"Luna, are you also going to be involved in order to protect Hogwarts?" Maka looked directly into Luna's eyes, as if to find the real answer.
But Luna shook her head slightly.
"It's not about protecting Hogwarts," she said with a slight smile, "It's about protecting 'friends'."
"Yeah?"
"Yes..." She stretched out her hand and clapped her fingers and said, "Hermione, Harry, Ron, Hagrid, Fang, Hannah..."
Luna tilted her head and counted one by one, with no intention of stopping. Maka looked at her innocent smile and sighed secretly.
"... You have so many friends!" Maka shrugged, "Okay! No need to count, I understand - Harry, Hermione, Ron, you go first to gather the classmates who are willing to participate and get to know each other. Everyone’s true thoughts. This matter cannot be rushed, we have to do it step by step!”
He paused, then looked at Harry and said, "Also, Harry, you must be fully mentally prepared. Maybe you will have to face 'it' again soon."
Harry was stunned for a moment, a hint of gloom flashed in his heart, but the next moment he clenched his hands and nodded resolutely.
"I know." He said forcefully.
"Hey! Let me tell you, do you just think I don't exist?" Hagrid said angrily, "That's not okay. You are only so young... This is too dangerous!"
"Don't worry, if their strength doesn't meet my requirements, I won't let them really participate." After Maka said something to Hagrid, she turned to everyone and confirmed, "That's it... Do you understand?"
"Of course! If I can't help you, well..." Hermione coughed dryly and then said, "I mean, if we can't become a combat force for the enemy, we won't be willing to force ourselves out and be a burden! "
"Yes, I think so too!" Harry agreed, "I don't want the same accident as that one to happen again... not at all!"
"Ron, what about you?" Maka asked Ron, who was sitting on the barrel in silence.
"I..." Ron said a little unnaturally, "Can I really... do it?"
"You think you can't do it?" Hermione looked at him dissatisfied.
"I-"
Ron's words seemed to be stuck on the monkey's head, showing an expression of hesitation.
"Just say what you want to say!" Maka smiled and said, "We are all friends and we won't laugh at you."
"Yes! Ron..." Harry said dully, "What's wrong with you?"
Ron held it in for a while and then let out a long breath.
"Maka, you taught me how to think about problems from the perspective of others, and I also understood many issues that I had ignored before... Even, because of this, I was able to look at myself from other angles... "
"But no matter how I look at it, I can't see a future where I can actually do it. I really... really feel that I... can't do it... "
Maka looked at Ron who was a little downcast, and couldn't help but feel some approval in her heart.
The Ron of the past would not have been able to say these words in this situation. He is a person who keeps many things in his heart. Although his qualifications are ordinary, he is not willing to admit defeat.
Just because of his lack of talent, there will be a big gap in the results obtained by him and others despite the same efforts. This gap can make people despair, give up, and then live a life without any highlights in mediocrity.
If taken to a more extreme level, this despair can even become an inducement for jealousy and revenge.
But right now, although Ron looked disappointed and helpless, he was able to express his helplessness, which was indeed a very difficult thing.
Sometimes, admitting one's own weakness may not be another kind of strength.
Just like Maka, I am afraid that no contemporary wizard can ignore his power. But facing the vast mysteries of magic and the mysterious and unknown future, he still felt infinitely small.
Only by recognizing your own weaknesses can you move forward in a down-to-earth manner and avoid gradually losing the direction of the road under the various temptations along the way.
"... As long as you have made enough efforts to move forward, at least you won't regret doing nothing, right?" Maka smiled and nodded at Ron, "We will all help, I think... It’s not that you can’t do anything well, it’s just that you haven’t found what you’re good at yet!”
He paused, then spread his hands and said: "Didn't you say that you have learned to think about problems from a different angle? Then why not think about it from another angle-"
"If you haven't found it yet, doesn't it mean that you have unlimited possibilities in the future?"
…
Maka can talk about a lot of truths casually, which may encourage others, but the facts need to be changed with real actions.
