Chapter 30: A holiday in a hurry to go (Patreon)

Regarding the cause of that unexpected situation, Maca asked a few questions when Kevin left. Although the other party said it was temporarily inconvenient to disclose to the public, they revealed some information under Maca's questioning.

Those were two dark wizards who had escaped from the American wizarding world to the UK. The Ministry of Magic in Britain has now taken over the related investigation. According to Kevin, they were actually a couple on the run. The husband was a dark wizard, but his wife was just an ordinary witch.

"No wonder the woman was always nervous. It seems she was forced into this situation," Maca shook his head.

"Even if she was forced, it can't be condoned. Dark wizards pose a significant threat," Kevin said seriously. "And no one can guarantee that she won't transform into a new dark wizard in the future."

Maca agreed that Kevin's words made sense. Indulging and tolerating the true group of dark wizards would only make them more brazen.

But what can be done about it? Maca didn't want to oppose anyone as long as they didn't bother him. He had no desire to engage with those who had completely lost their minds.

Studying various complex and profound magical knowledge already consumed his energy. He didn't have the luxury to waste time on random things.

Besides, this time he used magic outside of school and had Albus help him erase the records. But what about the future? If something goes wrong or there are misunderstandings, it will surely be a big trouble.

In the following days, Maca took Luna around everywhere.

Hyde Park, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, River Thames, Buckingham Palace—every place in London that they could visit, they explored. They enjoyed the life of observing the streets during the day and listening to operas in the theater at night. It was truly a form of luxury.

"Ah, there's never enough time," Maca sighed, returning to Lovegood House with Luna.

"By the way, that... the abnormal situation when you used the Floo Powder, has no one explained it to you?" Xenophilius Lovegood couldn't help but ask when Maca appeared in the fireplace at Lovegood House.

"Oh, yes, Mr. Weasley also asked me, but I have no idea," Maca was also puzzled about it. "He even had the Floo Network technicians come and recalibrate the fireplace at his house, and he even renovated it himself, but it didn't work at all."

He had researched many books at Hogwarts, but the structure of the Floo Network and the preparation of Floo Powder had always been a mystery. He had no clue about it. But it's not something you can casually ask someone and find out. In the end, he had to set it aside.

"Anyway, perhaps it's related to the soul, but for now, it's just a speculation," Maca thought to himself.

To be honest, he didn't know much more about himself than others did. The deep exploration of the mysteries of the human body had always been a bottleneck for numerous researchers, whether wizards or Muggles.

"In a few days, the holiday will be over," Maca suddenly said, "I plan to organize my study notes in these last few days and not go out anymore."

"I'm sorry, Luna."

"Hmm? No, I should thank you," Luna smiled gently. "I had a great time, a very enjoyable Christmas holiday."

...

Maca returned home on the evening before the start of the school year. He brought back a lot of miscellaneous things, most of which were Christmas gifts from everyone. Although they weren't extraordinary things, and some were even snacks, they were heartfelt gifts.

For example, Hagrid gave him a large bag of rock cakes. Maca felt like he would never eat them in his lifetime, but at least he could keep them as a special memento—they had an extremely long shelf life.

In fact, after Christmas Day passed, Maca continued to receive some belated gifts.

Among this batch of gifts, many of them were useful items.

Dumbledore sent him a Nimbus 2000 broomstick, which was clearly a result of Dumbledore finding out about Maca joining the Quidditch team.

Other teachers mostly gave books, various kinds of books, and even their own summarized notes. These gifts from the teachers were truly in line with Maca's preferences.

And it had to be mentioned that Severus Snape also gave him a gift!

Well, although what Severus Snape sent didn't look like a Christmas gift at all, Maca understood that his gift of Felix Felicis clearly had a purpose.

Severus Snape had sent it through the school owl, along with a small note.

"'Invisibility, Unseen'... and its counter-spell 'Instant Healing.'"

Maca looked at the note with a spell written on each side, along with a brief explanation in small print.

"...This is quite a gift," Maca sighed.

This was an offensive spell invented by Severus Snape, concealed, swift, and highly effective. Without a counter-spell, the Unforgivable Curse might have added another entry to its content.

"Oh! Welcome back, Maca." Hermione waved happily at him as the dinner at Hogwarts began. She had just arrived today as well.

