"Impressive," Theo said, raising his hands to clap.
"A real champ," Adam sighed, admitting defeat.
"No wonder the Sorting Hat put you in Gryffindor," Rock said as he looked at Neville, who already seemed a bit out of it—almost like his soul had stepped out for a walk.
Under Madam Pomfrey's firm insistence, Neville downed the entire cup of that purple potion in one go.
Rock and the others, who watched the whole thing, couldn't help feeling a deep respect for him.
"Rest a bit longer and you'll be free to go," Madam Pomfrey said, ignoring the boys' goofy expressions as she spoke to Neville on the bed.
She was just about to turn and leave when Rock quickly called out, "Ma'am, can he have something sweet?"
Madam Pomfrey turned back. "Fizzing Honeybees are absolutely not allowed."
"No, I meant Muggle candy."
Rock immediately pulled out the candy he'd gotten from Adam earlier. After inspecting it, Madam Pomfrey nodded. "He can have it—but only a little."
"Otherwise, if he gets a cavity, he'll be right back here drinking more medicine."
Gurgle—
Adam, standing to the side, let out an involuntary noise and immediately reached up to touch his teeth.
He really did have a cavity.
"Hoo— I'm alive again."
Neville exhaled dramatically, the caramel apple lollipop hanging from his mouth. For a moment just now, he swore he'd seen his great-great-grandmother across several generations.
"Right, Rock… why are you here?" Neville asked after resting a bit. He finally lifted his head to look at him.
They weren't even in the same House. There was no reason for Rock to come all the way here.
"Uh…" Rock rubbed the tip of his nose. If he told Neville the truth—that almost everyone at Hogwarts saw him fall off his broom—it would probably crush the boy.
This is the age where everyone cares the most about their image and what their peers think.
Seeing Rock's expression, Neville immediately understood. His face fell in an instant. "Oh no… everyone saw it, didn't they? I completely embarrassed Gryffindor."
Rock, Adam, and Theo all exchanged helpless glances. There was just no good way to comfort him.
"Neville, don't think too much about it. At least you're okay," Theo spoke first. As someone the same age, he knew perfectly well how humiliating this kind of thing felt.
But in Theo's mind, the important part was that nothing worse had happened.
"Yeah. And Neville, at least you actually managed to fly. That puts you ahead of a lot of people." Rock pointed at Theo, Adam, and himself. "The three of us still haven't ridden a broom."
"Exactly. You're already doing way better than me," Adam added quickly.
Hearing that, the defeated look on Neville's face cracked into a laugh. "Yeah… it was awful, but… I'm alive, and my bones healed."
"And I tried. Next time, maybe—just maybe—I'll do better."
Watching Neville cheer himself on so clumsily, Rock and the others didn't interrupt.
Rock couldn't help thinking: Maybe this is exactly why the Sorting Hat put Neville in Gryffindor—he always gets back up again, clumsy but unbelievably resilient.
Tap, tap, tap—
A rush of fast footsteps echoed down the hall.
"Neville?!"
A bright, clear voice rang out. A moment later, Hermione's mass of thick, fluffy brown hair appeared in the doorway.
"Oh!"
She clearly hadn't expected so many people in the room and let out a startled yelp.
Which, of course, earned another warning from Madam Pomfrey.
After apologizing, Hermione turned back, her eyes lighting up when she noticed Rock. "Rock, you're here too?"
Ignoring Theo and Adam's nosy expressions, Rock pointed to Neville. "I heard he got hurt, so I came to check on him."
"Oh! Right—Neville, are you okay?"
Now that Rock mentioned him, Hermione finally turned toward her original goal.
"I'm fine, Hermione. Thanks." Neville scratched his head awkwardly and lifted his left hand to reassure her.
Pfft—
Seeing Neville waving the wrong arm, the boys all burst into muffled laughter.
"Bro, don't do that. You're gonna make me think your left arm is the one that's injured," Theo said seriously.
Neville panicked and switched hands immediately, showing Hermione he was okay.
"That's good." After carefully confirming it, Hermione finally relaxed. "You wouldn't believe what happened after you left. Harry tried to get your Remembrall back and ended up flying on a broom—without a teacher there to supervise."
"It was super dangerous. I couldn't even stop him. If Professor McGonagall hadn't shown up, who knows what would've happened."
Her rapid-fire explanation left Theo and Adam with their mouths hanging open. They truly couldn't understand how a girl could talk that fast.
"Hermione, for Merlin's sake, maybe summarize a bit?" Rock said, pointing at Neville, who was clearly overwhelmed.
"Oh—sorry, Neville." Hermione looked embarrassed, remembering he was supposed to be resting.
"It's okay. I just… needed a second," Neville said quickly.
"Right. What I meant was…" Hermione reached into her pocket and pulled out a small glass ball. "Your Remembrall is here."
"Thanks. I need to thank Harry too."
"I don't think he's free at the moment," Hermione said. "Professor McGonagall just picked him for the Quidditch team. The whole school already knows—even the ghosts are talking about it."
"A Quidditch player? A first-year?" Theo looked like he'd just heard a fairy tale.
"Um… yes." Hermione stepped back nervously at his expression. "Apparently, he's the youngest Seeker Hogwarts has had in a hundred years."
"Harry's amazing," Neville said, eyes full of admiration. He could envy, sure—but never in a jealous way.
After all, Harry had risked so much just to get his Remembrall back.
"Anyway, instead of discussing all this here, maybe we should head out," Rock said as he checked his pocket watch.
"Oh! Right—I forgot. There's something I still need to look into." Hermione spun around and hurried out of the room.
"She really is a whirlwind, isn't she?" Theo said as he watched her go, then turned to the others.
Rock shrugged. He had only met Hermione briefly on the train and during Sorting. What was he supposed to say?
"Come on, Neville," Rock said as he gestured for him to get up. "If we hang around much longer, Madam Pomfrey's definitely kicking us out."