Harry seemed to know all about the sweets, which was expected. Even though he had lived a rather secluded life, rarely going out in public, he always received candies from his family.
Ron also didn't hesitate in choosing what he wanted to eat.
Noah didn't know every sweet, but he had tried most of them—especially back when he was at Flamel's.
"Definitely creative," Noah said with a laugh. A chocolate frog had jumped onto the window and was about to be carried away by the wind.
"You're out of luck, they only jump once," Ron commented, expecting the frog to be lost for good. But the scene that followed made him freeze. The frog really was being carried away—but toward Noah.
Noah found the idea funny but wasn't about to let it escape. He caught the floating frog and tossed it into his mouth in one go.
Only after swallowing did he notice Harry and Ron staring at him, wide-eyed.
"Something on my face?" Noah asked, wiping his cheek.
Harry shook his head. "How did you do that?"
"Magic?" Noah answered like it was obvious. "Maybe you've forgotten, but we're wizards."
"I know, but you didn't even grab your wand." Harry leaned forward, trying to understand.
"You didn't say the incantation, for Merlin's sake—you didn't even move," Ron blurted out, his voice rushed. "A Gray. Maybe it's because he's a Gray."
Noah didn't think it was anything worth their shock. All he had done was levitate a chocolate frog—why would he need a wand for something so small?
"It was simple, I don't need a wand for that." He shrugged, then smirked. "When you two told me you didn't know much about magic, I didn't think you meant this little."
"But you just used wandless magic," Harry insisted. "That's even more surprising."
"I did say I knew a few tricks." Noah grinned.
"Well, that's more than a trick. Wandless magic is advanced," Harry said. "What else can you do?"
Noah shook his head. "Some basic spells. Nothing special." He chuckled. "Or maybe I wasn't joking when I said I could beat a dragon."
Harry and Ron looked at him, unsure if he was serious or just teasing.
"Come on, let's eat," Noah said, grabbing another chocolate and making sure it didn't jump away.
"What card did you get?" Ron asked as Noah examined the collectible that came with the frog. He clearly preferred not to keep thinking about Noah's magic.
Noah looked at the image of an old bearded man holding a book and a staff.
"Got Merlin," he said, taking a good look at the staff. It was the first time he'd seen such a thing in this world, and it made him wonder if it was possible to use more than just wands.
Actually, after thinking about it, he realized he was being dumb to find that surprising. If it's possible to use magic without a wand, then of course any tool could serve as a focus—staff or wand alike.
He noticed Harry also examining a card and asked curiously, "Who'd you get, Harry?"
"Dumbledore," Harry replied, showing him the card.
Like Merlin, Dumbledore had a long white beard. He wore half-moon glasses that rested on his large, crooked nose.
"Albus Dumbledore, currently Headmaster of Hogwarts. Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times. Famous for defeating the Dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for discovering the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and for his work in alchemy alongside Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and ten-pin bowling."
"Most powerful wizard of modern times," Noah murmured.
"Who do you think is stronger—Dumbledore or Merlin?" Harry asked.
Noah shrugged. "Impossible to say. Merlin was said to be incredibly powerful in the old legends. Not just him—Morgana was a great witch of that era too. Wizards of the past might've had powers long since forgotten."
"Ahhh, Morgana again," Ron groaned. "You jinxed me by saying her name." He tossed the card at Noah, who laughed, caught it midair, and tucked it away. Maybe he'd start collecting them too.
"Who do you want to get?" Noah asked Ron.
"Agrippa."
"Well then, help yourself," Noah said, tossing a few frogs at him. "But the duplicates are mine."
The three of them ate until there were no frogs left—but Agrippa never showed up.
With no more frogs, it was time for Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans.
"Charlie swears he once tasted boggart-flavored," Ron said, making a face.
Noah laughed and grabbed one. "Boggart-flavored? Yeah, right."
"Suit yourself," Ron muttered.
Noah held the little bean for a moment, then popped it into his mouth.
"Watermelon," he said with relief. "Your turn." He pushed the bag toward Harry.
"Seriously? I once got vomit-flavored," Harry complained, but still picked one.
He threw it into his mouth and immediately grimaced. "Ugh—dirt."
Noah laughed, but there was still one left to try. He and Harry turned to Ron. The redhead groaned and grabbed one—it all came down to his luck.
"Ugh, booger." He spat it out almost instantly.
"And we have a winner," Noah declared. Harry clapped. "Ron, here's your prize." He handed him the Morgana card, making Ron roll his eyes and toss it onto the seat.
The train rolled past endless green fields, calm and peaceful.
At that moment, the compartment door slid open again. A round-faced boy peeked in, embarrassed and hesitant.
"Have you seen a toad? I lost mine," he asked, voice trembling.
"We just ate the last ones," Ron said, making the boy's face fall even more.
"He means a real toad, not the chocolate kind," Harry quickly explained before the boy burst into tears.
"Oh." The boy shook his head and shuffled away, still searching.
Harry and Noah shared a look as he left.
