Chapter 1 : Conversation Under The Starry Sky

The twilight sun had a kind of ethereal beauty, as it filtered through the gaps in the clouds, bringing with it a lazy atmosphere. The maze of tombstones cast long, narrow shadows under the yellowish sunset, creating a unique atmosphere.

Not far from where the eye could see, by a lush poplar tree, stood a man with disheveled white hair like cotton candy, holding a little girl's hand. Undoubtedly, they were a father and daughter paying their respects at a grave.

And it was the back of the girl with long, golden hair that Macka had noticed just now.

Of course, Macka was not a pedophile, he had no interest in a little girl who looked to be barely ten years old—even though he himself was about the same age. It was just that this long hair emitted a shimmering halo in the sunset, a unique sight that was hard to ignore.

Macka couldn't help but take a few more glances, but that was it. He paused for a moment, then immediately averted his gaze, carrying his suitcase and heading towards the town.

Just as he was about to take the few steps out of the cemetery, he faintly heard the man's voice.

"Luna, let's go back, it's getting late."

Luna? Golden hair? In the depths of Macka's mind, a flash of insight flew over a few words that seemed a bit obscure due to the passage of time.

"Could it be such a coincidence?"

Macka stopped again, hesitated for a moment, then plunged into the bushes on the side of the road—he wanted to circle back and confirm.

When Macka returned to the cemetery from the woods, the father and daughter had already left. He deliberately approached the spot where the two had stood just now, and looked down at the tombstone.

"Pandora Lovegood... Lovegood, that should be it." Macka pondered for a moment, then hurriedly ran off, "It's much better to ask an active wizard for directions than to wander around on my own, maybe I can even borrow their fireplace! What's that thing called? Floo... Floo powder?"

"Um... Mr. Lovegood, please wait a moment!"

The father and daughter apparently were not walking fast, or rather, fortunately they hadn't used magic to leave yet, so Macka was able to catch up.

"Excuse me, who are you?" Luna's father, Xenophilius Lovegood, turned his head, looking at Macka who was running towards them with a puzzled expression.

"Oh, yes." Macka quickly caught up with the father and daughter, catching his breath and organizing his thoughts during the pause, then continued, "I am a fan of your magazine, you know, I really like the articles in it, they add color to my life."

In fact, Macka couldn't even remember the name of the magazine, but that didn't stop him from using it as an excuse to strike up a conversation.

"Well... Crumple-Horned Snorkack, yes, Crumple-Horned Snorkack. I hope you know that I have always believed in their existence, although I have never been able to find them." Macka struggled to recall the dusty memories, capturing every fragment he could think of, and used them as chips for conversation with the father and daughter standing in front of him.

"Oh, a fellow enthusiast."

Luna's tone was a bit absent-minded, but her silver-gray eyes blinked at Macka's face without blinking. It could be seen that she was somewhat interested in Macka.

"Ha ha, thank you for your support, my dear little reader." Xenophilius Lovegood nodded happily, looking very pleased.

Seeing this, Macka immediately showed his talent for climbing the social ladder, putting on a smiley face and chatting with Xenophilius as if he were a loyal reader of the magazine.

Believe me, it's not difficult, as long as you follow the topic of the Crumple-Horned Snorkack, let Xenophilius do the talking, and then occasionally nod along, the conversation will keep going.

With one adult and two children walking away on the road, laughter continued along the way, indicating that this attempt at socializing was quite successful.

In the end, as expected, Macka was invited to the Lovegood home and planned to stay for a few days. It was just because he "happened" to "accidentally" reveal that he would be starting at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on September 1st this year.

And, unsurprisingly, Luna would be going to school next year, and then Macka would naturally become her senior.

"Next year, I might have to trouble you to take care of your junior, Mr. Macka." Xenophilius stroked Luna's hair, grinned, and said, "Come on! It looks like tonight's dinner can be a bit more sumptuous than usual. Let's welcome your senior in advance!"

It must be said that from this "sumptuous" dinner, it could be seen that the Lovegood family's financial situation did not seem too good. But for Macka, this was not too important, he was not a person who liked extravagance. For him, poverty and hunger were the norm of his childhood.

