"You should understand that this is not a question that first-year students should be exposed to." Snape frowned and paused, but continued, "Since you can ask this question, you must know the principle of your reaction to demon-hating. It should be clear. You only need to stir in the reverse direction to interrupt the demon-hating reaction and add the subsequent ingredients at the exact time. You don't need to barely maintain the magic form of the original liquid. Next question."
Next, Maka asked several questions she encountered one by one. But he keenly discovered that Snape did not show the impatience he imagined, but actually answered all the questions one by one.
"... Do you have any questions to ask? Then go out."
After Maka finished asking the question, Snape returned to his original impatient expression and waved Maka out of his office.
"Huh-" Standing at the corner of the corridor outside the office door, Maka couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
To be honest, he really didn't want to get too close to Snape. For him, facing someone he couldn't see through was scarier than anything else.
Speaking of which, in fact, the person he dared not approach the most was undoubtedly Dumbledore.
After briefly recalling her words and deeds in Snape's office, Maka quickly left after finding nothing inappropriate.
After solving a few difficulties that will inevitably be encountered during actual operation, the next thing will be much easier to handle. He just needs to make up for the missing tools, find a quiet place with no one, and start trying to prepare it.
"Hagrid's hunting hut? A good choice!" Maka said to herself, then turned and walked towards the door, "I don't have any classes this afternoon, so I might as well go see Hagrid."
…
Today is a nice day, but the wind is stronger than the previous few days. Looking up at the clear blue sky makes people feel cheerful. The air outside the castle seemed extremely fresh, which was the opposite of beautiful compared to Snape's dark office.
Maka breathed hard the fresh air outside - this is the blessing of nature that sustains human life, regardless of whether wizards or Muggles.
Hagrid's hunting lodge is built not far from the Forbidden Forest. It can be reached quickly by walking through the fields.
"Hey, Hagrid! Good afternoon!" Maka saw Hagrid's tall figure from a distance.
"Oh, Maka! Yes, good afternoon!" Hagrid turned his head after hearing this, and smiled happily after seeing Maka.
However, he quickly put away his smile and said with a serious face: "Yes, I am very happy that you can come to see me, and I also welcome you to come to my cabin as a guest. However, you should be in class soon It’s time, you shouldn’t be here.”
"Yes, to be exact, class is already in session now," Maka shrugged, "but I don't have class today."
"So that's it," Hagrid nodded suddenly, "I should have thought of it earlier. Last time I called Harry and the others, I specifically picked a time when they didn't have classes."
"Come on, come in, come on, I'll give you a cup of tea." He said, putting his arm on Maka's shoulder and walking towards the hut, "Oh, the door is a bit small, you go first."
"Woof! Woof!" Hagrid's black hound barked at Maka, shaking the iron collar around his neck.
"His name is Yaya. He's a little timid, but he's very close to people and is a good dog." Hagrid pulled Yaya hard and motioned for Maka to sit down on the sofa.
While Hagrid went to make tea, Maka looked around the interior of the cabin. There is basically nothing here except a fireplace, two sofas and a small round table. Well, Hagrid had to stay in there, so he couldn't really put down too much furniture.
"Would you like some rock biscuits? Harry and Ron seem to like them." Hagrid turned to ask.
"No, no need, they are a bit hard, and my teeth have not been in good condition recently." Maka quickly declined, "You know, it's time to replace the teeth."
"Oh, yes, that's a pity." Hagrid nodded, "But if you want to get rid of your bad teeth quickly, rock cake is actually not a bad choice."
"If it comes down soon, I might come to find you Hagrid again." Maka said with a wry smile.
Next, Maka chatted with Hagrid all afternoon. From talking about various magical creatures, to Dumbledore, and then to his brother Aberforth, I learned a lot of messy information.
In general, under Maka's clever conversation guidance, the two chatted about many topics that Hagrid was interested in, and they had a great time talking.
It wasn't until Maka was about to leave that he stood at the door and mentioned his request seemingly casually.
"Oh, by the way, Hagrid," Maka said as if she suddenly remembered something, "I wonder if I can come to your place to do some practice in preparing potions in my free time? In school, Professor Snape He always stares at me with a gloomy look on his face, and I can’t calm down to practice.”
