When Professor McGonagall found Maka, he was staying in the greenhouse with Willie, recording the growth of the flower seeds last time.
"Oh! Mr. Maclean, you are here." Professor McGonagall opened the greenhouse door and said immediately, "Come with me quickly, Dumbledore wants to see you for something."
Maka calmly closed the notebook and then raised her head to look at the door.
"Okay, Professor McGonagall." After saying that, he turned to Willy and said, "Miss Blois, it seems I have to leave for a while. You can go back when you're done. You don't have to wait for me here. "
After that, he sorted out the notebook and followed Professor McGonagall to the principal's office.
Although I have been there several times, Maka has never been fond of it. Every time he faced Dumbledore, there was always an invisible pressure that kept him from relaxing.
Especially this time, he did a lot of things that others didn't know. But being able to hide it from others doesn't mean that you can also hide it from Dumbledore. Here, the mastery of a "degree" is very important.
Not long after Maka waited in the principal's office, Dumbledore opened the door and came in.
"How have you been recently?" Dumbledore said relaxedly, "Would you like some iced lemon juice?"
"I think this is a good idea." Maka nodded calmly.
When the two faced each other and sat down in front of and behind their desks, Dumbledore took the initiative to open up the topic.
"You must be very concerned about why I came to you at this time." Dumbledore said gently, "Actually, it's not that complicated-"
"I just invite you to come and listen to me tell a little story."
Maka did not understand what this so-called "little story" had to do with him, but this did not prevent him from being a qualified listener.
"A long time ago, there was a young wizard who had a happy family and a good life. When he entered Hogwarts to study magic, he discovered his talent, and then a series of Ambition and ideals… ”
Dumbledore spoke softly in a soothing tone, as if he was remembering something.
Behind his half-moon-shaped glasses, his pale blue pupils glowed with a faint light.
"The little wizard's ideals were simple, but also very grand. As a young man, he had not considered the correctness of this ideal at that time."
"A few years later, the little wizard graduated from Hogwarts with the highest honors... But his family had many accidents in the past few years, which forced him to interrupt his ideals."
"His sister was still young at the time. When she was casting magic, she was attacked by three Muggle boys who saw her displaying magical abilities. This attack made his sister's spirit very unstable - her magic was out of control. . And their father also used the curse in order to retaliate against those Muggle boys... In order to ensure that his poor daughter would not be imprisoned in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Maladies for life, he took all the blame alone... He Sent to Azkaban.”
"Afterwards, their mother moved with them..."
Upon hearing this, Maka immediately realized that the little wizard in this story was probably Dumbledore himself.
Dumbledore's story continues...
"But the unfortunate thing doesn't end here." Dumbledore raised his head slightly, and the lenses became bright as the angle of the light changed, covering his slightly lost eyes.
"When the little wizard's sister was fourteen years old, her magic power went berserk again... This accident brought an abrupt end to her mother's life. At that time, the only thing that could stop the sister's magic power from going berserk, the little wizard's brother, was not at home. ."
"At that time, the little wizard was in pain...extreme pain. But things had already happened, it was irreversible, and life had to go on. He bore the resentment of his younger brother, constantly comforted his sister who blamed herself, and took on the responsibility This family has been torn apart."
At this point, Dumbledore was silent for a while before continuing.
"But at this moment, a little wizard who had the same ambition as him appeared. They quickly established a deep friendship, and the little wizard regained his ideals."
"They set out together to look for some clues that the little wizard got while attending Hogwarts... During this period, the little wizard lost his emotions in order to accept a certain test."
Hearing this, Maka's heart jumped suddenly, and a lot of questions almost jumped out of her throat.
But when he saw that Dumbledore was still immersed in his story, he forcefully swallowed the words that came to his lips.
Perhaps, Dumbledore was once one of the candidates; perhaps, Dumbledore had already known his little secrets; or perhaps, this sudden conversation was born out of this.
