Reward

Harry and the others' thoughts were none of Noah's concern.

Nor did he have any interest in understanding what those two little brats were thinking. He had already boarded the train leaving Hogwarts.

A year at the magic academy had taught Noah far too much. He had practically grown used to using magic to do many things for him.

Unfortunately, once he left the magical world, he had to abide by some damned restrictions. For instance, underage wizards were not allowed to cast spells outside school?

That rule was practically inhumane, all right!

But there was nothing he could do. Rules were rules. Even Dumbledore obediently followed them, let alone Noah, a little wizard who had just finished his first year.

Even if Noah went straight into fifth year now, setting aside the O.W.L.s, he would still rank among the best students, even in practical combat!

But so what?

He was still a student. What could change all this was the game of power, not something a little brat could play!

Noah could only resign himself to it.

"I can only hope Hermione changes this shitty stuff once she becomes Minister of Magic!"

The train was still unbearably slow, and Noah had no good solution for it.

Fortunately, everyone was heading home together this time, so the journey was fairly lively.

Kate and the other two, along with Hermione and Ernie, boarded the train with Noah. Their group had even found themselves a decent compartment, which Noah found rather amusing.

Eight hours passed quickly amid their idle chatter and nonsense. Noah greatly enjoyed such moments, especially since he could use a couple of spells from time to time.

The thought that he would no longer be able to do this upon returning to the Muggle world made him feel rather miserable.

"Noah, I'm not trying to tell you what to do, but you should find a way to settle in the magical world as soon as possible. At least then you won't feel so bad, right?"

"That's a good idea, but the problem is that I have no money! We can talk about that later."

Noah wanted to settle in the magical world too, but even his schooling depended on Ms. Heifen's help. He really did not have the money to go around doing whatever he pleased in the magical world.

So Noah could only put that thought aside for now and wait until he had money in the future.

Besides, Noah had memories of the future. He knew those people would have money superpowers!

Take that playboy Tony Stark, for example. Noah was confident he could squeeze a hefty sum out of him or his company. At worst, he could personally make a trip to Afghanistan and save him!

Unfortunately, that was all more than ten years away. More than ten years later, Noah could live an extremely comfortable life, but right now, he had neither the skills nor the ability.

So for now, he would honestly follow all the rules he was supposed to follow. Though come to think of it, Hermione seemed to have joined the Ministry of Magic ten years later?

The train sped onward, finally reaching its destination after nightfall.

After getting off the train and saying goodbye to his friends, Noah found a magical station by himself and prepared to take a magical bus home.

The money in his pocket had not been exchanged for Pounds Sterling, so he could not take a taxi.

Of course, even if he took a taxi, Noah did not have enough money.

Fortunately, magical buses did not have to worry about traffic jams, so Noah reached his destination before midnight. That let him breathe a sigh of relief.

At Noah's orphanage, bedtime was generally around ten o'clock. But Noah knew the little ones inside did not actually go to sleep that early.

That was why the caretakers who managed them, including Ms. Heifen, the director, did not go to bed so early either.

Coming back at this hour was not exactly late, but it definitely was not early either. At least he could still get inside, couldn't he?

If no one had answered the door, Noah would have had no choice but to find an inn for wizards to rest in. Luckily, Noah was quite fortunate.

"Welcome back, Noah. But it seems you came back rather late this time?" Ms. Heifen sat at her desk in pajamas and gold-rimmed glasses, smiling at Noah. A book lay before her, and she seemed to be reading something before bed.

"Couldn't be helped. You know what London traffic is like, especially during the holidays. Besides, taking a bus from Central London to Westminster is even more despairing." Noah shrugged, wearing a smile as well.

"True enough. Taking the train from Scotland really isn't a pleasant experience. By the way, have you eaten?"

"I have, but you know, I really don't like haggis. Smoked salmon was pretty good, but it's too expensive. I'm too young, and the academy won't let me do odd jobs, so there's no way for me to save much money."

Noah felt rather helpless. He had indeed spoken to Professor Flitwick about his situation.

Unfortunately, Professor Flitwick had not agreed to Noah's request. Instead, he directly told Noah to come to him whenever he was short of money.

That moved Noah, but it also troubled him. He truly did not want to take money from Professor Flitwick.

Because he knew that if Professor Flitwick gave it to him, he would never let Noah pay it back. Noah did not want that to happen.

So Noah tried his best to be frugal. Hogwarts providing three meals a day pleased Noah immensely; at the very least, he did not have to spend money recklessly.

As for haggis, it was a mishmash made by hollowing out a sheep's stomach, stuffing it with chopped sheep offal, oats, onions, beef, seasonings, and the like, then boiling it for hours until it swelled up.

It actually tasted pretty good, but in the magical world, eating it could even make him hear a sheep bleating by his ear. The feeling was simply awful!

"That's such a shame. Shall I give you more money next term?"

"No need, Ms. Heifen. I'm very grateful that you gave me the chance to study, but I don't need too much money. The school provides accommodation and three meals a day, and that is already enough for me. I just want to save some money for the future."

"Is that so? The future is still far away."

"But isn't it good to make preparations in advance?"

Noah spoke very seriously, making Ms. Heifen stare at him for quite a while.

After a long moment, Ms. Heifen nodded with a smile. She seemed to approve of Noah's reasoning.

"Noah, you really are far more mature than the other children. That is probably why a private school took notice of you and accepted you, isn't it? By the way, how were your grades this time?"

"First in the entire school, and I also helped my house take first place."

"Wow, congratulations, Noah."

"Thank you."

This was indeed something worth being happy about, even something to be proud of.

In Ms. Heifen's eyes, if Noah could achieve such grades at a private school and continue to maintain them, then his future accomplishments certainly would not be low!

In Britain—or rather, throughout Europe, the United States, and even the entire world—private schools were far superior to public schools in terms of education and every other aspect.

Besides, Hogwarts seemed to be a school for nobles, according to her memories. Even if his grades were not particularly good at such a school, as long as he made more friends, Noah could avoid many detours in the future!

Thinking of this made Ms. Heifen even happier. "Since you achieved such good results, I've decided to reward you with something."

"Oh? There's no need for that, ma'am, I—" Noah froze for a moment, then firmly shook his head.

Ms. Heifen had taken care of him for so long. Noah truly did not want her spending too much on unnecessary things.

"All right, quiet. In a few days, I'm going to Los Angeles to deal with some matters. After that, though, we can have a nice time there. You're coming with me."

"The United States? But—"

"Are you going or not?"

"All right. We'll go together."