"If I had a toad, I'd want to lose it too," Ron joked.
Noah chuckled, then looked at Harry. "Shouldn't you help him look?"
Harry blinked. "Why?"
"Aren't you the hero of the wizarding world?" Noah smirked.
"Idiot," Harry muttered, rolling his eyes.
Noah laughed. "So, about Quidditch—you said you want to be a Chaser?"
Harry's face lit up. "Yeah. My dad was a Chaser back at school, so I want to be one too."
Then he realized something. "Wait, you probably don't know what a Chaser does. Well, the Chaser—"
He began explaining Quidditch to Noah, and Ron eagerly joined in since he knew the sport well.
Three boys talking about sports—Noah found it fun.
Some time later, the door slid open again. Ron groaned, raising his voice.
"No, we haven't seen your toad!"
He was in the middle of explaining a Keeper move when the door opened, hence his annoyance.
But when he saw who it was, he froze.
Noah looked up at the new arrivals—and his heart skipped a beat.
The girl at the front froze too, staring right at him.
Then they both spoke in unison.
"You!!"
"You!!"
Standing at the door were two girls. The one in front was the redhead he had met at the Ministry Ball.
"You know my sister?" Harry asked, leaving Noah even more stunned.
"Your sister?" Noah looked between them, and then finally felt stupid. How had he missed it?
They didn't look much alike, but both shared the same green eyes.
Harry introduced them. "Noah, this is my twin sister, Violet. Violet, this is Noah Gray, a new friend."
The compartment went silent for a moment. Noah and Violet looked at each other, then both smirked knowingly.
"So, you're a Potter."
"And you're a Gray." She smiled. "You were right—your surname would have intimidated me."
Noah grinned, pleased she remembered what he had said. He stood and extended a hand. "I hope we can be friends."
Violet shook it firmly. "You won't disappear on me this time, will you?"
Noah rubbed his neck, a little embarrassed. "I'm not going anywhere."
Beside them, Ron nudged Harry. "What's going on?"
Harry shook his head. "No idea."
Then Violet remembered something and pulled the other girl forward. "Everyone, this is Hermione. Hermione, this is my brother Harry, his silly friend Ron, and… well, Noah."
Noah, being closest, greeted her first. "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you," she replied politely.
Harry and Ron waved too.
"Come on, sit with us," Noah said, gesturing to the seats.
Violet sat beside Harry, and Hermione joined on the bench with Noah, shoving some sweets aside to make room.
"You lot need to clean this up before we arrive," Violet scolded, pointing at the wrappers littering the floor.
Ron and Harry groaned, but then both looked at Noah.
"Got a trick for this?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, do one of your 'Gray things,'" Ron joked, making Noah roll his eyes.
"Fine."
He snapped his fingers. Under their watchful eyes, the scattered wrappers and leftover sweets floated into neat little piles.
"Mate…" Ron stared at him. "That was awesome."
Not only the boys were impressed.
Hermione was frozen in place. Then she turned to Noah as if he were some kind of god.
"How did you do that? I mean—wandless magic, no incantation…" She seemed to be thinking a dozen things at once. "You're not a first-year, are you?"
Noah smiled. "Don't look so shocked. Magic isn't bound by absolute rules."
"You're saying the books are wrong?" Hermione looked horrified.
"You're overthinking it," Noah said with a small shake of his head. "The books are right."
"Then… how did you do it?" she pressed.
Noah pointed to a chocolate, making it float, unwrap, and fly into his mouth in one smooth motion.
"Why do I feel like he's just showing off now?" Ron muttered, earning laughter from the others—even Noah.
But Noah noticed Hermione was still waiting for an answer.
"How long have you known you're a witch?" he asked.
"A year."
"And you really think you already know what's possible in magic just because you've read a dozen books?"
Hermione fell silent, reflecting on that.
Violet, however, didn't look too surprised at his display.
Harry noticed and almost asked about it, but instead went with something else.
"So, how did you meet her?" he asked, meaning Hermione.
"She was looking for a toad in the train bathroom. I found it near the sink and was about to tell a prefect, then we ran into each other."
Violet turned to Noah. "Which House do you think you'll be in?"
Noah shook his head. "Not sure. Slytherin seems most likely… or Ravenclaw."
The moment he said Slytherin, the three wizard-borns pulled faces.
Noah smirked. "Seriously? I can already feel you looking at me differently."
"Sorry. We just don't have the best impression of that House," Violet admitted.
"Family influence?" Noah guessed, and she nodded.
All three of them had grown up hearing relatives complain about Slytherins—both during school and even as adults. Members of that House were known to be arrogant and ill-intentioned.
"I want to be in Gryffindor," Harry said. "It'd be nice if we were all in the same House."
"I'll be there for sure," Ron said. "Every member of my family was a Gryffindor."
"Wouldn't it be fun to be the first to break the pattern?" Noah teased. But Ron shook his head violently.
"If I end up in another House, I think I'll be disowned."
"How dramatic," Violet muttered, shaking her head.