After talking in Hagrid's hut, the matter was almost decided.
Hermione and others shouldered the task of gathering their classmates. This kind of thing is not difficult to say, but it takes a lot of effort to let the restless classmates clarify their will.
So after Ron thanked everyone gratefully, the little wizards with their mission quickly left.
"Hagrid, then I should go back - there is a lot of research that has not been completed, and now is not the time to be lazy!" Maka also stood up and said goodbye to Hagrid, "By the way, what do you want from Graup? Keep an eye on it and try not to make any big noise during this period."
"Well, I know, I will be careful!"
Maka waved her hand, then pushed open the creaking wooden door and walked out of Hagrid's hut.
"Luna, why don't you go with them?" He already knew that Luna was still at the door, so he asked as soon as he came out, "It's going to be dinner time soon, aren't you hungry?"
"I want to talk to you..."
Luna stood on the steps outside the house, looking at the remaining afterglow in the west, her eyes seemed to have become much clearer.
"Rest is necessary. You have been very busy recently."
Maka smiled slightly and said: "Yes! I am indeed very busy..."
"I still remember that you always like to stay in bed... I have tried many methods to wake you up!" Luna said leisurely.
"...The most effective one is Pu Rong Rong," Maka added with a wry smile, "Of course, it's best not to use that method."
"Puffs are very cute and very approachable," Luna blinked her bright big eyes, and she seemed a little more interested when the topic of magical creatures was brought up, "They are very interesting."
The two stood side by side in front of the hut, chatting casually about some meaningless topics and looking at the sky in the distance. Immersed in this leisure, no one of them took the lead.
After chatting aimlessly for a while, Maka and Luna closed their mouths in tacit agreement and quietly enjoyed the long-lost peace.
After a while, Luna took the initiative to break the gentle silence.
"Maka, what are you moving forward for?"
After hearing Luna ask such an ambiguous question, Maka fell into deep thought.
yes! What has he been moving forward for all this time
For a specific person like Snape? Or for everyone like Dumbledore? Or... is he simply being pushed away by established facts
If we use Dumbledore's words, that is - what is the "love" that he cherishes, insists on, and protects
Even Ron understood the importance of examining himself, but Tamaka had been trying to avoid it. He is just a coward, and he is afraid that in the process of searching for answers, he will come to a conclusion that scares him.
Maybe he had already vaguely seen that conclusion, but he just didn't want to confirm it.
"...What exactly...is it for?" Macca said to himself in a daze.
Luna did not continue to ask, she just looked at Maka's side face surprisingly tenderly, and took the initiative to hold Maka's slightly cold hand.
"You'll protect me, right?"
Maka's heart jolted, and he turned his head and immediately met Luna's soft and delicate eyes. In that line of sight, he felt an inclusive warmth.
"… certainly."
When he received the admission notice to Hogwarts, he had an illusory goal called "magic". That was the reason why he ignited his desire to fight, but it was not enough reason for him to face all obstacles.
As Luna just said, he was originally a lazy and casual person. If nothing pushed him, he would probably settle for the status quo.
However, ever since he caught a glimpse of the pale golden light in the cemetery, he had gained the impetus to move forward.
At first, it was Luna who gave him a reason inadvertently; but now, this girl with long pale golden hair took the initiative to hand this reason into his hands again.
Maka knew very well that Luna didn't have any personal thoughts when she held his hand. She just kindly hoped that Maka would not get lost on her own path, that's all.
But it is precisely because of her simple kindness that Maka, who looks strong and calm on the outside but is as timid as a mouse on the inside, can approach her with peace of mind.
"Then I can rest assured," a smile appeared on Luna's face again, and her eyes became dazed again, "I am responsible for protecting everyone, and Maka is responsible for protecting me... This sounds good."
"That's pretty good." Maka also smiled and said, "Let's go! It's time to go back for dinner—you're not hungry, but I am!"
Under the quietly lit starry sky, two figures strolled along the path between the lawns, gradually blending into the shadow of the huge castle.
The night seemed to add a bit of indescribable tranquility.