"Oh, little Ted, you're back! Well? Were you accepted?" the matron hurriedly asked.
"Yes, Matron. I was accepted. And because my situation is a bit special, the school arranged a work-study job for me before term starts. I can take a part-time position there—room and board included…"
Ted began spinning his story.
He had already decided: he would work in Diagon Alley and live at Old Tom's Leaky Cauldron.
The matron felt very reluctant. After all, he was only eleven years old and already going out to work and support himself.
But this was common among children from the orphanage. Many left early to become apprentices, while others were chosen to attend church schools.
In the end, though reluctant, the matron agreed to Ted's "work-study" plan.
After dinner, Ted began packing his belongings.
There really wasn't much to pack. Aside from a few daily necessities, he only had his old guitar.
As for his small toys, he gave them all away to younger children.
Tomorrow he would head to Diagon Alley and face the world on his own.
The thought filled him with excitement.
Oh right—there were still a few things he should buy in the Muggle world.
Parchment was expensive outside the wizarding world, but ink was dirt cheap.
He also bought a notebook.
What era was this? Who still used parchment all the time? Didn't people realize how expensive it was?
He also needed a fountain pen. Quills were too thin for him—he simply wasn't used to them.
Ted carefully calculated his spending. Naturally, he bought whatever was cheaper wherever he could.
If Hogwarts uniforms could be sewn by Muggle tailors, he would have had his robes made here too.
That night, excitement kept him unusually awake.
Since he couldn't sleep, he might as well read his textbooks.
Under his blanket, Ted switched on a small flashlight and opened The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1.
"If I remember correctly, wands can still be used privately before students officially enroll. Hermione practiced spells at home and even repaired Harry Potter's glasses on the train. Which means the Trace hasn't been placed yet…"
In fact, the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery had been enacted in 1875. The law restricted witches and wizards under seventeen from performing magic outside school.
Ted intended to take full advantage of this opportunity.
There were two whole months before school started.
Surely he wasn't going to spend all that time working. He hadn't come to the wizarding world just to earn foreign currency.
He opened the book.
Right in the introduction it said:
"Charms differ from Transfiguration in that Charms add certain properties to an object or creature, whereas Transfiguration transforms it into something entirely different."
"Minor charms are not difficult to break. The spells you learn as young wizards often fade within hours or days."
"Jinxes, hexes, and curses are collectively referred to as Dark Magic. This book will not cover such spells."
…
The very first spell recorded in the book was the Lumos Charm.
The instructions were extremely simple.
Ted pulled out his wand and began following the book's instructions.
"Lumos!"
No, that wasn't right. His pronunciation felt slightly off.
Again.
"Lumos!"
This time the hand motion was too stiff.
After five or six attempts, Ted finally felt the correct flow of magic.
"Lumos!"
A clean white light burst from the tip of the wand, flickering steadily.
"Woohoo! Guess I don't need the flashlight anymore!"
And that wasn't all.
Ted noticed he had gained 25 experience points.
Learning and practicing magic really did grant EXP.
However, after continuing to cast the spell, he discovered that only the first success gave a large reward. After that, he gained only tiny amounts—sometimes needing ten or more casts just to gain a single point.
After dozens of attempts, he could feel the magic inside him running dry.
Still, mastering the Lumos Charm on his very first day was already a great achievement.
With endless expectations for magic—and his magic reserves depleted—Ted finally fell asleep.
Early the next morning, he said goodbye to the tearful matron and boarded a bus.
…
The Leaky Cauldron was just as dim as before.
Its lighting still came from candles and oil lamps.
The wizards drinking there were basically having candlelight dinners.
Ted wondered if the Lumos Charm could be made permanent.
There was apparently some advanced spell involving everlasting magical flames.
Honestly, the smoky atmosphere was unbearable.
If someone invented magical lamps, they would probably sell extremely well.
And the walls—so worn and blotchy they looked like unfinished construction.
If someone simply painted them white or added plaster, the place would look far better.
Of course… maybe wizards just liked this medieval aesthetic.
"Oh, you're the new student from yesterday. What was your name again?"
The innkeeper Tom noticed Ted entering the pub with his suitcase.
"Ted. Ted Epiphany, Mr. Tom. I'll need to stay here until school begins. May I ask how much your cheapest room costs? And… if it's possible… would you happen to need a part-time waiter?"
"A waiter?" Tom rubbed his chin. "Hmm… I haven't really thought about that. As for the room…"
He looked at Ted's worn clothes and the slightly battered suitcase he carried.
In the end, the gruff-looking but kind-hearted Old Tom offered Ted a free storage room.
In return, Ted would help clean the pub after closing at night.
He could even get a free sandwich in the morning.
"Thank you! Thank you so much!"
It really seemed that the wizarding world had many kind people.
After all, for wizards, cleaning with magic was easy. Old Tom was clearly helping Ted out.
The storage room was tiny.
Once a bed was placed inside, along with a sixty-centimeter bedside cabinet to serve as a desk, there wasn't even room left for a chair.
But what right did Ted have to complain?
He could only feel grateful.
After tidying up the room a little, Ted put on his second-hand wizard robes and grabbed his wand before heading to the backyard.
