The sun had fully risen by the time he looked up at the sky.
"Time to head back."
Rock turned toward the castle gates. Fred, George, and Filch were nowhere to be seen—most likely already off serving the next part of their punishment.
Knowing Professor McGonagall, their follow-up punishment probably involved polishing trophies in the Trophy Room and writing several feet of parchment.
Rock grabbed his robe from the stone steps and made his way back to the Ravenclaw common room.
Inside, a few upper-year students were already up, buried in their books. A couple more gathered together, clearly deep in some kind of debate.
Nice.
This was the kind of atmosphere Rock liked—quiet, focused, the kind where even restless people could sit down and read for a while.
He pushed open the door to his dorm. Adam and Theo were sitting on their beds talking. Both were already dressed in their robes. Impressive—these two had gone to bed later than him last night.
"Oh, Rock! Where'd you go so early?" Theo hopped off his bed and walked right over to him.
"Mailed a letter and went for a run," Rock said with a nod. "You guys were still asleep, so I didn't wake you."
"Dude!" Theo gave him a huge thumbs-up. They had only gotten up around six-thirty… and even then they'd stayed in bed for a while before actually getting up.
Rock had already gone out, run, and come back? That felt like something only grown-ups did.
Adam nodded in agreement.
"Wanna get our stuff and head to the Great Hall?"
Rock glanced at his magical alarm clock—already seven-thirty. If they went now, they could eat and head straight to class.
"Yeah, we were waiting for you," Adam said, grabbing his things.
The three of them packed the books they'd need for the day and left the common room together.
"Merlin's stinky socks! These stairs were seriously designed by the founder of Ravenclaw?" Theo yelled after leaping over a moving step—right before the staircase behind him suddenly rotated.
This seriously cracked the perfect image they'd formed last night after hearing Penelope brag about Ravenclaw.
"I don't think it's that bad," Adam said as he adjusted his bag. "I think I'm starting to figure out their pattern."
Huh?
Rock looked at Adam in surprise. This kid—was he secretly some kind of genius?
Even Theo stared at him like he'd grown a second head.
Realizing his words sounded way too braggy, Adam quickly waved his hands. "No, no, seriously—just imagine we're not walking inside a building, but inside a giant Rubik's Cube with set movement rules—"
He stopped and looked between Rock and Theo.
"You guys know what a Rubik's Cube is, right?"
Theo scratched his head. His parents were both wizards—he knew almost nothing about Muggle stuff.
Rock, though, looked thoughtful. Adam's theory actually didn't sound impossible.
"Yeah, I know it."
Adam's eyes lit up—and once he started talking, he didn't stop. They chatted all the way down the hall.
By the time they reached the Great Hall, even Theo had to applaud.
"That's amazing… I didn't know Muggles could make something that complex. I've only ever played Wizard Chess—you know, the kind that rearranges itself—and enchanted puzzles."
"I've never played any of that," Adam admitted, sounding both excited and nervous. "Before I got my acceptance letter, I had no idea magic even existed."
Rock smiled. "Relax. Magic isn't as mysterious as it looks."
"At eleven, none of us have ever used a wand before. At most, we've heard some theory. We're all starting from the same point."
"Exactly!" Theo chimed in. "My parents literally dragged me to get my wand. I was too busy obsessing over the new magical telescope they'd bought me!"
Adam burst out laughing.
A few young witches and wizards passing by glanced at them curiously.
Rock hurried them inside the Great Hall.
He had just sat down at the Ravenclaw table and reached for a piece of bread when—
"Oh look, our model student is here."
Fred and George dropped an arm over each of his shoulders, leaning in dramatically.
Rock put his bread down and looked up at them. "Hi. I'm Rock."
"Hi, I'm Fred."
"And I'm George."
They said it in perfect unison.
Rock rolled his eyes. Great. He'd walked straight into one of their pranks—Guess Which Twin Is Which.
Seeing his expression, the twins looked way too pleased with themselves.
Yeah, this was the reaction they wanted. After losing face that morning during Rock's run, the Weasley twins were clearly enjoying their redemption moment.
"Now we officially know each other," Fred said cheerfully. "Come hang out with us sometime!"
With that, they wandered off.
"They're kinda fun," Theo said, watching them leave.
"They're Gryffindors, right?" Adam asked Rock.
"Yeah. Ran into them on my morning run," Rock said calmly. "Fun? Maybe. But you might be saying that a bit too early."
Watching their pranks was fun.
Being the target of their pranks? That was a fast track to losing sanity points.
They probably thought he embarrassed them earlier, so now they'd set their sights on him.
Rock didn't mind. For now, he just needed to focus on his classes.
Once he learned the Disillusionment Charm, then he could properly "play" with the Weasley twins. Maybe even use them to find some of the hidden passages inside Hogwarts.
He had to find the Room of Requirement. Without it, he couldn't practice his spells or skills properly.
"Oh shoot—Merlin's beard, we're gonna be late!"
Theo, cheeks stuffed with bread, pointed at a group of first-years sprinting out of the Great Hall.
Rock grabbed his bag and the three of them rushed after them.