Chapter 21 Not a Good Thing

Encountering Villy Brova three times always ended with Maca feeling defeated, giving him a serious sense of frustration for the first time, despite his usual confidence in his social skills.

After silently escorting Villy to the entrance of the Ravenclaw Tower, Maca returned to his own dormitory and flopped onto his bed.

"What's wrong? You look so downcast; that's rare for you!" his roommate Ernie asked curiously.

"Nothing," Maca weakly waved his hand, "I'm just a bit tired."

"Tired in spirit!" he added silently in his mind.

The next morning, as soon as Maca entered the dining hall, he immediately saw Hermione walking towards him with a worried look.

"Are you okay from yesterday?" She looked Maca up and down, seeing that he seemed unchanged, before launching into her usual chatter, "You're too impulsive! I heard from Ron last night what that word means, but I think we shouldn't even care about it! Malfoy is just brainless! There's no need to stoop to his level..."

"...Um, and also, thank you," Hermione ended somewhat sheepishly.

"Don't mention it, remember, we're friends!" Maca shrugged, smiling, "And you need to change your habit of being so talkative."

With that, Maca chuckled and walked towards the Hufflepuff table, greeting Harry and Ron along the way.

"What's up with him? He looks so cheerful, did something good happen?" Ron responded to Maca before exchanging a glance with Harry.

"I don't know, heard he really likes taking care of the plants in the greenhouse, maybe yesterday's punishment suited him!" Harry shook his head, jokingly answering.

"You two! Aren't you Maca's friends too? Don't you worry about him?" Hermione approached, briskly sitting opposite them and speaking loudly.

"You're caring for him, isn't that enough!" Ron muttered vaguely while stuffing bacon into his mouth.

"Maca is very capable; he'll surely handle trouble well," Harry thought for a moment before adding, "At least he's much stronger than us."

"Yeah! He defeated a giant monster by himself! Gosh, thinking about it now seems unbelievable." Ron said eagerly, "I wish I could do that too."

"Then you should focus on your homework!" Hermione said, "Stop handling it so carelessly."

"Oh—here we go again," Ron groaned involuntarily.

Maca watched the trio from Gryffindor, thinking that if life continued this peacefully and calmly, it would be perfect. For him, this leisurely life, so different from the past, was exactly what he wanted.

"Mclain, come to my office after the morning classes end," he was just thinking when he heard someone calling him.

"Oh! Professor Sprout?" Maca saw her smiling face, so this was probably good news, "Okay, Professor."

The first class in the morning was History of Magic, where Professor Binns, with his hypnotic tone, explained the evolutionary history of self-stirring cauldrons to students from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. While this seemed particularly uninteresting to other students, Maca found some inspiration in a few examples—he wanted to try improving this cauldron, perhaps bringing his potion-making fortune into a semi-automated era.

Of course, it wasn't that easy.

The second class was Maca's current headache, Transfiguration.

Honestly, he always loved this subject, but his progress was far behind that of Charms, not to mention his expertise in Potions.

Especially recently, after he saw some interesting records in the restricted section, it became even more unbearable.

He discovered that ancient demonic summoning spells were actually related to Transfiguration!

Not to mention summoning demons, this obvious taboo. Maca speculated that just summoning itself was inseparable from Transfiguration. And that was ancient magic known for its destructive power, once a major category of magic for many powerful white wizards.

But now, the relevant theories had almost completely disappeared, yet this was a fascinating topic worth exploring.

This kind of enticing yet profound magic was like a luxurious banquet that Maca could see but not taste, how could he not feel anxious?

In Transfiguration class, Maca easily turned a matchstick into a needle, then back again. While receiving praise from Professor McGonagall, he seemed even more distressed—clearly, his slow progress was not due to his personal talent, but rather the root of the problem.

Did he have to ask Dumbledore about it, saying he saw records of demonic summoning in the restricted section and wanted to understand it quickly? Don't joke!

After class, Maca hurried to the greenhouse. He wanted to fill the sadness in his heart with the unknown good news Professor Sprout brought.

"Knock, knock, knock" "Come in!"

