The Boy Who Lived?!

"Are you sure, Silvers?"

In a secluded corridor at Hogwarts.

Dumbledore and Snape stood beneath the moonlight.

All the new students had returned to their common rooms to get ready for bed.

The professors were preparing to turn in as well.

"It's hard to be certain. I've lived with him for a long time. Though there were some strange changes a year ago, no matter what method I used, I couldn't find anything wrong. He was still the same person."

"But in the past month, he suddenly became like a different person. I don't mean his personality or anything like that; that hasn't changed. But all of a sudden, he became a genius, just like..."

Snape's expression was grave.

For once, he struggled to find the right words.

"Just like his father, is that it?"

Dumbledore's calm blue eyes gazed out at the moon.

"Yes... yes. So I was wondering if something had gone wrong over there, causing him to change so suddenly."

Snape looked extremely anxious.

His hands had clenched without him even realizing it.

"That's difficult to determine, Silvers. As for the Boy Who Lived, all we can do is protect him as best we can."

Dumbledore kept gazing at the moon on the horizon.

He replied to Snape in the same unchanging tone.

"The Boy Who Lived? Do we still need one now? What happened seven years ago already fulfilled the prophecy! We don't need the Boy Who Lived anymore!"

Snape suddenly became agitated.

He rarely spoke through clenched teeth.

A hint of sorrow showed on his face.

It was as if he had remembered something painful.

"I'm sorry, Silvers, for not telling you sooner. You hadn't returned yet. This morning, Sybill made another prophecy, just before the train departed."

At last, Dumbledore turned to look at Snape.

His bright blue eyes held endless sorrow.

They also reflected Snape's paper-white face.

After walking down a long corridor.

Professor Snape pushed open a heavy wooden door.

A gust of cold air swept over them.

Devero couldn't help shivering.

It was a classroom.

The room was spacious and bare.

Several tall bookshelves lined the walls.

They were crammed with spell books and magical objects.

A few dummies stood in the middle of the classroom.

They wore tattered robes.

Their faces were indistinct.

They looked as though they'd been hit by spells countless times.

But what drew Devero's attention most was someone already standing in the classroom.

A Hogwarts professor!

Headmaster Dumbledore!

Devero was suddenly at a loss.

Professor Snape paid no attention to his confusion.

He walked to the front of the classroom.

Then he turned around.

His sharp gaze seemed even colder in the dim light.

"Now, let's see whether this 'genius' of yours lives up to the name."

He spoke coldly.

"I'll cast a spell. Watch, and when you've learned it, say so. Then let's see if you can really do the same."

"The Headmaster and Professor Flitwick are very interested in your talent, so you'd better be able to do what you claim."

Only then did Devero realize that Flitwick, the head of Ravenclaw House, was there too.

Oh.

He really hadn't noticed him before.

After all, the head of Ravenclaw was a man who only came up to his waist.

Devero nodded slightly.

He glanced uneasily at Dumbledore and Flitwick beside him.

These were the biggest shots in the Wizarding World!

He'd already resolved to make a name for himself at school.

He'd also expected Dumbledore to take an interest in him.

But he hadn't expected it to happen so soon!

Dumbledore noticed him looking.

He smiled faintly.

It was as if he were encouraging him.

Devero took a deep breath.

He drew his wand from his waist.

Then he walked to the middle of the classroom.

He nodded to Snape.

It was a sign that he was ready.

Snape gave the faintest nod.

He flicked his wand.

Squeak!

Creak!

At once, the dummies in the classroom seemed to come alive.

They wriggled across the floor.

One after another, they grew plump and round.

The battered cloth of their bodies was stitched back together.

At last, every dummy looked brand-new.

They stood in the classroom like real people.

They could even walk!

Devero watched the magical scene.

Excitement gradually stirred in him.

Shooting at a moving target was way more thrilling than shooting at a stationary one!

Professor Snape said nothing.

Then he raised his wand.

He aimed it at a dummy.

"Stupefy!"

As the spell left his lips.

A streak of red light shot from his wand.

It hit the dummy.

The target immediately fell to the ground.

It lay still.

Devero immediately raised his hand.

He was indicating that he'd already learned the spell.

