Hogwarts: This holy light is righteously evil.

He actually threw the porcupine quills that should have been discarded into the crucible that was reacting!

This is a medicine for treating swelling. Porcupine quills are irritating, and if added, they will not only render the medicine completely ineffective, but also cause a violent reaction, producing a corrosive poison.

He could even imagine that once the medicine took shape and splashed onto their bodies, it would inevitably cause large patches of red, swollen blisters. At that point, they would probably be forced to try medicines prepared by other groups in order to relieve their symptoms.

But it's too late to say anything now. The porcupine quills have completely sunk into the potion, and the liquid in the crucible has begun to bubble slightly. It's impossible to retrieve them now.

Puni stared intently at the crucible and saw that the originally black liquid was turning dark red at a visible speed. The walls of the crucible also began to heat up, and the temperature soared rapidly in a short period of time. Tiny sparks could even be seen jumping on the surface of the liquid.

It's obvious the potion is about to explode!

In the urgency of the situation, Puni didn't have time to explain much to Marcos, who hadn't yet noticed anything amiss. He grabbed Marcos's arm and forcefully pushed him aside to prevent him from being affected by the impending explosion of the potion.

Immediately afterward, he swiftly raised his wrist, drew his wand, and aimed it at the boiling cauldron.

"Disperse, all of you!"

The moment the spell took effect, the potion in the crucible decreased by more than half, the liquid level dropped rapidly, and the previously violent bubbling subsided somewhat.

Even so, the remaining potion continued to react wildly, even more violently than before, causing the crucible to shake violently and make a buzzing sound.

"boom!"

The potion exploded instantly, spraying upwards like fireworks during a festival.

Fortunately, the cauldrons at Hogwarts were of excellent quality and did not crack even after being subjected to such a violent explosion.

Unable to disperse outwards, the explosive force could only concentrate and erupt upwards, slamming hard against the classroom roof. Then, like rain, corrosive toxic water dripped down.

These toxic substances will immediately cause a large blister to form on the skin, causing unbearable pain.

Puni cast his magic again.

Clean up the spilled medicine.

Just then, Professor Snape walked over from Hufflepuff's lab table.

His face was grim as he glanced at the messy lab bench.

Eddie, who was standing to the side, originally wanted to say a few good words for Marcos, but faced with the angry gazes of the girls, he could only lower his head silently, choosing to protect himself and no longer defend him.

Marcos looked at everyone's eyes, his face full of guilt, but he did not run away.

Professor Snape's gaze fell on Marcos, and he asked coldly, "What happened?"

Marcos took a deep breath and stepped forward: "Professor, it's my fault. I was careless and accidentally threw the porcupine quills into the crucible, which caused the potion to explode."

Snape stared at Marcos for a moment, a cryptic smile playing on his lips: "I didn't see it coming from Mr. Belby. He has quite the courage, so reckless and impulsive. It seems you might be better suited for Gryffindor than Ravenclaw."

He paused, then became even more stern: "Because of your reckless actions, the potion preparation failed and almost caused an accident. Ravenclaw, deduct ten points!"

Marcos kept his head down and offered no objection.

Fortunately, no one was injured this time. If someone had been hurt by the poisonous water, the points deducted would have been much higher, at least 20 points!

Snape said nothing more, turned and walked back to the podium, picked up his wand, and slammed it on the blackboard. He addressed the students in a deep voice, "I know the Christmas holidays are approaching, and you're all restless, eager to leave this place. But I'm warning you, if you don't want to spend the entire holiday in the infirmary, or worse, be sent to St. Goman for treatment, then you'd better be fully focused and take every potion-making seriously!"

The Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students immediately responded in unison, "Yes, Professor Snape!"

Puni stood there, looking at the stern Snape on the podium, and couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

This guy, despite being worried about the students' safety, insists on using such harsh words. He's venomous in words but upright in actions, yet he never properly expresses his concern.

Marcos sighed softly, walked to Puni's side, and said sincerely, "Puni, I'm sorry, it's all my fault. I not only messed up the potion, but also caused the academy to lose points. Thank you for saving me in time, and of course, everyone else as well."