Maka decided not to interrupt Dumbledore's story. If he wanted to say something, he would always tell her.
"... At this moment, the little wizard's brother pointed out that if there was a sister to care about, the little wizard would never be able to become a heroic leader. The little wizard's best friend was very angry about this and cast a spell on the little wizard's brother. A Cruciatus Curse.”
"At this time, the little wizard's sealed emotions were loosened - he protected his younger brother. But because of this, a messy duel broke out between the three. In the chaos, the little wizard's sister hoped to give My brothers came to help, but were killed by a curse cast by an unknown person!”
Dumbledore's long white beard was trembling slightly, as if he still hadn't let go.
"The little wizard's emotions recovered as a result, and he passed the test that he was helpless to do... But he gave up all the subsequent tests and his ideals. He didn't know what the meaning of his persistence was - his sister died My brother has hated him forever, and even his best friends have fled far away."
Having said this, Dumbledore suddenly looked at Maka, his eyes sharp and serious.
"What would you do if it were you?" he asked.
Maka pursed her lips, her face remaining calm. He thought, thought, and really considered this issue, but he didn't know.
After a long time, Maka finally said: "You need to find the answer to this question yourself."
Dumbledore's face was grim. He looked at Maka. After a while, he actually smiled.
"You are better than the little wizard in this story," Dumbledore said. "He finally gave up on the search, but you probably wouldn't."
"This is probably because I am a Hufflepuff." Maka said.
Dumbledore seemed to have called Maka here just to tell a story. In the following time, the two wizards, one old and one young, sat opposite each other, drinking lemon juice without saying a word, each thinking about their own things, and did not leave until the dinner began.
Dumbledore may have known about what Maka had done, or he may not have fully understood it. But he had no intention of asking.
This time, the entire party lasted the entire night.
Harry and Ron both scored some bonus points, allowing Gryffindor to finally win this year's House Cup.
Afterwards, Professor McGonagall stood up and told them that the school decided to cancel the exam in order to entertain everyone. All the students except Hermione were happy about this.
Dumbledore announced that, unfortunately, Professor Lockhart would not be able to come back next semester. Everyone burst into cheers when they heard the news - after all, no matter what miracles he had created, his courses were really terrible.
In addition, it is worth mentioning that several teachers are also applauding this.
Apart from these surprises, this banquet was indeed very lively, but Maka has never been used to such lively scenes. Especially recently, he always likes to be alone in a place where no one is around to think about problems.
In the middle of the party, he walked outside the hall with a drink.
"Professor Lockhart?" Maka suddenly turned around, "Why are you here too? Shouldn't you be the one who enjoys this kind of banquet the most? You are the hero of Hogwarts this semester."
When Lockhart heard this, he smiled bitterly and shook his head. A rare sense of reality appeared on his face.
"Many people have told me such and such great truths, but I have never taken their words to heart." He said, "But this time, after I experienced it myself, I realized that in an exciting event How boring is it to be an incompetent spectator in an adventure?"
Maka glanced at him and said calmly: "It seems that I can look forward to your next book."
Lockhart's eyes immediately widened when he heard this.
"Oh -" he couldn't help but sigh, "I really can't believe it, are you really a kid who hasn't even finished the second grade? How do you know -"
"When a writer feels 'bored' about his story, he will probably tear up his manuscript and create a new story."
Obviously, Maka has concluded that Lockhart will never write this incident into another "false novel".
"I think you will become a terrible wizard in the future." Lockhart couldn't help but said.
Maka gave him a stiff smile.
"In this case, becoming friends with such a terrible wizard is the wisest choice." He said dryly, "Maybe I will have something to ask of you in the future, so remember to protect your reputation in the magical world. "
"Haha, of course." Lockhart smiled awkwardly.
This night, the night sky was still so deep, and the stars were flickering all over the sky, as if telling the people on the ground that everything in the world would return to peace just like the rotation of stars and the moon.