Spellcasting Level

The train to Hogwarts was still outrageously slow, but this time Noah was no longer traveling alone.

It was hard to say whether Noah preferred traveling alone or having company. By himself, he could enter the System Space to read and practice, passing the time that way. With company, he could chat and relieve the boredom.

Fortunately, Hermione was a pretty good conversational partner. Though by the end, Noah was mostly explaining things that weren't in the textbooks to her—such as little tricks for certain spells and simple ways to deal with terrifying monsters.

As Noah explained, Hermione took out her notebook and pen and diligently wrote everything down, leaving Noah both amused and exasperated.

Was he teaching a class or just having a chat?

Still, Noah did not pay much attention to that. To be honest, he was feeling a little down.

Before coming back, he had read some newspapers. A superpower somewhere in Eastern Europe had collapsed, and Howard Stark had been in a car accident.

Honestly, whatever great upheaval had happened in Eastern Europe had nothing to do with Noah. What had happened to old Stark had nothing to do with him either.

He simply found it a pity. He was too young, with neither the means nor the time to do anything.

When the two of them arrived at Hogwarts, the sky was already almost dark, just as it had been last time. For the first time, Hermione complained about why the train traveled so slowly.

"If it had been faster, maybe we could have gone to the Room of Requirement to read!"

"Come on, I gave you free lessons for eight hours. Was that not enough?"

"Thank you very much, Noah. But that's exactly why I can feel how enormous the gap between us is. I don't want to be left so far behind!"

"All right, whatever you say."

Noah shrugged. He actually wanted to tell Hermione that the gap between them was not merely one of knowledge, but also an enormous gulf in strength.

Of course, Noah had no intention of telling her that. There was no need, was there?

At Hermione's age, Noah felt it was better for her to focus on building up her knowledge first.

Besides, judging by the original story, her future would not be bad at all. She was bound to become a great witch.

"Get some rest, Hermione. There are classes tomorrow. After class, you can go read to your heart's content."

"Mm. You too, Noah."

"Good night."

"Good night."

Only after escorting Hermione to the entrance of the Gryffindor Common Room did Noah turn around and head back to the fourth floor.

As a gentleman, Noah naturally would not let a girl walk back alone. It was a little troublesome, but he did not mind.

As he wandered leisurely through the corridors of Hogwarts, Noah realized that he seemed to have rarely taken the time to truly look around this place.

Every day, he was basically immersed in improving his own strength, paying very little attention to anything else.

"Looks like I really am starting to develop into an ascetic," Noah muttered with a helpless smile. He stopped beside the West Tower.

Leaning against the tower, Noah began admiring the scenery for once.

The view was enchanting. Snowflakes filled the sky, wrapping Hogwarts in a thick layer of silver. Scattered stars flickered overhead, and Hogwarts was exceptionally quiet at that moment.

Looking at the bright moon, Noah felt that perhaps he was living too dull a life.

But there was nothing he could do. He knew what the future would look like. If he did not work hard, then all he could do in the future would be die. Noah was afraid of death, and he had never denied that!

"I would rather see nothing now than be unable to see anything in the future! If I reach a sufficient height someday, then even the stars and the sea will be mine to explore!"

Noah smiled faintly, took one last look at the beautiful view before him, then turned and headed straight for his dormitory.

The weather was rather cold. After standing there for a while, Noah was already covered in snow. He felt that if he stayed any longer, he might turn into an ice sculpture.

After casually solving the riddle of the eagle-shaped bronze door knocker and incidentally "rescuing" someone who had forgotten the password and was anxiously stranded outside, Noah skipped the Common Room and returned to his dormitory.

There were many books in the Common Room, but Noah had no interest in reading them, because he had already read practically everything there.

There was no need for him to waste time in the Common Room. Not just him—Evan and the others had long since read all the books there as well, in the Room of Requirement.

"Wow, you're back? I thought you'd be the first one back. Didn't expect you to be the last."

When Noah entered the dormitory, he was surprised to find Evan and the others already lying on their beds with books in hand. They noticed Noah's return too and immediately teased him without mercy.

Was Noah really back that late?

Wasn't returning to school on the last day of the holiday perfectly normal?

Noah felt that it was not that he had come back late, but that these guys had returned far too early.

"Classes don't start until tomorrow. When did you all get back?" Noah shrugged indifferently.

"If I remember correctly, two days ago. Damn it, I spent a whole night here alone! Luckily, those two came back the next day," Luns said unhappily.

"Who told you not to rest properly during the break? A holiday is for enjoying yourself, understand?"

"Wasn't it because you left us too far behind? Forget it, I can't be bothered talking to you about that. There's something I need to mention."

Luns shook his head. He truly could feel that the gap between himself and Noah was rather large.

That gap was not merely in textbook knowledge. There was a difference there too, of course, but it was not that serious. The most serious thing was that he could sense Noah's spellcasting level was incredibly high!

Over the break, he had seriously tried the spells he had learned from Professor Snape's notes, only to discover in shock that he seemed completely incapable of casting them!

Later, he asked his family about it and received an answer that made him miserable.

His magical power and technique were insufficient to cast those spells!

Yes, that was the answer!

He did not have the courage to show his parents Sectumsempra, which was considered Dark magic, but Professor Snape's notes contained far more than that one spell.

The result was that when his father got hold of Levicorpus, he spent an entire week studying it before casting it perfectly. He also told Luns that he would need to wait until at least his fourth year before he could use the spell properly!

That answer had made Luns very unhappy. Noah had already mastered Sectumsempra, a spell even more difficult and terrifying than that one, during his first year!

It was precisely because he understood the difference between them that he gave up on continuing his holiday and hurried back.

"What is it? Go ahead." Noah flopped directly onto his bed. Watching the flames crackling in the fireplace, he felt especially warm.

"I contacted Ernie Macmillan. He seems to have some ideas about our way of studying, so he wants to meet with you," Luns said directly. But after saying that, he did not forget to add something.

"And Noah, in the future, please find us teachers who can help improve our magical power or spellcasting techniques. I feel like my spellcasting level is a little lacking."