Unlike Hermione, who spent the final days replaying every moment in her head, Rock headed straight for Hagrid's hut.
The unicorn foals had grown a lot. Their golden coats were already shifting toward their parents' deeper colors.
"Not bad," Rock said, running his hand over their soft fur. "Just don't turn out like your father."
The broken-horned stallion snorted loudly from the side, clearly offended.
The mother unicorn let out a soft whine and gently butted her mate's neck. The stallion's ears drooped and he slunk off to sulk.
"Whipped," Rock muttered, ignoring the stallion. He scratched behind the mother's ear. "Father of two and still causing trouble, huh?"
She leaned into his palm, clearly agreeing.
"That guy probably won't come after you again," Rock said. "But you'll need to move. You're too close to the Acromantula nest. Hagrid lets things loose and forgets about them, and spiders breed like crazy. Half the Forest is basically theirs now."
"Rock!"
Right on cue.
Hagrid's voice carried from the edge of the trees. Rock gave the mother unicorn one last pat. "Next time I see you it'll be next term."
He walked out to meet them.
Hagrid stood outside his hut with Harry and Ron. Harry's head popped up beside the half-giant the second Rock appeared.
"As you can see," Hagrid said, ruffling Harry's hair, "Harry wanted to find you."
Rock nodded and kept walking. Ron's mouth had fallen open.
"I'm not seeing things, right? Rock just walked out of the Forbidden Forest?"
"Ron, I'm warning you—don't go copying your brothers and trying to sneak in there," Hagrid said, suddenly serious. "Rock's different."
"Different how? He's still a first-year," Ron muttered.
"He knows the creatures in there," Hagrid said. "And he can actually handle himself. Those two weeks of patrols? Rock made my job a hell of a lot easier."
Ron opened his mouth, closed it again, and gave up.
"What's going on?" Rock asked when he reached them.
Harry scratched the back of his neck. "I just… wanted to say thanks. If you hadn't—"
"No need," Rock said easily. "I was just in the right place at the right time."
If Voldemort hadn't come after him personally, Rock would've simply found a quiet moment to return the Stone and stayed out of it. The hatred had just pulled him in deeper than planned.
Harry nodded. Ron, however, couldn't help himself.
"So… Rock. Did Dumbledore really leave the Stone with you the whole time?"
Hagrid's eyes went wide. "Really, Rock?"
"Yeah," Rock said, then gave Hagrid a quick wink. "It was part of the plan. And now it's been destroyed, so there's nothing left to talk about."
Hagrid nodded rapidly and ushered them all inside.
The end-of-year feast was every bit as grand as the opening banquet. Some of the professors had already slipped into holiday mode—Dumbledore himself showed up in casual robes instead of his usual formal ones.
"Another year gone!" he called out, smiling like any ordinary old man. "Before we begin tonight's feast, I'm afraid you'll have to endure one last speech from this old fool."
The Great Hall quieted. Everyone knew what came next: the House Cup.
"Who do you think it'll be?" Theo whispered to Rock.
Adam looked confused. "Isn't it obvious? Gryffindor racked up Quidditch points but lost just as many. Slytherin got hit with fifty points because of Malfoy. That puts them behind Gryffindor. We came close in Quidditch—missed tying them by one point."
Rock stayed quiet. Without the trio's nighttime adventures this year, Gryffindor hadn't lost as many points. But Snape had still docked twenty from each of them after the unicorn incident. Ravenclaw had avoided most of Snape's deductions thanks to Rock, so they sat a little higher than Slytherin.
Still. Their headmaster loved handing out surprise points.
"Fourth place—Hufflepuff with three hundred and fifty-two points. Third—Slytherin with four hundred and seventy-two. Second—Ravenclaw with four hundred and eighty-two. First place—Gryffindor with four hundred and eighty-three!"
Gryffindor exploded into cheers and stomping. The Weasley twins immediately started singing at the top of their lungs. Slytherin's table went dead silent. Their seven-year winning streak had just ended.
Dumbledore raised his voice again, still smiling. "If I may add a few more words… I'm sure you've all heard about the recent incident involving a certain dark wizard."
The Hall went still, then filled with low murmurs.
"Several students showed remarkable courage and skill in helping protect Hogwarts from a very real threat. I'd like to award some additional points."
"First—Mr. Ronald Weasley. For demonstrating extraordinary self-sacrifice and playing what may well be the most brilliant game of wizard's chess Hogwarts has seen in decades—fifty points to Gryffindor!"
Ron sat frozen at the Gryffindor table while Fred and George descended on him, pounding his shoulders.
"Second—Miss Hermione Granger. For keeping a cool head and using sharp logic under pressure—fifty points to Gryffindor!"
The Gryffindor table went completely wild. One hundred points in one go.
"Third—Harry Potter…"
The entire Hall went dead quiet. Surely not another fifty?
Snape's face had gone black. He clearly thought Dumbledore was overdoing it. Letting Gryffindor win by one point on pure luck should have been enough. This was just rubbing it in.
"…fifty points to Gryffindor!"
The Gryffindor table lost its collective mind. Students were standing on benches, screaming.
"But—"