"Hey, look who it is—our very own Longbottom, huh?"
Rock and the others had just come down the stairs and turned a corner when a few figures stepped out, their voices dripping with fake arrogance.
When they looked up, Draco was standing there with his two usual goons blocking the hallway. With his pale blond hair and smug expression, Draco stared down at Rock's group.
"Still hanging around with Ravenclaw kids? What a coward, Longbottom."
Rock frowned. This rude brat had clearly come here specifically to pick on Neville.
After all, the only thing down this path was the school infirmary. Realizing that, Rock stepped forward and moved in front of Neville.
"Hey, Malfoy. You're in the way. And maybe you should apologize to Neville… unless this is what passes for manners in the Malfoy family."
Rock's tone was ice-cold. Theo and Adam, who'd been stunned for a moment, quickly stepped up beside him.
"And who are you supposed to be?"
Draco frowned, clearly not recognizing Rock at all.
In fact, he had no impression of any of the three Ravenclaw students in front of him. But his father, Lucius, always said you should know your opponent before you pick a fight.
"Neville's friend," Rock said calmly.
Hearing that, Neville's eyes reddened a little. He hadn't expected Rock to defend him like this. Sure, he knew Rock, but aside from chatting with him a few times, he had only spent a little time with Theo and Adam in the infirmary.
"Pfft—"
Draco snorted. Pointing at Rock, he turned and laughed to his two goons. "Look at that! The coward actually has friends!"
Then he spun back around, his face twisting into a snarl. "Get lost! Don't think being in Ravenclaw means you can mess with me! My dad's on the school board!"
"You're an idiot," Rock muttered, rolling his eyes. His wand slipped smoothly from his sleeve into his hand.
"Locomotor Mortis! Leg-Locker Curse!"
Three bright blue bolts shot toward Draco and his two lackeys.
Goyle's legs snapped together first—he toppled forward instantly.
Draco, already panicking from his legs being bound, had no time to dodge before Goyle fell directly on top of him.
Then Crabbe fell over as well, creating a full human hamburger stack on the floor. All three of them screamed like lunatics.
"That was awesome!"
Theo stared at Rock, stunned for a second before blurting out a genuine, impressed shout.
"Rock… are we gonna get in trouble for this?" Adam asked immediately, because Rock had technically struck first. What if a professor decided to punish them?
"We're fine. Relax."
Rock waved him off. His philosophy was simple: if someone came at him with hostility, he'd hit first and talk later.
"Rock, you guys should go. I'll stay," Neville urged, pushing them lightly. If a professor came by, he planned to shoulder the blame alone.
"Neville, don't be stupid."
Rock pulled Neville's arm away. "You really think if you take the blame, these guys won't drag you down with them?"
"Exactly! Why be scared of them? So what if the Malfoys are a 'noble family'? My family isn't some fancy pureblood line, but we're not pushovers either," Theo said, nodding rapidly. He genuinely admired Rock's approach.
Honestly? Rock thought Theo was kind of a chaos-lover. Other than Adam—who grew up in the Muggle world and had no confidence—and Neville—who was naturally timid—Theo had absolutely no fear of trouble.
Behind them, Draco and the two pigs kept screeching. Rock rubbed his ears.
So loud.
"If you don't shut up, I won't mind giving you a full-body Bind next."
Screech—stop.
Draco immediately clamped his mouth shut. His two lackeys kept yelling, so he shouted at them:
"Crabbe! Goyle! Shut up!"
At last, it was quiet.
Rock nodded in satisfaction, walked over, and kicked Crabbe and Goyle off to the side one by one so they wouldn't crush scrawny little Draco.
Then he crouched down, gazing down at Draco with clear superiority.
"Apologize."
"Dream on! You bookworms who only know how to memorize—my father will—"
Rock pressed the tip of his wand against Draco's cheek.
"What's wrong? Didn't get weaned properly? Still wearing diapers? Every other sentence is 'my dad' this, 'my dad' that."
"Aren't you supposed to be a proud pureblood noble? Maybe I should call someone over to look at you like this. Worst case, I get detention."
Rock smiled. But to Draco, that smile looked straight-up demonic.
No. Absolutely not.
If anyone saw him like this, he'd be humiliated across Hogwarts. And if his father found out… he was done for.
Seeing Draco's panicked expression, Rock finally understood why some people loved playing the villain.
It felt great.
"You… you!"
Draco trembled, unable to spit out a single insult.
"Apologize."
Rock repeated calmly. "If you don't, I guess the big news of the week won't be that Hogwarts has its first first-year Seeker in a century. It'll be the embarrassing state of Draco Malfoy."
The moment Draco heard that, his panic was instantly replaced by rage. His face flushed red.
He had come to bully Neville because he was angry about Harry Potter becoming Gryffindor's Seeker.
And now this nerd dared say that his humiliation could overshadow Harry Potter's big moment?!
That was pure insult.
"Think it through. If you apologize now, you only embarrass yourself in front of us. If I call people over… it's going to be much worse."
"Cool. Rock is literally my hero," Theo whispered, eyes sparkling.
Draco's face went from green to white to red. Behind him, Crabbe and Goyle… well, they were just staring blankly.
Pureblood superiority sure didn't look very impressive right now.
"I… I… I'm sorry!"
The words finally burst out of Draco, and tears immediately followed.
He'd never been this humiliated in his entire life.
He just wanted to bully Neville a little and vent his frustration about Harry Potter taking the spotlight. How had things gone so horribly wrong?
"Uh… Malfoy, why are you crying?"
Goyle asked dumbly from beside him.
Draco froze. He stared at Goyle in disbelief.
This idiot.
Why was he stuck with such an idiot?!
Pff—
Theo and Adam couldn't help laughing. The whole scene was just too good.
Rock rubbed his eyebrow. The moment Draco and Goyle acted like morons, he lost the urge to tease them further. Who stayed mad at someone this stupid?
"Finite Incantatem!"