All in all, Maca didn't have much interest in the Weasley family, as mentioned before; he wasn't particularly fond of such lively scenes.
However, being a part of the future trio, Ron had too many stories tied to him. Although Maca couldn't recall many details, it didn't stop him from wanting to get to know Ron. To him, this was a way to connect with Harry, Hermione, and others, the closest entry point.
Of course, there was no need to get too involved.
On that day, after having lunch at the Weasley house with Luna, Maca spent the afternoon at the Burrow, and then returned to the Lovegood residence.
It's worth mentioning that he had already arranged with Mrs. Weasley to accompany her to Diagon Alley at the end of next month to buy the necessary supplies for school—Ron had also received his Hogwarts acceptance letter.
Days at Lovegood's house passed quickly. Maca and Luna chatted together about various topics, sometimes the conversations might have been a bit disjointed, but most of the time, they got along quite well.
However, pleasant days always seemed short, time flew by quickly, and it was soon the date agreed upon with Mrs. Weasley. On that morning, Maca bid farewell to Luna and her father, then stepped through the Lovegood fireplace with his luggage once again.
He had been at the Lovegood house for almost a month, and even with his audacity, Maca felt that it was probably time to say goodbye. Of course, before leaving, he repaired the dilapidated fence for Mr. Lovegood, leaving a good impression.
At the moment of parting, Luna showed a somewhat reluctant expression for the first time. Maca pondered if this was a good start? To be honest, he had quite a favorable impression of this girl who was sometimes clever and sometimes offbeat, although not quite to the point of liking her in that way.
"Bang!"
As Maca arrived at Diagon Alley, Luna and her father were staring at the empty fireplace. Evidently, they had finally noticed the anomaly when Maca used Floo Powder—they were quite startled.
A soaring tongue of green fire darted past them, nearly licking Mr. Lovegood's tattered robes; if he had been standing a bit closer, he might have gone to Diagon Alley with Maca.
...
The place where Maca had agreed to meet Mrs. Weasley was at Potage's Cauldron Shop, located behind the Leaky Cauldron. According to Ron, he didn't need to buy anything because he was using hand-me-downs from Charlie.
"Except for a new cauldron, since Charlie's leaks," Ron said with apparent reluctance. "I'd rather have a leaky copy of 'The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1'; it's more expensive and doesn't look as silly."
But as Maca stood at the entrance of the cauldron shop and glanced inside, he realized he had probably arrived a bit early.
"Anyway, I might as well head to Flourish and Blotts first!" After looking around, Maca decided to follow the original plan.
Flourish and Blotts was the only bookstore in the wizarding world and had branches all over. Fairies operated the bank and provided services like savings and renting vaults. Of course, they also handled currency exchange and such.
With a few nods from the fairies at the entrance, Maca entered Gringotts' marble hall. As soon as he entered, the busy yet organized scene inside captivated him.
Around a hundred fairies sat on tall stools behind a row of long counters, some weighing coins on bronze scales, others examining gemstones with magnifying glasses, all while jotting down notes in large ledgers. There were countless doors leading to different places in the hall, many fairies guiding customers in and out of these passageways.
Honestly, this was an uncommon sight. Maca stood by the entrance, observing for a while before heading to the counter with the sign "Muggle Currency Exchange."
"Time is money, my friend," Maca looked at the young fairy on the tall stool, inadvertently quoting a famous saying. Then he asked, "What's the exchange rate for pounds?"
"Oh, yes, indeed," the fairy's eyes lit up at his words, as if he had heard a profound truth. After scrutinizing Maca for a moment, he replied, "Today's exchange rate for pounds is 5.01, esteemed customer. Would you like to exchange? The fee is 1.5 points."
Quickly retrieving most of his money from his suitcase, Maca exchanged it at the counter, leaving only 100 Galleons for himself.
"Pleased to serve you, sir. Wishing you great prosperity!" The fairy bid him farewell in a sharp voice.
As Maca reached the entrance, he faintly heard a familiar shout from behind.
"Time is money, my friend!"
"Truly touching," Maca grinned and mumbled to himself, leaving the place with a cheerful stride.
