"Strangely Flavored Pudding."
In front of the stone gargoyle at the entrance to the Headmaster's office, Professor McGonagall spoke today's password. The gargoyle leapt aside at the sound, and the stone wall behind it split in half, revealing a spiral staircase leading to the Headmaster's office.
The staircase rotated automatically, carrying a few people to the entrance of the Headmaster's office.
"Please come in." Dumbledore's old voice came from inside, as if he knew they were coming, before anyone could knock.
Professor McGonagall pushed open the door, followed by Maca and Snape.
"How's the situation?" Dumbledore looked at Maca and smiled, then turned to Professor McGonagall.
"The students have all returned, and the giant problem has been resolved—by Mr. Maclean." Professor McGonagall glanced at Maca and then explained the details to Dumbledore.
Dumbledore nodded as he listened, and after Professor McGonagall finished speaking, he began to talk.
"Oh, yes, I understand." Dumbledore said, "Mila, you continue the search and see if there are any students still outside."
"Severus, you go help Professor Quirrell get rid of the giant."
"I think it's unnecessary. Quirrell can handle it on his own." Snape said expressionlessly.
"I think it's necessary." Dumbledore looked at Snape and said.
"...If you insist." Snape stared at Dumbledore for a moment before turning and leaving efficiently.
Maca realized that there were only him and Dumbledore left in the room. This made him a little uneasy inside, but he didn't show it.
"Would you like some strangely flavored pudding?" Dumbledore asked with a smile.
"Um, why not?" Maca adjusted his mood and tried not to dwell on various things.
It had to be said, the Headmaster's taste was quite good. In no time, a pudding made its way into Maca's stomach, during which Dumbledore just watched him with a smile, not saying a word.
"Well, it tastes good." After waiting for a while, Maca said somewhat awkwardly.
"I think so too." Dumbledore finally spoke, "So, how does life at Hogwarts feel?"
"It's interesting and fulfilling, and I've made quite a few friends." Maca tried to select optimistic answers, even though he wasn't sure if it mattered.
"To be honest, you're the smartest child I've ever seen, bar none." Dumbledore shook his head, seemingly not caring about Maca's answers, "No one has learned so much at eleven during my teaching tenure, not one. And in the history of Hogwarts teaching, I haven't heard of anything like it."
"Um, thank you for the praise, but... isn't that a bit exaggerated? For example, my Transfiguration is just average." Maca tried to recall his own situation.
"I don't think so," Dumbledore said, "I've been paying attention to you since your first outburst of magic. In terms of your behavior and experiences, I think we can communicate as relatively equal adults."
This time, Maca couldn't hold back. He exclaimed in surprise, "A magic outburst? I've been wanting to ask about that since I received my acceptance letter. How come I don't remember when I had a magic outburst?"
"Oh, yes, because your magic outburst happened at an inconvenient time." Dumbledore sighed, "Though I'm not sure if I should say—"
Maca was stunned by these words, then suddenly stood up, "Was it my mother... back then?"
"Yes, when the car accident happened, your magic suddenly went out of control to protect you." Dumbledore looked at Maca kindly, with a hint of pity in his eyes.
"Meaning, even if she didn't jump in front of it..." Maca murmured with a trembling voice, as if he had lost all strength, sinking back into the backrest of the chair.
Dumbledore silently looked at Maca, seemingly regretful about this, and at the same time, observing his reaction.
Suddenly, Maca snapped out of it and sighed heavily.
"The departed have gone... that's why I'm even more eager to obtain the power to protect others." Maca suddenly lifted his head, looking at Dumbledore for the first time, speaking firmly.
"This is your true self, and I can feel it." Dumbledore nodded satisfactorily, revealing a gentle and wise smile once again, "Death is usually the end of life, but it can also become the beginning for others. Remember, death isn't actually something to be feared."
Maca knew that Dumbledore saw traces of Voldemort in him, but fortunately, he didn't harbor any evil intentions and passed this test.
Dumbledore and Snape were actually similar kinds of people. They both possessed strength and ambition, but would give up everything for "love," including their own lives. The difference lay in Dumbledore's universal love, while Snape's love was only open to Lily.
As for Maca, he didn't know what he would become.
