewolf curse or turn werewolves back into humans permanently, it could help werewolves suppress their wolfish nature and maintain their human rationality on the night of the full moon, preventing them from harming themselves and others after losing their minds.

For this invention alone, Damocles Belby received the highest honor in the wizarding world—the Order of Merlin, which speaks volumes about the quality of his potions.

Marcos's eyes lit up slightly upon hearing Puni's words, and the dejection on his face lessened somewhat. He nodded, but then, after a moment's thought, he hung his head in dejection again and said helplessly, "That's true, but my uncle and our family have never had a good relationship. Over the years, we've hardly had any contact."

"My dad never even wanted to talk about him, and he always said in front of me that he was crazy, and that the best potion wasn't any complicated recipe, but a glass of wine before bed."

Upon hearing this, Puni was somewhat surprised and secretly admired Marcos's father for being such a unique individual. He dared to call a world-renowned potion master a madman and so disdainful of the potions he had dedicated his life to researching. Where did he get the audacity?

Because you're not a werewolf?

However, he did not comment too much on Marcos's father, but continued to patiently advise Marcos: "The grudges of the previous generation are their business and have nothing to do with you. You are you and they are them. You cannot give up an excellent learning opportunity because of their conflicts."

Looking into Marcos's eyes, Puni said confidently, "You can ask him for guidance on your own. I've heard that Master Damocles Belby never married or had children. As his only nephew, you're definitely special to him, and he'll be willing to teach you."

Marcos remained silent, pondering Puni's words, his mind involuntarily drifting back to the events of the past few years.

Although he and his uncle rarely met or even communicated, his uncle would always send him gifts on holidays. These gifts were mostly rare potion ingredients or practical magical items, and he never missed a single one.

Thinking about it this way, perhaps his uncle really cares about his nephew, but he hasn't taken the initiative to get close to him because of his conflict with his father.

Perhaps Puni is right. He could really try to ask his uncle for advice; maybe he could actually learn something from it.

Thinking this, the confusion on Marcos's face gradually faded. He immediately raised his head and said to Puni, "You're right, I'll give it a try this time! The Christmas holidays are coming soon, and I was planning to travel around and have some fun anyway. I'll visit my uncle then and ask him for advice on potions."

Seeing that Marcos had rekindled his fighting spirit and was truly interested, Puni's lips curled into a smile.

In fact, Puni had long wanted to persuade Marcos to meet this potion master.

After all, this master's potion-making skills are extremely high. If Marcos could receive his guidance, not only would Marcos' potion-making abilities improve rapidly, but it might also be of great help to his Golden Dragon Shop in the future.

For example, with the help of the master, more toys or potions with magical effects can be developed.

But Puni also knew that Marcos was somewhat stubborn, and if he took the initiative to drag Marcos to see his uncle, Marcos might develop a rebellious mentality and be unwilling to go.

Moreover, Damocles Belby was known for his eccentric temperament and rarely received outsiders except for close friends and family. Even if Puni had a lot of Galleons, he might not be able to meet this master.

As his only nephew, Marcos's visit to him was perfectly legitimate and made it easier for him to gain the master's acceptance.

Now that Marcos himself is willing to try, and this path has been successfully followed, saving him the trouble of explaining further, this is undoubtedly the best outcome for him.

Marcos took the initiative to visit his uncle, which greatly pleased Puni.

After all, this was Marcos's own willing decision, not something he was forced to do. This made it more likely that he would be able to put aside his concerns and truly learn something from that potion master.

Speaking of Christmas gifts, what should you give?

Especially Hagrid.

They've gotten to know each other better recently, and Hagrid has given him quite a few magical materials.

However, Hagrid's place was really remote. His cabin was located on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, and going there was almost equivalent to arriving at the outer edge of the Forbidden Forest.

More importantly, walking a few dozen meters further from Hagrid's hut would take you beyond the range of Hogwarts' anti-Apparition spell and into the outside world.

This location is very special, as it is both within the Hogwarts sphere of influence and close to the outside world. If there is any unusual activity, this is often the first place to notice it.

In order to prepare a suitable gift for Hagrid, Penny specifically asked several professors what color Hagrid liked, but the professors either didn't know or gave different answers, making it difficult for him to choose.

Finally, Puni gave up on agonizing over it and decided to make a hat gift set that had no magical effects whatsoever.

It was chilly near the Forbidden Forest, so the hat was just right.

After Potions class, Puni didn't go back to his dormitory or to the library. Instead, he went straight to the Great Hall of Hogwarts, where the space was large and quiet enough. He opened a book and started reading.

......

Soon, the holiday arrived.

Penny and Marcos packed their things and headed to Hogwarts Station together.