Chapter 6 Eld, the Pouch Toad!

Chapter 6

After thanking Mr. Ollivander, Devero left the wand shop. He dashed toward the left side of the shop's entrance, his steps quick and urgent. Along the way, a few passersby who had seen him perform magic in the shop cast curious glances his way. Some even tried to approach him, hoping to shake hands and befriend this young wizard. However, Devero politely declined their gestures with a smile.

Right now, his top priority was finding Professor Snape. Devero had no intention of being left behind by the professor. With this in mind, he quickened his pace, silently praying that Snape hadn't already gone too far.

At the same time, Devero saw this as a perfect opportunity to increase his exploration progress in Diagon Alley. With Snape watching him earlier, he hadn't dared to venture into some of the shops. Now was the perfect chance to boost his exploration level!

After darting in and out of several shops, Devero checked his system's exploration progress:

[Wizarding Realm — Diagon Alley Exploration: 39.8%]**

A slight smirk curled his lips. Not bad progress.

"What do you think you're doing, running around like a three-year-old?"

As Devero searched for Snape while exploring Diagon Alley, the professor's familiar, low, and slightly grating voice sounded in his ear. Snape was holding a cylindrical object covered in black cloth, along with the box he had asked Devero to carry earlier.

"Sorry, sir, I couldn't find you earlier," Devero replied, panting. His stamina wasn't great, and running through a few shops had left him winded.

Snape let out a cold snort and, without another word, handed the box back to Devero. Thankfully, the levitation charm was still active, or the heavy box would've surely knocked him over.

"Someone said you used magic in the wand shop?" Snape's dark eyes narrowed, his sharp gaze fixed on Devero.

Devero gave an awkward chuckle, trying to mask his nervousness. "Oh, I just copied what another wizard did and said the incantation. Didn't expect it to actually work, haha…"

Of course, his clumsy acting didn't fool Snape. But Devero couldn't exactly admit he was some kind of magical prodigy who could master spells just by watching others. That would be too absurd—who would believe it?

Snape merely gave him a deep, probing look before letting it go. He handed Devero the cylindrical object covered in black cloth. "This is from your parents."

"Huh?" Devero was stunned as he took it. Something left by his parents? In the year since he'd arrived in this world, Snape had never once mentioned his parents. To think he'd receive something from them now was unexpected.

Devero eagerly pulled off the black cloth, only to be dumbfounded.

A toad?!

Well, it seemed his parents in this world had… questionable taste. To leave their son a toad as a pet? Devero's expression faltered, unable to hide his disappointment.

"This isn't an ordinary toad. Strictly speaking, it's a magical creature," Snape said with a hint of disdain. "Its proper name is a Pouch Toad. Its stomach acts like a space enchanted with an Extension Charm."

Snape continued, "It can hold quite a lot. If you don't mind the mess, the storage space grows larger as the toad ages. This one is about forty years old, with an internal space of roughly forty square meters."

Hearing that this was a magical creature capable of storage, Devero's earlier disdain vanished. His eyes sparkled with curiosity and excitement. He immediately took the Pouch Toad out of its cage to examine it closely.

The Pouch Toad was slightly larger than an ordinary toad, about the size of four of Devero's palms. It was a bit heavy to hold, with a plump, rounded body that gave off a sense of solidity. Its skin was a deep green with mottled brown spots, covered in tiny wart-like bumps that gave it an ancient, rugged texture.

It didn't seem to like moving much. Even when Devero gently shook it, the toad barely reacted. Noticing Devero handling the toad, Snape subtly stepped to the side.

"Professor Snape, how do I get it to store things?" Devero asked, fiddling with the toad but unable to figure out how to make it work. When he turned to ask, he noticed Snape had already retreated ten steps away.

Snape's face showed a flicker of reluctance as he let out a barely audible sigh. With a grim expression, he walked over and tapped a bump on the toad's back with his wand. Instantly, the toad's mouth opened wide—so wide it could almost swallow Devero's entire head.

"That's how it's done. To close it, do the same," Snape said, quickly stepping back again.

"Thank you, Professor Snape!" Devero eagerly stuffed all his purchases—books, school uniforms, and a cauldron—into the toad's mouth. When an item was too large to fit, Devero was amazed to find the toad's mouth could stretch to an incredible degree. He suspected he could probably shove a piano in there with no issue. If Snape hadn't stopped him, he might've even tried stuffing the entire box inside.

Snape's expression, as he intervened, looked as if Devero was trying to force him to eat the toad.

And so, Devero acquired his first pet in this world: a Pouch Toad. He named it Eld, fitting for a creature that was forty years old and among the longest-living of its kind!

With all their shopping done, it was time to return to Snape's residence. But for some reason, Snape booked Devero a room at the Leaky Cauldron again, telling him to stay there before Disapparating on his own.

[Ding!]

[New spell acquired: Apparition!]

Oh yeah! Apparition was now in his spell library! Sure, he couldn't use it yet, but learning it early was a win.

Devero couldn't understand why Snape didn't take him along. He guessed Snape might really hate toads. Eld was indeed the type of toad that barely moved. But didn't Snape handle toad-based potion ingredients all the time? Maybe he was only okay with toads that were already dead? Or perhaps Snape had some business to attend to?

A week ago, Snape had left Devero at the Leaky Cauldron, likely because he had something to do that he couldn't bring Devero along for. Regardless, Devero was thrilled to stay at the Leaky Cauldron. Now that he had his own wand, it meant he could explore Diagon Alley on his own!

Currently, his Diagon Alley exploration progress was at 40%. Devero was determined to push that number above 60%!