That night, Maca lay in bed, his thoughts racing. He had encountered many things today and learned an astonishing fact from Dumbledore, which made his thoughts whirl. It wasn't until late at night that he finally fell into a deep sleep.
...
After entering November, the weather became extremely cold. The mountains around the school were covered in a grayish hue of ice and snow, and the lake surface was as cold and hard as tempered steel. Every morning, the ground was frosted, and students had to be cautious with every step to avoid slipping.
Maca sat at the dining table, having breakfast, and he was surrounded by people.
Someone must have spread the word—probably Ron—it seemed that almost half of the students had already heard of Maca's glorious feat: he had taken down a twelve-foot tall giant all on his own! This was simply unbelievable!
Maca had now become a celebrity, with many students coming up to talk to him, and a few first-year girls even asking for his autograph!
Maca felt that he quite enjoyed being surrounded by people. It wasn't just vanity; he genuinely felt warm in this situation!
This is not an excuse, believe me! I'm telling the truth! If you don't believe it, have a group of people surround you and see.
Recently, Hagrid was wrapped up in a long mole-skin coat, wearing rabbit-fur gloves and enormous beaver-skin boots, de-icing the Quidditch pitch.
It was quite evident—Quidditch season had begun!
To be honest, Maca really wanted to join Hufflepuff's Quidditch team, but unfortunately, he had been too busy. Plus, Quidditch teams usually didn't allow first-year students to participate.
"Except for Harry, of course." Maca looked at the Gryffindor table. Harry and Ron were whispering to each other, and Maca guessed they were probably discussing this matter.
However, what concerned Maca more was that he hadn't heard anything about Harry joining the Gryffindor team as a Seeker. Could it be that Oliver Wood, the Gryffindor team captain, planned to use Harry as a secret weapon or something?
"Nice job with the secrecy." Maca mumbled incoherently, chewing and swallowing his food.
However, when the day of the match arrived and Maca saw Harry heading towards the viewing stands just like he was, he was a bit dumbfounded.
"What's going on?" Maca looked at Harry in surprise as he disappeared up the stairs leading to the Gryffindor section. His face was openly displaying astonishment.
"What's wrong? What are you looking at, Sir Knight?" Charlotte, an older student, hooked her arm around Maca's shoulder and grinned, "Are you watching your Gryffin Princess?"
"Uh, ah—no." Maca shook his head and looked at the Gryffindor stands again, then turned back and climbed the stairs on his side with Charlotte.
The Quidditch match was exciting, but Maca didn't have much focus to spare for watching.
From time to time, he glanced at the teachers' box—without Harry in the Quidditch match, he didn't know if Quirrell's actions would change.
It wasn't until the match was over that Maca's curiosity was satisfied. The match ended without any surprises. At this moment, with no Harry on the field, the possibility of Quirrell's interference seemed to have been cut off at the root. But Maca couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't find another opportunity to target Harry.
"At least it eliminated a certain crisis. Isn't that a good thing?" Maca couldn't be sure if that was the case or not. As for this matter, he had no clear idea for the time being.
Gryffindor's match against Slytherin was over. As Maca left, he glanced at the scoreboard: sixty to two hundred and ten. At the moment when the scores were tied, Slytherin's Seeker caught the Golden Snitch, ending this intense match.
Maca didn't have time to be concerned about that. After a quick glance, he headed towards the Gryffindor crowd.
"Hey, Harry!" Maca tried to appear normal, "Don't worry, the game isn't over yet. It's just getting started."
"Oh, yes. But losing to Slytherin is still quite disappointing." Harry sighed.
It seemed that even if he hadn't joined the Quidditch team, he still liked the sport.
"Well," Maca organized the speculation he had thought about during the match and asked, "I heard that Neville almost fell off during your first flying class. Is that true?"
Harry nodded, "Yeah! If it weren't for Madame Hooch's quick reaction, Neville would have ended up in the hospital wing for sure, I'm sure of it."
"Yeah! He shot up so high!" Ron chimed in, gesturing with his hands.
"Then what happened? Did Malfoy give him a hard time?"
"Oh, yes, that's right. That git is always mocking others. I wish I could put a hex on him!"
"That evening's duel was because we had an argument in class." Harry chimed in angrily.
"Right, that bloke really isn't a good sort."
As Maca casually agreed, he gradually pieced together the sequence of events—so that's what happened!