Chapter 36
Devero followed the group out of the castle, holding the broom distributed by the teacher. He could feel an odd sensation emanating from it, similar to the feeling he got when he first visited Ollivander's Wand Shop, surrounded by stacks of wands. It was almost as if he could have a simple conversation with the broom. This was likely due to his [Genius Wandmaker] entry taking effect. Though these flying brooms weren't wands, Devero sensed that they, too, seemed to choose their riders. He even felt an urge to modify the broom, probably because he had previously loaded the [Prank Inventor] entry from the Weasley twins.
[Prank Inventor (Purple): Possesses extraordinary talent for mischief, with remarkable insight into magic used for pranks and exceptional creativity.]
In the original story, the Weasley twins didn't build their empire solely on joke shop tricks. Their real money came from practical magical items sold to the Ministry of Magic, including combat-related gear, like an invisibility cloak that didn't require covering the entire body to render the wearer fully invisible! Even Hermione, the top student, couldn't help but admire such innovative magical tools. It was for this reason that Devero had chosen to load this entry. The downside? Now, whenever he saw something, he had an overwhelming urge to tinker with it. It took all his willpower to suppress the impulse to modify the broom—school property that he'd have to pay for if he damaged it. With no source of income, he couldn't afford to mess around.
He had also loaded another entry from the Weasley twins: [Explorer].
[Explorer (Purple): Possesses a strong sense of adventure, with great adaptability to complex environments and some talent in map-making and reading.]
This entry was immensely helpful for exploring Hogwarts. Though the twins had already shown him some of the castle's secret passages over the past few days, they likely hadn't uncovered every hidden path in the school. Once they left in their sixth year, Devero would have to explore on his own. So, to prepare, he copied this entry. He even planned to create his own magical map of Hogwarts—not as advanced as the Marauder's Map, which showed everyone's movements in real-time, but at least detailed enough to record the castle's explored structure.
As the group reached an open area outside the castle and headed toward the Forbidden Forest, where their lesson would take place on a grassy field, Devero noticed Neville holding a broom in one hand and a glowing red orb in the other, looking troubled. Devero immediately recognized the object—a Remembrall, glowing red to indicate Neville had forgotten something. He was probably racking his brain trying to figure out what.
With a sly grin, Devero approached Neville. "Hey, Neville, can I borrow your wand? I forgot mine in the common room."
Neville looked up from the Remembrall, puzzled. "Devero, didn't Madam Hooch just say no one's allowed to use wands in this class? If you cast a spell on the broom, you'll be banned from the lesson."
Devero chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm not casting anything on the broom. It's just a precaution to stop someone from messing around."
Seeing Devero's confident demeanor, Neville didn't question further and handed over his wand. Devero's reputation in Gryffindor was far better than in Slytherin. From the start, he had helped the first-year Gryffindors deal with their least favorite peer. He was approachable, unlike the typical arrogant pure-blood Slytherins, and always eager to help classmates. Many even wanted to partner with him in Herbology because it guaranteed good grades—a true "carry"! Who could dislike someone like that?
Even within Slytherin, aside from Malfoy and his cronies, opinions of Devero had improved. After all, the house respected strength, and Devero's contributions to house points weren't for nothing. He was a strong candidate for prefect or even Head Boy in the future. Isolating him, as Malfoy did, would only make life harder for oneself. As a result, Devero's situation at Hogwarts had improved significantly since his arrival, and he was starting to make friends his age.
The group finally reached the lesson site. Devero hadn't used his purple entry copy for the day and decided to test his control over the flying broom. If it didn't work out, he could always borrow an entry from Harry.
Meanwhile, Malfoy was still boasting loudly about his flying experience, complaining that first-years weren't allowed to join the house Quidditch team. For days, he'd been telling long, self-aggrandizing stories that always ended with him narrowly escaping a Muggle helicopter. Devero, trying to do homework in the common room, had heard these tales so often his ears were practically calloused.
But something shocking had come up recently: a second-year Slytherin, Adrian Bosted, was a Manchester United fan! Devero was stunned that a wizard from a magical family followed the Premier League. Most wizards found football boring—one ball, no flying, what was the appeal? Adrian, whose distant cousin Millicent Bosted was in Devero's year, was from a lesser branch of the pure-blood Bosted family, one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. Growing up in Manchester, he was surrounded by kids who joined United's youth academy. He had almost joined himself but had to give it up to attend Hogwarts. He'd struggled with the decision for a long time but was still confident Manchester United would win the league next year. Adrian quickly became one of the few Slytherins Devero could chat with freely.
Madam Binns, stern as ever, lined the young wizards up in rows to begin the lesson. Suddenly, Devero bumped into someone. Malfoy, rubbing his forehead in pain, looked up to see Devero smirking.
"Sorry, didn't see you there," Devero said with a mischievous grin.
-> [Thank you Ant for pledging.]
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