Inside the infirmary, the scene looked oddly familiar. James and Lily stood beside the bed, gazing at their son with love and worry.
Madam Pomfrey hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should chase them out, but decided against it when she noticed how the Potters kept glancing at Noah — as if hoping he'd stay.
"Rough night, huh?" Noah said, walking over to Harry's bed.
"How can you still joke at a time like this?" Harry asked, looking at his friend in disbelief.
Noah grinned. "Well, I'm not the one lying there like a wrapped-up mummy."
Surprisingly, that drew a round of laughter, breaking the heavy tension hanging in the room.
"Idiot," Violet muttered beside him.
Noah just shook his head and turned toward the Potters. "Second time we meet… Too bad it's another bad moment."
James sighed. "We still have to thank you again."
Noah raised a brow. "I didn't even do anything this time, did I?"
But James' answer caught everyone off guard. "Harry said he used your advice about casting Accio on clothing… to unbalance his opponent."
Silence fell for a few seconds—until Noah burst out laughing.
"Sorry, sorry, that was rude." He calmed himself and looked at Harry, who avoided his gaze, clearly embarrassed.
He could almost feel Violet's murderous glare saying,
"One word about this and you're dead."
"Don't be like that. Creativity's the first step toward greatness in magic," Noah said, then glanced toward the door. "Looks like you've got visitors. I'll get going."
Almost as if on cue, the door opened. A tall man with long black hair stepped inside.
Noah slipped past him, waving as he walked. But before leaving, he turned and said, "Ah, Harry — we'll celebrate when you're discharged."
"Celebrate?" Harry asked, confused.
The man who had just entered frowned. "Celebrate what, boy?" he asked, clearly annoyed.
Noah smiled. "What else? Harry's second victory over Voldemort."
"Harry Potter: two. Snake-face: zero."
As his words echoed through the room, Noah stepped out.
The silence that followed lasted a long time.
The end-of-year feast was as lively as ever. Every year, the seventh-years said their farewells — a bittersweet moment marking both an end and a beginning. Their real lives as witches and wizards began that night.
But no table was more excited than Ravenclaw's. By a fifteen-point lead over Slytherin, they'd won the House Cup.
Not only had they dethroned Slytherin — who'd been chasing their seventh consecutive win — they also enjoyed knowing that, despite Snape's desperate attempts to hand out points to his house, he'd still lost.
"We won thanks to you, man!" Terry cheered. "No idea how you scored that many points, but keep it up next year!"
Noah laughed. There were two reasons he'd earned so many points this year: one was his stellar performance in class — which alone brought in quite a few.
But his biggest source of points, without a doubt, was Professor Flitwick.
Every time Noah joined the half-goblin for tea, Flitwick handed out points like candy for every clever answer or observation Noah made.
"He's really not that different from Snape in that regard," Noah thought, glancing at the cheerful half-goblin chatting proudly at the teachers' table.
He sighed at the sight of Flitwick bragging animatedly to McGonagall. "Shame this whole contest is basically rigged," he muttered, knowing what was coming.
"Hey, why do you look so gloomy?" Anthony asked, patting his shoulder.
"I'm not sad," Noah said. "I just don't care much about this point system. But it's frustrating being sabotaged by the Headmaster."
"What are you talking about?" Terry frowned. The banners above were already blue and bronze with the proud Ravenclaw eagle — they'd clearly won.
"You'll see," Noah said simply.
Anthony frowned. He knew Noah well enough to take that seriously.
Noah nodded toward the Great Hall entrance — where Harry had just walked in. Everyone turned to look, remembering the rumors.
Terry followed his gaze and then his eyes widened. "Don't tell me…"
Noah laughed at how quickly he caught on. "Looks like you're getting smarter."
Anthony burst into laughter, nearly spitting out his drink.
"Why do you sound like you're talking to a pet?" Terry grumbled.
"Come on, have a cookie," Anthony teased, waving one at him.
"More than two hundred points!" Terry said, shaking his head. "There's no way they'll give that much, right?"
Noah chuckled. "Two hundred? Even five hundred wouldn't surprise me. Don't forget who's giving them out."
Terry's smile dropped as he glanced at Dumbledore. He remembered how, after the troll incident, the Headmaster had handed out points like they were nothing — to Noah, Harry, and Ron alike.
He didn't know what had happened on the third floor this time, but he could bet it was worth more than a troll.
"I lost my appetite," Terry sighed, resting his head on the table.
Dumbledore rose at the staff table, and the Great Hall fell silent. "Another year has come to an end," he began, in that same raspy voice, launching into his usual speech.
Then came the house points tally — and Ravenclaw erupted in cheers. Flitwick clapped so hard his hands nearly blurred.
Noah, Terry, and Anthony were the only ones not celebrating.
When Dumbledore started talking about the recent events, the hall went quiet again. Flitwick, for his part, looked like a man awaiting execution.
And sure enough — Dumbledore began handing out points like candy.
Fifty points each for every member of the "quartet." Gryffindor was still five points short for a moment, giving Ravenclaw a flicker of hope—
Until the Headmaster added ten more, for "courage to face one's friends."
"You can't do anything about this?" Terry asked, frustrated.
Noah gave a helpless laugh. "What can I do? Unless you've got a troll in your pocket I can slay."
Terry sighed, accepting defeat. "Guess we'll win next year."
As Dumbledore clapped his hands and the decorations turned red and gold, the Gryffindor table exploded with cheers. Applause echoed everywhere. The Weasley twins hoisted Harry into the air, chanting.
Seeing his friends so down, Noah sighed.
"Hey," he said, grinning, "how about one last show?"
Under the table, he conjured a tiny mouse made of fire and let it scurry across the floor. Then another. And another.
They went unnoticed at first — until one climbed up the leg of a Gryffindor girl.
Then chaos erupted.
And just like that, Noah's first year at Hogwarts came to an end.
He'd made some friends, cracked plenty of jokes, and grown — as both a wizard and a person.
In the end, it had been a good year. A lucky one, even.
But now, it was time to go home… and see what awaited him in the first room of the inheritance.