"Hermione, sit down first!"
Maka took Hermione back to the study, and then he sat down on the sofa first.
To be honest, the members of the Order of the Phoenix all know that Maka is always busy, because every time they come to the study, they will see him burrowing into the "hill" formed by magic books and various documents. Busy day and night.
Maka seemed to spend very little time sleeping every day. Although everyone sometimes worried about his physical condition, they got used to it after finding that he was in good spirits every day.
But at least, if nothing happens on weekdays, everyone is used to not disturbing him in the study.
Hermione has not come in a few times since she moved in here during this vacation, but every time she comes in, she will find that the space here seems to be getting more and more "crowded".
"Have you got more things here again?" Hermione curiously picked up a notebook piled on the sofa and flipped through it, only to find that it was full of symbols and formulas that seemed vaguely understandable.
"I think so..." Maka shrugged, "But at least there is a place to sit. You don't have to worry about making a mess. It's okay to push it away."
"I think this is messy enough!" Hermione said dissatisfiedly, "Won't you clean it up?"
"They are neat in my heart." Maka said with a smile, "Let's not talk about it for now... In fact, I have planned to find a meeting with you to chat with you a long time ago, and just now is an opportunity!"
"The opportunity?" Hermione asked doubtfully, "You mean that I saw through your lies?"
"No," Maka shook her head, "I mean, I want Harry to make a choice... speaking of it, you, me, Harry, Ron, and of course other classmates."
"Among these people, you are the only one who I think is the smartest."
Hermione immediately blushed when she heard Maka praise her in such a rare way, but immediately raised her head proudly.
"Really?" A look of joy appeared on her lips.
"Of course it's true! Your advantages are obvious, you are smart and diligent, and you are meticulous in your studies... However, your shortcomings are also obvious - you are not very good at understanding things that lack logic, right?"
"Oh - after you said it, it seems like it is indeed the case!" Hermione scratched her messy hair in annoyance.
"Because of this, although you can quickly memorize various magical knowledge, you cannot study them more deeply. Because most of the knowledge about magic requires 'imagination' and 'perception'..."
Unknowingly, Maka guided Hermione into a state of "listening to lectures". Time gradually passed, and soon it was dinner time.
When Hermione unconsciously glanced at the clock on the wall, she suddenly came back to her senses.
"Oh! Why have we been talking about study and research?" She wondered, "I thought you wanted to talk to me about Harry!"
"Harry needs to face some things by himself," Maka said seriously, "Facing the return of Voldemort, we have been fighting, and you and Harry are the people who I think are most likely to be the force to protect everyone. …”
"At least there are a lot of people and things I want to protect, and I believe you do the same, Hermione. So, I hope you can grow up as soon as possible, learn magic knowledge in a more targeted way, and turn them into your own strength."
"Now that Voldemort is temporarily lurking, we can't be sure when he will come back again. But it is foreseeable that when he appears in our sights again, dangers will become everywhere..."
…
Harry finally plucked up the courage to accept Maka's mission. Although he was still worried about the upcoming trip to the Ministry of Magic, at least he had taken the first step with his own willpower.
On Wednesday night, during dinner, Mrs. Weasley turned to Harry and whispered: "I have ironed your best clothes and you can put them on tomorrow morning. Harry, I hope you will come back tonight." Go wash your hair. A good first impression can work wonders."
When Harry heard this, he felt like a brick suddenly hit his heart. Hermione, Ron, George, Fred and Ginny all stopped talking and looked in his direction.
"Actually, don't worry too much. It's impossible for Voldemort to completely infiltrate the entire Ministry of Magic. Just calm down and do as I say."
Harry nodded and wanted to continue chewing on his ribs, but his mandible suddenly became so dry that he couldn't chew anymore.
"How do I get there?" He tried not to sound too concerned.
"Arthur will take you with him when he goes to work." Mrs. Weasley said gently.
Mr. Weasley smiled encouragingly at Harry across the table, "You can sit in my office for a while and then go there when the trial time is coming."
Harry looked towards Sirius, but before he could say anything, Mrs. Weasley spoke first.
"Sirius of course - can't - go with you, can he?"
"I think that's quite right." Sirius said through gritted teeth, and then stabbed his fork into the potatoes gloomily.
