Simon and his circle mostly shrugged off the commotion — Dolores, to them, wasn’t worth more than a raised eyebrow.

The Minister, however, was alarmed. “Please just enjoy the party, as this is not the time for official business, important as it surely is.” He was politely telling her to chill.

Dolores was still shaken but just nodded in the end as she saw Elder Huo to the side talking to some very important potioneers. She fixed her posture and approached the Elder.

“Forgive the interruption, but may I sit with you scholars for an enlightening conversation?” She was capable of being polite at the beginning, at least.

The people present did not mind, as one lady said, “Yes, please, we were just discussing some improvements in the Wolfsbane potion this gentleman has devised.” She gestured towards Elder Huo at the end.

Dolores frowned at that. “True improvement would be to put down the beasts for good. The removal of the undesirable is essential for a healthy society, after all.” The more she spoke, the more the faces of people around her fell, as the lady who had welcomed her was looking around at the other members in apology, feeling truly guilty.

“I consider lycanthropy as an affliction to be sympathized with and have stated so in my book Fire and Potions. But it seems the British Ministry does not agree with my writing and openly mocks it.”

Elder huo said as Dolores deepened her frown at first but then stood in shock.

To increase the standing of Elder Huo in British society, he had released his book, and it was a hit among British society and in the potioneer circles. Even the Ministry had tried to contact him to bring him to their side because of the reverence some of the most respected potioneers gave to Elder Huo because of the book.

“Am I talking to Sir Huo Yan?” Dolores did not back down as she used the Elder’s full name as the author.

“Yes,” was the simple reply.

“And which family are you associated with?” she asked arrogantly, as a voice came from behind.

“Mine.” The voice brought chills down her spine as Simon was standing behind her, calm and icy.

Elder Huo then turned to Simon. “I believe it is time; my old bones are tired.” Simon nodded at the Elder with a smile. The Minister had overheard the exchange and dragged Dolores away again before she could start screeching.

As the Hawthorne family left, the Minister was in despair, as his two goals in the party were to make connections with the Hawthornes and with Elder Huo, who were both making waves.

To add to his despair, the next day The Daily Prophet had a headline that said: Is the Undersecretary Daft? His letters with orders to bury this news mysteriously never reached the people in charge, and even more mysteriously, a new and righteous upstart was given the first page for some reason.

*It seems the new and highly respected potion master that has made waves in Britain is the new member of the Hawthorne family. And during a party, the dear Undersecretary of the Minister of Magic managed to antagonize the whole family. First interrupting the young genius Aaric Hawthorne, who defeated a troll in his first year and has come out with the highest grades in his year.

His teachers quote him to be a prodigy only seen in a hundred years, and later, in the spirit of consistency, she managed to antagonize Elder Huo Yan, a respected member of an ancient and renowned Chinese sect whose presence has ignited a fire in the British potion market.

Let us pray for our collective future she does not take part in any more gatherings involving important people. I wonder what the Minister’s thoughts on the events are?*

The article was sarcastic and full of jabs, as well as giving juicy and latest news, making it appealing to most of the magical population. Even the purebloods were angry, as having a gifted potioneer like Elder Huo on their bad side was not on their agenda. The article also contained direct quotes from Dolores.

Simon threw away the letter requesting a meeting from the Minister and carried on in Nepal, learning new methods of potion-making and spells from the Sanctum alongside Elder Huo.

Aaric was working on his own project as he carved some wood with Ars and his spirit by his side. He was not using any common wood but rowan wood he had taken from the island.

“You are good at it, and it looks like my spirit too.” Ars admired the sculpting as the little mouse also climbed on his shoulder, as the sculpture looked like it.

Aaric smiled smugly but then asked, “Why don’t you name these spirits?”

Ars thought for a moment and replied, “My master told me it is dangerous to name spirits if they don’t have physical bodies. And creating physical bodies for spirits requires very rare materials.”

Aaric hummed and continued his work as Ars’s spirit dissipated, and only he and Aaric were left to chat and play.

A/n: Give me power stones.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep