Devero was, overall, very satisfied with the banquet.
But it wasn't perfect.
There were three things that bothered him.
First, aside from Marcus, none of his classmates paid him much attention.
Malfoy had probably encouraged them to do so.
It seemed they were starting to isolate Devero.
Of course, Devero didn't care.
He was only interested in the castle—or, more specifically, the Trait Upgrade Card.
He didn't take the childish games of these underage kids seriously at all.
The second thing was that Baron the Bloody had sat diagonally across from Devero.
Er.
Having someone covered in blood sitting across from you
was bound to put a damper on your appetite.
Devero hadn't touched any red food all evening.
But Malfoy was clearly even more bothered than he was.
He'd barely eaten a bite.
Devero's appetite only grew as he watched Malfoy's gloomy expression.
The third thing was that Snape had suddenly shown up and interrupted his feast.
"Alexander, come with me."
Devero hadn't even gotten to the final dessert
when a familiar, low voice rang out.
It made the hairs on Devero's neck stand on end.
He inwardly groaned.
Then he turned around stiffly.
Professor Snape stood there in a black cloak, his eyes as sharp as a snake's.
"I need to sort out your situation."
Devero's face fell at those words.
He set down the pudding he'd been looking forward to eating,
then got up and followed Snape.
Draco Malfoy's eyes lit up.
He excitedly whispered to Goyle beside him
and pointed at Devero.
Crabbe said, looking a little slow on the uptake,
"The teacher's called him away!"
"Hahaha, I thought my dad would have to step in. But now Professor Snape knows about it, and he's great friends with my dad. He's always been good to me! Alexander's definitely getting expelled!"
Draco's voice was full of glee.
"Yeah! And he was talking about coming first in the year. Now he's getting expelled before the school year's even started!"
Goyle chimed in.
The three of them laughed even more smugly.
Marcus watched them leave with some concern.
"I hope not... But Professor Snape came to get him in person... Sigh... It probably isn't looking good."
He spoke in a low voice.
At this, all the Slytherins thought Devero was going to be expelled.
At the teachers' table, Dumbledore looked toward Slytherin.
His clear blue eyes narrowed slightly.
Devero followed Professor Snape through the dim corridors,
his feelings in turmoil.
He didn't know where Professor Snape was taking him,
but he had a bad feeling about it.
More than anything, he was afraid of being expelled.
If that happened, it would be difficult to get close to the professors again.
Snape's footsteps echoed through the empty corridor.
Devero followed close behind,
silently praying everything would be resolved smoothly.
Smack!
Snape placed a huge sheet of parchment on the desk.
"First, write down your simplified Polyjuice Potion recipe and explain your reasoning."
After bringing Devero into his office,
Snape used his wand to conjure a chair for him,
then dropped into his own seat.
His eyes fixed intently on Devero.
That made Devero breathe a sigh of relief.
At least this wasn't about him hurting someone on the train.
He sat down and began writing with Snape's quill.
He'd come up with this approach only after acquiring the Potion Spirit.
He hadn't tested it yet,
but Devero had a hunch
that it would work.
Trusting his red trait,
he wrote it all down without hesitation.
Snape didn't say a word as he worked.
The only sound in the office was the scratch of the quill on parchment.
In less than fifteen minutes,
Devero had written everything down.
He was so quick that Snape raised an eyebrow,
surprised.
He'd assumed that a child like Devero
would need at least half an hour
to work through something this complicated.
He hadn't expected him to finish so quickly.
Of course Devero was fast.
He'd memorized all this
long before coming to Hogwarts.
Snape took the parchment and began to read.
To be honest,
even now, he still had doubts about Devero's claims.
He still thought Devero might have struck a deal with that dark wizard in Knockturn Alley.
The wizard might have taught him not only spells,
but also all sorts of potion-brewing methods.
But now, he no longer thought so.
Snape sat straight-backed, picked up a quill, and began carefully working through Devero's ideas.
He was completely immersed in the world of Potions.
At last, Devero had a chance to look around Snape's office.
The moment he'd entered,
Devero had felt the temperature drop.
It seemed the Slytherin areas were a degree colder than everywhere else.
A few dim oil lamps hung on the surrounding walls,
casting a faint glow.
A broad desk stood in the center of the office.
It was piled with books,
parchment, and bottles and jars.
Vials of liquid in different colors shimmered strangely in the lamplight.
Some of them were slowly swirling,
as if they were alive.
At one corner of the desk lay a thick black book.
Some words, difficult to make out, were written on it in silver ink.
Behind the desk stood a high-backed chair,
its seat covered with a soft black cushion.
Professor Snape sat there.
His black robes looked even darker in the faint light,
and shadows shrouded his face.
Only his sharp, thoughtful eyes glimmered in the darkness.
Behind him,
there was a wooden door.
The paint was peeling from the brass plaque on it, but the words were still just visible.
"Storage Room"
Devero's eyes lit up.
This was a great place!
In the original story, the main characters had managed to get out of trouble several times
by stealing herbs from Snape's Storage Room.
Devero would probably become a regular here too. Heh.
Half an hour later,
Devero had started yawning.
Only then did Snape finally set down the parchment, looking astonished.
It was now covered in notes.
They were so densely packed that the original writing was hard to make out.
"Impossible!"
Devero raised an eyebrow.
Was this Old Bat still doubting him?
"There's no way those people in Knockturn Alley could have come up with this!"
Devero nodded in satisfaction.
That was certainly true!
Snape let out a long sigh,
leaned back in his chair,
and looked at Devero with his hand pressed to his forehead.
He looked at him as if he were some kind of monster.
"Why?"
"What do you mean, why?"
Devero was at a loss over Snape's abrupt question.
"When you were an apprentice, why didn't you do this? Why didn't you suggest improvements?"
Snape's tone was much gentler than before.
His expression had relaxed,
though he still looked shocked and confused.
Devero had astonished him so much that he could barely keep up his usual stern demeanor.
The boy's ideas were a major discovery that could completely change how this whole category of potions was brewed!
He might even have a significant impact on the entire field of Potions!
He was absolutely the greatest Potion Prodigy in history!
And yet he'd been working under Snape, unnoticed for all these years?
It was truly baffling to Snape.
"Uh, you wouldn't let me."
Devero gave the answer he'd prepared long ago.
He knew it would leave Snape speechless.
"What? You... Tsk..."
Snape instinctively wanted to argue.
But as soon as he opened his mouth, he remembered how he'd treated Devero before.
Suddenly, he felt the boy had a point.
He really hadn't let him voice any opinions.
Seeing his expression,
Devero's lips curled into a slight smile.
Getting the better of this Old Bat
was tied with putting Malfoy in his place as Devero's two favorite pastimes right now!
Before you continue