"Found it!" Maca couldn't help but feel delighted as he swiftly found the information he was looking for.
He read the contents of the book line by line, silently reciting in his mind: "Fairies, magical classification: XX, fairies hold wands similar to tree branches..."
At noon that day, Maca couldn't wait any longer and opened one of the books he had ordered, titled "The Book of Potions," a tome on potion-making. It was an ancient book published in the 16th century, and if he hadn't seen it on an old book list at Flourish and Blotts, he might have missed it.
In this potion book, Maca came across a fascinating ingredient—fairy wings.
This was a rather rare potion ingredient. Although fairies wouldn't die if they lost their wings, being inherently vain creatures, they would never allow their wings to be taken from them.
"...Fairy wings possess unique magical properties. They can make fairies shine brilliantly when they want to show off and conceal their presence when they need to hide."
"If these wings could be used as a main ingredient for brewing, perhaps a very special invisibility potion could be created," Maca speculated.
The art of invisibility was a charming challenge. Apart from crafting intricately made invisibility cloaks and complex illusions, only a few potions achieved near-perfect concealment for adult wizards. These magical elixirs were, without exception, quite expensive—some of their ingredients were incredibly hard to come by.
This made Maca entertain the idea of creating a new invisibility potion himself, even though he knew it might be unrealistic.
While Maca understood he might not have much chance of success, he saw it as a personal challenge.
Opportunities had to be created, or so Maca always believed.
"Excuse me, do you know where the book on 'How to Cultivate Veela Grass' is placed?" Just as Maca was about to return the book in his hand to the shelf, he suddenly heard a faint voice from behind.
Because the voice was so soft, Maca couldn't help but think he might have misheard. To confirm, he turned around.
"Um, what did you just say?"
Behind Maca, a girl draped in a voluminous Slytherin robe stood silently. On her head was a wide-brimmed pointed hat that covered most of her face, allowing Maca to see only a pair of rosy, small lips.
"Excuse me, do you know where the book on 'How to Cultivate Veela Grass' is placed?"
The petite girl repeated her words verbatim, her tone devoid of inflection, reminding Maca of Professor Binns during History of Magic class.
"Um, yes, the herbology books should be over there." Maca instinctively pointed towards the shelves not far from where they were.
As soon as he finished speaking, the mysterious Slytherin girl turned and walked towards that direction without even saying "thank you."
"What's going on?" Maca stared blankly at the girl's back, feeling a sense of being ignored.
In that girl's eyes, it seemed that Maca was just like a tree by the roadside, an existence that didn't require attention.
He pondered for a moment, but he couldn't recall this enigmatic Slytherin girl from his memory.
"Well, whatever, I'll find out if I get the chance. She's probably a new student from this year, right?" Maca shook his head and headed towards the potion section.
He realized he would likely be visiting the library often in the future. The sheer volume of books here was astonishing, and with careful searching, there was bound to be a significant reward.
In the days that followed,
Apart from attending various classes alongside other students, most of Maca's free time was spent in the library on the fifth floor.
Most of the time, students who came to the library could witness a certain scene—
By the reading table near the potion-making and herbology bookshelves, a seat was perpetually buried under a mountain of books. These books were of various sizes, some thick and some thin, but the majority were theoretical volumes that only upperclassmen or even professors would borrow.
And Madam Pince, the librarian, usually kept a watchful eye on this spot not far away. Her gaze was sharp and angry, as if the person sitting there was attempting to harm her child.
If you wanted to figure out who was sitting there, you had to go around to the back to get a clear view, because the front was completely blocked by the books.
Inadvertently, Maca had become a topic of conversation among Hogwarts students.
This wasn't just due to his conspicuous behavior in the library but more so because he was the only non-Slytherin student who could exchange a few words with Professor Snape without receiving biting sarcasm.
Even the knowledgeable Miss Granger couldn't manage that.
