Chapter 14
Neither of them objected. What followed naturally was Harry showing his scar.
Ron gasped in amazement.
Then they started chatting about things in the magical world.
Harry expressed his worries about his magical abilities.
Ron's comforting words were clearly much more effective than those of Devero, the academic prodigy.
This helped Harry feel a bit more at ease.
By this time, Devero had already checked Ron's profile.
Well…
As expected, it was just like in the original story.
Aside from a basic (blue) magical ability entry, Ron didn't have any particularly valuable traits.
As the secondary male character in the original story, compared to Harry's array of high-level traits, Ron did seem a bit lackluster.
At that moment, the snack trolley was pushed in.
Harry, the wealthy one, waved his hand grandly.
Devero and Ron, both from less well-off families, happily indulged in the treats.
Ron, coming from a poor household, rarely got to eat such snacks.
As for Devero, Snape was usually so strict that he wouldn't dare show even the slightest hint of wanting snacks.
If he did, he'd have to brace himself for double the Potions homework.
When Harry accidentally ate a pepper-flavored Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean and was choking, the door suddenly swung open.
A girl with bushy hair walked in, followed by a tearful, round-faced boy.
"Sorry to interrupt, I'm Hermione Granger, and this is Neville Longbottom. We're looking for his lost toad. Has anyone seen Neville's toad?"
At her words, Harry and Ron both turned their gazes to Al, who was currently napping on Devero's shoulder.
Neville looked over as well, but it was obvious that Devero's Al and Neville's toad looked completely different.
Al was much larger.
Devero shrugged, indicating that this toad was definitely not Neville's.
In his mind, though, he was wondering: *Why is Hermione with Neville? Did I change some events?*
He quickly checked Hermione's profile:
…
Name: Hermione Granger
Age: 11
…
Traits: Exam Prodigy (Purple), Magical Talent (Purple), Potion Perception (Blue)
…
Exam Prodigy (Purple): Exceptionally skilled at reading textbooks, with extraordinary memory, able to handle all kinds of exams with ease!
…
Goodness gracious.
As expected, Hermione's talents were impressive.
Among all the people Devero had seen since arriving at the platform, aside from Harry, the protagonist, Hermione had the best set of traits.
What's more, Devero hadn't expected Hermione to have a trait related to Potions.
But thinking back, her ability to independently brew Polyjuice Potion in her second year proved she had some real talent.
Naturally, the trait Devero coveted most was Exam Prodigy.
Sure, Devero was a magical genius, but that was *only* in magic.
For subjects like History of Magic, which relied heavily on knowledge accumulation rather than practice, Devero would likely struggle just as much as Harry and the others.
With this trait, life at Hogwarts would probably be much smoother.
So, Devero mentally added the Exam Prodigy trait to his shopping cart.
"Sorry, we haven't seen it, but…"
Snapping back to reality, Devero rubbed his chin, suddenly struck by an idea.
He turned to Hermione and asked, "What's the toad's name? I might have a way to find it."
"Really? It's called Trevor!"
Hermione's eyes lit up with excitement as she looked at Devero, eager to see what he'd do.
Devero nodded, drew his wand, and softly chanted, "Accio Trevor!"
*Whoosh!*
The sound of a heavy object cutting through the air rang out.
In less than a second, a toad flew from some distant compartment straight into Devero's hand.
Devero caught it effortlessly and handed it to Neville.
Neville, overjoyed, took the toad, his tears turning to smiles.
"Wow! What spell was that? I've never seen it in any book!"
Hermione immediately leaned in, staring at Devero's wand in amazement.
"It's the Summoning Charm, part of the fourth-year standard spells. It's pretty useful, so I learned it early," Devero said with a casual smile.
"What?! I've only memorized the first-year standard spells. I'm so far behind! What am I going to do when school starts?"
Hermione's face fell at Devero's words, her expression a mix of sadness and anxiety as she mumbled to herself.
The others were equally stunned that Devero was already studying fourth-year material.
Neville nearly dropped his toad again in shock.
Harry, who had just been reassured by Ron, looked even more nervous.
Seeing their reactions, Devero couldn't help but smile wryly.
While marveling at Hermione's title as an Exam Prodigy for having already memorized the first-year textbooks, he also noted that she was already far ahead of most of her peers.
But his words of comfort didn't seem to ease Hermione's anxiety.
However, when she looked up and saw Harry, her eyes sparkled.
She immediately sat down across from him, pulling out her wand.
"Hey, I don't know much yet, just a few basic spells, like this one!"
With a wave of her wand at the nose pads of Harry's glasses, she said, "Avada Kedavra!"
A flash of green light shot out.
The famous Boy Who Lived didn't survive the Killing Curse this time.
On September 1, 1991, he was killed by Death Eater Hermione Granger.
*Beep—*
"Reparo!"
Hermione's voice was firm and clear.
A soft glow emanated from the tip of her wand.
In an instant, the crack in Harry's glasses was perfectly repaired.
The first-year students gasped in awe.
Neville even cheered, excitedly holding his newly found toad, Trevor, above his head, his face beaming with uncontainable joy.
It wasn't clear whether he was impressed by Hermione's spellwork or just thrilled to have his toad back.
Harry, too, was delighted.
"Thank you, Hermione! That was amazing!" he said gratefully.
Ron, meanwhile, seemed eager to try something himself.
He gripped his wand tightly, looking ready to show off.
"Hey, I actually know a spell too, though it's not always reliable…" he said confidently, despite a hint of uncertainty in his tone.
Hermione beamed at Devero, her eyes sparkling with pride, as if to say, "See? I'm pretty good too!"
Devero clapped for her, nodding in approval.
Just then, a pale boy with platinum-blond hair walked in, flanked by two burly boys.
His gaze carried a hint of arrogance and disdain, as if he disapproved of their earlier commotion.
He scanned the compartment, his eyes finally landing on Harry.