He tapped the brick lightly.
With a rattling shift of stone, the archway appeared again.
Beyond it lay the bustling Diagon Alley.
Ted couldn't help smiling.
Now then.
Which shop should he approach for work?
Surely not Gringotts.
And shops selling cauldrons or broomsticks probably weren't suitable either.
Ted decided to walk around first, familiarize himself with the surroundings, and see what kinds of shops existed while making progress on his exploration quest.
There was Eeylops Owl Emporium, full of owls of all shapes and sizes.
There was a noisy magical joke shop filled with popping and bouncing trinkets.
There was a magical creature shop, Obscurus Books, Madam Primpernelle's Beautifying Potions…
Ah! That was the most modern shop Ted had seen so far.
It seemed the desire to look beautiful truly existed everywhere.
There was also Flourish and Blotts.
That seemed like a fantastic option—free access to books!
Books were ridiculously expensive.
Unfortunately, reality proved cruel.
Ted asked several shops one after another.
Every single one rejected him.
The reason?
He was too young. Not yet old enough to work.
Was the wizarding world seriously this law-abiding?
They didn't even use child labor?
Did they really think labor laws actually existed?
Just as Ted's job search seemed doomed before it even began, someone nearby suddenly cried out.
"Ah!"
Crash!
Something spilled.
Ted quickly lifted his robe and jumped aside, narrowly avoiding the spreading liquid.
Looking closer—
Oh.
A pile of slugs.
A man had been carrying a bucket of them when the handle snapped, sending slugs tumbling everywhere.
They wriggled and hopped across the ground.
Everyone nearby hurriedly backed away.
The slugs seemed to be saying:
Free slugs for everyone!
"Blast it! These disgusting slugs! I never should have stocked them. Next time I definitely won't! Definitely!"
The man complained loudly.
He used Reparo to fix the bucket, but the slugs themselves still needed to be gathered.
Ted thought for a moment, rolled up his sleeves, and crouched down to help collect them.
They were slimy and slippery—disgusting even if they didn't bite.
"Oh! Thank you, thank you! I'll handle it—thank you, lad!" the man said hurriedly.
The two of them scrambled around for several minutes before finally collecting every slug.
They were incredibly slippery. Sometimes if you squeezed too hard, they shot right out between your fingers.
The man finally sighed in relief.
"Thank you so much."
He pointed his wand.
"Scourgify!"
Ted's hands instantly became clean.
"My name is Slugg Jiggers. I own the apothecary behind us—Slugg & Jiggers Apothecary. If you ever need potion ingredients, come see me. I'll give you a twenty percent discount!"
Ted blinked innocently.
"Oh… really? In that case… do you happen to need a part-time helper?"
Wait.
Was the favor being repaid already?
Slugg Jiggers froze.
He suddenly felt like he had fallen into a trap.
A trap he had dug himself.
And just like that, Ted landed his first job.
He would work at the apothecary preparing simple potion ingredients.
For example—handling slugs.
He would work up to three hours per day, earning 14 silver Sickles per week.
The wizarding currency system was ridiculous:
1 Galleon = 17 Sickles = 493 Knuts.
Who on earth invented this exchange rate?
Ted's salary came to roughly 3 Galleons and 5 Sickles per month.
In two months, that was almost the cost of another wand!
The income wasn't much—but at least he had a job.
And the quest was completed—his very first completed quest.
Ding~ Quest Completed: [Working Wizard (Green)]Reward: 100 EXP, Card — [Restore Energy (Green)]
His experience pool increased by 100 points.
He was still more than 800 EXP away from leveling up—and over 200 EXP short of redeeming [A Few Pages of Psionic Manual (Blue)].
But now he was full of motivation.
He had also obtained his first card.
The card had a green-striped border. The illustration showed a human figure standing with arms open and head lifted as green light swirled around their body.
[Restore Energy (Green)]Spell Card
Consumes a small amount of magic to restore a portion of lost stamina.
Cooldown: 4 hours.
Ted tested it when he had the chance.
It restored his exhausted body to a fully energetic state.
Basically, it was like drinking a free Energy Potion every four hours.
Which meant he could work even harder.
He truly was a chosen worker.
"Haha, Mr. Tom! I found a job," Ted said happily.
"Really? That's wonderful! Have a butterbeer—my treat."
Old Tom placed a large foaming oak mug in front of him.
"So what kind of job did you get?"
"At Slugg & Jiggers Apothecary. I help prepare some basic potion ingredients."
"That sounds good! What kind of work exactly?"
"Well… processing slugs. Wearing special gloves to squeeze the slime off into a bucket, then using a silver knife to cut them open, squeeze out the organs, flatten them, and leave them to dry."
"…Uh."
Old Tom fell silent.
Ted laughed.
"Well, I'm just an eleven-year-old wizard who hasn't even started school yet. What else could I do? Mr. Slugg Jiggers is already helping me a lot. Besides, I get to learn some potion-making knowledge along the way."
Old Tom nodded quietly.
He suddenly realized that Ted had an extremely mature mindset.
What eleven-year-old would willingly handle disgusting slugs?
Even in hardship, the boy remained optimistic, carefree, and never complained about fate.
People like that were naturally likable.