When Maka arrived at the Lovegood house, Xenophilius was preparing lunch for the day in the kitchen, and Luna had placed three sets of cutlery on the small dining table - Maka had informed them Will come by himself.
"Good afternoon, Maka." Luna heard the movement on the other side of the fireplace, but calmly placed the plates, then turned around and said calmly.
"Well, good afternoon Luna!" Maka looked at the dazed girl in front of her with an indescribable emotion - she really hadn't changed at all.
"I haven't seen you for a while, how are you?" Luna said in a light tone, as if this was not a polite greeting, but just a casual comment.
Maka sat down on the sofa next to her unceremoniously, smiled and nodded: "Not bad, how about you?"
"I don't know... maybe it's okay." She tilted her head, as if she was really thinking about the recent situation.
At this moment, Xenophilius also wiped his hands and walked over.
"Welcome here to spend Christmas together, my little readers." He said happily, "Have you read the recent issues? I have written a lot about the Scimitar-Horned Snorlax, and the readers have responded well!"
"Oh, yes! That's great. You can talk to me again later." Of course Maka didn't look at it. He didn't have the time.
Although Xenophilius would ask an owl to bring him a copy of each issue, he never missed it once.
"Okay, of course! But let's have lunch first, it's ready." Xenophilius said, "I'll be busier after Christmas, you know, the end-of-year special issue of "The Quibbler" - I have prepared a lot of interesting content.”
He sat down at the dining table and filled a bowl of thick soup for Maca.
"...So after Christmas, you can accompany Luna to visit Muggle cities for me!" He said, "I remember you said that you are very familiar with Muggles, and I think you are better than me."
"Oh, of course!" Maka nodded.
"That's great! Luna has always wanted to see the Muggle lifestyle - she always likes the Muggle decorations I bought her." Xenophilius looked at his daughter, eyes Exuding the light of love.
Luna turned her head and showed Maka the sweet cherry earrings hanging on her ears. At this time, she had a hazy smile, her big eyes flickering, and she looked really happy.
Lunch was still going on, and while Maka was chatting and laughing leisurely with the father and daughter in front of her, she was thinking intermittently about the dividing line between Muggles and wizards.
In the magical world, which is still dominated by pure-blood wizards, the boundaries between wizards and Muggles are still clear. Even though many excellent Muggle wizards have appeared in the magical world thanks to the efforts of many sages, the deep-rooted concept of distinction has always been firmly rooted in the hearts of most wizards.
Maka didn't have much thought about this, she just wanted to enjoy her peaceful life. He has the consciousness of being an ordinary person. Even if he becomes a wizard, he is just an ordinary wizard.
Just leave all those complicated and troublesome things to a great wizard like Dumbledore to solve.
"Luna, where should we go first? I think-"
Maka put aside the messy things in her mind and discussed the post-holiday schedule with Luna with a relaxed expression.
Time always flies by at the Lovegood house, which is probably due to Luna's personality. The longer you spend time with her, the easier it is to be affected by her unrestrained thinking, and it feels like the whole world has become ethereal.
When she was with Luna, Maka no longer restrained her emotions, because it was difficult to find sadness in Luna. The two of them would often laugh out loud because of some interesting little things; they would always enjoy the peace silently in a unique and comfortable environment.
In a daze, Christmas Eve has quietly arrived.
Xenophilius was busy in the workshop on the second floor, while Maca and Luna were leaning against the outer wall of the house side by side and looking up at the endless night sky just like last night.
There have been very few stars at night lately, most of them obscured by a thin layer of clouds. A hazy waning moon appeared and disappeared on the sky wall, spreading its silvery glow over the entire hillside.
"Mom gave me her favorite thing as my name." Luna looked up at the moon and smiled quietly, as if she was just talking to something other than Maka sitting next to her. .
Maka nodded, not caring whether Luna saw it or not.
"What about you?" Luna asked, "How did you get your name?"
Maka smiled, not knowing why, but Luna didn't care at all.
"I picked it up myself. It's my original name," Maka said. "It's always been that way."
"That's not bad." Luna said, "Mom always said that the wizard's name represents the trajectory of a person's life—where he comes from and where he will go."
Maka stopped laughing when he heard this and wiped the tears from his eyes. He couldn't even figure out, what exactly was he happy about? Still sad.
