Rock sat in his room, still flipping through the advanced rune text. The holidays were still long, so he figured he might as well dig deeper and see if he could improve the rune arrangement.
A whole new rune layout wasn't something you figured out overnight. Materials were the real bottleneck. The ancient stone ring in Norway had been an incredible conductive medium, but it was already soaked in dark magic. He should have grabbed a piece while he had the chance.
Tap. Tap.
An owl was knocking at the window. Rock got up and opened it.
Weasley family owl?
He untied the letter, gave the bird a bit of meat and water, then sat down to read.
"Our consultant," the letter began. "Fred and I talked about your question, and we think the topic has real potential…"
Rock rubbed the bridge of his nose. The rest of the letter was classic Fred—rambling about everything they'd been up to, the new products they were testing, and the usual chaos at the Burrow. The actual answer was tacked on at the very end, almost like an afterthought.
"On the rune arrangement keeping the effect going indefinitely… George had an idea that's not really an answer. What if you just give up on the 'final effect' and let it keep cycling along its original path? That might work just fine."
"Give up on the final effect…"
Rock stopped on that line. It was the exact problem he'd been stuck on for the last two days—how to make a small object keep working around the clock with only a tiny daily infusion of magic, instead of needing his wand to kick the whole circuit back to life every time.
Smack.
He slapped his own forehead. Of course. Stop trying to make it target something as specific as a basilisk. Make the target broad. Like a Remembrall. The moment the user forgets something—anything at all—it reminds them.
"I really did walk myself into a dead end," Rock muttered.
He folded the letter away and quickly scribbled a reply to Fred and George. Once the owl was gone, he turned back to the workbench and started sketching new rune paths.
A detection loop that never actually ended wouldn't have a moment where it "froze." If that was the case, the second and third circuits would need to change completely.
A fresh problem. Rock sank into it without hesitation. Newt and Tina knew better than to interrupt when he got like this.
The problem wasn't easy, though. Even after he bought a Remembrall to study, it didn't give him much inspiration.
The day the new school letters arrived, Tina stared at the book list with open confusion.
"Is this Gilderoy Lockhart famous or something? Why is almost every book on the list his?"
Rock blinked, then pointed at the name at the bottom of the letter. "That's probably the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."
Tina just stared at him.
Newt looked up from his own letter. "Hogwarts professors don't change every year. Just the Defense ones. Been that way for decades."
He scratched his chin. "I think this one was a Ravenclaw, too. His books are pretty popular with some of the ladies."
Tina made a noncommittal sound. "I've never read them."
"Cough—Grandma, Grandpa, we should probably just go buy the books," Rock cut in quickly before the conversation could wander any further. "Talking about it won't change anything."
Diagon Alley was noticeably busier than usual when they arrived. A lot of middle-aged witches were out, which made Tina frown.
"I don't think Witch Weekly comes out today…"
"Grandma, it's probably because of that," Rock said, pointing at the big banner hanging outside Flourish and Blotts.
Gilderoy Lockhart – Autobiography Signing Today
The street in front of the shop was packed. Huge posters of the same blond, blue-eyed man smiled down from every surface, all showing exactly eight teeth. The only differences were the poses and the outfits.
Tina opened her mouth, then closed it again. She didn't know what to say.
"We should hit the other shops first," Rock said. "We're not squeezing in there anytime soon."
Newt and Tina both nodded. They weren't fans of that kind of crowd anyway. They turned and headed toward a clothing store instead.
Rock didn't notice the two groups already facing off inside Flourish and Blotts. He was already through the door of the robe shop when the first surprised shouts rang out behind them, muffled by the bell.
"Dear, come let Madam measure you."
Tina had been talking with the shop owner for a while. She finally called Rock over.
"Yes, Grandma."
Rock stepped up and let the witch start taking his measurements.
"Madam, the young master has grown quite a bit," the owner chatted as she worked. Tina was a good customer here. She remembered her well.
"Children grow fast," Tina said with a warm smile. Someone praising her grandson always made her happy.
Rock endured the measuring without complaint, then joined Newt on the bench in the waiting area.
"Your grandmother's enjoying herself," Newt remarked after watching for a while.
"Once a year," Rock said with a small shrug. This trip was going to cost a fair number of Galleons, but he knew better than to comment. His grandmother didn't get many chances to indulge like this. He wasn't about to ruin it.
They had the money anyway.
Newt's gaze drifted to the window. "Hm? What's going on over at the bookshop?"
Rock looked. Hagrid's huge frame stood out in the crowd. A moment later the commotion died down and two figures stepped out of the shop.
"Malfoy…"
Rock watched the two pale-blond heads pass by and raised an eyebrow.
So the diary had already found its way into Ginny's bag.
"Little Rock, why don't you head out first?" Newt said, nodding toward two familiar faces making exaggerated faces at the window. "I'll stay here with your grandmother."
Rock spotted Theo and Adam and couldn't help a quiet laugh. "Alright. I'll see you later, Grandpa."
He pushed open the shop door. The noise of Diagon Alley washed back in as Theo and Adam came running over.
"Long time no see, Rock!"