"I've had it! You stupid jerk, knock it off already!"
Adam practically yelled when that invisible menace, Peeves, jumped out to scare him again.
"Hehehe… looks like the Ravenclaw bookworm finally snapped~" Peeves cackled, swooping over Adam's head and mocking him without mercy.
Rock and Theo, hearing Adam's voice from the hallway, hurried over—only to find the classic scene of Adam vs. Peeves unfolding yet again.
Theo leaned toward Rock and whispered, "Peeves has been scaring Adam nonstop these last two days. And the worst part? He keeps changing his tricks. Even I got scared a few times."
Rock blinked in surprise. He genuinely hadn't known—he hadn't hung out much with Theo and Adam the past couple of days.
No wonder Adam was about to explode.
"Peeves, you're taking this too far."
"Too far?" Peeves floated lazily in front of Rock. "Kid, nothing you say can compare to how you scared me on the first day of school!"
"That's only because you really are scared of the Bloody Baron."
Rock didn't raise his voice, but the moment he said it, Peeves froze midair.
Then his entire expression collapsed.
"The great Peeves would never be scared of the Bloody Baron!"
Peeves glared at Rock—but honestly, glancing nervously around the hall before saying that didn't help his credibility at all.
"You listen here, kid! You're in big trouble now! Peeves is gonna prank you nonstop from now on!"
His face twisted into a wicked grin. Clearly, he hadn't forgotten the humiliation Rock caused him during the Sorting Ceremony.
Rock simply shrugged, lifted his wand, and—
"Hahaha! What, you think a spell is going to work on me?" Peeves sneered.
"Waddiwasi!"
A bright orange-red flash shot from Rock's wand, hitting Peeves squarely in his multicolored torso.
Peeves's grin froze. His whole ghostly body shimmered as though wrapped in an invisible force.
"Bye-bye~" Rock said casually, flicking his wand.
"You wouldn't da— AAHHH!"
Peeves shot backward like he'd been fired from a cannon. His stretched-out ghostly form turned into a colorful streak as he bounced wildly through the hallway.
Students nearby stopped and stared as Peeves zigzagged out of control.
"You little—! W-wait—! AAAAA—!"
His screeching was incoherent as he ricocheted off walls and suits of armor before finally disappearing straight into a wall.
Theo's jaw dropped. "Dude… you've been holding out on us?"
"Teach me," Adam demanded, grabbing Rock's arm. "I swear I'm gonna make Peeves regret existing."
"Count me in!" Theo added, eyes shining. "That ghost is seriously gross."
"No problem," Rock said, amused.
Teaching them spells wasn't new; he helped them all the time.
"But uh… how do we practice this?" Adam hesitated. Unlike the Levitation Charm, this spell launched things at high speed. Accidents seemed likely.
"Leave that to me," Rock said with a small smile. "I've got the perfect place to train."
Theo and Adam exchanged excited looks. "Done!"
---
The next day was Halloween.
Conveniently, it was Friday.
And even better—only morning classes.
As soon as class ended, Adam and Theo practically dragged Rock out of the room.
"I've never seen you two this motivated," Rock teased.
"You didn't see Peeves this morning," Adam said, energized. "The way he ran off when he saw you? Instant karma."
"Yeah!" Theo nodded. "Didn't even talk trash! Just bolted!"
Rock couldn't help chuckling as he led them to the eighth floor.
"Wait… this is where we were last time," Theo said, looking around. He remembered stumbling into this corridor before.
"Yup."
Rock walked past the blank wall three times, and the Room of Requirement quietly formed a doorway.
"Well? You two coming or just gonna stand there?"
Adam and Theo stared, stunned.
"A… a room just appeared out of nowhere…" Adam whispered.
"Dude, this is sick—wait, I think I heard upperclassmen talk about this place before…" Theo muttered.
"No overthinking," Rock said, tapping his wand against his shoulder. "You wanna learn the spell or not?"
Theo rolled his eyes. "Is that even a question? Teach!"
"I need moving practice targets—ring-shaped, all sizes," Rock said aloud.
Thump—
A set of hanging ring targets of different sizes dropped from the ceiling.
Rock pointed his wand at the rings, then looked at his friends.
"The spell is 'Waddiwasi', emphasis on the second syllable. Say it with a sharp, snappy kick—like you're firing something."
He demonstrated:
"Wa-DEE–wasi!"
He tossed a rubber ball into the air, aimed, and flicked his wand.
The ball shot across the room, pinging off the wall before bouncing around wildly.
Another flick from Rock, and the ball screeched to a full stop right in front of Theo's face.
"Got it?" Rock asked.
Adam looked lost. Theo poked the ball thoughtfully.
"Force it forward… right?"
"Exactly. You've gotta want that thing to shoot away. Like pulling back a slingshot."
Rock mimed drawing a slingshot and releasing it.
"Oh!" Adam finally understood.
"So—" Rock smirked. "Let's begin."
He handed Adam another rubber ball.
"Try to fire it through the rings."
Static first, then moving targets. That was the best training method.
And honestly?
The moment they got to actually cast the spell, both Adam and Theo focused like never before.
Turns out, motivation really is the best teacher.
---