Hogwarts Card System.

Chapter 5 bears pressure that one should not have to bear at this age.

"Oh, little Ted, you're back. How did it go? Did you get accepted?" the nanny asked quickly.

"Yes, Granny. I've been accepted. And because of my special circumstances, the school even introduced me to a work-study job before the semester started. I can work there part-time, with room and board included..."

Ted started to deceive the old woman.

He had made up his mind to work in Diagon Alley and live in Old Tom's Leaky Cauldron.

The nanny was still very reluctant to part with him, after all, he was only 11 years old and had to work and earn money to support himself.

But many children in orphanages are like that; they either become apprentices at a young age or are selected to enter church schools.

The old woman reluctantly agreed to Ted's "work-study" plan.

After dinner, Ted started packing his things.

There's not much to pack up, besides some daily necessities, there's just an old guitar.

The other small toys and such were given to the younger children.

I'm going to Diagon Alley to make my way in the world tomorrow, and I'm really excited.

Oh, and I should also buy some things I might need here.

Parchment is not cheap in the Muggle world, but ink and such are incredibly cheap.

A diary too. What era are we living in? Still using parchment? Don't they know how expensive it is?

He also needs to buy a fountain pen. Quill pens are too fine; he's not used to them.

Ted is a shrewd businessman, so naturally he'll buy whichever side is cheaper.

If it weren't for the fact that school uniforms couldn't be made by Muggle tailors, he would have liked to have robes made by Muggles.

Ted was unusually excited and even had trouble sleeping.

I might as well just look at my textbooks.

"Standard Spells, Beginner Level," Ted read carefully in bed, using a small flashlight.

"I remember before we enrolled, wands could be used privately. Hermione practiced spells at home and fixed Harry Potter's glasses as soon as she got in the car. That means there's still no trace of him..."

In fact, the Act on Reasonable Restraint of Underage Wizards was enacted in 1875; the main content of the Act was to restrict wizards under the age of 17 from performing magic outside of school.

I need to seize this opportunity and make the most of it.

Two months is a long time; I can't just work all the time, can I? I didn't come to the magical world to earn foreign exchange.

Ted opened "Standard Spells - Beginner". The preface stated:

"Charms differ from Transfiguration Charms in that they add specific properties to an object or creature, while Transfiguration Charms transform it into something entirely different."

"Minor spells are not difficult to break. The effects of the spells you young wizards have learned will mostly disappear within a few days or even a few hours."

"Curses, poisonous curses, and spells are collectively known as dark magic. This book will not cover such magic."

……

The first spell recorded in the book is the Glowing Spell!

There's not much to it, just a very simple description.

Ted took out his wand and began to cast a spell as described in the book.

"Fluorescent lights~"

No, no! The pronunciation is not quite right.

Come again!

"Fluorescent lights~" This time the gesture was still a bit restrained.

After trying five or six times, Ted finally felt the correct flow of magic. "Flickering~", the tip of the wand emitted a pure white light that flickered.

"Wow~ Now we don't even need a flashlight!"

Not only that, Ted also discovered that he had gained 25 experience points! Learning and practicing magic really does grant experience.

However, Ted discovered that he only gained a lot of experience points the first time. It took him more than ten tries to gain even a little experience.

After using it dozens of times, I felt like my magical energy was completely depleted.

Well, it's good that I was able to learn the Glowing Charm on the first day. It's a very rewarding achievement.

Filled with boundless anticipation for magic, Ted, feeling depleted of magical energy and somewhat exhausted, finally fell asleep.

The next morning, after saying goodbye to the tearful old woman, Ted boarded the bus.

……

The Leaky Cauldron bar remained dimly lit, illuminated by candlesticks or oil lamps.

Those wizards who drink alcohol are having a candlelight dinner.

I wonder if the Flash Charm can be active permanently?

There is, however, a high-level magic called "celestial fire" that can burn indefinitely.

Who can stand all this smoke and fumes? If we could make a magic lamp, it would definitely sell well.

And these walls are so patchy, they look like an unfinished house. Painting them white or applying putty would probably make them look much better.

Of course, maybe wizards just like this medieval style!

"Oh, you're a freshman from yesterday. What's your name again?" Boss Tom noticed Ted, who was pushing open the door and dragging a suitcase.

"Ted, Ted Epifani, Mr. Tom. I need to stay here until the start of the semester. Could you tell me the cheapest room you have? And if it's convenient... would you like a part-time waiter?"

"Oh, waiter? Hmm, I haven't thought about that. As for the room..." He glanced at Ted's old clothes that he had been wearing for several years and his somewhat worn suitcase.

Finally, old Tom, who seemed somewhat fierce and unapproachable but was not a bad person at heart, gave Ted a free storage room.

In return, Ted would help clean the house after closing time at night.

He can even get a free sandwich in the morning.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!"

I have to say, there are still many good people in the magical world!

After all, cleaning is a simple task for wizards, as they can use magic. Old Tom was genuinely helping Ted.

The storage room was tiny. It barely fit a bed, then a 60-centimeter-long bedside table as a desk, and there wasn't even room for a chair. But what more could Ted ask for? Only gratitude!

After tidying up the room quickly, Ted changed into a secondhand wizard's robe, took his wand, and went to the backyard.

