London
Diagon Alley.
Beside a counter at Gringotts.
"I've always been curious. How do you Goblins view wizard magic?"
The Goblin smiled faintly.
He bared his sharp teeth.
"We Goblins have our own magic, which differs from wizard magic. Our magic focuses more on craftsmanship and metalworking, especially when it comes to making and protecting treasures."
A blond boy listened with great interest.
Clearly, as a wizard who wasn't yet eleven,
he didn't seem to make the Goblin very wary.
The two of them had been chatting here for nearly half an hour.
The boy continued asking questions.
"So, how does your way of casting spells differ from a wizard's? For example, how do you cast those complicated spells?"
That question was far too sensitive!
The Goblin's gaze suddenly turned wary.
"Why are you so curious about these details?"
His voice held a trace of displeasure.
Clearly, the boy's question had touched a nerve with the Goblins.
Realizing that he might have gone too far,
the boy still tried to explain.
"I'm just interested in different systems of magic, especially Goblin magic..."
The Goblin's expression grew even darker.
"Our magic is our secret. It's not something we can reveal just like that."
He said coldly.
"Besides, your questions have crossed the line."
Devero felt awkward and quickly apologized.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. I just..."
"Enough!"
The Goblin cut him off.
"Please leave, and don't bother us again."
"Okay, okay, okay..."
The boy apologized as he backed out of Gringotts.
"Damn it!"
Devero grumbled to himself.
He had originally hoped to learn something about Goblin magic from Gringotts.
After all,
he was now a Magic Prodigy.
That meant he didn't necessarily have to limit himself to learning wizard magic.
If he could master Goblin magic,
wouldn't that be wonderful!
He had also wondered whether Goblins had any special traits.
But after checking, he was a little disappointed.
Most of them had the same blue [Magic Ability] trait as ordinary wizards.
Nothing special.
So there was no way to make a breakthrough through their traits.
That was why he had gone to chat up the Goblin.
Even though it hadn't worked,
it didn't stop Devero from imagining what it might be like.
If he could learn Goblin forging techniques,
he could make himself a Sword of Gryffindor in the future.
How exciting would that be!
With a sword like that,
what would he have to fear from Voldemort?
He could become Gryffindor's very own Sword Saint!
However,
reality wasn't as simple as he'd imagined.
His probing hadn't gotten a single useful scrap of information out of the Goblin.
Just as the original story described,
Goblins were utterly self-serving.
It was practically impossible to learn how to forge a sword from them.
Still,
Devero wasn't discouraged.
He had other options.
For instance,
he could learn how to Apparate without a wand from House-elves,
or study astrology and Divination from the centaurs.
Those forms of magic were just as fascinating.
Speaking of which,
over the past few days, Devero had practically turned Diagon Alley upside down.
He'd darted from one shop to another,
from Ollivanders Wand Shop to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour.
He hadn't left a single corner unexplored.
Along the way, he'd also loaded Ollivander's [Wand-making Prodigy] trait.
His mastery of wands had immediately grown stronger.
So Devero had taken up a new hobby: reading books about wandmaking at Flourish and Blotts.
However,
despite all his efforts,
his Secret Realm Exploration progress had remained at 58%.
Devero suspected that the last two percentage points had something to do with Knockturn Alley.
If he could enter that gloomy, mysterious place,
he'd surely collect the remaining exploration points in no time.
By watching other wizards cast spells in Diagon Alley every day,
along with his newly purchased, perfectly fitted wand and the guidance of his textbooks,
his spellcasting had improved significantly.
At least now,
the Levitation Charm came easily to him.
However,
entering Knockturn Alley was still fraught with danger.
Who knew if some dark wizard might suddenly jump out,
kidnap him for an experiment, or toss him straight into a cauldron?
Devero didn't want to find himself in that situation unprepared.
He didn't even know a single jinx yet.
If he ran into a dark wizard, he'd have no way to fight back.
Although it was a time of peace,
no one could guarantee that some ill-intentioned wizard wouldn't cast a jinx in the street.
Devero decided to wait a while before going to Knockturn Alley.
After all,
he'd be going to Hogwarts soon.
He'd have plenty of chances to learn jinxes there.
By then,
he'd learn all kinds of defensive magic
and master a few necessary ways to attack.
That way,
when he went to Knockturn Alley,
he'd at least have some means of protecting himself.
As for Knockturn Alley,
if Professor Snape was willing to take him there,
that would be the best option.
Professor Snape knew a great deal about the Dark Arts.
With him at his side,
Devero would feel much safer.
However,
Devero didn't think that was very likely.
Professor Snape was always cold and stern.
He probably wouldn't offer to do something like that.
Since he couldn't make any progress exploring the Secret Realm,
the places Devero visited most often were now the Leaky Cauldron, Flourish and Blotts, and the streets of Diagon Alley.
The Leaky Cauldron was always full of gossip.
Devero liked sitting in a corner,
listening to wizards talk about the latest magical news and strange happenings.
However,
what puzzled him was that
he still hadn't run into Harry Potter.
Perhaps the timing was wrong,
or perhaps Harry wasn't in Diagon Alley just then.
Devero was very interested in meeting The Boy Who Lived.
After all, he was the future savior.
Devero was curious.
What traits would Harry have?
He could hardly wait to find out.
As for why he wandered the streets,
it was, of course, to collect traits.
After missing the purple Magic Cooking trait on the first day,
Devero had successfully loaded a new trait from Lady Platinum:
[Magic Tailor (Purple): Exceptionally gifted at using magic to cut and tailor clothing; can quickly learn all kinds of fashion design.]
It was a pretty good everyday-life trait.
Devero loaded it without hesitation.
Before long,
he'd given his old clothes a complete makeover.
They looked brand-new.
Aside from the Leaky Cauldron and the streets,
the place Devero visited most often was Flourish and Blotts.
Its bookshelves were packed with all kinds of secondhand books.
Devero could browse through them,
looking for useful knowledge.
With the help of these books,
Devero quickly mastered many spells and Potions recipes that even older students struggled to learn.
However,
Devero discovered that he didn't seem to have much talent for Transfiguration.
Despite his hard work.
But he couldn't help feeling that it was the dullest subject of them all.
It seemed
he needed to load Professor McGonagall's entry at Hogwarts
to improve his skills in this area.
That was what Devero decided.
He started walking from the entrance to Gringotts toward the Leaky Cauldron.
Diagon Alley was bustling with people.
The signs above the various shops gleamed in the sunlight.
As he walked,
he looked around,
hoping to spot something interesting.
"Dear witches and wizards, want to improve your Potions-making skills? Come to our herb shop in Diagon Alley and buy the finest Binaural Grass roots!"
Suddenly,
a loud hawker's cry reached his ears.
Devero stopped.
He turned toward the source of the voice.
It was an old-fashioned herb shop.
A wooden sign hung crookedly above the entrance.
It read, "Fenny's Herb Shop."
"Binaural Grass roots?"
Devero repeated under his breath.
A glint suddenly flashed in his eyes.
The corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
A sly smile spread across his face.
He had a plan!
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