"...Maka...save them...save them, bastard Maka..."
"As long as you can save them this time, I will do whatever you say from now on, and I will never quarrel with you again..."
"…Maka."
In the afternoon, when Maka was listening to various reports on the competition in the competition coordinator's office, Lupine and others from Black's old house appeared at the door.
But what surprised him a little was that Leni, who was usually too lively, came in at the end with her head lowered this time. And her sister Lena always half hugged and half hugged her, never letting go for a moment.
After the calmest Lupine explained the matter clearly, Leni seemed like she could no longer suppress the guilt and pain in her heart. She rushed over, hugged Maka's arm tightly and cried.
Her tears have always been like the most precious treasure in her life, never easily seen by others. And rare things like this are often the purest, most sincere, and most crystal clear.
"Maka...save them."
The children were taken away, and a total of seven children were left homeless in the old Black house. All of them were taken away except for Isla, who was not very sociable.
In fact, Lupine found the place easily. Because the body of an alienated Acromantula was left there, with scattered limbs and round torso, as well as several smashed humanoid stone statues, revealing a rather fierce battle.
As for the outcome of the battle, that is self-evident.
"I know, Leni," Maka gently patted the head of the still crying little girl, "You have worked very hard, although I also want to say to you, 'You did nothing wrong'... But we all You know, we did do something wrong, didn’t we?”
"But I think your fault is not that you took them far away or left them in an unsafe place. This fault does not belong to you..."
"Lupine has told me all the changes in Hill and the others during this period, so I also understand... You are really growing up and can be a great 'sister'... No, you are worried about Hill and the others now. You feel guilty, but you are already a great sister.”
Having said this, Maka gently separated Leni's hands from holding his arms, pressed her shoulders and looked into her hazy tearful eyes.
"Do you know now? Where did you go wrong?"
After saying that, Maka straightened up and nodded towards Lupine and Sirius.
"My spider died there, right?" He asked with a slight frown, "Is the body still there?"
"Ah... um." Lu Ping nodded immediately and said, "They are still there. I went to join them before I had time to clean up, and then we decided to come directly to your side."
"Okay," Maka thought for a moment, then said, "You and Sirius immediately contact the available members to go out to investigate. Don't worry about whether the other party will find out - of course, ensuring your own safety is still the first priority. .As for where the incident occurred, it’s up to me to check it out... Let’s take action!”
"…Uh, Mr. MacLean?"
When Maka was about to walk out with Lupine and the others, the assistant wizard assigned to him by the International Federation of Wizards came to him and stopped him with some embarrassment.
"Sorry, I have to leave for a while," Maka waved her hand, "but I can recommend someone to replace me—you can go to the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts, Severus. Professor Snape will help you with your work."
Maka walked as she spoke, and when she reached the door, the assistant suddenly turned her head back.
"Mr. MacLean," he said hesitantly, "then...the two ladies inside?"
"Let them stay in there for a while!" Maka said softly, "Don't worry, they are not unfamiliar with Hogwarts. Just wait for them to come out later and take them to the castle."
At this moment, Leni, who was still standing there, suddenly turned around and plunged into the arms of her sister Lena.
"I'm sorry," she cried loudly, "I always make you worry, time and time again... I'm really, really sorry... This... this is my fault, my biggest fault. Just like I am worried now Sister Hill and the others are like that... No, you must be more... even more... "
Feeling the emotions conveyed by her sister's body temperature and intermittent words in her arms, Lena, who had never been overly expressive, couldn't help but purse her lips.
…
Maka gave up on the alchemy competition, but failed to find any clues where the children were taken away. Well, actually that's not accurate. It's just that... there are clues, but there are no traces left to trace.
Ever since he was set up by the old prophet to escape, except for the fact that he used the fake Edward butler to trap two black-robed believers, he really hadn't caught any real clues.
He could feel that the old man was like a slippery loach. And an opponent like this is undoubtedly difficult to deal with... As far as the current predicament is concerned, "waiting for the opponent to hit him" has become the most unrealistic, but also the most practical means of breakthrough.
Therefore, Maka simply let the Order members go out to search and explore.
Because he knew that since the other party chose to take away the children, it meant that the other party's purpose was probably threats and transactions. Then, he decided to use a high-profile search to send a signal to the other party—that he was urgent and willing to accept this obviously unfair deal.
Time passed by little by little, and the afternoon schedule quickly came to an end. Under Maka's previous suggestion, the second round was indeed much more interesting than yesterday, and Snape, as Maka's temporary agent, handled many matters one by one very efficiently.
The only pity is that Maka, who has made a lot of contributions to the competition, has only seen a small part of this morning's content.
In the evening, Maka, who had been busy outside all afternoon, finally returned to Hogwarts.
Of course, he came back this time not for the alchemy competition, but to make preparations to accept the other party's request to meet at any time.
If he had not guessed the old man's intention wrongly, then the other party would definitely find a way to contact him and force him to carry out the transaction. Naturally, the location of the transaction would never be at Hogwarts.
As for what the other party wanted, whether it was Nico Flamel's alchemical legacy or the dagger of pain that was not in his hand at all... No matter what he did, he had to prepare first.
"Maka, do you need me to find some people to help you investigate? Although I can't leave, I still have some old friends who can help you..."
"No, no need."
The appearance of Professor McGonagall was not beyond Maka's expectations. From the moment he left the sisters Leni and Lena at Hogwarts, he knew that Professor McGonagall would find out sooner or later.
"Professor, the responsibility you bear is much heavier than mine," Maka leaned on the desk and did what he was doing without even raising his head, because he knew that McGonagall didn't care about those false politenesses, "and , this time it is not a matter of manpower... If it is really necessary, I will go to you."
"Really?" Professor McGonagall nodded and said, "Okay, I think you already have your own method... But remember, you have to be careful yourself. Strong power is obviously not the only means to achieve your goal."
Mag's words are actually an explanation of the current situation. This incident was a typical sudden incident. If Rita Skeeter hadn't accidentally discovered the anomaly and quickly found him, he might have waited until someone came to the door before he noticed it.
And the old man's own strength, judging from the intensity of the magic power fluctuations he sensed, was far inferior to his own. Although he felt that there seemed to be something strange about the prophet, that did not make the other party stronger than him, otherwise he would not have tried to coerce him by taking away the people around him.
"Professor, I understand..." Maka wrote a few more symbols on the parchment, then raised her head and said seriously, "I will pay attention."
After finishing speaking, Maka immediately threw herself into the intense preparation work again.
After all, it is impossible for him to guess when the other party will contact him, so it is natural to complete these preparations as soon as possible.
However, to be honest, he had actually taken enough time and considered a lot of things in such a short period of time. But he still didn't expect that the other party seemed to be more eager than him.
While Professor McGonagall was still in his office and had not even finished speaking, Filch stumbled in from the corridor outside.
"Principal, Professor McLean... Huhu... School gate... School gate... Many people..."
"who?"
Professor McGonagall immediately asked, and Maka couldn't help frowning and raising her head again.
"I, I don't know... they are all wearing black robes..." Filch, perhaps feeling some external malice, said with a trembling mouth, "There is also one in the middle who is wearing a white robe. He is very old. ... It looks like they have a few little guys in their hands... "
"Come so fast? And he even showed up in person..." After hearing Filch's description, Maka couldn't help but be a little stunned, and then quickly turned solemn, "He escaped so decisively last time. , Let me see, that old man doesn’t look like a guy who dares to expose himself to danger... Something is wrong! "
At this point, he stood up suddenly. Behind him, the sky outside the window has gradually darkened, and on the east wall, a few dim stars are emitting a faint blue light.