"Now, where to next? How about wandering around?"
As Maca contemplated which way to go, his attention was drawn to another path across from Gringotts.
Diagon Alley shops were already crowded, but this area seemed even narrower, with most of the light blocked by peculiar buildings, giving off an eerie vibe.
After a moment of hesitation, Maca decided to walk towards that direction.
At the crossroads, all three shops had tightly closed doors, and the windows were covered with heavy velvet curtains, obscuring the shop names above the lintels. It seemed these places had been abandoned for quite some time.
Continuing a few steps ahead, a small shop named "Giant Spider" had its door wide open. Inside, there seemed to be a variety of peculiar creatures confined in cages, reminding him of an item on his shopping list: students may bring an owl or a cat or a toad.
Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to take a look inside. After all, he had arrived quite early today and had plenty of time.
"Welcome, young visitor," in the deepest corner of the shop, an old witch with a broad-brimmed pointed hat whispered in a sinister and raspy voice, "Feel free to browse."
Maca glanced over there and then began inspecting the creatures in the cages on either side.
In essence, he was just observing. Most of the creatures inside were unfamiliar to him, but his curiosity wasn't deterred.
Suddenly, he spotted a black owl, significantly larger than the ones at the "Eeylops Owl Emporium" he had passed earlier, by at least two sizes.
"What breed of owl is this?" Maca turned and asked the old witch inside.
"Long-eared Scops Owl, native to Sumatra. Skilled in hunting and alertness, adept at predicting earthquakes and tsunamis," the old witch said, her voice filled with dark amusement. Her parched, cracked lips moved as she spoke, revealing her skewed and missing yellow teeth.
Maca looked again at the owl in the cage, which was staring at him calmly. He couldn't help but ask, "How much?"
The old witch grinned with a stiff smile that sent shivers down one's spine, "Twenty Galleons, my good sir."
Maca gave the old witch a glance without changing his expression, "Come on, lady. I'm not one of those Hogwarts kids."
The old witch hesitated, giving Maca a once-over, then slightly straightened her perpetually hunched back, her voice growing louder, "Alright, sir. Fifteen Galleons, final offer."
This time, Maca didn't even glance at her. He turned and walked out, his steps as brisk as if he were escaping something filthy.
"Wait, wait, sir! Ten—no, eight, at the very least eight Galleons!" The old witch yelled suddenly as she saw Maca disappear into the crowd on the street.
At this moment, standing at the entrance, she was surprised to realize that this old witch was a towering two meters tall!
"Damn it! A wretched little dwarf he is, just like those bunch of vampires from America!" The old witch muttered to herself, unable to find her target, and grumbled her way back.
Of course, Maca hadn't gone far. He had just taken a couple of quick steps before slipping into a shop called "Merlock's Curiosity Emporium."
"Welcome to Merlock's Emporium of Curiosities! We have everything you need here. Take your time browsing!" A slightly shorter person than Maca suddenly jumped out from behind a shelf, their high-pitched voice even higher than the goblins at Gringotts.
"Just having a look."
Maca replied casually, pulling out a... oh, no, half a wand from a large basket beside the shelf. The half-wand was scarred all over, with several deep scratches on the wand's body, and even the dirty core was visible where it was broken.
"Is this a curio?" Maca looked at the half-piece of stick in his hand with a peculiar expression.
However, the short wizard seemed to think it was a treasure. He waved his hands excitedly, exclaiming, "Oh, yes, yes! A wand once used by Gregorovitch during his school days. Purpleheart wood, dragon heartstring core, fourteen and three-fourths inches... I mean, once upon a time."
Maca sighed, placing the half-wand back in the basket.
After that, Maca picked up a few small trinkets from the shelf to examine. Meanwhile, the short individual danced around him, weaving a string of seemingly fabricated stories in an attempt to catch Maca's attention.
Just as Maca was about to put down the items in his hand and leave, he caught a glimpse of an inconspicuous blue light flashing through the crack in the shelf!
Maca quickly averted his gaze, pretending to crouch down and examine other items, but in his heart, he was calculating.