What Macka particularly liked was the soup made from a species of aquatic creature called "Nargle," which was indeed a very delicious dish. Of course, their meat was not that great, probably because they exercised too much, making their flesh too tough, and they also had a strange earthy smell.

"Are you full, child?" Xenophilius asked as Macka put down his spoon, unable to help himself, "Perhaps, would you like a cup of Gurdyroot tea?"

"Oh, no, thank you, I think I ate too much." Macka touched his round belly, feeling embarrassed, "Do you mind if I go out for a walk?"

"Of course you can, you can let Luna accompany you for a stroll nearby, it's very safe here, and the air is great." Xenophilius shrugged, "And I'm afraid I have to prepare for tomorrow's work, you know, writing some articles and such."

"Luna, would you like to take a walk with me?" Macka turned around and looked at the girl standing next to him, who was still staring blankly.

"Huh?" Luna turned her head at the sound, "What? Oh, of course, we can also continue to talk about other magical creatures..."

"Yes, yes, I think talking about unicorns is a good choice. It is said that they are quite famous among Muggles too." Macka smiled as he stood up and put on his coat, then opened the gate not far behind him.

Everything here was fine, except that the house was a bit crowded, which reminded him of the attic he had lived in for three years.

The evening air was still so familiar, but the air here was much fresher than in Toppington's Tamer Lane, after all, the Lovegood house was built on a small hill.

The expansive view and the starry sky made Macka's gaze also become unfocused, perhaps Luna's personality was also related to this living environment!

"It's beautiful here, there's a sense of freedom."

Here, there were no obstacles to stop your footsteps, Macka walked by feeling, casting his gaze into the endless night sky.

Luna, who was talking to herself about mistletoe and Erumpent, stopped unusually after hearing this sentence, staring at Macka for a moment, and then also looked up at the stars in the sky.

"Luna, look, there's a sense of freedom here, can you smell it?" Macka said softly, the confusion in his tone seemed even more pronounced than usual.

"What?" Macka hesitated for a moment upon hearing Luna's words, then seemed to remember something, blinked his eyes, "Oh, yes, did your mother say that?"

"Mom also likes it here. She used to bring me out to see the stars when she was resting." Luna nodded, her expression completely inscrutable, but some things were obviously not easy to let go of.

Macka nodded, he vaguely remembered that Luna's mother had passed away, perhaps not too long ago. Of course, he also thought of his own mother, in this life and the previous one.

"It is said that the position and trajectory of the stars can be used as the basis for prophecy, and the centaurs seem to be very good at it."

In Macka's own case, he thought that at times like this, it was more correct to lightly avoid saying "I'm sorry about that" or "I'm sorry," but Luna was obviously not an ordinary girl.

"But my mom passed away last year, because of a wrong spell." Luna did not pick up the topic Macka handed to her, but continued to speak for herself.

"That's really scary, I've been sad about it. But I can't let Dad worry, I think he might be even sadder than me, so I can't cry."

As Luna's whispers grew lower and lower, Macka touched the envelope that had been tucked into his coat pocket all the time, and a thought flashed through his mind, making him furrow his brows involuntarily.

"My mom also passed away, and I think I understand the feeling you're talking about, but I'm thinking, maybe that doesn't mean we'll never see our moms again." Macka thought for a moment, then continued, "The principles of magic have always been vague, if we can study them more thoroughly..."

Luna's face finally showed some ordinary human expressions, but that probably wasn't because of the idea, but rather because of something else.

"Once it goes wrong, it can be very dangerous." Luna's voice was still light, but the absent-mindedness in it was gone.

"Um, I think you're right." Macka rubbed his forehead awkwardly.

Luna stared at Macka for a while, but finally showed a slight smile. She pursed her lips, then added softly, "But it is indeed a way."

Although the night breeze was refreshing, it was still a bit cold, Macka shrank his body and wrapped his coat tightly. He waved to Luna, inviting her to go back to the house together, and then turned around to walk towards the house that looked like a chess piece. Luna stood behind, watching Macka's back, and then pursed her lips.

"Wisdom is the greatest wealth of mankind." Luna's words sounded almost like a murmur to herself.