That evening, Maca slept in Xenophilius Lovegood's study.
He had arranged a makeshift wooden bed for Maca using an old door panel he no longer needed. He layered it with two blankets and a quilt as a mattress, and covered himself with another quilt. Though this arrangement might sound a bit austere, sleeping on it wasn't as uncomfortable as it seemed.
This allowed Maca to have a good night's sleep.
The next morning, Luna came to wake him up. To be honest, Maca had grown accustomed to staying up late and waking up late, so this sudden change wasn't easy for him.
"Get up, the sun has already risen," Luna tugged at Maca's blanket, but he remained nestled inside, unmoved.
"The sun won't rise anymore," Maca muttered half-asleep.
Luna silently stared at Maca bundled up in the blanket for a moment, then gave it another tug—she felt that was the best she could do.
But Maca clearly had no intention of responding to that.
After a few more minutes, Luna turned around and dashed downstairs with a plan in mind.
Not long after, Luna rushed back upstairs with a woven wicker basket in her hand. The basket wobbled slightly in Luna's hand, seemingly containing many small things moving around inside. It appeared that this was the reason for Luna's hurried trip downstairs; she believed the contents of the basket would effectively wake Maca.
With a blink of her eyes, the girl cautiously lifted a corner of the blanket and swiftly poured the contents of the basket into it.
As the little things wriggled their way under the covers, Luna seemed satisfied, and she carefully tucked the lifted blanket back in place.
In a short while, there was a commotion under the covers, sounding much like someone softly humming.
"Um... hmm?" Maca seemed to have been awakened, but his voice sounded a bit off, as if he had a cold with a heavy nasal tone. "Um, ah! What's this? Don't..."
The blanket started to get restless, shaking and trembling incessantly. Even the old door panel that served as the bed's base on the floor began to rattle.
As expected, the hastily constructed wooden bed wasn't very sturdy. With a loud clatter, the entire room trembled. Then, Maca struggled to push the covers aside, wincing in pain.
Of course, his nasal tone remained heavy; the incident hadn't changed that.
The little creatures responsible for all this mischief were now clinging to Maca, mostly around his face and neck. They were humming cheerfully, bustling around on his face, neck, chest, and various other places. Some even extended their soft tongues into Maca's nostrils.
"Ugh... Achoo!" Maca shook his head, flicking the small beings off his face and finally noticing Luna standing on the side, observing this rare spectacle closely.
"Pygmy Puffs," Luna pointed at the fluffy little creatures on Maca, dreamily explaining, "They're quite friendly and tend to hum when they're happy."
"Moreover, they're quite easy to care for. They eat everything from leftovers to spiders and mosquitoes. They particularly enjoy sticking their tongues up the noses of sleeping wizards to eat their dried nasal mucus."
Upon hearing this, Maca hurriedly pinched his own nose, as he noticed several of the creatures seemed ready to give it a try!
"Alright, alright! This is certainly an effective alarm clock. Let's gather them up!" Maca held his nose and waved his other hand casually, then got up from the floor. "Oh, by the way, good morning, Luna!"
...
Breakfast was over quickly—or rather, there wasn't much to talk about. British food had always been subpar, and that held true even in the wizarding world. Not to mention, the financial situation of the Lovegood family was far from good. The magazine's sales barely covered their expenses, leaving very little in the way of spending Galleons for daily life.
After Luna's father hastily finished his breakfast, he became translucent and went outside to gather materials. Before leaving, he gave Luna some instructions, probably about her and Maca spending time together. Maca, who was pondering how to improve the taste of Gurdyroots Tea, which possessed the same Lovegood family touch as last night's Colorful Gurdyfish Soup but was equally unpalatable, didn't pay too much attention.
Luna and her father both enjoyed the beverage, but Maca found it quite hard to stomach. Compared to the soup with equally notable pros and cons from the previous night, this Gurdyroots Tea, which carried the distinctive scent of the Lovegood family, was simply painful to endure.
"It's certainly a striking beverage," Maca sighed, tilting his head, then took a gulp of the liquid from his cup, "Well, where do we plan to go?"
Luna looked dreamily at the spot where her father had left, and after a while, she answered, "I'm not sure."
Maca thought for a moment, his head still tilted, and couldn't help but ask, "Are there any neighbors nearby? I mean, wizarding ones."
