"Finite Incantatem!"
Rock lifted the Leg-Locker Curse from Draco and his two buddies. The moment Draco tried to stand, he felt a heavy hand press down on his shoulder.
"I mean, if you really want to embarrass yourself, you can go ahead and complain to a teacher," Rock said, pressing Draco's shoulder, his tone slow and almost casual. "But if you do that, everyone will know that Draco Malfoy from the Malfoy family got taken down by a first-year."
"Oh—and not just you. All three of you got taken down."
As Rock spoke, his gaze slid across Goyle and Crabbe.
Hearing this, the already sniffling Draco looked completely panicked.
"Y-You wouldn't dare!"
Rock smacked the back of Draco's head. "Try me."
"Heh, if that's the case, I bet The Daily Prophet and Witch Weekly would love to hear about it," Theo said as he came to Rock's side, looking like he'd just found treasure.
Rock glanced at Theo. He'd never really asked about Theo's family before… honestly, of the three boys in their dorm, Rock was the only one whose background was obvious because of his last name. As for Theo and Adam, he had no idea what their families were like.
But from the look in Theo's eyes, he understood perfectly.
"That'd be a shame," Rock said.
"Nah, we're bros," Theo said, patting his chest.
"It's a deal!"
"You… you guys…" Draco stammered, stunned by how casually they were joking.
Then—
Whoosh!
Draco sprang up from the ground, kicked Goyle and Crabbe, and sprinted off with them.
"Just… just you wait! I'll get you back for this!" he yelled while running.
Rock and Theo exchanged a look and rolled their eyes at the same time.
They were trying to play the classic villain route, yet Draco somehow flipped the script—now it looked like Rock and the others were the righteous heroes who defeated the "villain," and the villain ran off after dropping a cliché threat?
This Draco was seriously taking advantage of the situation.
"Looks like he really won't report us?" Adam asked as he blinked at the two of them.
"He won't—unless he wants to be a joke for the rest of his life," Rock said.
"Exactly. And he probably recognized who I am. Otherwise, he'd be doing more than just throwing threats." Theo rubbed his nose.
Adam looked Theo up and down. "So… who are you supposed to be?"
Rock tried not to laugh as he stepped aside with Neville. With Theo's personality, Adam was absolutely going to get roughed up next.
Theo's face fell. He wrapped his arm around Adam's neck and started aggressively rubbing his hair.
"Don't talk in that tone, you idiot!"
"Okay—okay! Stop!" Adam yelped. After finally escaping Theo's grip, he fixed his hair and mumbled, "I was just asking…"
"Asking is fine. Just don't use that tone."
Theo glared at him, then turned to Rock and Neville. "Anyway, The Daily Prophet's editor-in-chief is a close friend of my dad's."
"And the editor of Witch Weekly is my mom's best friend… well, also my aunt."
Neville's jaw dropped. Those were two of the biggest media outlets in the wizarding world.
Rock nodded, suddenly seeing the full picture. Of course Theo was so confident about getting a story published.
That was some serious family influence.
"Didn't expect we had a rich kid hidden in our dorm," Rock joked.
Theo rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. You're not exactly low-profile either."
"I just don't brag about it. Most of that stuff belongs to my dad, not me."
Rock nodded approvingly. "Fair enough. But next time, just say the Witch Weekly editor is your aunt. Much simpler."
Theo shrugged. It wasn't his fault his aunt had set his parents up.
Adam, recovering from earlier, added dramatically, "Well then, gentlemen, I'll be counting on your generous support in the future."
Theo's fists tightened again.
Rock placed a hand on Neville's shoulder. "Let's head to dinner."
Neville nodded, feeling a bit envious. Rock already had such close friends this early in the year.
At the Great Hall, Neville left for the Gryffindor table, and Rock joined Theo and Adam—who were still lightly bickering.
The entire hall buzzed with excitement. Everyone was talking about how Harry Potter had become the youngest Seeker in Hogwarts history.
"Haven't you two had enough? Aren't you eating?" Rock asked as he sat down. The two finally paused.
Theo looked around. "Honestly, people have been talking about this nonstop since the afternoon."
Adam nodded. Tonight was much louder than usual—especially the Gryffindor table.
The Weasley twins were practically leaping off the benches with excitement.
Rock reached for the roast beef, serving some to Theo and Adam before speaking. "Makes sense. Hogwarts is basically a closed-off school."
"So any little story sticks around for weeks."
Only third-years and above could go to Hogsmeade, after all. So gossip spread like wildfire.
"Wouldn't surprise me if The Daily Prophet covers the story tomorrow."
Gryffindor had a reason to celebrate. Slytherin had dominated the House Cup for years—Harry becoming Seeker gave them real hope.
And you could feel the difference. The Slytherin table was unusually quiet, with a bunch of gloomy faces.
Because when the "Boy Who Lived" made headlines, every Slytherin knew they'd be hearing about it nonstop.
"Speaking of Slytherin—looks like Malfoy never showed up?" Adam said, scanning the table.
Rock and Theo exchanged a grin.
"Trust me," Theo said, "after what happened, he's hiding in the common room licking his wounds."
"Yeah, and honestly, he should be in the hospital wing. Getting crushed under Goyle and Crabbe isn't something you walk off." Rock added.
Adam nodded, then studied Rock again, squinting.
"What?" Rock asked.
"We're the same age… so how come you already know so many spells? Or… Rock, are you an actual prodigy?"
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