It was already a two-hour marathon by the time this morning's Potions class finally ended.
When Rock and the others arrived at the Ravenclaw table, both Ravenclaw and a handful of Hufflepuff freshmen leaned in toward them, clearly eager to get closer.
Rock simply smiled, said hello, and went back to eating lunch with Theo and Adam.
"Seriously…"
Adam shook his head. Rock had helped out during the two classes yesterday, and no one had crowded around them like this. But after what happened today in Potions, suddenly everyone wanted to cozy up to Rock.
Rock only shook his head. It wasn't surprising—people always chase benefits and avoid trouble.
"They don't want to get to know Rock," Theo muttered, clearly annoyed. "They just want him to help them during the next Potions lesson so Professor Snape won't take points."
"That won't work anyway." Adam shrugged. "Next class we're not paired with Hufflepuff anymore."
"What do you mean?" Rock asked.
"For example, this week we get paired with Hufflepuff. Next time it might be Slytherin or Gryffindor." Adam gestured with his fork. "I asked some upper-class students. That's what they said."
"Really?" Theo frowned. He'd never heard about that before.
"Yeah, that's what I was told," Adam said.
"It's all the same. No matter who we're paired with, you think Snape is suddenly going to change how he behaves?" Rock wiped his hands with a napkin.
The only reason he helped the younger students was because it earned him experience points. It wasn't because he wanted to build deep friendships just because someone talked to him once. Helping without boundaries only creates trouble—and possibly enemies.
No thanks.
Rock shook his head again.
No wonder Grandpa Theseus constantly complained that fresh Hogwarts graduates nowadays were getting worse—not just in skill, but in mindset.
Theo and Adam exchanged a look. Rock wasn't wrong.
"What was that saying again?" Adam rubbed his chin, trying to remember.
"When the roots are deep, there's no reason to fear the wind."
"You mean 'strike while the iron is hot,' right?" Rock laughed helplessly. Sometimes English sayings took a moment to click for him.
Adam's eyes lit up and he clapped. "Yeah—that one fits way better."
Rock didn't continue the debate. After lunch, the three of them followed their usual routine and continued exploring Hogwarts.
When they reached the eighth floor, Rock searched for the tapestry of the giant troll clubbing Barnabas the Barmy, but even after walking all the way to the end of the corridor, he still couldn't find it.
"Did I remember wrong?"
Rock frowned, scanning the area.
"Hey—there's a hallway here?" Theo called out. He'd been planning to head for the staircase, but when he turned his head, he noticed something unusual—something no other floor had.
Rock and Adam exchanged looks and walked toward him.
As Rock reached Theo's side, the sigils of his "Engraved Insight" ability began pulsing again.
[High-tier entity detected. Current state: Active. Responding. Rules visible.]
Again?
Rock narrowed his eyes. Another high-tier entity?
"That's weird. I'm pretty sure other floors don't have anything like this," Adam muttered, sticking close behind them.
"Theo, what did you do just now?" Rock asked, looking straight at him. The hallway was obvious—this was the Room of Requirement responding.
"Nothing! I was just trying to find the staircase, but there wasn't one. Then I looked up, and this was here." Theo looked genuinely confused.
"We'll know once we go in."
Rock checked his pocket-watch, then stepped into the hallway.
Theo and Adam quickly followed.
[Spatial folding detected. Intent resonance detected. Parsing…]
Rock looked around. The space responded to Theo's thoughts, so for now it was just a normal hallway.
"This is weird… We've been walking forever and there's still no end." Adam pressed himself close behind Theo, clearly nervous. He looked like he expected a ghost to pop out at any moment.
"We're here," Rock finally said, spotting light ahead.
"Go—go—let's get out. Something about this place is wrong." Adam practically jogged ahead, desperate to leave.
"This guy… he's such a coward," Theo muttered.
Right before stepping out, Rock turned back—and his pupils shrank slightly.
Behind him, the hallway had begun twisting into an illusion, warping unnaturally.
There you are—the Room of Requirement.
Once Rock stepped outside, he immediately noticed Theo and Adam staring at him as if he'd grown horns.
"What?"
Rock checked himself. Nothing unusual.
"Rock—the hallway disappeared!" Theo's voice cracked with panic.
Rock turned. The entrance had become a solid stone wall.
He shrugged and tugged the two of them away from the spot.
"By Merlin's beard! Did we just run into some supernatural glitch? We walked in on the eighth floor and came out on the fourth!?" Theo looked around wildly. The classroom where they'd had Charms yesterday was just ahead.
Adam looked pale, still shaken.
"Alright, calm down," Rock said, closing his pocket-watch. Five minutes had passed.
The Room of Requirement truly was… amazing.
"Huh? Rock, you know what that was?" Theo asked.
"More or less." Rock grinned. Discovering the Room of Requirement put him in an excellent mood. "And no—it's not what you two are thinking."
"I wanna know now!" Theo groaned, chasing after him. Adam threw one last nervous glance around the hall before hurrying to catch up.
"We've got Defense Against the Dark Arts this afternoon. Don't be late."
Rock walked briskly, ignoring Theo's questions.
He needed to prepare. For example… he needed to learn the Disillusionment Charm. But that was far beyond first-year material—at the earliest, it wasn't taught until sixth year.
Which meant… time to write Grandpa Theseus a letter!
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