In the hall of McMillan's house, most people were staring at Maka and Charlotte, but the two people at the center of their gaze had no sense of being the protagonists at all.
It didn't take long for them to take most of their attention away from the dance moves.
"...Senior sister, why are you here?" Maka asked casually.
"I still want to ask you, little brother-" Charlotte smiled, "You seem to be particularly fond of such and such activities recently?"
Maka knew that she was talking about the last graduation party!
He shook his head slightly and said half-truthfully, "I didn't do it just because I wanted to... I think you should be able to understand what I'm talking about."
Charlotte pursed her lips and nodded slightly.
"I understand what you mean..." she said, "but aren't you too early? I have only started to really come into contact with these things in the past two years..."
Maka curled her lips and said: "When no one takes care of certain things for you, you always have to do it yourself - for some things, it doesn't matter how far in advance it is."
Charlotte looked at him in surprise, almost speechless.
Both of them spoke incomprehensibly, as if they were playing charades. But both of them knew in their hearts that they were talking about the communication issues in this situation.
In front of both of them, there are many things that they have to face.
Let’s not mention what Maka’s true thoughts are in her heart; at least Charlotte clearly refuses the invisible burdens her family forces on her.
But these things cannot be solved by resistance.
Perhaps in one year or two years, she will have to marry a pure-blood wizard she has never met before to further continue the excellent bloodline of the Witte family; or she may bury her heart completely and use Use the strength and means to seize your position in the family, until you are seven or eighty years old, and then look for the original self.
Or, give up on yourself, throw away everything, go into the family secret room, and use that taboo to destroy the entire Werther family...
"... It probably can't be destroyed. After all, someone has tried it before." Charlotte was thinking about it, and couldn't help but trance, and murmured to herself.
"What?" Maka vaguely noticed something.
Charlotte suddenly came back to her senses. There was a trace of panic in her eyes. She turned her head and glanced at the back door - fortunately, there was no movement there, and her father probably wouldn't hear it.
Because she turned back inexplicably, Maka was suddenly thrown away by her long hair.
"Oh, sorry-" Charlotte apologized quickly.
Maka waved her hand, indicating that it was nothing, but the two of them stopped dancing.
"Go sit for a while and have a rest!" Maka said calmly.
After Charlotte sat down, she unusually closed her mouth and fell into deep thought. To be honest, this is absolutely rare in her who is always cheerful and loves to laugh.
Maka sat opposite her, half leaning on the back of the chair, and began to think about her own affairs.
Not long after, when the young wizards were about to come over without realizing it, the door to the backyard was opened. Mr. Witte and the other two family heads came in, but except for Mr. Witte, the other two people all had complicated expressions.
"Lottie, it's time to go!" Mr. Witte shouted in this direction.
Charlotte turned back, her face had changed into a relaxed and natural expression, no longer solemn as before.
"Sometimes I really can't figure out whether you are older than me or I am older than you!" She said softly with her back to Maka, and then walked quickly towards her father.
"Do you know that boy?" Mr. Witte asked curiously.
Charlotte shrugged and said casually: "That's my junior brother. Maybe you've heard of his name."
"Oh?" Mr. Witte was even more curious.
"His name is Maca McClain." Charlotte smiled and said.
Mr. Witte nodded as he remembered: "Oh, the first-year student at Hogwarts who invented the 'Immortal Potion'?"
The father and daughter did not even look at the wizards and wizards who deliberately approached them. They chatted as if no one else was around and walked out the door together, quickly disappearing through the gate.
In the hall, Maka was almost the only one still sitting on the chair. He looked at the bright moon outside the window, but in his heart he was searching for all information related to the "Witt Family" where Charlotte belonged.
To be honest, judging from what Charlotte accidentally blurted out just now, some of the information can still be confirmed.
"Presumably, it's the 'Witt' family." Maka nodded secretly, then stood up and walked towards Ernie.
Today's primary goal is not Charlotte, it was purely an unexpected gain. And some of the information he wanted had to start with Ernie.
It's actually not too complicated to say. It's been a whole day of preparation for a question that's not exactly a secret. Now go and ask, today's task is almost completed.
Half an hour later, Maka said goodbye to Ernie's father and left the MacMillan Mansion.