Faced with Marcos's sincere apology, Puni smiled, raised his hand, and lightly punched him on the shoulder: "Why are you being so polite with me? Do we need to say thank you? After all, we're friends."

Hahaha~!

Upon hearing this, Marcos's guilt vanished almost instantly, and a simple, silly smile unconsciously appeared on his lips. He nodded repeatedly, and the heaviness in his heart felt much lighter.

But this ease didn't last long. Marcos's smile quickly faded, his head drooping slightly as he rambled on, "I always thought I might actually have some talent in potions. In the previous potions classes, the potions I made were the fastest in the class, and the quality wasn't bad either."

"But over the past few months, for some reason, all sorts of insignificant little problems have been popping up. Every time, I can barely get the configuration done thanks to your reminders. Otherwise, I would definitely get criticized by Professor Snape."

He paused, his eyes looking lost, and his voice lowered: "So sometimes I can't help but wonder if all those potions I made successfully before were just my imagination? I don't actually have any talent for potions; I was just lucky at the beginning."

Seeing Marcos's dejected and self-doubting appearance, Puni gently shook his head, firmly interrupting his doubts: "This is definitely not an illusion. If you really didn't have talent, you wouldn't have been able to master the skills of potion preparation so quickly in the first place, let alone make qualified potions in such a short time."

He slowed down and patiently analyzed, "When it comes to potion preparation, talent is only part of it. More important is seriousness and meticulousness. Your biggest problem is that you are too naive... too careless about details."

"When preparing potions, you often overlook some subtle steps, such as the amount of ingredients, the speed of stirring, or the control of the heat. These seemingly insignificant details are often the key to the success or failure of the potion. As long as you are a little more careful and pay more attention to these details, you can definitely make a lot of improvements."

Chapter 83 Your uncle is Damocles Belby! (Bonus Chapter)

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 to be honed repeatedly, 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 raw materials and preparation techniques, you will gradually become more and more proficient, and those small problems will naturally be solved."

He paused, then deliberately emphasized, and added with a smile, "Besides, you have a potions master right here beside you who you can consult. Why get stuck on this? If you have any questions, just go ask your uncle."

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 remedy.

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 Order of Merlin, the highest honor in the wizarding world, which speaks volumes about the quality of his potions.

Marcos's eyes lit up slightly after hearing Puni's words, and the dejection on his face dissipated somewhat. He nodded, but then he thought about it again and became dejected again, saying 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 to me that he was crazy and that the best potion was not those complicated recipes, 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 enlighten 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 are definitely special to him, and he will surely 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 the uncle really cares about his nephew, but he hasn't taken the initiative to get close to him because of the 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 of 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 masters, 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 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.

Chapter 84 These two really look like a couple.

The train home departed on time as scheduled. Puni's luggage was packed in a bit of a rush, and the contents were a mess, with clothes and books mixed together. Fortunately, no important items were left behind, and he was not late to board the train.

On the train, Puni saw Qiu Zhang reading a book, so he naturally walked over, leaned over, and looked at the contents of the book.

Qiu Zhang didn't dodge; he simply tilted his head slightly and greeted Puni.

Marcos blinked.

These two really look like a couple.

However, Puni and Qiu Zhang could not be considered a real boyfriend and girlfriend.

Although the other students at Hogwarts thought they were inseparable, sitting together in class and often chatting and spending time together after class, and that they should have been a couple long ago, they themselves had never explicitly expressed their feelings for each other.

After all, they are only in first grade and still young. Perhaps in their eyes, it is indeed too early to talk about boyfriends and girlfriends.

Marcos sat down by himself.

Seeing that Puni and Qiu Zhang were sitting together.

Soon, out of boredom, he also picked up a book and started reading it himself.

Looking at Qiu Zhang sitting quietly beside her, Puni felt more and more clearly that she was not similar to the exquisite images portrayed on the screen, and even in a crowd, she was not particularly stunning.

But her unique, gentle temperament, typical of Chinese-American women, was like a warm current, quietly attracting Puni. Her gentle and composed demeanor was very attractive.