Before the Gryffindors could start celebrating, Dumbledore's gaze left Harry and landed on Rock at the Ravenclaw table.
Shit.
Rock froze. Every instinct screamed danger.
Don't do this, Headmaster.
"Mr. Rock Theseus Scamander!"
Every head in the Great Hall snapped toward the Ravenclaw table.
"For displaying remarkable courage, extraordinary talent, and sharp wisdom, I award Ravenclaw one hundred points!"
Theo's arm shot around Rock's shoulders. "Holy shit—no, Merlin's bloody underpants! What the hell did you do? One hundred points? Gryffindor only got fifty each!"
Rock's eye twitched. He had miscalculated. He thought Dumbledore would understand he didn't want the spotlight. Instead the old man went nuclear.
"And—for saving a professor's life and protecting the unicorns in the Forbidden Forest—I award Ravenclaw another sixty points!"
The Ravenclaw table exploded.
Cheers, screams, and stomping shook the hall. Flitwick shot straight up from his chair like he'd been launched. Professor McGonagall turned and clapped him on the back with a rare smile.
At the Gryffindor table, students looked at each other in stunned silence. Hermione started clapping first. The rest of Gryffindor followed. Hufflepuff had been applauding since the first extra points dropped. As long as Slytherin didn't win, they were happy to cheer.
Still… great Headmaster, maybe skip the emotional roller coaster next time. You're a Gryffindor too, aren't you?
Dumbledore winked at Rock, then flicked his wand. The banners and curtains throughout the hall shifted to Ravenclaw blue and bronze.
Rock let himself be swallowed by the celebrating Ravenclaws. He caught Dumbledore's eye one last time, sighed, and finally gave in, accepting the hugs and backslaps.
Ravenclaw had never really cared about House Cup standings before. Watching Slytherin and Gryffindor tear into each other had always been entertainment enough. But now that they'd actually won?
The students made it very clear.
This year belonged to Ravenclaw.
Fireworks in blue and bronze burst across the ceiling. The Ravenclaw table went even wilder.
Up at the staff table, McGonagall and Snape both wore complicated expressions. The fireworks had come from Flitwick. No one had expected the tiny Charms professor to have that kind of flair in him.
The entire hall stayed in celebration mode. It took Rock a while to fight his way out of the crowd.
"Insane…" he muttered.
"Had to be," Theo said, arm still slung around his shoulders as the study group headed out. "Doesn't matter until it does. Now that it does, we're owning it."
Staying in the hall meant no chance of actually eating, so they made for the study room. House-elves could bring food there.
"By the way," Adam said, "I've still got some drinks from Christmas in the dorm. Want me to grab them?"
"Yes," Theo answered immediately. "Though butterbeer would be better."
"Butterbeer?" Adam blinked. "We're not old enough to drink, are we?"
"Not real butterbeer," Theo said. "But I'm wondering if the house-elves can make that non-alcoholic version—milk, brown sugar, vanilla. My family's elf picked it up somewhere."
"Just ask," Rock said. "Adam, have Dobby bring your drinks."
They were still talking when Neville and Hermione caught up with them.
"Cheers!"
Everyone raised their glasses.
"This is the first time we've actually had a proper meal in here, isn't it?" Michael asked. "I heard some of the older clubs do this all the time."
"It's different," Theo said with a shrug. "We're just getting started. It'll get better."
He looked around the table. "So what's everyone doing over the holidays?"
"Studying," Hermione answered at once. "I'm going to read through next year's textbooks."
Everyone stared.
Padma looked horrified. "You're serious?"
"Of course. I did the same thing before first year started. Rock does it too." Hermione pointed at Rock, who was currently focused on his food.
Rock looked up and blinked. "I was just bored and got ahead, that's all."
"Freak," everyone said in unison.
The Hogwarts Express whistle blew. Hagrid stood on the platform waving students forward. "Hurry up! Train's leaving!"
Rock's group finally found an empty compartment and piled in.
"Want to knock out the holiday homework before we get home?" Theo asked, already pulling out his assignments.
Adam reached over and felt Theo's forehead. "You feeling okay? You usually put this off until the last possible second."
"Piss off," Theo said, smacking his hand away. "I just don't want to be thinking about homework while I'm actually trying to enjoy break."
He glanced meaningfully at Rock.
"Right," Adam said, catching on. He yanked out his own work. Neville looked confused but followed suit.
Rock gave them both a flat look but didn't call them out. He simply opened his own notebook. Soon Michael and Terry joined, then Hermione and Padma. The small compartment filled up fast, but they were still kids—no one minded the squeeze.
Rock transfigured a small table so they weren't balancing everything on their knees.
While the others worked, Rock stared out the window and thought about what Snape had said before they left.
"Nicolas Flamel is famous for alchemy. Take your potions work with you over the break. If the Headmaster trusts him, you might as well get his opinion."
Rock agreed. The lines he could see had come from the Stone in the first place. Getting Flamel's perspective made sense.
Theo finished his homework and looked around. "What's everyone doing for the holidays? Anyone want to come over?"
Adam shook his head. "My family's probably traveling again. It's kind of our thing."
The others gave similar answers. Theo turned to Rock.
"I probably can't," Rock said. "I've got a trip to take."
Theo looked disappointed. "Guess we're all doing our own thing, then."
The train whistle blew again. Penelope poked her head in to tell them they were almost at the station and reminded everyone—no magic outside of school.