That pot of shimmering blue liquid was carefully poured into a small earthenware container, then sealed with a gentle wave of the wand.
"I just don't get it. Isn't there any substitute for Mooncalf Mucus?" Devilo muttered, frowning at the brewing station.
He had just finished cleaning up the mess left by another failed experiment and now paced restlessly around the Room of Requirement. His steps echoed softly across the magically conjured stone floor.
"It's the same every time," he grumbled. "Even when I used silver viper fangs instead of African boomslang skin, I could only complete the first stage of the potion within a day during the full moon. There's really no other workaround."
The Room of Requirement had taken the form of a private potion laboratory, tailored precisely to Devilo's needs. It was silent, secure, and—most importantly—undiscovered by others. Thankfully, Voldemort's Horcrux hadn't shown up either. It seemed that as long as Devilo avoided the infamous Room of Hidden Things, the Room of Requirement remained safe.
After confirming this last week, Devilo had taken a bold step—he moved half of Snape's storage room into this lab. So far, Snape hadn't noticed.
"I wonder what he'll think when he finds out," Devilo mused with a mischievous grin. "Professor, you said I could use it as I pleased. I'm just following your instructions."
He dropped onto a tall stool by the square worktable and pulled out a sheet of parchment. "This week has felt incredibly long. Time to take stock of current gains and future plans."
Dipping his quill in ink, he began to write.
"Entry Collection Progress."
After jotting down the title, Devilo glanced at his entry panel, something he hadn't reviewed in a few days.
[Host: Devilo Alexander]
[Age: 11 years old]
[Identity: Hogwarts First-Year Student | Senior Potioneer]
[Spell Library: Levitation Charm (Mastered), Shield Charm (Mastered), Microscopic Structure Deformation Charm (Proficient), ...]
[Carried Entries: Transmigrator (Unique), Magical Prodigy (Unique), Potion Spirit (Red), Savior (Red), Talented Wandmaker (Gold), Protection of Love (Gold), Exam Genius (Purple), Prank Inventor (Purple), Explorer (Purple) ...]
[Entry Library: Unique (2), Red (2), Gold (3), Purple (13), Blue (326), Green (3679), White (32,371)]
[Pet: El (Moneydrain Toad)]
[Items: Entry Upgrade Card ×1, Spell Proficiency Card ×1, Wand (Purpleheart)]
[Wisdom of the Sages: Zen Practice of Venerable Jueyin]
[Magical Secret Realm Explorations: 3]
"Well, I've accumulated 13 purple entries. That means I can upgrade one to gold." Devilo tapped his chin thoughtfully. "But which one?"
He had a habit of copying purple entries from other students. As long as he gathered ten purple entries, he could fuse them into one gold-level entry. With the recent holidays, Devilo had skipped hanging out with his Gryffindor classmates—who were overflowing with entries—and instead loaded the [Magical Talent (Purple)] entry from a few senior Slytherins.
"I've decided. I'll upgrade [Exam Genius (Purple)]."
Considering he would soon take advanced classes with upper-year students, Devilo knew that keeping up academically was crucial. So, upgrading this entry was the obvious choice.
He selected ten purple entries from the entry library and initiated the upgrade process.
[Ding!]
[Entry merging and upgrading in progress...]
[Entry merging and upgrading successful!]
In that instant, Devilo's head felt light—almost floaty, like it might drift away from his body. He blinked, startled by the odd sensation, and immediately reopened his entry panel.
A new gold entry gleamed on the screen:
[King of Exams (Gold): You possess a brain capacity far beyond ordinary people. You excel in exam-based learning. Your sense of test questions is exceptionally sharp, and no teacher's unusual behavior escapes your notice.]
"…Why does this sound so extreme?" Devilo muttered, his brow furrowed.
He had hoped for an entry that boosted general learning ability. Instead, he'd received one hyper-optimized for exams. While the practical effects might be similar, this entry's tone made him feel like he was becoming a robot—an exam machine.
And that floating sensation just now… Was that his overpowered brain reacting?
Shaking his head, Devilo set the thought aside for now. "Let's see how it performs next week when the upperclassman classes begin."
He scribbled another line on the parchment.
"Exploration of Hogwarts Castle."
This had also been one of his major focuses.
He brought up the Secret Realm panel:
[Current Wizard Secret Realm: Hogwarts Castle]
[Current Exploration Progress: 28.8%]
Devilo scratched his head in frustration. This was the result of nightly excursions over an entire week—sneaking through surface buildings, investigating every secret passage the Weasley twins knew of. And still, the 30% mark remained just out of reach.
"No spell proficiency card for me yet," he sighed. "Does Hogwarts really have that many hidden areas?"
The Hogwarts shown in the original books probably only depicted a third of the real one. It truly was a castle built by legends.
"At this rate… I'll wait a month, load [Heir of Slytherin] from Quirrell, explore the Chamber of Secrets, get the spell card, and tame a basilisk while I'm at it."
With a smirk, he scribbled the next line:
"Chamber of Secrets + Basilisk."
Sure, the basilisk was dangerous—but once he had the Heir of Slytherin entry, he figured it might show him some respect.
Next came another note:
"Improve the Polyjuice Potion recipe and brew advanced potions."
His progress here had been substantial. The improved Polyjuice formula couldn't yet be brewed in a single day, but during a full moon, it worked far faster than the plan Snape had previously suggested.
"I wonder what Snape's reaction will be when I present the new formula?" Devilo chuckled.
He had already stunned Snape twice with breakthroughs on the Polyjuice Potion. By now, the professor was probably numb to the shock.
With a small grin, Devilo turned to examine the potions on his table. He wasn't only working on Polyjuice—other high-level brews were also underway.
One such project was the Animagus potion.
Previously, Devilo had shelved the Animagus plan due to the rare ingredients it required. But now, with unrestricted access to Snape's inventory, the goal felt within reach.
"Yes, this needs to go on the official list."
He nodded and noted:
"Begin Animagus transformation potion."
Just as he was about to stop, his expression turned serious. After a pause, he dipped his quill again and wrote:
"Defense Against the Dark Arts: Study the Three Unforgivable Curses."
His eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at the ink drying on the parchment. This wasn't just about school anymore. There were things brewing in the shadows. He had sensed them—dark, dangerous things.
And if Devilo wanted to stay ahead of the storm, he needed power. Real power.
FOR MORE CHAPTER
patreon.com/Jackssparrow