The next morning, it was half past five. Harry suddenly woke up completely, as if someone had yelled into his cochlea.
He lay there motionless, and gradually, the thought of going to the Ministry of Magic to stand trial filled every brain cell in his brain.
When he felt he couldn't take it anymore, he simply jumped out of bed and put on the glasses on the bedside table.
Mrs. Weasley had placed the freshly laundered T-shirts and jeans at the foot of the bed, and Harry fumbled to put them on.
In the bed next to him, Ron was lying on the bed with his mouth open. He was obviously sleeping soundly!
Harry passed Ron's bed and came to the corridor outside the door. He closed the door gently with his backhand. Ron on the bed never noticed.
He quietly walked down the stairs and came to the kitchen below.
He originally thought there would be no one in the kitchen, but when he just walked to the door, he heard a low voice coming from behind the door.
He opened the door and saw Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Weasley, Sirius, Tonks and Lupin all sitting there, as if waiting for him.
Maka and Hermione were there too, and they seemed to be communicating softly over several notebooks.
They were all fully dressed except Mrs. Weasley who was still wearing a purple nightgown. As soon as Harry entered, she quickly stood up.
"Breakfast!" she said as she drew her wand and hurried toward the stove.
"Morning... morning... good morning, Harry." Tonks yawned - her hair this morning was blonde and in lazy curls.
"Did you sleep well?"
"Very good," Harry replied.
"I haven't... ha... slept all night." She said, trembling all over and letting out a big yawn, "Come here... sit down!"
She pulled out a chair next to her, knocking over the other chair next door.
"Tonks, please stop working..." Maka raised her head and teased, "Don't you always complain that you always knock things over? The best way is not to touch them."
"It's all your business... ha..." Tonks didn't even have the energy to argue. She seemed really sleepy.
"What do you want to eat, Harry?" Mrs. Weasley asked loudly. "Waffles? Porridge? Smoked fish? Bread? Bacon and eggs?"
"Just... just some bread, thank you!" Harry said.
Lupine glanced at Harry, and then said to Tonks: "What did you say about Scrimgeour?"
"Oh! By the way, that's it... Ha... We have to be more careful. He started asking Kingsley and me some strange questions." Tonks waved her hand.
Maka thought for a while and warned: "Pay more attention to whether he shows a dazed expression when he is not talking. Scrimgeour is still very principled. If he was not controlled by the powerful Imperius Curse, he would The credibility is still relatively high.”
"Kingsley thinks so too, but it's not easy to see the Imperius Curse!" Tonks said with a grimace.
"There's really no good way to do this. We can only observe more." Maka shrugged.
Harry was subconsciously relieved that they didn't ask him to join them. In fact, he was always feeling uneasy in his heart.
Mrs. Weasley placed two slices of bread and a jar of marmalade in front of him. He ate it with difficulty, but it tasted like nothing.
On the other side, Mrs. Weasley sat down on the other side and began to pay special attention to his T-shirt. At one moment he was tucking in the label on the back of his neck, and at another he was smoothing out the seams on his shoulders.
To be honest, Harry really wished she wouldn't do it.
Maka seemed to see his thoughts and smiled and said: "You really have to pay attention to your appearance. Those guys are very concerned about this, so it will be better for you to pay attention to your words and deeds when the time comes."
"Maka, I can't work the night shift tomorrow. I'm too... ha... too tired." Tonks said and yawned again.
"Then let me take your place," said Mr. Weasley. "I have nothing to do tonight, and I have a report to rush anyway."
Mr. Weasley was not wearing wizard robes, but a pair of pinstriped trousers and an old bomber jacket. He looked from Tonks to Harry.
"how are you feeling?"
Harry tilted his head. Although he was full of uneasiness, he really didn't know what to say.
"It will be over soon." Mr. Weasley encouraged him. "In a few hours, you will have nothing to do... Don't worry too much about the mission, it doesn't have to be completed. , isn’t it?”
Harry pursed his lips, looked at Maka again, and said nothing.
As Mr. Weasley said, the task Maka gave him did not have to be completed, but he felt that this was actually an opportunity given to him by Maka.
An opportunity to break through himself and regain his courage, he actually wanted to seize it firmly.