"Yes! It represents where we come from, and maybe it also tells us where we are going..."
Early the next morning, the Lovegood family was besieged by owls...
A large number of owls of various coat colors, breeds, and sizes were parked on the lawn slope in front of the house in a mess, because the roof and window edges were already occupied by other owls—they were all here to deliver Christmas gifts to Maka. .
For the first time, Maka knew that he was so popular. Normally, few people would come to talk to him, right
When Maka was awakened from her sleep by a series of pecking sounds, Maka hurried out, brought in all the gifts, large and small, and piled them in the small living room of Luna's house.
At this time, Luna, who was half asleep and more confused than usual, walked out of the room wearing her red and green plaid pajamas.
"Maka, is this a gift from you?" She asked vaguely with her eyes half-opened, holding a small envelope in her hand.
"Yes! Open it and take a look! This is the Christmas gift I gave out this year, which took the longest time." Maka said cheerfully, "Merry Christmas, Luna."
"What about my gift? Where is my gift?" Xenophilius on the side was like a child at the moment, asking Maka excitedly.
"He'll be there soon." The smile on Maka's face became clearer.
"Hmm... Well, what is this?" Luna gently tore open the seal of the envelope and pulled out a thin card packed with small letters and symbols.
"This is a spell," Maka said. "It's the spell that went wrong during the test. I have completed the analysis of it."
There was no need to say it clearly. Both father and daughter present immediately understood - this was the spell that caused Luna to lose her mother and Xenophilius to lose his wife!
The father and daughter looked at each other and found that each other's eyes were a little moist.
Maka was right, they didn't hate the mantra at all - they didn't hate anyone or anything. The only emotion they had towards this mantra was regret.
Luna's mother, Pandora Lovegood, was a person who loved experimenting with spells. Because of the suddenness of the experiment going wrong, she left no words before her death. And this mantra has almost become her only last wish.
When Xenophilius buried his late wife, he buried her experimental notes with her in the tomb, hoping that this would allow her to continue doing what she loved most in that unknown place.
But she never thought that Luna, who was at the scene and witnessed the whole process, would remember it firmly in her heart; even more unexpectedly, Maka even silently remembered it just based on Luna's casual description of the scene of the incident. The mantra has been found and analyzed.
For Luna and his daughter, Maca's Christmas gift is even more precious than anything else.
"...Thank you, thank you!" Xenophilius's voice was obviously trembling.
And Luna lost all her sleepiness. She walked toward Maka without saying a word, hugged him hard, and didn't let go for a long time. At the moment when their eyes crossed, Maka discovered keenly: Luna at this moment was completely without her usual daze, and her big eyes were full of determination.
After a long time, when the two separated, Luna held the thin piece of cardboard in her hand, her expression becoming hazy again. That sight seemed to tell Maka that what he just saw was just an illusion.
"Okay Luna, come and help me open the gifts! Let's see who gave them to me. I don't remember that I made so many friends!" Maka said with a smile.
That night, Xenophilius prepared a large amount of food, including roasted meats, roasted turkeys, marinated dishes, etc. It was as if he had used all the food he had saved on weekdays tonight.
Of course, the Lovegood family's various specialty foods are even more diverse, and they have everything, which makes Maka dazzled.
They ate and drank freely, sometimes cheering happily, sometimes murmuring. When the atmosphere reached its peak, Luna, who usually didn't like dancing, even pulled Maka for a dance.
This Christmas dinner for only three people was intertwined with their laughter until late at night...
At dawn the next day, when the sky was slightly brighter, Xenophilius used his entourage to reveal himself and brought the two of them to the cemetery on the outskirts of Plymouth.
Maka stood aside quietly, watching Luna light the card filled with analytical formulas and burn it up bit by bit in front of her mother's tombstone.
Only then did Maka learn from Xenophilius that the hometown of Luna's mother, Pandora, was actually in a small Muggle village not far from here.
Maka looked at the lonely little figure squatting in front of the tombstone.
The long, soft, pale golden hair that was as long as a waterfall and waist-length once again revealed a beautiful and innocent halo in the rising sun.
"Call the gods to protect you."
Maka's heart was touched, and he silently stared at the girl in front of him. As he murmured to himself, a faint silvery white glow appeared all over his body.