Early morning.
Rock woke up when something tickled his face.
Opening his eyes, he saw the Bowtruckle staring at him. With a helpless sigh, he gently pinched the tiny creature and set it aside.
"What time is it?"
He glanced at the magical alarm clock on his nightstand—wait, nine o'clock?!
He shot up from bed in an instant.
He had actually slept in today.
After rushing through washing up, he hurried downstairs, where he saw Newt and Tina sitting together in the living room.
Newt was, as always, absorbed in the newspaper, while Tina was knitting a sweater.
Hearing the commotion, they both looked up.
"Sweetheart, you're awake?"
Tina put down her things and immediately walked over.
"Go relax on the sofa for a moment—Grandma will fix you something to eat."
She nudged Rock toward the couch before heading into the kitchen.
Once Tina left, Rock let out a quiet sigh of relief.
He really was afraid she'd bring up how late he'd stayed up last night. She'd always been the one most worried about his health.
"Your grandmother turned off the magical alarm clock," Newt said cheerfully once Rock sat down.
Hearing that—and listening to the sounds coming from the kitchen—Rock blinked, turning to look. Sure enough, Tina was waving her wand, preparing breakfast.
Having family felt… really good.
"Sigh… ever since I became a grandpa, my status in this house has plummeted," Newt muttered dramatically.
Rock rolled his eyes. If he hadn't seen Newt and Tina being lovey-dovey all the time, he might've believed him.
Moments later, Tina returned with a tray and motioned for him to eat.
After Rock bit into a pastry, Tina said gently, "Sweetheart, from now on you can't stay up that late."
"But… it is normal to get excited the first time you're learning magic."
Rock simply smiled along. This was not the moment to argue back—if he did, Tina could lecture him for ages.
Newt chuckled quietly to himself and went back to his newspaper.
"Oh, by the way—your Grandpa Theseus said he'll come along to send you off on the day you leave for Hogwarts."
Newt had suddenly remembered something and turned to Rock.
"That's not necessary, is it? I mean… I'm just going to school. No need to make it a big deal." Rock looked puzzled.
"It's different. You're the only young Scammander of this generation. Of course we have to treat it seriously."
Newt recalled the letter he'd received earlier that morning.
Between the lines, Theseus had basically told him not to get in the way—or he'd personally demonstrate what "older brotherly love" felt like, even at his age.
Truly an affectionate big brother…
Newt gave Rock a helpless look. This kid really was adored by so many people.
Breakfast wrapped up in a warm, lively atmosphere.
Rock finished eating, said a quick goodbye, and sprinted straight back to his room.
"I wonder who he gets that from…" Tina sighed, though there was fondness in her voice. Rock's enthusiasm for magic was great… but sometimes a bit overwhelming.
Back in his room, Rock immediately dove back into studying. Grinding skills was surprisingly addictive.
—
Time slipped by quietly.
Before he knew it, it was the last day of August.
Tomorrow was Hogwarts' opening day.
In just one month, Rock had used his mysterious interface to crazily grind skills, finally engraving every spell he'd been studying.
And he'd actually managed to pull it off.
Deep Reading — a special interface skill.
---
### Book of Infinite Engravings
Authored by: Rock Theseus Scammander
Foundations
Well of Magic Lv.2 (450/599)
Mental Capacity Lv.2 (545/599)
Physical Resilience Lv.1 (60/299)
Fragments of Law (new section)
Eternal Circuit (Engraved, Unanalyzed)
→ Requirement: Alchemy Lv.1
→ Effect: Greatly increases stability of creations; anti-corrosion and anti-aging properties.
Transmutation Formula (Engraved, Unanalyzed)
→ Requirement: Ancient Runes Lv.2
→ Effect: +15% potion-making experience; unlocks Basic Material Conversion.
Mark of the Sage (Resonated)
→ Effect: Enhanced alchemy talent; slightly increases breakthrough rate for skill bottlenecks.
Spellwork
Levitation Charm Lv.1 (290/299)
Reparo Lv.1 (180/299)
Alohomora Lv.1 (180/299)
Leg-Lock Curse Lv.1 (180/299)
Full Body-Bind Curse Lv.1 (180/299)
Lumos Lv.1 (180/299)
Potions
· Locked
Alchemy (Affinity)
Basic Material Identification Lv.1 (36/299)
Special Skills
Deep Reading Lv.1 (180/299)
Today's Engravings
...
Deep Reading wasn't exactly world-breaking, but it was definitely an improvement.
Before, he had to read something several times just to get the gist of it; now two focused readings were enough.
The only things he couldn't progress were the fragments of law.
Newt and Tina had no background in that area, and while he had bought some alchemy books, memorizing the contents wasn't enough—he was nowhere near ready to attempt practical work.
Alchemy wasn't something you experimented with casually.
One wrong step and something might explode.
Rock figured he'd wait until he reached Hogwarts and use the Room of Requirement for practice.
—
That night, after Rock had practically barricaded himself in his room studying for days, Tina finally dragged him out.
Theseus had arrived.
He'd stay the night at the manor so they could leave early tomorrow.
"Rock, when you get to school, remember to write your grandpa once in a while. Otherwise I won't see you for a whole term."
Theseus ruffled the boy's hair.
"I will, Grandpa Theseus." Rock nodded. Aside from Christmas, Hogwarts rarely gave students a chance to return home.
Soon…
he'd finally be free.
He could let loose.
The next morning, Theseus fussed endlessly over Rock's robes while Tina double-checked his luggage.
Newt slipped a small candy box to Tina, who tucked it deep inside Rock's suitcase.
"Well! Our little Rock is finally a real young wizard today."
Satisfied with the results of his fussing, Theseus pulled Rock into another hug.
Then he leaned down and whispered into his ear:
"If anything goes wrong, find Dumbledore immediately. Or use the pocket watch I gave you and come straight home."
Rock froze for a second—then remembered the day Theseus had given him the Scammander Heir's pocket watch.
So… it was a Portkey?
He hugged Theseus back lightly to show he understood.
Finally, everyone gathered together.
"All right. Let's get going."
Theseus took hold of Rock's arm, tapped his wand twice—
Pop! Pop!
And the two vanished on the spot.
Newt and Tina exchanged a smile before Apparating after them.
---