Showing Off

"What's going on?"

Evan, Luns, and Kate stared blankly as Noah walked away without a word.

What was he doing? Was he planning to find that damned monster?

They were at a loss. Noah had never been the sort to seek attention. Back when they had first met, he had kept such a low profile it was almost ridiculous!

If he had not been spacing out in Charms Class and caught Professor Flitwick's attention, he might have remained that low-key forever.

Honestly, they were quite grateful that Professor Flitwick had singled Noah out. Otherwise, how could they have reached their current level?

They did not blame Noah for keeping the benefits to himself before. Anyone would have found it difficult to reveal such a secret.

But Noah had told them and shared it with them, allowing them all to improve tremendously. They barely had time to thank him.

Children raised by well-bred families really were far better than those little brats who thought, 'I'm the best in the world.'

"Guys, do you think we should go take a look?" After a long while, when Noah was nearly out of sight, Evan suddenly asked softly.

"Although reason tells me we should stay out of this, since it might cost Ravenclaw points."

Kate ran a hand through his slightly curled hair, then shrugged helplessly. "But Noah is my roommate, my friend, and the head of the Mage Alliance. So I've decided to take a look. You guys can head back first."

"Bullshit. I've known Noah the longest!" Evan cursed with a laugh. "And I was the one who suggested it first!"

"Shut up, both of you! Noah's almost gone! I don't want to have to cast a spell later to make my nose as sensitive as a dog's just to find him. Good heavens, I don't want that stale Hogwarts smell in my lungs!"

Luns cut them off and turned to run after Noah.

Evan and Kate exchanged a smile and hurried after him. It seemed everyone in their dorm was quite united.

Noah was stealthily following Harry and the others when he suddenly heard footsteps behind him, startling him badly.

When he turned around, he did not know whether to laugh or be annoyed.

"Why are you here?"

"Of course we're here to help you. Come on, we're in the same dorm!"

"But it's just a monster, and I only came to see what was going on. Fine, since you're here, keep quiet."

"What are you doing?"

Kate glanced at Harry and Ron, who were sneaking toward the girls' bathroom, then looked at Noah in confusion.

He quickly figured it out. Noah had probably seen the two little ones leave the group on their own and followed them to see what was happening.

"Don't tell me you're worried those two Gryffindor students might come to some harm?"

"More or less. Those Gryffindor students are too curious. I happened to see them, and there aren't any professors around. Since I can help, I came to take a look. Would you rather see someone die here?"

"Of course not, even if he's a black snake."

"Then there you go."

Noah smiled. Of course, that only applied for now. In the future, once the Death Eaters began to emerge and the restless people within the school began stirring, even former classmates would probably become enemies.

Like that brat Draco Malfoy, for example.

As they spoke, Evan suddenly tugged at Noah's robes and pointed ahead.

Noah came back to his senses. Soon, they all noticed a huge figure slowly walking into the girls' bathroom!

"Wow, looks like we won't need to do anything. If Mr. Potter is smart enough, he should lock the bathroom door. Then there won't be a problem." Luns yawned at the sight.

But soon, they heard things being smashed inside the bathroom, followed by a girl's scream! Luns and the others froze. What was going on? Was someone else in there?

Noah reacted the fastest. He drew his wand and ran over.

He was quick enough to catch up with Harry and Ron, who had just been about to rush into the bathroom. Luns and the others snapped out of it as well, each pulling out a wand and following him.

"Y-you came too?" Harry and Ron stared in surprise at the four model students the professors always talked about, completely at a loss.

They might have been stunned, but Noah was not. He said directly to Kate and the others, "Watch those two. Don't let them run in and get themselves killed. I'll handle that thing. By the way, who's coming with me? I remember there's someone else inside."

"Luns and Evan, watch them. Noah, I'll go in with you." Kate did not give Luns or Evan a chance to speak before claiming the job.

"Hey, what are you doing? That's a troll!" Ron shouted angrily as Noah and the others kept them outside.

"Yes, it's just a troll. Little Gryffindor, could you please be quiet?" Evan was already annoyed that he had not gotten to go inside. After hearing Ron, he could not be bothered to be polite.

Just a troll...?

Harry and Ron stared at Evan in disbelief, but Evan had no intention of paying them any attention.

Left with no choice, they could only stand there quietly and watch Noah and the tall boy named Kate enter.

Noah pushed open the door and immediately saw the troll swinging a wooden club around and smashing everything in sight. Hermione was curled up in a corner, looking terribly vulnerable!

"Expelliarmus!"

Without hesitation, Noah cast the spell at the troll.

To be honest, Noah found it incredibly embarrassing to have to shout out the name or incantation of a spell while casting it. But his current strength was still insufficient. Otherwise, he definitely would have used silent magic.

The troll, which had been about to kill Hermione, suddenly felt a strange force wrench its wooden club away. Kate seized the opportunity to cast a Heavy Armor Charm on Hermione, so they would not have to worry about the crazed troll accidentally killing her.

"Nicely done, mate. When did you learn that?" Noah looked at Kate in surprise. He had not expected him to master a spell normally taught in fifth year.

"If you can study fifth-year material ahead of time, why can't I? And it's not just me. Luns and Evan have learned some fifth-year spells too." Kate smiled smugly, though his face was a little pale. It seemed the spell had drained him considerably.

"You're really showing off. I only brought you in because I planned to have you cast a Levitation Charm after I knocked this thing down, so it wouldn't fall and hurt someone. Forget it. It's time to deal with this guy."

Noah smiled as he gathered his magic and aimed his wand at the troll, which still had not figured out what was happening.

Kate's showboating had made Noah eager to try as well. Besides, he had mastered so many offensive spells. Naturally, he wanted to see how effective they were.

The next instant, sparks of light gleamed from Noah's wand as he spoke the spell's name: "Sectumsempra!"