He can use Floo powder to come, but he is not suitable for Floo powder to leave.
At least, it really wasn't appropriate in front of so many people - the scene when he used Floo powder was too "eye-catching".
When Maka came to the roadside along the stone path in front of the mansion, he nodded secretly, then took out the wand from his sleeve and stretched it forward.
Yes, he planned to take the Knight Bus back to Hogwarts.
It is really difficult to figure out the route of the Knight Bus, especially when you call for a ride for the first time. You must pay attention to the direction of the incoming bus.
No, people never drive according to the road...
I saw a huge bright purple silhouette emerging from the woods on the side of the road, and the headlights were dazzling. In an instant, it suddenly rushed across the road and stopped next to Maka.
It felt like it was about to hit!
Maka took two steps back and glanced at the front of the car. The golden letters on the windshield formed the words - Knight Bus.
"Welcome aboard the Knight Bus, emergency transport for witches or wizards in distress. Just stick out your wand and step on board and we'll take you wherever you want to go. My name It’s Stan Sampack, and I’m your conductor tonight!”
At the door of the bus, a young man with a pair of provocative ears was putting on a professional smile and speaking fluently.
"Going to Hogwarts, thank you." Maka put her wand back into her sleeve and stepped into the car.
"That's a bit far, yes, sixteen Silver Sickles," said Stan, "but if you add three Silver Sickles, you get a hot chocolate; add four, and you get a hot water bottle and A toothbrush, the color of your choice.”
"No need." Maka took out a gold galleone, "But let me tell you, the hot chocolate in your car is quite expensive."
"Yeah, yeah, but that's the best hot chocolate, it seems to be a Muggle brand - that's what the purchasing department told me." Stan gave Maka a Silver Sickle, then shrugged and agreed. , "But it's really expensive, and it's a Muggle product...it's just a small cup."
He stretched out his hand and compared it. It looked really small.
There were no seats in the car, and behind the curtained windows were six beds with brass posts. Candles sat on brackets beside each bed, illuminating the wainscoted walls. There was no one on the bed at the moment, it felt like a private car.
"You sleep on this one." Stan said, taking Maka to the front bed. The driver sat in an armchair in front of the steering wheel.
"This is our driver, Ern Poullan; Ern, this is... um, what's your name?"
"Just call me Maka, sir." Maka nodded to the driver.
Ern Plan, an older wizard wearing glasses with thick lenses, nodded to Maka as well.
"Drive, Ern." Stan said loudly, sitting in the armchair next to Ern.
There was another loud bang, and Maka couldn't help but lean sideways on the bed to avoid hitting the bed rails, the speed of the Knight Bus throwing him backwards.
It's really terrible. Doesn't this old bus have a gentler way of moving
Maka craned her neck to look at the driver's hand - well, although there were many buttons, this thing really only had one gear!
As the scenery outside the window changed rapidly like a stream of light, Maka gradually adapted to it. Slowly, he suddenly noticed various changes.
"This thing really cannot be ignored..." Maka looked at everything around her carefully, trying to deduce some magic principles from it.
But the speed of the bus was destined not to leave him much time.
Soon, the Knight Bus arrived at the station.
Maka got off the bus amidst Stan's greetings, and then the Knight Bus disappeared like a gust of wind.
…
Early the next morning, when Maka had just walked to the auditorium to have breakfast, Hermione hurried to him. Following closely behind her were Harry and Ron.
"Maka, a witch came to see you yesterday." Hermione said quickly. "She invited Snape away and went to St. Mungo's, saying that her mother was sick."
After that, she added, "She doesn't look good."
"Looking for me? Who?" Maka thought for a while, but didn't think of anyone.
"She said you were a guest in her restaurant!" Harry said.
"Oh, that restaurant!" Maka nodded, "Then I should go and see—is Snape back?"
At this time, all three of them shook their heads.
Maka could only shrug and said: "Okay, then I'll go to Snape's office and take a look..."
As he spoke, he walked towards the Hufflepuff table.
"But you have to at least fill your stomach first, right?" Maka said, choosing an empty plate at the table and adding some vegetable salad or something to it.
"Did anything else happen yesterday?" He asked casually while holding the food in his dining tote.