"Long time no see, Noah! Over here!"
"Hey, Evan."
Noah walked into the Great Hall of Hogwarts with a smile and made his way toward Evan and the others.
He had returned to Hogwarts just in time for the annual Sorting Ceremony.
Before he knew it, he and his friends were already second-year students. Noah couldn't help but feel like time was flying.
"Ridiculous. I'm only twelve, not even thirteen yet!"
With that thought in mind, Noah plopped down next to Evan. Kenn and Lance had been sitting there for a while, having saved him a seat.
Just as he settled in and reached for his tea, Lance smirked mischievously.
"Noah, you should really be nicer to my Noddy next time. He told me you trapped him with magic and didn't give him any food."
Noddy was Lance's owl—a scruffy, gray little thing. It was nothing compared to Harry's Hedwig, but it had been with Lance since childhood and was incredibly loyal.
At Lance's remark, Evan and Kenn immediately joined in, clearly holding a grudge as well.
"Yeah! My Seran went through the same thing. Seriously, Noah, what did you even feed her?"
"Same here! I sent you a letter, and my Camille was missing for days! I thought she got lost! When she finally came back, she was so weak that I had to take her to a vet. And guess what? I found out exactly what happened!"
Faced with his friends' disgruntled expressions, Noah sighed in defeat.
Alright, maybe he had gone a bit too far. At the time, those owls had looked ready to bite him, so he'd instinctively restrained them with magic. As a result, he even received a warning from the Ministry of Magic.
"Okay, okay, I get it. I'm sorry. But I honestly had no idea what to feed them! Mice? Alright, fine. But don't worry, there won't be a next time—because I bought an owl myself."
"You? You actually got an owl?" Evan raised an eyebrow in disbelief.
"Yeah… a white, yellow-billed scops owl."
"What?"
Evan, Kenn, and Lance exchanged looks before bursting into laughter.
Noah sighed. The yellow-billed scops owl was a small species with yellow eyes, a cream-colored beak, and no distinct stripes—only a row of large, white triangular spots on its shoulders.
More importantly, it was cute.
Noah had no idea why Ms. Haifin—who had helped him choose—thought he needed an owl that looked adorable rather than intimidating. He had wanted something fierce, like Hedwig, but there had been no arguing with her.
As for his owl's name?
Noah had simply named her Hathaway. Yes, her. If he weren't afraid of Ms. Haifin's wrath, he would've told Hathaway to toughen up.
The conversation drifted to their summer vacations while the Sorting Ceremony continued in the background. After experiencing the event last year, they knew it would take a while.
Like the previous year, Hogwarts had admitted over two hundred new students, and the Sorting Hat was busy assigning them to houses.
Noah and his friends didn't particularly care about the results. Instead, they eagerly recounted their summer adventures.
Evan had traveled to Romania with his parents to visit a dragon sanctuary, where he met Charlie Weasley, one of Ron's older brothers.
Lance had stayed home practicing magic, strengthening both his spellwork and mental resilience.
As for Kenn, he had originally wanted to train with Noah, but since Noah was gone and Evan was abroad, he had spent the summer training with Lance instead.
When they finished sharing their experiences, their attention turned to Noah.
"So, where have you been?" Evan asked, his curiosity piqued.
Noah hesitated for a moment before replying.
"I went to the United States."
Before he could say anything more, Evan nearly jumped out of his seat.
"Oh, Merlin! The United States? Isn't something crazy happening over there?" he whispered urgently.
Kenn and Lance looked confused.
"What are you talking about?" Kenn asked.
"You don't know?" Evan lowered his voice. "Rumor has it that angels from Heaven tried to secretly release the Son of Hell into the world. But the Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA) found out about it! In the end, the Sorcerer Supreme handled everything!"
"No way! Are you serious?" Lance gasped. "I've only ever read about the Sorcerer Supreme in obscure magical texts. They say he's the greatest sorcerer alive and the guardian of the world!"
Noah nearly choked on his tea.
So, the American Ministry of Magic had completely erased his involvement?
Not that he cared. It wasn't a big deal. What did bother him was that his friends assumed the Ancient One was a man.
While the Sorcerer Supreme was male in some parallel universes, the one Noah met was very much not.
"Ahem. Just so you know, you should refer to her as 'her.' Thank you very much," Noah corrected them.
Evan, Kenn, and Lance looked at each other in confusion.
"Wait…" Kenn narrowed his eyes. "How do you know that?"
"Yeah, what are you saying?" Evan leaned in suspiciously. "Have you seen her? Or did you read about it somewhere?"
Noah smirked.
"I have seen her," he said casually.
Silence.
The three of them sat frozen, their jaws nearly hitting the table.
"You mean—"
"Yes," Noah interrupted, nodding. "I was there when it all happened."
"Merlin's beard!" Evan practically shouted. "Noah, tell us everything!"
How could they possibly ignore such a revelation?
Seeing their desperate curiosity, Noah made them swear on Merlin's name that they wouldn't tell anyone before launching into the full story.
He recounted everything—how he was dragged into the mess, how he helped defeat the demons, and how, in the end, the Ancient One had personally acknowledged him as a disciple.
And, of course, how he would be leaving Hogwarts in two years.
When he finished, Evan, Kenn, and Lance were stunned.
Mouths wide open. Eyes practically bulging.
They looked like they'd just been hit by a Stupefy spell.
Noah couldn't blame them. His experiences were insane, even to him.
It was the kind of nonsense that only Gilderoy Lockhart would claim to have done.
Oh, right—Lockhart.
To them, Lockhart was a complete fraud.
They had studied magical creatures, demons, and geography in detail. So, when they read Lockhart's books, they could instantly tell he was talking out of his arse.
Even if his books weren't outright fake, their parents had told them enough to know that Lockhart had definitely not done the things he claimed.
How he had gotten away with it was beyond them.
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