"That's because Hermione is a Gryffindor," Ernie said when he mentioned this rumor to Maca. Maca shook his head in response.
Undoubtedly, Miss Granger was an exceptionally bright student, and Maca had to acknowledge the tremendous effort she put into her studies. Still, he didn't think this indiscriminate approach to learning was a suitable choice, especially for a wizard.
As he delved deeper into his studies, Maca grew more convinced of this—magical knowledge was truly vast and profound. To deeply research just the field of potion-making could easily consume a lifetime.
...
When someone is deeply immersed in something, time flies by quickly. Unbeknownst to him, a week had passed in a hurry.
During this time, Maca didn't encounter the mysterious Slytherin girl again, but his understanding of potion-making continued to progress rapidly.
He had thoroughly grasped the content of the potion books he had ordered, and he had made significant breakthroughs regarding the "new type of invisibility potion."
In his research on how "fairy wings achieve invisibility effects," Maca had reached a conclusion. It was a new category different from invisibility cloaks and Disillusionment Charms, encompassing "optical invisibility" and "environmental integration invisibility" based on several ancient potion formulas—an entirely new concept known as "Perception Disruption Invisibility."
Undoubtedly, this was a highly effective invisibility method. While there might not be any objective change, others would be unable to "sense" your presence.
"But this stuff is really expensive!" Maca slumped onto the table, letting out a heavy sigh.
In his calculations, if a wizard were to completely mask their presence, the quantity of wings in the potion formula needed to be quite substantial.
"'Fairy Wings,' 8 Galleons per portion, three portions make 24 Galleons; add to that other ingredients and catalysts, the total cost of a finished bottle would be a whopping 43 Galleons..." At this point, Maca sighed again, "It's practically robbery!"
"...Wait a minute! Why am I worrying about this!" Suddenly, Maca stood up as if he had discovered a new world.
"The library is a quiet place!" Madam Pince shouted hysterically.
"...She doesn't seem to care whether she's being loud or not." Nearby, a few Ravenclaw girls were whispering to each other.
Maca awkwardly apologized to Madam Pince and then sat back amidst his pile of books.
There was no doubt that an effective new potion meant something significant—wealth!
Compared to the rarity and cost of the existing few invisibility potions, Maca's potion was already reasonably affordable. Rare potions in the wizarding world consistently demanded high prices, and master potion-makers like Snape, who created and improved various effective potion formulas, were in high demand.
If not for Snape being entangled in too many stories and thus having different ambitions, he would probably be an exclusive consultant for some potion-making business or noble family by now.
What's the problem with having no money? Since ancient times, which master potion-maker was truly lacking in funds? As long as one carefully selected the selling channels, the Galleons would roll in, more than enough to support further research. When it came to transactions, that was what Maca excelled at.
Early the next morning, he had Macfa send out a shopping list for him. He was about to begin attempting to brew this potion immediately. However, before that, several practical problems that would be encountered during the preparation had to be resolved first.
"Knock, knock, knock."
During lunch break, Maca knocked on the door of the Potions Master's office, a door that hardly anyone would proactively knock on.
"Who is it?" The tone was as dark and aloof as ever, making the visitor feel thoroughly unwelcome by the occupant.
"Professor Snape, it's me, Maca McLean."
"...Come in." The voice inside paused briefly before responding.
Maca turned the doorknob and opened the door to this dimly lit and eerie room, then walked in quickly.
"Professor Snape, I have a few questions about potion-making that I'd like to ask you. I hope I'm not disturbing you." Maca carefully phrased his words, trying to be as polite as possible.
Severus Snape looked at him with an expressionless face, then with a hint of impatience, he said, "Ask."
"In fact, I've encountered several questions while studying potion books. For instance, regarding Hirst's Second Law, how should one handle the antipathy reaction that occurs during the actual brewing process, to maintain the stable magical form of the base potion?" Maca nodded and quickly posed the question.
"Hmm." Snape's response was a cold hum, his brow furrowing.