After treating Harry's injuries, Vinson pulled out the Demiguise he had decapitated earlier.
Something this valuable couldn't be wasted.
Harry tested the movement of his arm and said, "Mr. Vinson, I saw the letter you sent me."
"Of course," Vinson replied cheerfully. "Otherwise, you wouldn't be here."
"So…" Harry hesitated.
"Actually," Vinson interrupted, his tone turning serious, "you shouldn't accept invitations from strange wizards so easily. It's dangerous."
Harry froze for a moment. He clearly hadn't expected Vinson to say that.
But he quickly recovered.
"But you're not a bad person," Harry said firmly. "You even healed my injuries."
Vinson smiled and shook the Demiguise root in his hand, which was still clinging to bits of dirt.
"Ah, Harry, there are many kinds of bad people. Some bad people smile and heal your injuries, too—as long as they have other purposes."
Harry instinctively shrank back a little. "What about you, sir?"
Vinson raised an eyebrow.
"You're lucky," he said casually. "I just wanted to scare you."
Harry let out a long, relieved breath.
"Alright. Chatting time is over. Let's get to work." Vinson handed most of the Demiguise in his hand to Harry.
Harry accepted it automatically, looking at him with confusion.
"Your task," Vinson said, "is to learn how to turn this Demiguise into a batch of Essence of Murtlap."
Of course, this wasn't Vinson's true goal.
His real aim was to keep Harry and the Tree of Wisdom in the same space.
Perhaps that was why the Tree's growth had started progressing.
Vinson flicked his wand.
A wooden table flew out of the corner of the shed and landed neatly in front of them.
On the table sat a battered cauldron and several ingredients for making Essence of Murtlap: pure spring water, ground Demiguise fur, and tips of Unicorn tail hair.
"Oh, right." Vinson handed Harry another stick. "This too."
He said, "This wand isn't a good match for you, but it's the only one we've got."
Harry took the wand carefully.
He had seen Vinson use a similar stick to perform astonishing magic earlier.
At that moment, he was too excited to even speak.
"I don't suggest you learn proper spellcasting right now," Vinson explained. "Your magic isn't mature enough yet. But potions are fine."
Harry nodded quickly.
He didn't know why Vinson was willing to teach him potion-making, but he didn't care.
Whatever the reason, he was finally touching something related to magic.
And so, under Vinson's guidance, Harry began his very first potion-brewing session.
It turned out that potion-making was far less interesting than casting spells.
At least, in Harry's opinion.
After failing to make Essence of Murtlap for what felt like the thousandth time, Harry finally lost heart.
"Sir," he said carefully, "I think this might be a little difficult."
Vinson was speechless.
This kid really wasn't built for potions.
Look at this.
This was the third time Harry had stirred in the wrong direction.
And somehow, he got it wrong in the exact same place.
Three times.
In a row.
"Alright, Harry," Vinson sighed, covering his face briefly. "Let's try again."
Harry wiped the sweat off his forehead and glanced out of the greenhouse.
"Sir… I should probably go back soon. It's getting dark."
Vinson raised an eyebrow and pulled out an old but elegant pocket watch.
After checking the time, he nodded slightly.
"It is indeed four o'clock."
The time inside the plantation was almost identical to the outside world. After all, the sky above them was still the same sky.
He slipped the watch back into his pocket and gave Harry a faint smile.
"In that case, we'll stop here for today. Come back at the same time tomorrow."
"I have to come again?" Harry asked, startled.
Vinson patted his shoulder.
"Potion practice requires perseverance. Patience is more important than magic."
Harry frowned slightly, as if suddenly realizing something.
"Wait… isn't this the kind of stuff I'm supposed to learn after entering Hogwarts?"
"Oh, Harry, this is just preschool content," Vinson said casually.
"Preschool?" Harry's eyes widened. "Hogwarts has a preschool?"
"Of course not," Vinson said, blinking. "But you met me early. It's always good to master a few skills ahead of time, isn't it?"
Harry opened his mouth as if about to argue, but in the end, he said nothing.
"…Alright," he sighed, shrugging helplessly. "See you tomorrow."
Vinson nodded.
With a flick of his wand, a gust of wind swept through the greenhouse. The messy potion ingredients flew back neatly to the table, returning to their original places.
While cleaning up, Vinson looked toward the Tree of Wisdom.
"Eldera," he called softly, "how's your growth coming along?"
A response appeared in his mind.
[Status: Growing (2%)]
Vinson's eyes lit up with delight.
Just as he thought.
Over the past week, when Harry hadn't visited, the Tree's growth progress had remained stuck at 1%.
But today, Harry had spent just an afternoon here, and the bar had increased by a full percent.
Vinson became almost completely certain of it.
This change was definitely caused by Harry Potter.
As he walked Harry to the door, Vinson reached into his pocket and pulled out a green object.
He placed it in Harry's hand.
Harry stared at the greenish object, about half the size of his fist, completely confused.
"What's this?"
Vinson smiled mysteriously.
"This is a Chinese Biting Cabbage."
"Chinese Biting Cabbage?" Harry immediately jerked his hand away from his face. "That doesn't sound very safe."
His movement was a little too sudden.
The cabbage in his palm turned around, revealing a tiny mouth full of sharp teeth and aimed itself directly at Harry.
"Ahh!"
Harry shrieked and threw it away.
A flash of blue shimmered through the air as Vinson calmly waved his wand. The cabbage froze in mid-air, hanging perfectly still.
"It doesn't like being thrown around," Vinson said with a smile. "Don't be scared by how it looks. It's actually very safe."
The Chinese Biting Cabbage twisted and wriggled in the air, trying to break free from the Levitation Charm. But Vinson's magic was as steady as a mountain.
With a small gesture, Vinson made it float back in front of Harry.
"Remember," he whispered, "don't be afraid. If you stay calm, it will calm down too. Once it remembers your scent, it won't attack you."
Harry hesitated for a long moment.
Finally, he carefully reached out and took it from the air.
Strangely, this time the cabbage really did settle down. It stopped struggling and lay quietly in his palm.
Its tiny teeth were still visible, but it no longer looked aggressive.
"See?" Vinson said softly. "It's starting to like you."
In truth, normal Biting Cabbages were never this well-behaved.
These particular ones had been "mutated" by Vinson.
They had lost some of their natural aggressiveness, but in exchange, they obeyed their master's commands.
Instead of biting everyone on sight, like ordinary Biting Cabbages.
Harry looked at the strange little plant in his hand, and for the first time, he felt something new.
A sense of cautious excitement.