Adam looked disappointed as he tucked his wand away.
"I was hoping to show Mom and Dad some magic. Same thing happened last Christmas."
"You just have to do it the right way," Theo said with a knowing look. "But since you're the only wizard in your family, it probably won't work at home."
"What do you mean?" Adam asked, confused.
Theo meant that if you wanted to use magic without getting an owl from the Ministry, you had to go to Diagon Alley or another wizard-heavy area.
Hermione frowned. "But I used magic at home before I started school."
"That's because you weren't enrolled yet," Michael said with a small laugh. "And who's going to believe some kid who hasn't even started Hogwarts can actually cast spells with a wand? It's basically the one invisible perk we got as first-years."
Neville's eyes lit up with understanding. "That explains why Grandma let me cast spells over Christmas. She said the Ministry wasn't stupid enough to come after me."
Adam sighed and shook his head. "Forget it. I'm not making a special trip to Diagon Alley just to show off. I'll do it when we go shopping for school supplies."
Besides, his parents weren't big fans of Diagon Alley anyway.
The train whistle blew. Hermione and the others headed back to their own compartments to grab their things.
Rock picked up his trunk and joined the crowd heading off the train.
Several familiar faces were already waiting on the platform. Rock smiled when he saw them. "See you guys in Diagon Alley before term starts!"
"Sounds good!"
Theo and the others waved and headed off with their families.
"Welcome home," Tina said as Rock turned toward her.
Rock's face lit up. "Grandma. Grandpa. Great-uncle Theseus. It's been a while."
Theseus immediately started checking him over, running his eyes from head to toe. It took a solid minute before he finally relaxed. "You really had us worried. When we got Dumbledore's letter, we almost came straight to the castle."
Rock scratched the back of his neck. Getting personally targeted by Voldemort had been impossible to predict.
"It's fine now," Newt said lightly, the same calm tone as always. "Let's just get you home."
"Right!"
Rock quickly moved to Tina's side, deliberately putting distance between himself and Theseus. He had a feeling his great-uncle was about to start lecturing.
Theseus shook his head with a sigh. Newt chuckled beside him. "Believe in Rock. He's much stronger than we were at his age."
"Stronger than you, maybe," Theseus muttered. "At least I was still standing when I heard the news."
Newt's ears went red. He pretended not to hear and kept walking.
Back at the manor, the kneazles came running the second Rock stepped inside. They circled him, refusing to leave his side.
"Hey, you three. I can't carry all of you at once."
Rock scratched their heads anyway and let the little shadows follow him into the house.
After pouring drinks for the adults in the kitchen, Rock finally sat down. He knew the questions were coming.
Newt surprised him by skipping the interrogation entirely. Instead he asked, "Nicolas Flamel wants you to visit him?"
Rock nodded. "Yeah. But we have to wait for Headmaster Dumbledore to come get me. Only he knows the exact location."
Tina shook her head in quiet wonder. Who would have guessed the Philosopher's Stone would end up gifted to Rock?
She stood up and busied herself with dinner, clearly deciding to let Newt and Theseus handle the rest.
Once she left, Theseus got straight to the point. "Rock. Come outside. I want to see what you've actually learned this year."
Rock blinked. Newt's mouth curved into a small smile. "Go on. Your great-uncle won't relax until he knows you've got a handle on your spells."
With no choice, Rock followed Theseus out into the yard.
Theseus leaned on his cane. "Cast every first-year spell you know. One after another."
Rock nodded, drew his wand, and pointed it at the open space. "Lumos!"
Theseus gave a small nod. "Not bad. Already better than we were. But I heard you've been combining spells?"
"Yes, Great-uncle Theseus." Rock hesitated. "Do you want me to show you?"
"Obviously."
Theseus waited.
"Volaris!"
A translucent hand appeared in front of Theseus, neatly straightened his collar, then shot off to grab a rock and hurl it into the distance.
"Smart idea. Light enough to be useful, strong enough to hit hard. How much weight can it lift?"
"I haven't tested the limit," Rock admitted. He knew it could handle Crabbe and Goyle without trouble. "But it should manage around five hundred pounds."
Theseus raised an eyebrow, then drew his own wand. He copied Rock's movement and incantation exactly.
"Volaris!"
A much clearer hand shot out and wrapped around a nearby tree trunk.
Crack.
The trunk snapped clean in half.
"Not bad at all." Theseus looked satisfied for a moment, then gave Rock a strange look. "I also heard you've been serving detentions nonstop at school."
Detentions?
Rock blinked, then realized he meant Snape.
"Not really detentions. More like private Potions lessons. And Professor McGonagall's been giving me extra Transfiguration work too."
"Private lessons?" Theseus looked genuinely surprised. He clearly hadn't known.
Rock felt a small wave of relief. At least Dumbledore hadn't told them about the eye ability. That saved him from having to explain it.
"Yeah. Professor Snape's actually a really good teacher." Rock paused. "When he's not being sarcastic."
Theseus gave him a long, skeptical look. If he hadn't already looked into the current Hogwarts staff, he might have bought that line.
"Sounds like you did all right for yourself this year." Theseus turned to head back inside, then stopped. "Oh—Augusta Longbottom came to see me after Christmas. She wanted to thank you. Said you helped her grandson turn things around."
Rock blinked. He hadn't expected Mrs. Longbottom to go out of her way like that.
"Dinner's ready!" Tina called from the house.
Theseus slung an arm around Rock's shoulders. "Come on. The train only had those rock cakes to keep you going."