He gently tapped the brick, and an archway appeared with a clattering sound as the brick moved, leading to the still bustling Diagon Alley. Ted couldn't help but smile.

……

Which shops should I look for a job at?

We can't exactly go to Gringotts, can we?

Shops selling crucibles and flying brooms are also not very suitable.

Ted decided to take a walk around first, familiarize himself with the environment, and carefully observe what shops were available. He also wanted to assess the difficulty of his exploration mission.

There's Ira Owl Shop with lots of little owls of all sizes, the crackling, bouncy Magical Joke Shop, the Magical Creatures Shop, Obscurial Books, and Lady Primpurnell's Beauty Aphrodisiac Shop...

Wow, this is the most modern store Ted has ever seen.

Indeed, everyone has a love for beauty.

Flourish and Blotts is another great option! It's a rare opportunity to read books for free! Books are so expensive!

However, ideals are often grand, but reality is harsh. Ted asked several shops, but none of them wanted him.

The reason is that he is too young and not old enough to work!

Are the wizarding world really that law-abiding? They don't even use child labor; do they actually believe labor laws exist?!

Just as Ted's working life was about to end before it even began and he was at his wit's end, a man next to him suddenly exclaimed, and then "crash!" something spilled.

Ted quickly grabbed his robe and jumped aside, avoiding the spreading pool of unidentified liquid.

Upon closer inspection, oh, it was a whole bunch of slugs!

The man was carrying a bucket of slugs, but one of the handles broke off, and the slugs spilled all over the ground, where they were now jumping and crawling around!

Upon seeing this, the people around quickly moved far away.

Slug: I'm free!

"Damn it! These disgusting slugs, I shouldn't have stocked them. I'll never stock them again! Never again!" the man complained.

He used a "restore to its original state" technique to fix the barrel, but he would have to catch the slugs himself.

Ted thought for a moment, rolled up his sleeves, and squatted down to help the man catch the slugs all over the ground—slippery and wriggling, they didn't bite but were disgusting.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, let me do it, thank you, child!" the man said quickly.

The two of them were in a flurry of activity, and it took them several minutes to catch all the slugs.

This thing is so slippery; sometimes if you grip it too tightly, it will squeeze out between your fingers.

The man breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much."

With that, he pointed his wand, "Cleaned up!"

Ted's hands were clean.

"I am Slug Ziggs, and that Slug Ziggs Pharmacy behind me is mine. If you ever need any potion ingredients, feel free to come to me, and I'll give you a 20% discount!" the man said with a smile.

"Uh, I see... So, do you need a part-time worker?" Ted asked with an innocent look on his face.

Huh? Do I have to repay this favor so soon?

Slug was a bit confused, feeling like he'd fallen into a trap! And he'd dug the trap himself!

Soon, Ted found his first job—processing simple potion ingredients, such as slugs, in the pharmacy.

The maximum working hours are three hours a day, with a weekly salary of 14 silver dollars.

1 Galon = 17 Sikor = 493 Nat

God knows who invented this exchange rate!

Ted earns 3 Galleons and 5 Sickles a month, which is almost enough for a wand in two months!

Although the income is low, at least I have a job.

The mission is complete; it was his first mission to finish!

"Ding~ Task completed [Working Class (Green)], Reward: 100 Experience Points, Card [Restore Energy (Green)]"

My character's experience pool has increased by 100. I'm still over 800 experience points away from leveling up, and over 200 experience points away from exchanging for a few pages of the [Psychic Abilities Manual (Blue)]. Full of motivation!

He also received his first card:

This card has a green striped border, and the image shows a human figure with outstretched arms and head tilted back, surrounded by a green light.

[Restore Energy (Green)]

Spell Cards

Consumes a small amount of magic power to restore some of the depleted stamina.

Cool for 4 hours.

Ted took the opportunity to try it out and was able to restore his tired self to a state of full energy.

It's roughly equivalent to getting a free bottle of "vitality supplement" every four hours, giving him more energy to work.

The chosen ones are the working class, that's it!

……

"Ha, Mr. Tom, I've found a job."

"Really? That's great! How about a butterbeer, it's on me." Old Tom was also very happy to hear the news.

"What kind of job are you looking for?" he asked, placing a large oak mug of bubbling butterbeer in front of Ted.

"It's Slug Giggs Pharmacy. I'm here to help process some low-grade medicinal herbs."

"That's great! How exactly?"

"For example, dealing with slugs. Using special gloves, you smear the mucus off and drop it into a bucket. Then, you use a silver knife to cut open the slug, squeeze out its internal organs, lay it flat, and wait for it to dry."

"Uh~" Old Tom was speechless.

"Haha, what can a little wizard like me, who hasn't even started school yet, possibly do? Mr. Slug Giggs is already very kind of me to help. Besides, I can also learn some potions along the way."

Old Tom nodded and said nothing more.

He found that Ted had a very good mindset and was very mature.

Which 11-year-old would want to deal with disgusting slugs?

Even in difficult circumstances, they remain optimistic and carefree, without blaming others or fate.

This kind of person is undoubtedly likable.

I've signed a contract, please vote with my monthly tickets!

Please! (clasped hands)

(End of this chapter)