This date marked a clear step forward in Noah and Hermione's relationship.
It was rare for the two of them-neither particularly proactive-to take the initiative like this. The movie itself was excellent, filmed exactly as Noah remembered, maybe even better than what he'd imagined.
The audience cheered nonstop. Tony Stark's performance was flawless.
But none of that really held the attention of two people whose thoughts were elsewhere.
Noah and Hermione talked quietly. About childhood. About school. About their time at Hogwarts. Even about what came after graduating from Kamar-Taj and entering the Sanctum.
What amused Hermione most was Noah's fixation on one thing.
He kept wondering why he hadn't gone to Slytherin.
It had turned into a persistent regret.
"Why do you keep thinking about that?" Hermione said with a smile. "You're a Ravenclaw legend now. If those juniors knew-"
"Come on," Noah said helplessly. "Back then I thought Slytherin only accepted pure-bloods. Later I found out they took half-bloods too. No wonder I always felt like I missed something. That damn hat didn't even tell me."
Faced with Noah's lingering resentment, Hermione could only smile and let it go.
Honestly, she was grateful to the Sorting Hat.
She knew Noah wanted Slytherin for its connections and resources. If he'd gone there, he might've developed even further. But he hadn't.
He went to Ravenclaw.
And because of that, they'd met.
Back then, Slytherin's reputation was terrible, and Professor Snape was widely misunderstood. If Noah had gone there, what they had now might never have happened.
When the movie ended, Noah and Hermione declined Tony's invitation to stay.
Maybe they weren't used to glamorous scenes. Maybe they just didn't care.
Tony didn't mind.
But others did.
Quite a few people were curious about the identities of the young man and woman with such unusual presence. They were dressed casually, completely out of place, yet still drew attention effortlessly.
"These two?" Tony said, slightly annoyed, wondering who the real protagonist was. Still, he answered casually. "The man's my best friend and a shareholder of Stark Industries. Don't say you haven't heard of him-he's just low-key."
"And the woman?" Tony paused. "Let's just say she's the daughter of a head of state. Her influence isn't something you can imagine. I advise you not to ask further. Neither of them is simple."
After that, Tony said nothing more.
Whether that dampened curiosity was none of his concern.
It wouldn't matter anyway.
Whatever people tried would be useless. Noah wouldn't even notice.
Which was true.
Noah had no interest in Hollywood celebrities. The stars in this world were different from what he remembered. A few were familiar. Most weren't.
After spending a pleasant evening in New York, Noah chickened out.
He didn't keep his promise.
In the early hours of the morning, under Hermione's slightly nervous gaze, Noah chose to send her home.
Honestly, he was frustrated with himself.
Hermione was a little stunned too.
But since the decision was made, Noah didn't change it.
Hermione guessed what he was thinking, which left her both amused and exasperated. The decisive Noah was surprisingly clumsy when it came to relationships.
Almost idiotic.
She knew his personality well and could only accept it.
At least he wasn't a playboy.
Noah, on the other hand, was filled with regret the moment he left. By the time he reached the Sanctum, he was mentally cursing himself.
Too late.
He returned alone.
"You're back?" Wong looked surprised. "You came back tonight?"
Noah rolled his eyes and went straight to his room.
"Did Hermione reject you?" Wong followed. "Or doesn't like you?"
"Shut up," Noah snapped. "I was the one who chickened out, alright?"
Wong froze.
Then watched Noah leave with a strange expression.
He had to admit-it was kind of funny.
The girl hadn't rejected him. Noah had scared himself.
Wong didn't spread it.
For sorcerers, time was never scarce.
After that Christmas date, life returned to normal.
Noah guarded the Sanctum.
Hermione handled the Ministry.
Neither had much time.
Wong, in particular, dumped even more responsibilities on Noah, claiming it was to prepare him for inheriting the position of Sorcerer Supreme.
Noah was helpless.
Even if he inherited it, did he really need to handle all this?
Look at the Ancient One. She rarely handled trivial matters herself.
That was Noah's ideal future.
Unfortunately, Wong disagreed.
So Noah stayed put, trained, worked, and rarely met Hermione.
Fortunately, Noah had invented WeChat.
That helped.
"But why does this feel like online dating?" Noah muttered more than once.
He was joking. Mostly.
His phone was constantly active. Replies every few seconds when busy. Every ten minutes when not.
This went on for months.
They still ate together when they had time.
They just never crossed that final line.
Time passed.
One day, as Noah was reviewing an application from the Austrian Ministry of Magic, Kassandra suddenly barged in.
"Can you knock first?" Noah looked up helplessly. "You're a bit wild, aren't you?"
"I can," Kassandra shrugged. "But you have to answer me first. Someone's looking for you."
Since her resurrection, Kassandra had been staying at the Sanctum to recover. Apart from Noah, no one else knew the Isu cultivation methods.
As for the High Table, there was no need to stay in that desert anymore.
With Noah's backing, military support, authority, and Fury's help, they'd moved on.
Desmond went to New York.
Kassandra stayed in London.
Her strength had been rising quickly. For now, she was around Loki's level.
"Who's looking for me?" Noah signed the scroll and stretched.
"An idiot claiming to be from Asgard," Kassandra tilted her head. "Very strong. Brain doesn't seem to work."
"Thor?" Noah paused. "What do you mean?"
"He challenged me," Kassandra said calmly. "Then limited his strength to match mine."
Noah's mouth twitched.
That sounded exactly like Thor.
Challenging someone like Kassandra while suppressing his own power was asking to be beaten.
Noah shook his head and gave up thinking about it.
"Fine. Where is he, and what does he want?"
"Outside. He looks... embarrassed," Kassandra said. "As for what he wants, how would I know?"
-
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