Chapter 2 : Bustling Cottage

That evening, Macka slept in Xenophilius's study.

He constructed a makeshift bed for Macka using old door panels, layered with two blankets and a quilt as a mattress, with another blanket covering him. Although this setup sounded a bit shabby, it was actually quite comfortable to sleep on.

This allowed Macka to have a good night's sleep.

The next morning, Luna came to wake him up. To be honest, Macka was accustomed to staying up late and sleeping in, so asking him to change his routine was quite challenging.

"Get up, the sun has already risen." Luna reached out and tugged at Macka's blanket, but Macka remained unmoved, cocooned in the covers.

"The sun has already risen!" Seeing no response from under the covers, Luna raised her voice with effort.

"The sun will not rise anymore." Macka mumbled half-asleep.

Luna silently stared at Macka, who was completely curled up under the covers, for a while before reaching out to tug at them again—this seemed to be all she could do.

But Macka obviously had no reaction to this.

After waiting a few more minutes, Luna turned and ran downstairs, seemingly struck by a good idea.

Shortly afterward, Luna ran back up, her hand holding a finely woven soft basket. The basket shook slightly in Luna's hand, as if there were many small things moving inside. It seemed that this was the reason Luna hurried downstairs, as the things inside the basket could effectively wake Macka up, at least according to Luna's belief.

Luna blinked, then carefully lifted a corner of the blanket and quickly poured the contents of the basket into it.

Seeing the little things crawling into the blanket, Luna seemed satisfied, nodding her head and tucking the opened blanket back in.

Before long, there was some movement under the blanket, sounding like someone murmuring softly.

"Uh... hmm?" Macka seemed to be awakened by the commotion, but his voice sounded odd, as if he had a cold, with a heavy nasal tone, "Uh, ah! What is this? Don't..."

The blanket began to stir restlessly, shaking incessantly, even the old door panel used as a bed frame on the ground started to wobble.

As expected, the hastily constructed wooden bed was not very sturdy. With a loud bang, the whole room shook. Then, struggling, Macka pushed aside the blanket, groaning in pain.

Of course, his nasal tone remained heavy, unaffected by the accident.

And the little creatures causing all this chaos were now hanging on Macka, mostly on his face and neck. They hummed joyfully, wriggling and writhing on Macka's face, neck, chest, and elsewhere. Some even stuck their soft tongues into Macka's nostrils.

"Ugh... Achoo!" Macka shook his head, trying to shake off the creatures on his face, then saw Luna standing aside, carefully observing this rare scene.

"Flobberworms," Luna pointed at the furry creatures on Macka's body, dreamily saying, "They're very friendly to people and hum when they're happy."

"And they're easy to feed, they eat everything from leftovers to spiders and mosquitoes. They also love sticking out their tongues and burrowing into wizards' noses to eat their dried snot."

Macka quickly pinched his nose upon hearing this, as he noticed several creatures eagerly sticking out their long tongues, seemingly eager to try them out!

"Alright, alright! This is really an effective alarm clock, so let's get them all back!" Macka pinched his nose and waved his hand casually, then got up from the ground, "Oh, right. Good morning, Luna!"

...

Breakfast quickly passed, or rather, there wasn't much to mention. British food has always been terrible, even in the magical world. Moreover, the Lovegood family's financial situation had never been good, with most of the profits from the magazine going directly to the next issue's expenses, leaving very little for daily living.

After hastily finishing his breakfast, Luna's father went out to gather materials. Before leaving, he instructed Luna to accompany Macka and show him around. Macka, still pondering how to make Gurdyroot tea taste better, didn't pay too much attention.

Both Luna and her father loved this drink, but Macka found it hard to stomach. Compared to the equally significant advantages and disadvantages of the Crumple-Horned Snorkack soup from last night, this drink, also imbued with the atmosphere of the Lovegood family, was simply torture.

"Truly an impactful beverage," Macka sighed, tilting his head back and pouring the liquid from the cup down his throat, "Well, where do we plan to go?"

Luna looked absentmindedly out the window for a while before answering, "I don't know."

