"What?!"
Adam, who had assumed Theo was asking the same question he was, whipped his head toward Theo in shock—then looked back at Rock to confirm.
"What Theo said… is that actually true?"
Rock rubbed the bridge of his nose and nodded, admitting it.
"Good grief!" Theo rushed forward. "Dude, really? You went out exploring at night without inviting me? That's messed up!"
Rock rolled his eyes. Yep—he knew Theo would react like this.
"Invite you? Just so we can all get caught and lose points for Ravenclaw?"
"Come on, I can learn that Disillusionment Spell too!" Theo completely ignored the contempt in Rock's voice.
"Yeah, I want to learn it too!" Adam nodded repeatedly. After what he saw in the Great Hall tonight, he was still stunned Rock could use the spell.
Rock, however, looked thoughtful.
He remembered the message that popped up after he used spells and environmental tricks to knock out the troll earlier.
[You defeated a troll. Body Resilience EXP +150]
[Used Levitation Charm in battle. Levitation Charm EXP +25]
[Used Waddiwasi to land a critical hit. EXP +18]
[You experienced your first official combat spell usage. Mental Calibration EXP +109]
First official combat spell usage?
On the way back, he had stared at those logs in confusion.
Was that legit?
Leveling up spells wasn't supposed to work like… defeating a troll. Why did fighting give more EXP than normal practice?
But a moment later, the answer hit him.
Using.
Learning was only the first step. Being able to apply the spell in real situations was something else entirely.
Up until now, he only used the Levitation Charm and the Disillusionment Spell consistently. The EXP gains had been tiny, so he never paid much attention.
So… using a spell to fight the troll counted as learning too?
More like combat training.
Rock suddenly remembered hitting Peeves with Waddiwasi and quickly scrolled back through his logs.
[You hit Peeves with Waddiwasi, landing a clean shot. EXP +27]
There it is.
Normally he ignored the Daily Imprint notifications when he wasn't grinding skills. No wonder he missed it before.
Now, with Theo and Adam bringing up spell training—
What if he sparred with them using magic?
As that thought formed, Rock lifted his head and looked at Theo and Adam.
His smile slowly widened.
Theo shivered instantly. "Bro, don't smile like that. You're creeping me out."
"Seriously. You look possessed," Adam added, pale.
"You want to learn? Then I'll teach you," Rock said cheerfully. Even though they barely knew a few spells now…
Once they grew stronger, normal practice would give him tons of EXP.
Theo and Adam exchanged glances. They had no idea what was going through Rock's mind—but they really wanted to learn that Disillusionment Spell.
"We're in!"
"Tomorrow's the weekend," Rock said with a nod. "We'll go then. Get some sleep."
---
### The Headmaster's Office
After hearing Professor McGonagall's full report, Dumbledore stayed silent for a long time before finally nodding.
"Thank you, Minerva. Go rest for now."
Professor McGonagall inclined her head and left the office.
"What do you think?"
Dumbledore only spoke once she had fully stepped outside.
A faint shuffling sound came from behind a heavy curtain, and Severus Snape limped out, his face sharp with cold irritation.
"What do I think?" Snape scoffed. "Just use a Tracking Reveal Charm. You're quite familiar with the spell yourself."
Dumbledore blinked—caught off guard—and glanced at Snape's injured leg.
"Severus, if you like, I can have Fawkes—"
"No." Snape cut him off immediately. "You know exactly why I need to keep it like this."
"The magical toxin in a three-headed dog's fangs isn't something even I can cure quickly."
Dumbledore sighed deeply. "I'm sorry."
Snape waved him off impatiently. "What matters is—he nearly succeeded tonight. If that beast didn't have two other heads to distract him—"
"But he didn't succeed," Dumbledore interrupted calmly. "The Stone is safe, and the protections worked as intended."
"Protections?" Snape snapped, voice rising. Even several old headmasters in their portraits cracked their eyes open. "We're talking about him. He won't fail next time!"
"On the contrary, Severus," Dumbledore said softly. "That failure tells us something important."
"His actions tonight exposed how desperate he is for the Sorcerer's Stone. And we now know who's helping him. Their advantage is gone. Quirrell will be more cautious—but also more reckless."
"Recklessness invites mistakes."
Snape's expression twisted. "So we're just going to wait? Use Harry Potter—or the entire student body—as bait?"
"No." Dumbledore shook his head. "We'll reinforce the defenses and increase monitoring."
His blue eyes locked onto Snape's.
"We need to know how much strength he has regained… and how he's controlling Quirrell."
"At this point, moving blindly would only push him back into hiding. That would be far more dangerous. Severus, I need you to continue drawing his attention."
Snape's jaw tightened… but after several seconds, he gave a stiff nod.
Seeing this, Dumbledore's tense shoulders finally relaxed.
"Thank you, Severus…"
Snape snorted loudly and swept out of the office without letting him finish.
Dumbledore watched him disappear down the staircase and sighed again.
---
"Man… tonight was way too close."
Rock exhaled as he slipped out of the common room, finally escaping Percy's nonstop interrogation.
"Close?" Hermione opened her mouth, ready to scold him like usual—but then remembered Harry and Ron had risked themselves to save her tonight.
Her words halted.
Harry quickly stepped in to prevent another argument. "Ron, it wasn't like that. Someone helped us."
"When I was on the troll's shoulder—I was pushed off by a Levitation Charm."
"A Levitation Charm?" Ron scratched his head. "But… who would've done that?"
"I'm not sure," Hermione said, glancing around to make sure no one was listening. "But when I ran out, I saw a figure at the corner. Looked like… another student."
Harry and Ron stared at each other, stunned.