After thanking Mr. Ollivander, Devlin stepped out of the wand shop and turned swiftly to the left. His footsteps were light but quick. A few passersby, who had witnessed the magic he had performed in the shop, cast curious glances in his direction. Some even approached, extending their hands in hopes of getting to know the young wizard.
Devlin, however, smiled politely and declined their offers. Right now, finding Professor Snape was his top priority. He didn't want to be left behind and truly abandoned. With that thought, he quickened his pace, silently praying that Snape hadn't gone too far.
Still, he used this chance to further explore Diagon Alley. Snape's constant supervision earlier had kept him from venturing into certain shops. Now that he was on his own, this was the perfect opportunity.
After darting in and out of several stores, Devlin checked his system interface:
[Wizarding Secret Realm - Diagon Alley Exploration Progress: 39.8%]
His lips curled into a satisfied smile. Not bad—good progress indeed.
"What do you think you're doing? Running around like a three-year-old?"
That voice. Familiar, deep, and sharp. As Devlin spun around, he saw Professor Snape standing not too far behind, carrying a cylindrical object wrapped in black cloth and holding the box Devlin had left behind.
"Sorry, sir. I couldn't find you just now," Devlin panted, clearly winded from all the running.
His stamina was still lacking. A few shops in, and he was already catching his breath.
Snape snorted in response and handed the box back to him without a word. Thankfully, the Levitation Charm was still active, or Devlin would have been flattened by the box's weight.
"Someone said you used magic in the wand shop?" Snape asked, his eyes narrowing slightly as he stared intently at Devlin.
Devlin offered a sheepish grin, trying not to look nervous. "Oh, I just repeated what the other wizards were saying... I didn't expect it to actually work, haha…"
Naturally, his poor attempt at acting didn't fool Snape one bit. But he couldn't exactly claim to be a magical prodigy who could flawlessly replicate spells just by observing others. No one would believe that.
Instead of pressing further, Snape merely gave Devlin a long look, then handed over the cylindrical item wrapped in black cloth.
"Your parents left this for you."
"Huh?" Devlin was stunned.
This was something from his parents?
He had been in this world for an entire year, and not once had Snape mentioned anything about them. Now, all of a sudden, he was handed something they left behind?
Devlin eagerly pulled off the cloth, but what he saw nearly made his jaw drop.
It was… a toad?
Really?
His expression turned stiff.
His parents' idea of a gift was a toad?
Their aesthetics must be questionable.
"It's not just any toad," Snape said, a tinge of annoyance in his voice. "It's a magical creature."
He went on, "Its scientific name is the Mokeskin Toad. Its stomach is like a living space enhanced with an Undetectable Extension Charm."
Devlin blinked in surprise, all the disgust he had felt just moments ago now vanishing. Snape continued, "You can store a large number of items inside it—assuming you don't mind the filth. The internal space grows as the toad ages. This one is about forty years old, meaning its stomach space is roughly forty square meters."
As the explanation sank in, Devlin's eyes began to shine with amazement and curiosity. He pulled the Mokeskin Toad out of its cage to inspect it more closely.
It was larger than a normal toad—about the size of four of his palms. Holding it wasn't exactly easy. Its body was round and solid, exuding a sense of sturdiness. Its skin was a dark green with brown mottled spots and covered with wart-like bumps, giving it a rough, ancient texture.
The toad didn't seem to enjoy movement. Even when Devlin gave it a gentle shake, it remained sluggish, barely reacting.
Snape, noticing Devlin holding it, silently took a step back.
"Professor Snape, how do I use it to store things?" Devlin asked, his tone enthusiastic as he admired the creature.
Before answering, Snape had already taken ten steps back. He hesitated briefly, then sighed almost imperceptibly. With a reluctant expression, he walked forward again and tapped the bulge on the toad's back with his wand.
The toad's mouth opened wide—far wider than Devlin expected. It looked large enough to fit his entire head.
"That's how you open it. Just do the same to close it," Snape instructed, retreating once again.
"Thank you, Professor Snape!" Devlin beamed.
Without delay, he began loading everything he'd purchased—books, robes, cauldron—into the toad's mouth. When he tried inserting bulkier items, he was amazed to find that the toad's mouth could stretch far beyond what seemed anatomically possible. He was tempted to test its limits with the entire box, but Snape stopped him just in time.
Snape's expression at that moment was one of sheer horror—as though Devlin were about to force-feed him the toad itself.
And that's how Devlin got his first pet: a forty-year-old Mokeskin Toad. He named it Eld.
Since toads aren't known for long lifespans, a forty-year-old was practically ancient. Eld would do nicely.
With all his shopping complete, Devlin expected to return to Snape's place. But to his surprise, Snape instead got him a room at the Leaky Cauldron again, just like before.
And then… he Apparated away.
[Ding!]
[New spell added to the library!]
Yes! Apparition had been added to the spell library.
He couldn't use it yet, of course, but it was never too early to start learning.
Still, Devlin couldn't understand why Snape hadn't taken him along. Was it because he hated toads that much? Eld wasn't very active, sure—but Snape often used toads in potion ingredients. Maybe he preferred the dead ones?
Or perhaps Snape had some private matter to attend to.
After all, he had already left Devlin at the Leaky Cauldron for a week previously. Maybe there was something going on that Devlin couldn't be involved in.
Either way, Devlin didn't mind. He was quite happy staying at the Leaky Cauldron. More importantly, he now had a wand of his own. That meant he could explore Diagon Alley freely!
[Wizarding Secret Realm - Diagon Alley Exploration Progress: 40%]
His goal? Push that number past 60%!