"Well, Severus, yes, he always looks like someone owes him money," Hagrid smiled and nodded, "Of course, you are welcome to come over at any time, I will be around here most of the time."
"Okay, thank you." After thanking Maka, she closed the door and left.
Of course, it would be nice to find the Room of Requirement, but Maka forgot where it was.
"Go back and look for it! It would be great if you can find it."
While he was thinking about it, he walked towards the castle. In a little while, it will be dinner time.
…
Meal time at Hogwarts is always the busiest time of the day. At this time, everyone will discuss the gossip and thoughts of the whole day with each other while dealing with the food on their own plates.
Today, Maka finally stopped rushing because he was ready to take a rest. I've been spending a lot of time in the library lately, and even if I don't feel mentally tired, my body is already tired.
"… is her?"
Maka accidentally glanced over to the Slytherin table, and suddenly saw the mysterious girl she met in the library before.
She was sitting on the edge of the long Slytherin table, eating pudding in small bites. The house robe that was too loose for her was hanging on the floor, but she didn't care. The students around her were all talking to each other, and it was very lively. She was the only one outside of this cheerful atmosphere, and no one paid attention to her.
Logically speaking, it should feel quite uncomfortable for her to sit there alone. But Maka found that she seemed to blend into the entire environment. Rather than being low-key, it was better to say that she had no sense of presence at all.
In a pleasant atmosphere, the dinner gradually came to an end.
Just as Maka looked at the back of the mysterious girl who finished her meal and left silently, thinking secretly about who she was, he caught a glimpse of Malfoy walking towards Gryffindor.
"Having your last meal, Potter? When are you taking the train back to the Muggles?"
"You think the professors haven't noticed this, and with your little friend by your side, you'll be emboldened." Harry said coldly.
Maka had already walked to the side. He looked at Crabbe and Goyle. The tall man could hardly be called a "little one".
The two of them seemed to be worried about the teacher at the guest table, and they didn't dare to make any mistakes, so they had to look gloomy and click their fingers together.
"I'd like to fight you alone any time," said Malfoy. "If that's okay with you, tonight, a duel between wizards! Wands only - no contact. What's the matter? You've never heard of it, I suppose. Are you going to have a wizard duel?"
"Of course he's heard of it," Ron said, turning suddenly. "I am his assistant, who is your assistant?"
Malfoy looked at Crabbe and Goyle and weighed them.
"Crabbe," he said, "how about midnight? We'll meet you in the trophy room, where the doors are never locked."
After Malfoy left, Harry and Ron couldn't help but look at each other.
"What's going on with the Wizard's Duel?" Harry asked, "You said being my assistant, what do you mean?"
"Oh, if you die, the assistant will take over," Ron said lightly, finally starting to eat his cooled pie again.
He caught the look on Harry's face and added hurriedly, "But you know, people only die in formal duels with real wizards. At best, you and Malfoy can only send a few sparks to each other - You two know too little magic to really hurt each other. However, I bet he thought you would refuse."
"What if I wave my wand and nothing happens?"
"Then throw away the wand and punch him in the nose." Ron shrugged and gave his advice with a smile.
"Sorry to bother you," Hermione suddenly said from across the long table.
"Can we let people sit down and eat here?" Ron said.
Hermione ignored him, but said to Harry: "I couldn't help but overhear what you and Malfoy said..."
"I knew you would," Ron muttered.
"You must not wander around the school at night. Think about it, if you are caught, how many points you will lose to Gryffindor! And you will definitely be caught. You are really too selfish."
"This really has nothing to do with you," Harry said.
"Goodbye," Ron continued.
Hermione watched them leave and stamped her foot in annoyance. Suddenly, she spotted Maka sitting not far away.
"Hey, you heard that too, right? You should stop them too."
Since chatting with Maka in the Herbology class that day, Hermione would occasionally meet Maka in the library. She would usually sit down and communicate with Maka about some study problems.
As time passed, the two of them became familiar with each other.
"As you can see, it's useless to stop them when they are like that." Maka came over and spread her hands, saying that she couldn't do anything about it, "Although Harry is usually very kind, in fact he is still very stubborn at heart. What he believes in, It’s hard for others to get him to change.”
Hermione pursed her lips and walked toward the door without saying a word. When parting, she suddenly turned around and gave Maka an angry look.