After thanking Mr. Ollivander,
Devero left the wand shop.
He headed toward the left side of the shop's entrance.
His steps were quick.
Several passersby had seen the magic he'd performed in the shop.
They cast curious glances his way.
Some even tried to approach him and shake his hand,
hoping to get acquainted with the young wizard.
However,
Devero politely declined their offers with a smile.
At that moment,
finding Professor Snape was his top priority.
Devero didn't want the professor to really leave him here and forget about him.
At the thought,
he quickened his pace,
silently praying that Professor Snape hadn't gone too far.
Still,
Devero could use this opportunity to increase his exploration progress in Diagon Alley.
After all, Snape had been watching him earlier,
so he hadn't dared to go into certain shops.
Now was the perfect chance
to boost his exploration progress!
After running into several shops and back out again,
Devero checked the exploration progress on his system.
[Wizard Secret Realm--Diagon Alley Exploration Progress: 39.8%]
The corners of Devero's mouth lifted slightly.
Not bad.
"What do you think you're doing? Running around like a three-year-old?"
As Devero searched for Snape and explored Diagon Alley,
Professor Snape's low, irritating voice, yet oddly familiar, sounded in his ear.
He was carrying a black-cloth-covered cylindrical object,
along with the box he'd previously asked Devero to hold.
"Sorry, sir. I couldn't find you just now."
Devero replied, panting.
His stamina really wasn't very good at the moment.
He'd only run through a few shops,
and he was already a little out of breath.
Snape gave a cold snort.
Without another word, he handed Devero the box.
Fortunately, the Levitation Charm was still working.
Otherwise, the heavy box would surely have knocked Devero over.
"Someone said you used a spell in the wand shop?"
Snape's dark eyes narrowed slightly,
his sharp gaze fixed on Devero.
Devero gave an awkward smile,
trying to hide his nervousness.
"Oh, I just said the same words I'd heard another wizard say earlier. I didn't expect it to work, haha..."
Of course, Devero's poor acting couldn't fool Snape.
But he couldn't exactly say that he was a Magic Prodigy
who could learn a spell just by watching someone else use it.
That would be ridiculous.
Who would believe him?
Snape merely gave Devero a long look,
then let the matter drop.
He handed him the black-cloth-covered cylinder he was holding.
"This was left to you by your parents."
"Huh?"
Devero accepted it, dumbfounded.
This had been left to him by his parents?
He'd been in this world for a year,
and Snape had never once mentioned his parents.
He hadn't expected to receive something they'd left for him now.
Devero eagerly pulled off the black cloth.
The sight left him completely speechless.
It was a toad!?
Uh.
It seemed his parents in this world had terrible taste too...
They'd left their son a toad as a pet.
Devero could barely keep the expression off his face.
"This isn't an ordinary toad. Strictly speaking, it's a magical creature."
Snape spoke with a hint of distaste.
"Its scientific name is a Magic Pouch Toad. Its belly is equivalent to a space enchanted with the Undetectable Extension Charm."
Snape continued explaining.
"It can hold quite a lot of things, if you don't mind the dirt. The space grows as it ages. This one is about forty years old, and the space in its belly is roughly forty square meters."
Snape briefly described the magical creature's characteristics.
When Devero heard that it was a magical creature capable of storing things,
his earlier distaste vanished at once.
His eyes shone with curiosity and excitement.
He immediately took the Magic Pouch Toad out of its cage
and examined it closely.
The Magic Pouch Toad was slightly larger than an ordinary toad,
about the size of four of Devero's palms.
It was a little heavy when he held it up.
Its body was round and plump,
giving it a solid, steady appearance.
Its skin was deep green,
with mottled brown spots.
A layer of tiny, wart-like bumps covered its skin,
giving it an ancient, rough texture.
It looked
like the toad wasn't very active.
Even when Devero gently shook it,
it barely reacted.
When Snape saw Devero take the toad out,
he quietly took a step to the side.
"Professor Snape, if I want him to store things, how do I make him do it?"
Devero fondly fiddled with the toad, but couldn't figure out how to get him to put things in his belly.
So he turned to ask Snape.
Only then did he notice that Snape had already retreated ten paces away.
At Devero's question,
Snape looked conflicted.
He let out an almost imperceptible sigh
and walked over with a grim expression.
He tapped a raised bump on the toad's back with his wand.
At once, the toad's mouth opened wide,
wide enough to fit Devero's entire head.
"That's all there is to it. You do the same to make him close it."
As he spoke, Snape backed away several more paces.
"Thank you, Professor Snape!"
Devero promptly stuffed all the things he'd bought into the toad's belly, including the books, school uniform, and cauldron.
When an item was too large to fit through its mouth,
Devero was amazed to discover
that the toad's mouth could stretch an incredible amount.
He suspected that even a whole piano might fit inside.
If Snape hadn't stopped him,
he might have stuffed the entire box in as well.
When Snape stopped him,
he looked as if Devero had been about to make him swallow the toad.
And so Devero got his first pet.
A Magic Pouch Toad.
He named him Eld!
After all, he was already forty years old, making him one of the longest-lived kinds of toad!
Just like that, Devero had bought everything he needed.
Next, they were supposed to return to Snape's place.
But this time, for some reason, Snape booked Devero a room at the Leaky Cauldron again,
and left him there to stay on his own.
Then Snape Apparated away.
[Ding!] [New spell added to collection!]
Oh yeah!
Apparition had been added too!
He couldn't use it yet,
but it was still good to learn it early.
Devero didn't understand why Snape hadn't taken him home.
He guessed
Snape might really hate toads.
Still,
Eld was the kind of toad that barely moved.
But Snape must have handled Potions made with toad ingredients when he brewed Potions.
Maybe Snape only minded toads when they were still alive?
Or did he have something he needed to do?
He'd left Devero at the Leaky Cauldron a week ago,
as if there were things he couldn't take Devero along to do.
No matter what,
Devero was still glad Snape had let him stay at the Leaky Cauldron.
Besides,
he now had a wand of his own.
That meant he could explore Diagon Alley by himself!
At present,
his exploration progress in Diagon Alley had reached 40%.
Devero resolved to raise that number to over 60%!
Before you continue