"Hmm, the nearest would be the Fawcett family," Luna turned back, gazing out of the window, "And a bit farther is Ottery St. Catchpole village, where Mr. Weasley from the Ministry of Magic and Mr. Diggory both have their homes."
Maca nodded, just as he was thinking about visiting other wizarding families and building some connections, a certain name that passed by in the conversation caught his attention.
"Weasley?" He looked up at Luna, "Is that the... wizarding family with all the redheads?"
"Mrs. Molly isn't," Luna shook her head, her expression distant, "Her hair is brown."
Maca couldn't help but chuckle at that.
"It really is brown," Luna said earnestly, noticing his reaction.
"Alright, alright," Maca looked at Luna's expression and chuckled heartily, "Of course, of course. I mean, how about we pay a visit to the Weasley family?"
Luna nodded nonchalantly, seemingly not too concerned about where they were headed.
"Pop!"
Not long after, after they tidied up the dining table and kitchen together, Maca watched as Luna disappeared into the slightly dirty fireplace along with a burst of green flames.
"Um, grab a handful, mention the location, then toss it down," Maca muttered to himself as he walked towards the fireplace, but suddenly, he seemed to remember something and stopped in his tracks.
"Oh, right, make sure to enunciate clearly." He must have recalled Harry's mishap in Diagon Alley.
"The Burrow." "Pop!"
For some reason, the green flames produced by Maca's use were much more abundant than Luna's. Luckily, this particular magical fire didn't have the ability to transport inanimate objects; otherwise, with the way the flames were shooting up towards the ceiling, they could have brought the entire fireplace along to the Weasley's.
As Maca stepped out from the fireplace at the Weasley's, he found Luna engaged in a conversation with Mrs. Weasley.
"Oh! You must be Maca, I presume? Luna just mentioned you to me," Mrs. Weasley turned around to greet him as he emerged. "Welcome to our home."
As she spoke, Mrs. Weasley suddenly walked over and opened the window, "Fred, George, Ron! Come inside quickly, we have guests!"
Maca craned his neck at the mention of more arrivals, just in time to see a tall freckled-faced boy carrying a hairless rat by its tail, followed by a slightly shorter boy.
"Fred, give Scabbers back to me! That's Percy's!"
"Hey, Ron, hold on a second! I just think it needs a bit of fur-growth potion."
"Enough bickering! Can't you see we have guests? Can you all be quiet for a moment?" Mrs. Weasley immediately raised her voice, "And where's George?"
Fred spread his hands and said, "Mom, I'm George."
"Alright then, where's Fred?" Mrs. Weasley paused.
Suddenly, someone pushed both boys aside, stepped forward, and said in a hurry, "Hey, Mum! I'm Fred. You've mistaken us again."
Mrs. Weasley's expression changed immediately, and a new round of admonishments began, while Luna laughed uncontrollably on the side, unable to stop.
Observing the scene before him, Maca couldn't help but sigh and rub his forehead.
"Sorry, um... Mr. Maca?" On the other side of the fireplace, not far behind Maca, a timid voice suddenly sounded, "Our home always gets so noisy."
Upon hearing the voice, Maca turned around and found that the speaker was a girl with the same fiery red hair. She seemed a bit younger than the other children.
"Ah, it's nothing. I'm just not used to such lively surroundings," he guessed, realizing that the young girl before him was probably Ginny, the youngest member of the Weasley family.
He looked at her and then glanced back at the three boys who were currently being scolded by Mrs. Weasley, and couldn't help but sigh again. He couldn't quite comprehend how, despite being a family, they managed to raise such diverse and extreme personalities among their siblings.
Eldest son Bill was always the rock-and-roll type, Percy was wild and loved rules, the twins were into pranks, and even Ron had a tendency towards insecurity.
Only the second son, Charlie, and the youngest, Ginny, seemed relatively normal.
Of course, he wasn't entirely sure if his memories were accurate, given the passage of time. It was becoming increasingly difficult to recall.
"At any rate, thank you, um... Miss Ginny, for your concern."
Ginny looked at Maca's smile, feeling a bit puzzled. Had someone already mentioned her to him? At the very least, she hadn't had a chance to introduce herself yet.
"Alright, alright, everyone, come and greet the guests," Mrs. Weasley finally concluded her lengthy admonishments, calling her children over to greet the visitors.
The atmosphere in the Burrow became slightly quieter, with only Luna continuing to laugh uncontrollably, her awkward laughter echoing throughout the house.