"… Do you need my help?"
When Maka asked this question, Willy shook her head decisively.
"What is she doing secretly? It's mysterious..." Seeing Willy turn around and leave, Maka pondered for a moment with a puzzled look on her face, "Well, maybe she has become interested in potions again recently. Already?"
Since the person wouldn't let him help, there was no need for him to forcefully join in, not to mention that the other party was Miss Willy Blois who did whatever she said.
And, speaking of which, he was a little busy this afternoon.
This is all the fault of Mad-Eye Moody. Who knows what was going on in his brain? He even applied to Dumbledore for a three-hour class, and he wanted to do a "Three Schools Exchange Course on Defense Against the Dark Arts." .
No need to ask, this strange old man must be digging a hole for himself again.
"Doesn't he even need to sleep?"
Even though Maka was used to staying up all night doing research, he usually still found time to catch up on sleep.
However, Moody, like him, stayed up all night yesterday. This morning he was still in the principal's office chatting all morning about the fate of Senior Charlotte, but why was he still so energetic
Thinking of this, Maka couldn't help but stretch out.
"Forget it, just think of it as sacrificing your sleep time and go and have fun with the old man!" He yawned and walked towards the auditorium, "... Well, before that, let's eat something first."
It was already more than half of lunch time, and the seats in the auditorium seemed a little empty. Only a few students were still eating, but it looked like they were almost finished.
Maka found a seat and sat down casually. Just as she was about to take the time to fill her stomach, she saw Ron suddenly appear at the door of the auditorium.
"Maka..."
"Well?"
Maka chewed a mouthful of pasta and looked at Ron suspiciously.
"There's something I want to tell you..."
Ron's face looked unnatural. He stood at the door, clenching and unclenching his hands. It seemed that he had something to say in his heart, but it seemed a little difficult to say it.
"What's the matter?" Maka swallowed the food in her mouth, then waved to him, "Come, sit down and talk."
Ron hesitated for a moment, then shuffled over to the table and sat down.
"There was something recently about Hermione..." He hesitated, "I... she lost something..."
"Throwing something? What thing?"
Maka asked casually, then forked another piece of baked potato and stuffed it into her mouth quickly.
"Yes... um... I think I should be honest with you..."
Ron scratched his head vigorously, but saw Maka immediately put down the knife and stretched out her hand, catching two strands of the Weasley family's signature red hair.
"Don't worry," Maka said, raising the hair in her hand, "Go on..."
"Uh, I'm sorry..." Ron looked at the hair in his hand tangledly, then subconsciously moved further away from the dining table before continuing, "I wanted to say that Hermione's ball gown was stolen... and stolen. The person in her dress…”
"...It's me." He paused for a long time before finally speaking out.
Maka thought for a while, but found that something was wrong.
"Then what?" he asked doubtfully, "Do you just want to tell me that you actually have an unusual hobby? Now you can't bear the guilt in your heart, so you come to me to talk to me?"
Ron was choked and speechless. He could only raise his head and look at Maka with wide eyes.
"Don't look at me like that," Maka waved her hand, "I was just joking... Just tell me! What happened?"
Ron held it in for a while, and finally decided to express all the heavy feelings in his heart.
"Maka, it's like this..." He tried not to make his voice sound too trembling, so as not to reveal his inner shake, "I just hope that you can choose Hermione instead of Miss Lovegood."
After Maka heard this, she was not confused by the jump in Ron's topic.
After he chewed the food in his mouth again and swallowed it all, he put down the tableware, untied the napkin, and put them aside.
Then, he looked seriously at Ron's face, which was full of loss and unwillingness.
To be honest, Maka didn't expect Ron to say this. He had to admit that Ron had actually grown a lot unknowingly.
For children like Ron, who have lived in poverty and low self-esteem since childhood, it is easy for their psychology to become distorted. But fortunately, he has a pair of excellent parents and many brothers with cheerful and uplifting personalities.
This made his life not as gloomy and boring as he imagined.
But no matter what, the life of using second-hand goods since he was a child made his inferiority complex continue to grow, gradually filling his heart.
His self-esteem was constantly being eroded and corrupted by almost overflowing inferiority complex, to the point where it became increasingly cheap.
