Shocked by a Potion Prodigy!

"Devero!? It really is you!!"

Snape was deeply shocked.

This challenged the authority he had built up over so many years as a Potions expert!

The boy had actually brewed Polyjuice Potion all by himself with those meager ingredients.

It was a potion that even Hogwarts graduates might not be able to make!

And from what Snape had just seen, it had worked extremely well!

There weren't any of the flaws in height or appearance that came with an inferior potion.

This was simply outrageous!

Even he himself,

at that age,

might have been willing to give it a try if he'd had enough ingredients.

But the materials he'd left behind

were almost all useless scraps he had no use for,

given to the boy for practice.

There was no way he could have achieved the same results Devero had just managed.

But this wasn't the time to let himself be shocked.

"Professor Snape, may I ask if something's wrong?"

The real Tom appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

Snape was still pressing his wand against Devero's chin.

"It's nothing, Tom. Devero made a mistake, so I'm giving him a little punishment."

Snape discreetly tapped the boy.

"Isn't that right, Devero?"

Devero immediately felt his strength return.

[ding!]

[New spell added!]

Devero glanced at it.

[Rennervate (Beginner / Nonverbal)]

Great!

He'd learned another spell!

"That's right, Tom. I accidentally put in the wrong ingredient, and the professor did this to make sure I remembered."

Devero said it very earnestly.

But he didn't think Tom quite believed him.

Fair enough.

After all, what kind of punishment involved casting a curse on someone?

And the room looked as if a gang war had just broken out in it.

It wasn't exactly convincing.

But Snape didn't care.

He'd explained.

Believe it or don't.

He grabbed Devero and dragged him into the room.

Tom remained at the foot of the stairs, watching them with suspicion.

--

"What exactly did you do?"

As soon as Snape hauled Devero into the room, he cast Muffliato.

Then he began interrogating him.

"Polyjuice Potion? Do you think just any beginner can brew it? You don't have the necessary skills or the ingredients. The only explanation is that you made some shady deal with those dark wizards in Knockturn Alley, isn't it?"

"Not only that, you've also mastered Apparition and a whole series of other advanced spells. Even older students can't necessarily master them all. Tell me, how did you learn them?"

"More unbelievable still, you're casting spells wherever you please outside Hogwarts. Do you know how serious a violation that is? Do you even want to go to Hogwarts anymore?"

Snape's questions came at Devero in a rapid-fire barrage.

They left Devero so flustered that he didn't know which one to answer.

After rambling on for a while,

Snape was just as confused as he was.

He was practically ready to pull out his wand and use Legilimency on the boy.

Fortunately, Devero managed to calm down in time.

He explained things to Snape one point at a time.

"Let's start with the Polyjuice Potion. I bought the smallest quantity of Binaural Grass root, foxglove, leaping toadstool juice, and the other ingredients from an apothecary."

"Then I used red horsehair in place of Unicorn Tail Hair. I know that would affect the results, but I also added..."

Devero explained at length,

laying out his original approach for Snape.

He'd come up with the method for brewing an inferior Polyjuice Potion with help from the Potion Prodigy trait.

Snape's expression gradually shifted from suspicion to astonishment.

In the end, he stared at Devero in disbelief.

"This is exactly the same approach I had back then..."

Snape was secretly astonished.

While he was still at school, he'd also wanted to try brewing Polyjuice Potion.

What Devero had described was almost exactly what he'd thought of at the time.

Could this child really have a talent for Potions on par with his own?

How had he never noticed before?

He'd always seemed so dull and foolish.

But then Snape's expression turned doubtful again.

"But that approach couldn't possibly produce Polyjuice Potion with results that good. You had no flaws just now. I couldn't see a single defect!"

Devero had known Snape would ask.

He already had an answer ready.

In fact, he'd known how to improve his Polyjuice Potion recipe ever since he'd obtained the red Potion Spirit trait.

He could use it to make up for the poor results of the original recipe.

So the answer came easily.

"Exactly. That's why I made further improvements to the approach. From the fourteenth to the twenty-first day of brewing, I add the Binaural Grass root and foxglove in batches, because that way..."

Snape was no ordinary man.

The system had certified him as a Potion Prodigy!

After hearing Devero's improvements,

he only had to think it over briefly to realize the method would definitely work!

It might still fall short of the flawless results of the original recipe,

but it would come very close.

Perhaps if someone kept experimenting along these lines,

a new Polyjuice Potion recipe would soon be born!!!

At the thought, Snape could no longer stay calm!

Could this boy have unintentionally

made a huge splash in the world of Potions?

Suddenly,

Snape seemed to think of something, and his expression softened.

"Of course. He's his child, after all. How could he be ordinary?"

"I'd guess this boy's talent for Potions is even greater than mine!"

Snape's inner thoughts were quite elaborate.

But all Devero saw was Snape's expression changing again and again.

A moment of astonishment, then doubt,

then even a hint of acceptance.

He had no idea what Snape was thinking.

"Your explanation is plausible enough."

Snape nodded stiffly,

accepting Devero's reasoning.

He pondered for a moment.

"Now, write down your method on parchment... Oh, damn! I forgot!"

Snape had been about to order Devero around

when he suddenly smacked his lips,

as though he'd just remembered something.

He turned and cast Reparo on the wrecked room.

In an instant, the dust, shards of glass, and broken table and chairs were all restored to their original places.

Then he turned to Devero and said,

"Where's your luggage? Hurry up and pack!"

Devero picked up his wand and waved it.

"Accio Eld!"

As soon as the spell left his lips,

a dark green shape flew from the corner of the room into Devero's hand.

"It's all here!"

Devero placed Eld on his shoulder and spoke to Snape.

Snape instinctively wore an expression of disgust.

He seemed to hate that toad.

Though it wasn't clear why.

"All right, today's the day you go to Hogwarts. I'll take you to the train station... Wait! You used your wand outside school?!"