"What's up, Padma?"
As the group walked out, they turned to look at her.
"Penelope is looking for you guys. She needs to get the list finalized for students leaving over Christmas break."
"Oh, right! And Neville was looking for you, too," Padma added, realizing she had almost forgotten to mention that Neville had stopped her earlier.
Rock tossed his backpack to Adam. "Adam, do me a favor? Tell Penelope to put me down for leaving over Christmas."
"No problem. We're heading over there soon anyway, right?" Adam asked as he caught the bag.
"Definitely. Maybe Neville's had a breakthrough with his wand," Rock said easily. There was still plenty of time before evening.
When Rock arrived at the study room, he found Neville waiting. And standing right next to him was—
Hermione.
Neville rushed over to Rock immediately. "Save me, Rock. You have no idea how many times Hermione has cornered me since yesterday."
"She saw my notebook, found out about the study group, and wants to join."
Rock got the picture immediately. Looking at Neville's exhausted expression, it was clear the poor kid was at his limit.
However, the study group belonged to everyone, so Neville hadn't felt comfortable saying yes on his own. He had just brought her here to ask.
"Rock, Neville told me you guys started a study group?"
Hermione looked a little sheepish. She had been so busy lately helping Harry and Ron look for information that she hadn't had a proper discussion with Rock in the library for ages.
If she hadn't stumbled across Neville's notes and seen how brilliant the concepts were, she might have forgotten how good Rock was at this stuff.
Rock looked down for a moment, thinking, then looked up with a smile. "Of course you can. I think the others will be cool with it."
After the incident with the troll, Rock's plans had shifted several times. Dumbledore's interference forced him to adapt.
And frankly, Hermione was an incredible study partner. There was no reason to say no.
"That's great!" Hermione blurted out, then quickly clamped her mouth shut, realizing she might have been a little too loud.
"Come on, let's head inside. The others will be here soon."
Rock pushed open the heavy door. As they entered, the torches on the walls flared to life, and the fireplace roared with warmth a second later.
The room heated up quickly.
Hermione looked around curiously, while Rock turned his attention to Neville. "So, Padma said you were looking for me?"
"My wand... or, well, my dad's wand—" Neville was beaming with excitement as he pulled it out.
He aimed at a piece of parchment on the table and cast a Levitation Charm. The parchment floated up slowly. But the impressive part wasn't the lift; it was the duration.
Finally, the parchment drifted back down.
Rock smiled. "That was great. You held that for a solid five seconds."
"Yeah. I've been using that progressive training method we discussed a few days ago. It's been getting more stable every day," Neville said, clutching the wand tightly.
This was the highlight of his day. With Christmas coming up, he was actually thinking about going home for the break.
Between the support of the study group and his own improvement, the idea of facing his family at the manor didn't feel as crushing as it usually did.
Most importantly, he wanted to see his parents.
Rock looked thoughtful. If Neville was improving, their theory was correct. But he'd need to be careful about Neville's grandmother, Augusta Longbottom.
It would be a shame if one trip home undid all of Neville's confidence.
"Whoa, it's freezing out there."
The door swung open, and Adam hurried in, rubbing his cold hands together, followed closely by Michael and the others.
"Huh? Hermione?"
Adam looked up and spotted Hermione standing by the bookshelf, looking surprised.
"Hi, everyone." Hermione nervously smoothed out her robes before saying hello.
"Hermione wants to join the study group, but I wanted to run it by you guys first," Rock said, motioning for everyone to sit. "By the way, remember those study notes I organized back in the day? Hermione was the one who taught me how to do that."
Hearing that, Michael and the others lit up. They immediately welcomed her warmly.
Padma was especially thrilled. Being the only girl in the group had been a bit lonely, so she was more than happy to have Hermione on board.
Once everyone settled in, Rock shared the good news about Neville's progress.
The room erupted in excitement, and they insisted Neville demonstrate it again.
While that was happening, Hermione sidled up to Rock. "Is the atmosphere always like this?"
"Yeah," Rock nodded, keeping his voice low. "We're a team. We learn from each other."
Hermione blinked. It was the first time she realized studying could feel like this.
Compared to dragging Harry and Ron to the library and forcing them to work, the vibe here was completely different. It was harmonious.
When Theo returned from chatting with the Weasley twins, the group settled into their daily routine. First, a detailed discussion on Transfiguration.
Then, the correct sequencing for brewing potions, followed by swapping notes on History of Magic.
This time, it wasn't just Rock guiding them. Hermione, now part of the fold, played to her strengths, pouring out ideas and facts non-stop.
The others took frantic notes, occasionally stopping to ask questions.
When there was something Hermione couldn't explain, Rock would step in to fill the gaps.
When the session wrapped up, Rock checked his pocket watch and saw it was getting late. He called it a night.
As they walked out of the study room to head back to Ravenclaw Tower, Hermione suddenly remembered something. She ran up to catch Rock.
"Rock, there's been something bothering me for a while... Do you happen to know who Nicolas Flamel is?"
Rock stopped walking. He smiled slightly. "You might want to check the Chocolate Frog cards."
"Chocolate Frog cards?" Hermione froze, confused about what a snack collectible had to do with anything.
"Exactly," Rock nodded. "Find the card for Headmaster Dumbledore."
Rock chose not to tell her directly. Mostly because the rest of the study group was there, and he didn't want to drag innocent bystanders into the mess.
If he just gave her the answer, Hermione—being Hermione—would probably spill the whole mystery right there.
Then Theo and the others would get curious. The whole Sorcerer's Stone incident was a test set up by Dumbledore for Harry Potter; the study group needed to focus on their grades, not saving the world.
"Alright, we're heading back," Rock said, waving as he led his group away.
Hermione watched them go, frowning. She had a weird, sinking feeling that Rock knew exactly what she, Harry, and Ron were up to.