Pushing open the office door, Maca immediately noticed another person in the office—Madam Hooch, the flying lesson first-year instructor.

"Hello, Madam Hooch; hello, Professor Sprout," Maca politely bowed slightly.

"Oh—yes, you're here. Come here, child," Professor Sprout warmly beckoned Maca over.

"Oh, yes, today there's good news," Professor Sprout said, "Madam Hooch recommended you to me, saying you should join the Hufflepuff Quidditch team!"

"Oh! I'm shocked to hear this news! You know, if you pass the selection test, you'll be the youngest player in a century! I'm really proud of you!"

As she spoke, Professor Sprout couldn't help but hug Maca, she was truly overjoyed.

"Yes! I think Mr. McLain is undoubtedly able to pass the temporary selection. This child's talent in Quidditch has never been seen before. I think, with a series of professional training, he might even be selected for a professional team during his student years!"

"Oh, is that true?" Maca did enjoy flying freely in the air, but he was only moderately interested in Quidditch as a sport.

"Oh, of course! About whether first-year students can join the Quidditch team, I've already consulted Dumbledore. He thinks it's a proof of students' excellence," Professor Sprout said enthusiastically, "Dumbledore also loves this sport; he often takes time to watch international matches!"

"Oh, no—ah! I mean, I'm thrilled!" Maca said excitedly.

Since the person involved had agreed, everything was easy. After lunch, during the lunch break, Professor Sprout couldn't wait to introduce Maca to the Hufflepuff Quidditch team captain, Darren Chris.

Speaking of which, this gentle and helpful sixth-year boy was also the male prefect of Hufflepuff!

"Maca, I've heard from Madam Hooch before," Darren smiled and patted Maca's shoulder, "Awesome! I've never heard of a first-year joining the house team before."

"Yeah! I'm surprised too. I don't even know if I can do it. In fact, I've only done some simple flying exercises in flying class!"

Of course, sometimes he couldn't control himself and just flew wildly.

"No problem, no problem! We all trust Madam Hooch's judgment—she's been a referee for the Quidditch Cup for many years!"

"Besides, our house doesn't really care about the Quidditch Cup... at least I think Quidditch is a relaxing break between classes!" Darren said casually, "So I hate the Slytherin team, they always resort to dirty tactics for victory."

"Oh, yes, I think so too." Maca smiled in agreement, "Flying freely, I especially like that feeling!"

"Alright, lunch break is almost over! Come to the Quidditch pitch after afternoon classes, we'll have a temporary selection test for you, look forward to it! Hahaha—" Darren waved goodbye, preparing to go to class.

"Hahaha." Maca awkwardly laughed along a few times.

He found that after finding Book Yard, his time in the library was likely to be greatly reduced, which wasn't a good thing.

The afternoon classes passed quickly, just as Maca was walking down the corridor with a crowd of students, pushing his way towards the common room, he was pulled out of the crowd by a delicate and fair hand.

"Huh?" Maca was startled. When he saw who it was, he sighed in relief, "Oh, Senior Charlotte, what's up?"

"What could it be, I came to take you to the Quidditch pitch!" Charlotte forcefully patted Maca's back, saying casually.

Take him to the pitch? Could it be...

"Senior, are you a player on the team?" Maca asked in surprise.

"Of course! Didn't I tell you? We might be teammates in the future! If you want to see this big beauty every day, you better give it your all today, my little junior." Charlotte grinned, acting like a lecherous aunt coaxing a little boy.

"Come on! I didn't realize there was anything enjoyable about being dragged by one of the three Hogwarts beauties in front of a hungry pack of wolves!" Maca smiled wryly.

"Stop pretending! You must be enjoying being led by one of the three Hogwarts beauties and flaunting it in public. You must be enjoying it, my little junior," Charlotte chuckled, looking like a creepy aunt coaxing a little boy.

"Give me a break! I don't see anything enjoyable about this, the only feeling I have is—I'm being paraded in front of a pack of hungry wolves!" Maca laughed bitterly.

"Stop being cheap!" Charlotte patted Maca's head, but still let go of his hand.