Dear Rock,
Grandma was so happy to get your letter. Grandpa Jacob says he'll come find you as soon as summer break starts.
About Legilimency—the thing you asked about—the core is perception and intrusion into someone else's mind.
The actual sensation is a bit like this—
Rock folded the letter carefully and tucked it away.
Queenie had described her own Legilimency process in incredible detail—every nuance, every feeling. It was generous, thorough, and exactly what he'd hoped for.
"Shame it's not what I actually need right now," he muttered, shaking his head.
He was still turning over ways to learn more about Grindelwald when the dormitory door swung open.
Theo strode in waving an envelope. "Rock—letter from Hagrid."
"Thanks." Rock stood, took it, and scanned the short note inside.
Come to the hut.
One eyebrow shot up.
Hagrid had the dragon egg.
"I've got something to handle. I'll be back before curfew."
He grabbed his robes and slipped out fast. No point letting Theo and the others know about a dragon egg just yet.
"Hagrid!"
Rock knocked on the hut door. No answer. After a second he raised his voice.
"Oh! Rock! Hang on—coming!"
Hagrid's booming voice came from inside. The door flew open… and Rock immediately clocked the awkward look on the big man's face.
Then he saw why.
Harry and Ron's heads popped up behind Hagrid like startled meerkats. The second they realized it was Rock, the two Gryffindors exchanged a very obvious oh shit glance.
"Er—come on in, Rock," Hagrid said quickly, beckoning.
"Sure."
Rock gave Harry and Ron a small nod and followed Hagrid inside.
A wall of heat slammed into him the moment he crossed the threshold. His face instantly felt tight and dry. The fireplace was roaring like a furnace, turning the whole cabin into a sauna.
"Rock?"
Hermione was sitting as far from the fire as physically possible, looking like she was one deep breath away from heatstroke.
Rock shook his head, raised his wand, and flicked it toward her. "A gentle breeze."
A cool, refreshing wind curled around her. It took a few seconds, but color slowly came back to her cheeks and her eyes focused again.
"Hermione—drink more water. Seriously."
He put his wand away, crossed to the fireplace, and immediately felt like he'd stepped into an oven.
"Rock, I ran into Harry and them in the library," Hagrid muttered beside him, trying to keep his voice low.
The hut was tiny. Everyone heard him anyway.
Ron rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath. Harry just shook his head at him.
"It's fine, Hagrid. I know you're nervous." Rock patted the gamekeeper's massive shoulder. "Relax."
He genuinely didn't care if Harry's trio knew about the egg. Hagrid had always been closer to them anyway.
"Hagrid, the temperature's way too high. Plus the way the fireplace is built, all the heat you actually need is escaping."
"That's… what do I do?" Hagrid looked genuinely panicked. Getting that egg had clearly been no small feat.
"Don't worry. I've got you."
Rock waved off Hagrid's anxiety and walked over to the little bar counter.
He pulled out the supplies he'd quietly prepared over the last few days, then turned back.
"Hagrid—do you have a thick copper box anywhere? Something sturdy?"
"Copper box?" Hagrid scratched his beard, thought for a second, then lumbered up the tiny ladder to the loft.
A minute later he thumped back down carrying an enormous, tarnished copper chest.
Hermione—now steadily chugging water—finally looked human again. She stepped closer, curious.
"What's going on, Rock?"
"Building a mini incubator." He kept it short and started arranging things.
Smooth firebricks (Hagrid already had plenty), a thick layer of fluffy Puffskein wool mixed with dried fern, everything neatly placed to one side.
Then Rock drew a small vial of glowing, crimson liquid.
"Heat sand from between a Fire Crab's shell plates. Soaked in Fire Lizard blood."
He poured it slowly over the bricks.
"Everyone step back a bit, please."
Hagrid immediately yanked Harry, Ron, and Hermione away from the danger zone.
Rock drew his wand, focused, and pointed at the bricks.
"Incendio!"
Flames roared up. With the accelerant already soaked in, the bricks quickly glowed a deep, angry red.
Once they were fully incandescent, Rock cut the spell and flicked his wand again.
"Calor Vinculum!"
A variation he'd cribbed from the basic Binding Charm family.
The heat locked inside the bricks instantly. Even without active flame, they stayed cherry-red and radiating.
Rock layered in the Puffskein down and dried ferns, then stepped back.
"Hagrid, you'll probably need to swing by Diagon Alley later for some hardening clay. Otherwise the copper might not hold up long-term."
He gestured at his handiwork.
Hagrid, though, was circling the chest like he'd just discovered buried treasure. He reached out instinctively to touch the inside.
"Whoa—no." Rock caught his wrist. "Temperature in there is brutal right now. You'll burn yourself."
Hagrid blinked, yanked his hand back, then nodded vigorously.
"Right—right! Sorry. I'm just… blimey, this is way safer than the fireplace."
He reached for his pink umbrella, started to cast, then stopped. His shoulders hunched and he looked sheepish.
"Er… Rock? Mind giving me a hand moving the egg in?"
"No problem."
Rock nodded, drew his wand again, and aimed at the egg still sitting in the roaring hearth.
"Volaris!"
Translucent ghostly hands formed, plunged straight through the flames without hesitation, closed gently around the egg, and lifted it smoothly out.
Under everyone's wide-eyed stares, the egg floated over and settled perfectly into the center of the copper box.
"What spell was that?" Hermione blurted, openly stunned. "I've never seen anything like it."
"Compound charm," Rock said simply, already helping Hagrid slide the heavy box to a safer corner.
"Compound charm…" Hermione whispered, eyes huge with something like awe.
"Thank you, Rock." Hagrid's voice was thick with emotion as he stared at the now-secure incubator. "You're the cleverest young wizard I've ever met."
Rock waved it off with a small smile.
"Just something I've seen Grandpa do. Practical, right?"
"Bloody practical," Hagrid agreed, voice soft with wonder.
Then he hurried over to the fireplace and started scooping out some of the burning coals.
If not for hatching a dragon, even he couldn't have stood this heat much longer.