Rock sat up straight, waiting quietly for Professor McGonagall to continue.
But Professor McGonagall paused instead, stood up, and walked to a nearby bookshelf. With practiced familiarity, she pulled down a dark-green leather-bound book with a title embossed in gold.
She placed the book in front of Rock. He leaned forward and glanced at the cover:
"Gamp's Laws of Transfiguration: A Detailed Study of Elements and Life."
"A perfect transformation," Professor McGonagall said as she sat back down, her eyes fixed on him. "And you succeeded on your very first attempt."
Rock blinked, staying silent. She wasn't finished.
"You're talented—extraordinarily so. I realize now that I haven't fully acknowledged your potential. So starting today, until I believe your maturity has caught up with your abilities, you are not allowed to perform any self-directed or advanced Transfiguration beyond the curriculum."
Rock froze. Wait—he was being banned before he even started?
Ignoring his expression, Professor McGonagall pulled a blank sheet of parchment toward her. With a flick of her hand, a quill flew neatly into her grasp.
"From here on out, theory is something you must study seriously."
She handed him the parchment. On it was another book title:
"Extensions of Form: Advanced Practice in Transformational Spells."
"It's a waste of talent to settle for what's taught in class," she continued, tapping the parchment. "But it's equally foolish to dabble in magic far beyond your level."
"This book sits between those extremes. Consider it extra homework."
Rock nodded. At least she didn't forbid spellcasting entirely.
"Your precision with detail is clear, Mr. Scamander. Every Friday after class, stay behind for twenty minutes and come to my office. Show me what you've mastered that week."
"If you pass, we move to the next stage. Understood?"
"Yes, Professor!" Rock said firmly.
"Good. Remember—precision and control will always matter more than complexity." Her tone sharpened again. "Now, gather your things. There's a Quidditch match tomorrow. Enjoy your weekend."
Rock stood, carefully packed the books and parchment into his backpack, thanked her, and left the office.
Professor McGonagall watched the door close behind him, a small smile tugging at her lips.
"A good kid," she murmured.
She turned toward the bookshelf again, paused as if remembering something, then strode out of the office.
…
In the Great Hall
Rock flipped through his book while chatting absently with Theo and Adam.
He had already borrowed the book listed on McGonagall's parchment. And he had to admit—it was incredibly useful.
The first major topic was handling and controlling composite materials—exactly the kind of practice he needed now.
"Oh? The International Wizarding Confederation is meeting again?"
Theo scanned the Daily Prophet. The largest headline covered the upcoming conference.
"The International Wizarding Confederation?" Adam leaned in curiously. "What's that?"
"It's the highest legislative body in the magical world. They maintain global magical order and stability. Pretty much a council of the world's most powerful wizards," Theo explained, twirling his wand between his fingers.
"No idea why they're meeting this time."
Rock listened for a moment before returning to his reading. Whatever the IWIC was doing, it had nothing to do with them.
He was now on the final chapter—series transformations and memory continuity.
After skimming the section, he got the general idea.
Multiple consecutive transformations of an object into different forms—each transformation building on the last—while remaining fully reversible.
A clever concept. And it required intense control.
Every transformation had to be complete and flawless. The magical connection had to retain memory so the object could revert to its original material and structure without any damage.
Rock, absorbed in his thoughts, didn't notice someone sit beside him.
"Rock."
Theo nudged him and motioned to the right.
Rock looked up—and saw Hermione staring at the book in his hands.
"Hermione? Do you need something?"
"Rock," she said, lifting her chin, "why didn't you come to the library this weekend?"
Rock lightly smacked his forehead. "I was practicing spells with Theo and the guys. Totally forgot. I heard from Penelope that you were looking for me."
"But the next day I couldn't find you," Hermione said.
"We can vouch for that," Theo said proudly, and Adam nodded beside him.
Hermione's ears turned pink. She'd been at Hagrid's hut the entire next day with Harry and Ron, discussing their suspicions about Professor Snape.
"Well… anyway, I've never seen that book before." She pointed to the one Rock was holding.
"This? Professor McGonagall assigned it to me. My personal homework."
"What?"
Hermione slapped a hand over her mouth. Homework—assigned individually by Professor McGonagall.
"Yeah. I did pretty well with first-year Transfiguration, so she wants me to study these."
Hermione dropped any thought of pressing further. McGonagall had praised Rock in Gryffindor's class before—but she never imagined this level of praise.
She drifted into thought, staring blankly. Rock glanced at Theo, signaling with his eyes.
Theo, the expert at reading the room, immediately jumped in. "Rock, heading back to the tower?"
"Yeah, it's getting late."
Rock pretended to check his pocket watch—though it was indeed late—and turned to Hermione.
"Hermione, I'll head out now."
Still lost in thought, Hermione nodded automatically. "Okay… see you."
Rock took that as his cue and slipped away with Theo and Adam.
Once they stepped outside the Great Hall, Theo finally asked, "What was that about? You were totally avoiding Hermione."
He stared straight at Rock, unblinking.
Rock's eyes flickered, and he waved him off without answering.
---