Lockhart's speech was painful to listen to—at least for the boys in the Hall.
The girls, however, seemed delighted with their new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
Even Dumbledore eventually had to step in and cut him off. If he hadn't, dinner never would have started.
"Well then—dig in, everyone!"
At Dumbledore's words, the four long tables filled with food.
"I love this," Adam said, raising his glass of non-alcoholic butterbeer. "Even the last meal before break didn't feel this good."
"It's the reunion energy," Rock said with a nod. It really did feel different.
"Then here's to another strong year," Theo said, lifting his own glass toward the group.
Michael and Terry raised theirs too.
Padma pulled Luna into the circle, and even though Luna looked a little dreamy, she lifted her glass with the rest of them. The others exchanged smiles. It looked like the study group had just gained a new member.
"Cheers!"
The energy at their table spread quickly. Soon the entire Great Hall was filled with the sound of clinking glasses and cheerful voices.
Even Dumbledore picked up his goblet and toasted with the other professors before taking a sip of butterbeer.
"Quite pleasant, isn't it, Minerva?"
Dumbledore glanced at Professor McGonagall, but her eyes stayed fixed on the Gryffindor table. She was clearly still worried about what her students had done.
"Don't fret," Dumbledore said quietly. "They're all in one piece."
He turned to chat with Professor Flitwick.
At the Ravenclaw table, the group was eating heartily. Theo wiped his mouth and asked, "So what do you think they'll get for punishment?"
Everyone looked toward the Gryffindor table. Ron was happily gnawing on two chicken legs at once, the whole incident apparently forgotten. Harry looked distracted but not particularly worried.
"They won't be expelled," Rock said, shaking his head. "They wouldn't be allowed at the feast if that were on the table."
He was pretty sure tomorrow's mail would bring at least one Howler.
"Still," Adam said, frowning, "how the hell does a car actually fly?"
"Probably a variation of the charms used on broomsticks," Rock answered after thinking it over. "The kind of spellwork Mr. Weasley does on Muggle objects. It would have to be pretty advanced, though."
He paused, then added with a small smile, "Makes sense when you think about it. Fred and George's love of chaos probably comes straight from their dad."
"Still impressive they made it here in one piece," Theo said.
"My dad wrote an article once," Luna said in her light, floating voice. "He said the Ministry's official cars are actually transformed imps."
The table went quiet for a second. Rock blinked, then nodded slowly.
"So you're saying the car chose to keep its free form and protected them the whole way?"
Theo and Adam stared at him like he'd grown a second head.
Dude. Had someone possessed their Rock? How was he keeping up with this?
Neville would've called it basic.
Luna, however, nodded seriously and offered another piece of information in an even softer tone.
"Dad also said there's a very old, very travel-loving fire salamander living inside the Hogwarts Express boiler."
Rock raised an eyebrow. She wasn't wrong.
Not exactly, anyway.
Ever since his eyes had changed, he'd been able to see the lines of magic running through the Express. There was no conductor. The engine held a dense, ancient knot of magical threads—eternity and flame woven together. A living core of fire that had been bound to endless journeys.
Luna's version was just… poetic.
He'd have to take a closer look at the rear carriage next time.
After dinner—and another rousing round of the Sorting Hat song—the group headed back to Ravenclaw Tower.
Penelope was already at the bronze door with the new first-years. As second-years, Rock and the others stood back and watched. It had become something of a tradition.
"Which is more real," the door knocker asked, "sound or echo?"
Penelope looked at the first-years, then her eyes settled on Luna.
"Why don't you answer this one?"
Padma gave Luna a gentle push. Luna stepped forward, her voice dreamy but certain.
"Echo is the memory that sound leaves behind in the air. Sometimes memory feels clearer than the moment itself, because it has time to understand what it really is."
"So the echo is more real… because it has already digested itself."
The door knocker didn't open right away. Penelope was starting to think the answer had been wrong when a low, satisfied click echoed through the corridor.
The bronze door swung open silently.
"Looks like that was the right kind of answer," Penelope said with a smile. "Welcome to Ravenclaw, everyone."
The first-years stepped inside, footsteps light on the carpet.
Adam scratched his head and edged closer to Rock.
"Rock… what did that answer even mean? I'm still confused."
Rock laughed quietly and pointed at the door knocker. "You're not the only one. Even the door was a little lost at first."
He tilted his head. "But if you look at it differently, Luna didn't try to answer on the physical level at all."
Adam nodded slowly. "Yeah… it felt kind of sideways. So why did it still work?"
"Because she shifted the whole question," Rock said. "She turned it from 'which one exists first' into 'which one has had time to become whole.' It's a completely different way of looking at truth."
That was exactly why Rock had found Luna's comments on the train so interesting.
Adam still looked dazed. "That's… complicated."
"You don't have to overthink it," Rock said. "Just answer however feels right to you. But I think the door knocker really liked Luna's version."
He glanced back at the bronze knocker. For a brief moment after Luna spoke, he had seen a faint ripple move across its surface—like it had actually responded to her.
"Very interesting."
Even he hadn't noticed the door knocker had that kind of awareness until now.
Luna's answer might not have been textbook-correct, but the door knocker clearly preferred it anyway.