He'd done it so quickly that Dumbledore and Flitwick exchanged a glance.

Both looked surprised.

Snape stared directly at Devero.

His eyes were clouded.

All sorts of emotions were tangled together in them.

Devero silently memorized the spell's pronunciation and movements.

Actually, he'd learned this spell back at the Leaky Cauldron.

He just hadn't used it on Snape.

Still, there wasn't much difference.

It was just a matter of watching it once or twice.

"Fine. Now it's your turn."

Professor Snape spoke coldly.

Devero raised his wand.

He took a deep breath.

Then he aimed it at another dummy.

"Stupefy!"

He pronounced the spell clearly.

A streak of red light shot from his wand.

"Thud!"

It hit the dummy.

The target fell with a crash.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Flitwick and Dumbledore began applauding despite themselves.

Flitwick especially wore an admiring expression.

Clearly, he was delighted that a first-year student like Devero could manage something like this.

Professor Snape's expression didn't change.

Next.

He began casting more complicated spells.

From simple household charms to more complex jinxes.

Devero watched with complete concentration.

Each time Professor Snape finished casting a spell.

Devero copied him immediately.

When he encountered a spell he'd never seen before.

He watched it a few more times.

With his wand so perfectly suited to him.

He barely made any mistakes.

Every time he successfully cast a spell.

Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor Flitwick applauded and cheered without holding back.

By the end.

Professor Flitwick even wanted to shake Devero's hand.

He told Devero how deeply he regretted that Devero hadn't joined Ravenclaw.

(Devero regretted it too!!)

Just then, Devero opened the head of house's status panel.

[Name: Filius Flitwick]

[Age: 56]

[Spell Library: Silent Spell (Unmatched), Banishing Charm (Mastered),...]

[Traits: Magic Genius (Gold), Duelist (Purple), Goblin Bloodline (Purple)]

[Magic Genius (Gold): Learns magic far faster than ordinary people and is highly creative, destined to become a master wizard of his generation.]

[Duelist (Purple): Possesses a keen battle instinct and is almost unbeatable in one-on-one duels!]

[Goblin Bloodline (Purple): As a half-blood wizard and Goblin, you possess unique physical traits and magical talents, with a particular aptitude for protective and smithing magic.]

Not bad!

Devero immediately added Professor Flitwick's entries to his shopping cart.

He'd load them all in when Charms Class started.

Coming back to himself,

Devero smiled and said that all Four Houses were wonderful.

He liked them all.

But Snape's expression grew gloomier by the minute.

Devero figured Snape might have seen him getting along so well with Professor Flitwick

and worried that Flitwick would snatch away his little prize.

In an instant, Devero was convinced that going all out to show off his abilities had been a stroke of genius!

After this, Snape would have to treat him better.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

"You did very well, Devero."

Albus Dumbledore said as he approached,

clapping as he walked.

"What a rare Magic Prodigy you are. The last time I met a student as talented as you was over twenty years ago."

Dumbledore looked at him with a beaming smile.

Devero had spent a whole year under Snape's harsh, belittling teaching.

After hearing such praise,

his fondness for Dumbledore immediately soared.

"Thank you for the praise, Headmaster. I really am a genius."

Devero said without the slightest hesitation.

"Haha, now that you mention it, I think you really do seem rather Slytherin."

Flitwick said with a laugh.

At that, a smile tugged at Dumbledore's lips.

"That's right. Humility isn't a virtue for Slytherins."

"Decades ago, there was another student about your age who said the same thing to me..."

Dumbledore gazed upward, as though lost in memory.

By then, he was within three meters of Devero.

Devero swiftly and decisively opened Dumbledore's status panel.

[Name: Albus Dumbledore]

[Age: 109]

[Spell Library: Legilimens (Unrivaled), Transfiguration Spell (Unrivaled), Fidelius Charm (Unrivaled)...]

[Traits: Great Power (Red), Magic Spirit Body (Red), Mentor of Great Beings (Gold), Transfiguration Prodigy (Gold), Wielder of the Elder Wand (Gold), Alchemy Prodigy (Gold), Atoner (Purple), Language Expert (Purple), Magical Creature Affinity (Purple)...]