Many people, besides Hermione, were welcoming Maca. He suspected that it was partly due to his gifts – they had never seen such enthusiasm before.

On the head table, the professors nodded kindly at him. Maca looked at Dumbledore, who was smiling mischievously, and couldn't help but think it would be better not to approach him.

He greeted the professors from a distance and made his way to the Hufflepuff table.

"Here we go again!" Charlotte pushed Emi, who was sitting next to Maca, and patted Maca on the back as usual.

Maca helplessly allowed her to pat him because refusing would only make her pat him harder.

Charlotte's "here we go again" naturally referred to Quidditch training. Although he had received the Nimbus 2000 as a gift from Dumbledore, he felt it was still early to show it off before the match.

After all, aside from considering the effectiveness of keeping it secret, it was better to keep a low profile, right?

In the following days, despite the continuous rain, the Hufflepuff Quidditch team was still full of enthusiasm. Known for their diligence and steadfastness, they wouldn't be deterred by minor troubles. Being squeezed in the middle by these hardworking little badgers, Maca couldn't help but muster some motivation himself.

To make himself appear more serious, Maca proposed several creative tactics. His ideas received unanimous affirmation from the team members and were fully supported during practice.

Maca regretted it afterwards because it meant an increase in training intensity.

Of course, besides Quidditch training, Maca had many other things to attend to.

Lately, he had been using various magical potions to invigorate himself and enhance his efficiency, and the results were astonishing. However, using too many potions would inevitably lead to side effects and couldn't be sustained long-term.

Fortunately, a series of related research was nearing completion, and it was highly likely that a new potion would soon be born.

The inspiration and cause of this research originated from an unexpected incident during the Christmas break.

For every wizard, their wand is a part of their life. While wizards can replace their wand after accidental damage, it is common knowledge in the magical world that a wizard cannot carry two wands simultaneously.

Once a wand forms a bond with its owner, it becomes exclusive to other wands. When two wands are held by the same person, apart from having a pair of chopsticks that are thick, long, and uneven, there are no other outcomes.

But what if your wand is taken away? Maca didn't want to experience that situation again.

After considering various possibilities, he decided to focus on his expertise in magical potions.

Generally speaking, the majority of potions are intended to be taken orally as the method of administration. This is because most potions undergo complex and unpredictable chemical reactions when exposed to unknown substances in the air if overdosed.

Therefore, Maca abandoned the initial idea of studying volatile sleeping potions and instead delved into more straightforward and crude research directions.

Certain materials with singular properties would not undergo chain reactions, and the byproducts generated in previous experiments were excellent examples of this. Building upon this foundation, Maca successfully developed a highly volatile and flammable liquid potion, resulting in a bottle of incredibly dangerous liquid—this thing could really explode!

As long as there was a tiny amount of fire-related material to serve as a catalyst and could instantly unleash a highly adhesive magical flame.

Based on Maca's judgment, the ferocity of this magical flame was comparable to a weakened version of the Fiendfyre curse. However, its burning effect on magical objects would likely be no weaker than that of Fiendfyre.

Unfortunately, its lack of portability and safety precautions made it an undeniable drawback.

Maca gave this prototype a similarly crude and straightforward name—"Fiery Flask No.1."

The next day at noon, while Maca was sitting in the library during his break after lunch, writing down numerous potion formulas in his notebook, Hermione walked in excitedly.

"Maca, I found it!" she exclaimed. "I found Nicholas Flamel!"

"Well, that's not easy. I heard he has returned to France," Maca said with a smile.

"Um, I mean, I found information about Nicholas Flamel!" Hermione whispered. "I found his name in 'Medieval Spellcraft Guide'!"

"Oh, yes, that's right," Maca nodded. "So, you've figured out what's behind Hagrid's three-headed dog?"

"I think so—it's the Philosopher's Stone!" Hermione lowered her voice.

After receiving confirmation from Maca, Hermione left happily. Maca watched her figure and couldn't help but think that the main event was about to begin.

In fact, he had considered whether or not he should join in the excitement, but after careful consideration, he decided to let things unfold as they may. As it stood, his involvement wouldn't have much impact, and who knows, it might even disrupt Dumbledore's plans.

In the end, this was ultimately a matter between Harry and Voldemort. Why should he involve himself unnecessarily and risk making mistakes?