But since the last time, Ron understood the way of thinking for the sake of others under Maca's guidance, he discovered the danger of his own mental state.
Therefore, he decided not to run away from his own weakness and inferiority, but to face his own weaknesses.
After all, Ron is always a little Gryffindor lion, and he does not lack courage deep down in his heart. His courage was only covered up by his infinitely magnified inferiority complex.
Nowadays, Ron has obviously grown up. Even though he has discovered his affection for Hermione, when he knew that he definitely had no chance, he still made up his mind and chose to give up.
I have to say that sometimes, "giving up" is also a kind of courage.
However, Maka shook her head slightly.
It is true that giving up is a kind of courage, but this kind of courage is as cheap as his self-esteem.
Ron has indeed grown up, but this growth has not brought him any qualitative changes...
Maka recalled the Ron mentioned in the "Book of Sins", the Ron who grew up for Hermione, sacrificed for Hermione, and could not even convey a word.
When Maca and Ron sat opposite each other, he felt a reality of flesh and blood.
His eyes were constantly sending him visual signals, constantly reminding him that the Ron in front of him was a living person of flesh and blood.
It's one of his... friends.
"... Ron, I probably understand what you want to say." Maka said seriously, "You have indeed grown up and learned to face your heart... But this is only the first step... "
"On my side, as long as Hermione doesn't speak to me, I have no right to choose to accept or reject. Hermione is a strong and independent girl. I believe she understands what she is doing... But what about you? Do you understand what you are doing?"
Maka's tone was sincere, neither high nor low, just like she was having an ordinary chat. But it was precisely because of this calmness that Ron could accept it in his heart without any resistance.
"...What am I doing?" Ron was confused in his heart, but compared to the entanglement, loss and unwillingness just now, he was more focused at this moment, "I...What am I doing?"
"You can face it now, so..." Maka reached out and tapped Ron's chest, saying calmly, "Then, why don't you break it?"
Ron frowned and looked down at his chest.
He could feel the beating of his heart and even feel the blood flowing continuously in his blood vessels. He clenched his fists, raised his head suddenly, and stared into Maka's eyes.
"I know, I'm going to beat you!" Ron shouted, startling the few little wizards in the auditorium.
Maka twitched the corner of her mouth, stretched out her hand and gave him a head lift.
"I'll beat you! Are you out of your mind?" He asked, dumbfounded. "What you have to do is to break your inferiority complex, let yourself continue to grow, and win Hermione's heart!"
"..." Ron looked at Maka blankly, thought about it carefully, and then nodded.
However, at this moment, near the entrance to the passage leading to the side hall, Hermione was biting her lip and hiding behind the doorpost, her eyes filled with confusion.
She stood there for a long time, then lowered her head, letting her messy natural curly hair obscure her sight.
"I don't want it." She said softly.
…
In the afternoon, Moody's "Three Schools Exchange Class on Defense Against the Dark Arts" finally started under much anticipation.
Yes, Moody's courses are still very attractive to young wizards. With his extensive Auror experience, even if he just sat down and told a story, the students would be able to listen intently.
What's more, Moody is an activist through and through.
From the beginning of this semester, Moody introduced a large number of practical cases to everyone, and used some of the methods he used to coach novice Aurors to train these brats.
Even Maka, who has very precise and demanding requirements for actual combat, fully agrees with the content of his teachings.
Moody did not ignore the age of the little wizards. He chose many very basic and effective practice methods. Like, how to wave a wand quickly and accurately.
As a top Auror who has experienced countless battles, Moody has many convenient and quick "wild ways". When he narrates those slightly boring repetitive exercises with actual combat cases, every little wizard You can listen to it with gusto.
Of course, it is undeniable that this old man is quite scary in general - at least to young wizards, his terrifying appearance and habit of being startled from time to time make it difficult for people to get close to him.
At this time, all the students had arrived, including those from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang.
This is the "special classroom" that Moody applied for. Obviously, he wants to create an impressive scene.
However, Moody, who was standing at the front of the auditorium, was just leaning on a cane and looking impatient. This was just because he found that two students were actually late for this class!