Macka thought for a moment, then couldn't help asking, "Are there any neighbors nearby? I mean, wizards."

"Well, the nearest is the Fossett family," Luna turned back, looking out the window, "Further away is Ottery St. Catchpole, where Mr. Weasley and Mr. Diggle from the Ministry of Magic live."

Macka nodded, thinking about whether to visit other wizarding families and make some connections, when suddenly a name that passed by caught his attention.

"Weasley?" He looked up at Luna, "Isn't that... a family of wizards with red hair?"

"Mrs. Molly isn't." Luna shook her head, her expression dreamy, "Her hair is brown."

Macka couldn't help but laugh at this.

"It really is brown," Luna said earnestly, seeing Macka's reaction.

"Alright, alright," Macka looked at Luna's expression and laughed even more heartily, "Of course, of course. I mean, what do you think about going to the Weasleys' house?"

Luna nodded indifferently, as if she didn't really care where they went.

"Boom!"

Soon, after tidying up the dining table and kitchen, the two of them called out the destination and sprinkled the Floo powder.

"Come on, say the name and toss it in." Macka muttered to himself, then walked towards the fireplace, suddenly stopping as if he remembered Harry's experience in Diagon Alley.

"Remember to enunciate clearly." It seemed he recalled something, then continued, "Weasley home." Boom!

For some reason, the green flames produced by Macka's use of the powder were much larger than Luna's last time. Fortunately, this special magical fire didn't have the ability to transport inanimate objects, otherwise, considering the surge of flames reaching the ceiling, the entire fireplace might have been transported to the Weasley home.

When Macka emerged from the Weasleys' fireplace, Mrs. Weasley was speaking to Luna.

"Oh! You must be Macka, right? Luna just mentioned you to me," Mrs. Weasley greeted Macka as he stepped out, "Welcome to our home."

As she spoke, Mrs. Weasley walked over to the window and opened it. "Fred, George, Ron! Come inside, we have guests!"

Macka craned his neck and saw a freckle-faced boy holding a hairless rat, followed by a slightly shorter boy behind him.

"Fred, give me Specky back! Percy gave him to me."

"Hey, Ron, hold on! I just think he needs some hair growth potion."

"Stop quarreling! Can't you see we have guests? Can you guys be quiet for a moment!" Mrs. Weasley shouted immediately, "Where's George?"

Fred shrugged and then said, "Mom, I'm George."

"Well, then where's Fred?" Mrs. Weasley looked puzzled.

Suddenly, someone pushed the two boys aside, then stepped in, talking incessantly, "Hey, Mom! I'm Fred, you got us mixed up again."

Mrs. Weasley's face changed immediately, starting a new round of scolding, while Luna laughed on the side like a madwoman, unable to stop.

Macka watched the scene before him, holding his forehead with a sigh.

"Sorry, uh... Mr. Macka?" A weak voice suddenly sounded from behind Macka, on the other side of the fireplace, "It's always noisy at home."

Macka heard the voice, then turned around and found a girl with the same red hair as the others, but she looked a bit younger than the other children.

"Ah, it's nothing, I'm just not used to such a lively scene." He guessed that the girl in front of him was probably Ginny, the youngest child of the Weasley family.

Macka looked at her, then glanced back at the three boys being scolded by Mrs. Weasley, sighing again. He couldn't understand how such an extremely varied and diverse group of siblings could be raised by the same parents.

The eldest, Bill, always had a rocker vibe, Percy was wild and loved his image, the twins loved playing pranks, and even Ron tended to be a bit self-deprecating.

Only Charlie, the second son, and the youngest Ginny seemed somewhat normal.

Of course, he wasn't sure if his memories were correct, as it had been too long, and he couldn't remember clearly anymore.

"Anyway, thank you, Miss Ginny, for your concern."

Ginny looked at Macka's smile, feeling a bit strange. Had someone mentioned her to him? At least she hadn't introduced herself yet.

"Alright, alright, why don't you all come and meet the guests?" Mrs. Weasley finally finished her lengthy scolding and beckoned her children to come over.

The cottage quieted down a bit, with only Luna still laughing uncontrollably, the awkward laughter echoing in the house.