Overall, Devereux was quite satisfied with the banquet.
But it wasn't perfect.
There were three issues.
The first was that, aside from Marcus, the other classmates barely paid any attention to him. It was probably Malfoy who had stirred things up, creating an undercurrent of isolation around Devereux. Of course, he didn't care. He was only interested in the castle—or more specifically, in the stat upgrade cards. The petty games of underage brats didn't matter to him.
The second issue was that the Bloody Baron was seated diagonally opposite him. A ghost covered in blood isn't exactly the best dinner companion. Unsurprisingly, Devereux didn't touch any red-colored food that night. Malfoy, however, was having a worse time. He barely ate anything. Watching Malfoy's gloomy expression somehow made Devereux's appetite even better.
The third and most disruptive thing was Snape's sudden appearance, which cut his feast short.
"Alexander, come with me."
Just as Devereux was looking forward to dessert, that deep and familiar voice rang out. A chill ran down his spine.
"Not good," he muttered inwardly, turning his head stiffly.
Standing there was Professor Snape in a black cloak, his snake-sharp eyes locking onto him.
"I have to solve your problem," Snape said.
Devereux slumped in disappointment. He put down the pudding he had long anticipated and followed Snape reluctantly.
Draco Malfoy's eyes sparkled with excitement. He leaned toward Goyle and whispered enthusiastically while gesturing toward Devereux.
Crabbe commented in his usual slow-witted tone, "That guy got called out by the teacher!"
"Haha! I thought my dad would have to step in, but now that Snape's involved—he's close with my father and always favors me—Alexander's definitely getting expelled!" Draco said, brimming with schadenfreude.
"Yeah! He kept boasting he'd be top of the year, but now he's getting expelled right after term starts!" Goyle chimed in.
The three of them laughed even louder, drawing attention.
Marcus watched them with a hint of concern. "It can't be... But for Professor Snape to come in person... Hmm. This might not end well," he murmured.
Thus, among the Slytherins, word quickly spread that Devereux was on his way to being expelled.
At the head table, Dumbledore glanced toward the Slytherin table, his bright blue eyes narrowing slightly.
—
Devereux trailed behind Professor Snape down the dark, echoing corridor. His emotions were all over the place. He had no idea where Snape was taking him, but a deep sense of unease was growing in his chest.
Mostly, he feared expulsion. Without the school, it would be difficult to access professors and knowledge again.
Snape's footsteps echoed sharply in the empty passage. Devereux followed quietly behind, silently praying for things to resolve peacefully.
—
Snap!
Snape unfurled a large piece of parchment on his desk.
"First, write down your simplified Polyjuice Potion recipe and your reasoning behind each step," he instructed curtly.
Upon arriving at Snape's office, the professor wordlessly summoned a chair for Devereux and dropped into his own seat, his dark eyes fixed on him.
Devereux exhaled in relief.
So it wasn't about the train incident.
He sat down, picked up Snape's quill, and started writing. Though his ideas stemmed from the potion spirit body he acquired, he hadn't actually tested them yet. Still, Devereux had a gut feeling that it would work.
Trusting in his red stat, he began writing confidently.
Snape remained silent throughout, the only sound in the office being the soft scratch of quill on parchment.
Within fifteen minutes, Devereux had written everything out.
Snape raised an eyebrow in surprise.
He hadn't expected a child like Devereux to write out such a complex process so quickly. He thought it would take at least thirty minutes.
But Devereux had already committed all of this to memory before he ever arrived at Hogwarts.
Snape took the parchment and began reading. Honestly, he still harbored suspicions about Devereux. He suspected the boy might've made a deal with some dark wizard in Knockturn Alley—where he could've learned forbidden spells and potion techniques.
But now, after reading Devereux's notes, those doubts started to crumble.
Snape sat up straighter and picked up his quill. He started reasoning through Devereux's process, deeply immersed in potion logic.
Meanwhile, Devereux finally had time to look around Snape's office properly.
From the moment he stepped in, he noticed the temperature had dropped. Slytherin areas always felt a bit colder, but this room was particularly chilling.
Dim oil lamps hung on the stone walls, casting a gloomy glow.
At the center was a wide desk cluttered with books, scrolls, and rows of potion bottles. The liquids inside shimmered under the light, some even swirling slowly, as if alive.
In one corner of the desk lay a thick black book with strange silver writing that Devereux couldn't identify.
Behind the desk stood a high-backed chair draped with a plush black velvet cushion. Snape sat in it, his dark robe blending with the shadows. His face was mostly obscured, but his sharp eyes gleamed in the gloom.
Behind Snape was a worn wooden door. Its rusted copper plaque read faintly: "Storage Room."
Devereux's eyes brightened.
That was the place!
In the original timeline, the main characters had sneaked herbs from Snape's storage more than once to get out of trouble.
He might become a regular visitor himself—heh.
After about thirty minutes, Devereux began yawning.
Snape finally put down the parchment—now covered with his meticulous notes and annotations, so dense that the original text was barely visible.
"This is impossible..." he muttered, clearly stunned.
Devereux raised an eyebrow.
Was this old bat still doubting him?
"There's absolutely no way anyone in Knockturn Alley could've come up with this!" Snape said firmly.
Devereux nodded in satisfaction.
Exactly!
Snape leaned back, exhaling deeply. He stared at Devereux like he was some kind of rare creature.
"Why?" Snape asked suddenly.
"Why what?" Devereux asked, blinking.
"When you were an apprentice, why didn't you bring this kind of thing up? Why didn't you offer ideas for improvements?"
Snape's tone was softer now. His expression had relaxed somewhat, but his eyes were still full of confusion and awe.
This child's thought process was revolutionary—something that could change how Polyjuice Potion was brewed forever. It might even shake up the entire field of potion-making!
How had someone like this remained unnoticed under his nose all these years?
"Um… because you never let me," Devereux replied smoothly.
He had prepared this answer long ago, knowing full well it would leave Snape speechless.
"What? You… hiss…"
Snape instinctively tried to argue but stopped, recalling how he'd treated Devereux before.
He frowned deeply, suddenly unsure of himself.
Maybe this kid had a point.
He had shut him down repeatedly in the past.
Devereux noticed the hesitation and smirked slightly.
Being able to stump Snape like this?
Definitely one of his two favorite pastimes—alongside messing with Malfoy.