"Hey! Come back—I haven't even written a reply yet!"
Lockhart lunged forward, trying to stop the owls from leaving. In his panic he actually climbed onto his chair, only for the startled birds to swarm around his face. He lost his balance and toppled backward off the staff table chair in a tangle of robes.
No one in the Great Hall noticed. Every eye was fixed on the furious, roaring voice echoing off the stone walls.
Ron sat frozen at the Gryffindor table, face chalk-white, hands shaking so hard he could barely hold his fork.
Harry looked like he wanted the floor to swallow him whole. Every single person in the Hall was staring at them, and it was painfully clear they'd caused the Weasleys a massive headache.
At the Ravenclaw table, the Howler finally finished its tirade. Michael raised an eyebrow.
"That counts as public execution, right?"
Adam was still staring at the glass of water in front of him. The surface still rippled from the sheer force of the sound waves.
"That was terrifying."
"It's more than just humiliation," Theo said, shaking his head. "Look how smug the Slytherins are. Arthur Weasley spent the whole summer cracking down on illegal dark artifacts. They're not going to let this opportunity slide. The Weasley family's in for a rough time."
His information was usually spot-on. Adam and the others exchanged uneasy glances.
Rock didn't look particularly worried. The Weasleys might take some hits, but they weren't going to collapse. Arthur still had real standing in the Ministry and Dumbledore's protection. The pure-blood families couldn't go too far.
Malfoy might try something, but it wouldn't be anything serious.
Draco was currently laughing so loudly at the Slytherin table that several people had turned to look.
"Potter! Looks like you two managed to make the front page again—"
The Slytherin table erupted into fresh laughter.
"Whoa—looks like someone's about to throw down," Theo muttered, nodding toward the Gryffindor table.
Ron had whipped out his wand, face still streaked with dirt from the car crash. Hermione and Harry grabbed his arms before he could do anything stupid, but it was already too late.
Snape's black robes swept between the tables like a bat's wings.
"Gryffindor—five points."
Malfoy had been about to open his mouth with another taunt, but one icy look from Snape shut him up instantly. He ducked his head.
Snape didn't spare any of them another glance. He turned and glided out of the Hall.
"Come on," Rock said, standing up. "Time for class."
The others followed him out without argument.
Maybe it was because they'd won the House Cup last year, but the Ravenclaws seemed noticeably more eager to answer questions this term. In every class Rock attended, hands shot up constantly.
After Charms, they were heading back toward the common room when Neville came jogging up, books tucked under one arm.
"Hey, guys!"
He fell into step beside them, chatting easily.
"Oh—do any of you know what's going on with our new Defense professor?" he asked after a minute, looking puzzled.
"What do you mean?" Rock asked.
"We don't even have Defense today."
"I know, but he came looking for Harry earlier while we were in the greenhouses," Neville said, scratching his head. "When Harry came back he said the guy asked him if it was easy getting on the front page."
Theo snorted so hard he almost choked.
That was the morning's Daily Prophet headline—Harry and Ron flying to school in a car. And Lockhart had actually asked that?
"That's… not normal," Theo said once he stopped laughing. "My aunt already warned me the guy's off. Told me to keep an eye on him."
"Got it," Rock said. "Hermione said she'd meet us later. Come on—we've got a new member to introduce."
They headed for the study room.
Theo glanced at Luna, who was sitting beside Padma, then leaned toward Rock with a grin.
"Mate, I think I finally found someone even less reasonable than you."
Rock raised an eyebrow.
"Maybe that's what a real Ravenclaw looks like."
Theo blinked, then studied Luna again with new interest before giving Rock a thumbs-up.
"Sorry I'm late!" Hermione burst in, slightly out of breath.
"No worries," Padma said with a smile. She gestured to the girl beside her. "This is Luna. She's joining the study group."
"Nice to meet you!"
Hermione offered her hand. Luna looked up like she'd only just noticed the new arrival, then shook it with a dreamy smile.
Hermione studied her for a second, clearly curious, before turning to the rest of the group.
"Do you think what Harry and Ron did will cause trouble for Mr. Weasley?"
She'd been part of the study group long enough to know these people had better information than most students. Theo in particular seemed to hear everything.
She'd already gone to Hagrid's hut with Harry and Ron to ask for his opinion, but even he hadn't been very reassuring. Ron had started looking nervous too, and none of his older brothers had time to write back.
"Normally it wouldn't be a huge deal," Theo said. "Probably just some financial compensation. But someone might be working behind the scenes to make it worse."
Hermione's shoulders had just started to relax when Theo added that last part.
"Don't worry too much, Hermione," Rock said quietly. "Arthur Weasley might be a decent man, but that doesn't mean people can push him around."
He let the topic drop after that.
They moved on to discussing their classes. Hermione settled in, participating in the conversation. She couldn't help noticing how Luna answered questions in the strangest, most roundabout ways… and yet, once Rock explained the logic behind them, they actually made sense. More importantly, Luna could actually cast the spells she was talking about.
For the first time, Hermione found herself wondering if learning really could work on pure instinct.