"Draco!"
Snape shouted angrily under his breath.
He waved his wand and swept away the potion spilled across the floor.
"Did you put in the porcupine quills without taking the cauldron off the fire? How could you be so careless!?"
Malfoy burst into tears.
Even his face had broken out in acne.
"Professor, I was in too much of a hurry. I wanted to finish faster..."
Clearly,
Malfoy must have seen Devero make the potion so quickly.
He had even earned points for his House.
Even Neville Longbottom, that stupid boy he had always looked down on,
had earned points from Snape.
That was more than Malfoy could bear.
So he had rushed through the steps.
And ended up causing this accident.
"You two, take Draco to the Hospital Wing!"
Snape barked at Goyle and Crabbe.
Then, still scowling, he ordered the other students to get back to brewing their potions.
Harry and Ron, unable to stifle their laughter,
made strange noises.
Snape took two points from them.
There were no more interruptions after that.
Everyone got on with brewing their potions, one step at a time.
As for Devero, he had finished his potion long ago,
so he sat in his place and began practicing the Zen Meditation Method.
He worked on strengthening his mental power.
As he regulated his breathing,
Gray Mist slowly gathered around Devero.
Then the mist gradually receded.
Now Devero's perception
could spread across the entire classroom.
At that moment, his perception became thin blue threads.
He could sense every little thing happening in the classroom!
Devero also discovered that while practicing meditation,
he seemed to be able to keep studying.
And his memory was much stronger than usual!
Combined with the [Exam Prodigy] trait,
it might have been a bit of an exaggeration to say Devero now had a photographic memory,
but it wasn't far off.
So Devero held the Book of Potions he had bought earlier,
looking, on the surface,
as if he were memorizing it.
Of course,
he really was memorizing it.
He was just training his magic at the same time.
So when Snape saw him,
he pretended not to notice.
He ignored Devero completely.
And it was true: Devero would be joining the fifth-year class next week anyway.
There was little difference whether he listened to Snape explain these basic practical steps or not.
Neville also happened to benefit from Devero's "being ignored" treatment.
Snape didn't give him any trouble for the entire class.
Before long,
the lesson ended while Devero was practicing.
As soon as class was over,
a large group of Gryffindors invited Devero to have lunch with them.
"Devero! Come have lunch with us!"
Ron said excitedly.
The Little Lions surrounded Devero in an instant.
Some of the Little Snakes who wanted to strike up a conversation with Devero were pushed to the edge of the crowd.
"You're incredible, Devero! How did you manage to do it so quickly?"
That was Hermione.
She had been the second person to finish brewing her potion,
but it had taken her almost twice as long as Devero.
"Devero, you were so brave! Even if you gave me a thousand chances, I'd never dare talk to Professor Snape like that!"
That was Seamus.
He seemed to really admire the way Devero had bargained with Snape earlier.
Harry and Neville nodded firmly beside him.
"Devero, you're amazing at Potions, too! Could you help me out? I don't want Snape to yell at me either."
Parvati edged closer with a pitiful look.
That immediately sparked a fierce dispute over who would get to sit beside Devero in the next Potions Class.
Clearly, after Flying Class and Potions Class,
Devero had become a huge asset in everyone's eyes.
Devero gave a wry smile.
"Ron, sorry, I need to ask Madam Pomfrey to give me another checkup in a bit. Go on ahead without me."
He also turned to the students hoping to claim a seat beside him in the next class.
"Sorry, everyone. I might not be taking Potions with you next week. I'll be joining the fifth-year class."
As soon as he made the announcement,
everyone froze.
"Devero, y-you're going to take Potions with the fifth-years?"
Hermione asked, stammering.
Her jaw was practically on the floor.
The Little Lions around them were so stunned they couldn't close their mouths.
"Yeah. The first-year lessons are too easy for me, so I talked it over with Professor Snape, and he agreed."
Devero replied casually.
Even the Slytherins at the edge of the crowd
were rattled by the news!
Unlike Gryffindor, which had quite a few Half-bloods and Muggle-born students,
most of them came from Pure-blood wizard families.
Quite a few people in their families had graduated from Hogwarts.
When had they ever heard of a wizard who had been at school for less than a week
taking fifth-year classes?
And Snape had agreed!
It was ridiculous!
But before everyone could recover from the shocking news,
Devero raised a hand.
"Ah, everyone, go on to lunch without me. I've got an appointment with Madam Pomfrey, so I'm heading out."
With that,
Devero left the stunned Little Lions and Little Snakes behind
and dashed out of the dungeon classroom.
He headed for the School Infirmary.
After last night's examination,
he needed to get some rest as soon as possible.
Snape had set aside time for him that afternoon.
Devero had no idea what it was about.
It was probably related to the new Polyjuice Potion recipe.
But after talking back to Snape in class just now,
would he hold a grudge and dump a whole pile of work on him...?
Wait!
Devero patted his cheeks with both hands.
How could he think of Snape that way?
Of course Snape would hold a grudge!
He couldn't afford to get his hopes up!
That was why he couldn't waste any more time chatting with them in the classroom!
With a determined look,
Devero hurried toward the School Infirmary.
He would get this over with, have a good rest,
and get ready to battle the Old Bat for three hundred rounds!
After Devero sauntered off,
the dungeon classroom immediately erupted!
"Devero's incredible! He's definitely the greatest Slytherin in history!"
"That's right! Our year's Slytherins are terrifyingly strong!"
The Slytherins at the edge of the crowd cheered loudly.
They had the best student in the entire school!
They were already imagining themselves winning the House Cup with Devero at their head.
Together, they'd rack up a thousand points!
The Gryffindors, meanwhile, were mostly stunned.
"Oh, my gosh! He's not just a genius—he's a prodigy! I can't believe I go to the same school as him!"
Dean clutched his head, staring blankly.
Harry and Ron looked about the same.
"Devero's already reached that level?"
Hermione sat in her seat, feeling a little lost.
A shadow fell across her face.
She felt there was already a tragic, impenetrable wall between her and Devero.
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