"If you insist on going to that Hogwarts for school, then pay for your tuition and fees yourself! The orphanage can't spare you a single Galleon!"
"I understand, Caregiver Anna."
Sean Green watched Caregiver Anna walk into the common room and quietly closed the door.
If he made too much noise and gave her the impression that he resented her, then dinner would change from cheap pork sausages to baked beans and bread.
As for drinking tap water forget it. That stuff could choke a person to death.
But the water was always dirty, and drinking too much of it led to illness. In this impoverished orphanage in the South District, illness meant Death's hand would soon reach out.
Why did Sean know this so clearly? Because the boy who had lived here before him had died of illness in just this way.
Sickness, harsh winters, and malnutrition had combined to take his life. Ever since Sean had transmigrated here last winter, he had treated that memory as a warning.
He did his best to drink cheap black tea, and sometimes even fought the older children for a cup of instant coffee even if that meant a sleepless night or two.
Over the past six months, he had pieced together his situation.
It was late August, 1991.
This was Croydon, in the Harry Potter world.
One of London's poorest boroughs.
And the Hollisey Orphanage, where he now lived, was the poorest orphanage in the district.
Why?
Because there was only one orphanage here, and it had been founded for the sake of political achievement.
Just like in the Britain of his previous life.
In late 1990, the "Iron Lady," Margaret Thatcher, had stepped down.
Her Thatcherite reforms brought economic change, but they had also deepened the wealth gap.
The City of London had thrived after deregulation, and the gentlemen there grew richer by the day.
But the traditional industrial towns and inner-city poor areas were plagued with unemployment and brutal cuts to public services.
This was felt most keenly in Croydon.
The Hollisey Orphanage hadn't received proper funding in five years, leaving it in dire financial straits. The children could not drink enough clean water, and each had only a single thin blanket to get through winter.
Under such conditions, if he couldn't get into Hogwarts, he might not live to see adulthood. His body was frail, and even a simple cold or fever could end his life.
It wasn't that London's medical care was backward it was that the harsh caregivers might not "notice in time" when a child fell ill.
"Hogwarts doesn't charge tuition. And for the other school fees, I already have a scholarship Professor McGonagall applied for on my behalf."
Sean reached under his bunk bed and pulled out a hidden bag. Inside were one hundred and forty-three Galleons, a wand, a few robes, and other supplies.
He had followed the enrollment list to the barest minimum. Even so, the total had come to one hundred and fifty-seven Galleons, leaving him with barely half of his savings to survive the school year.
And tomorrow was the day Hogwarts term began.
"I have to be quick. If I don't perform well enough to win that scholarship, I'll be finished… these Galleons definitely won't last."
When Professor McGonagall had delivered his letter and escorted him on his purchases, she had deliberately mentioned that there was a scholarship but it was reserved for exceptional young witches and wizards.
Would Sean be exceptional?
Hope seemed slim. It had taken him five hundred tries before he finally managed to learn the Levitation Charm.
Fortunately, he had a cheat.
Name: Sean Green
Identity: Wizard
Title: None
Proficiency
Levitation Charm: Apprentice Level (1/300)
Lumos Charm: Apprentice Level (1/300)
Scouring Charm: Unlocked (27/30)
Three Apprentice-level Charms could unlock the Apprentice-level title in the Charms domain.
Advancement: three Novice-level Charms could unlock the Novice-level title in the Charms domain.
…Yes, Sean had a proficiency panel, and its function was very practical. As long as he practiced correctly, he would receive proficiency points. Apprentice-level Charms required only thirty correct practices, and mastering three of them would even unlock an Apprentice-level title.
It didn't sound difficult.
But even something so simple had taken Sean two months to accomplish, averaging barely one and a half correct practices a day.
It could be said that his magical talent was abysmal, though he didn't know if that was due to his transmigration.
Sometimes he suspected the wizarding world itself, which he had never even known before, was targeting him.
Not that the magical world had time to care about him.
"Today, I must unlock the title!"
Sean confidently took out his wand and carefully stepped across the warped floorboards, peering out of the drafty single-pane window.
The Victorian semi-detached house in the South District had finally fallen silent.
"Very good, everyone's asleep. As long as I'm careful, I won't be discovered."
If the boy who had lived here before him had left behind anything useful, it was this solitary little room.
Though it had been assigned because the staff feared he might spread illness, for the current Sean, it was a blessing in disguise.
It meant he had enough private space to practice magic.
"Scourgify!"
Sean chanted the incantation clearly, aiming his wand at the grimy poster, tracing an S-shape in the air.
Unfortunately, the counter on the panel didn't increase.
Sean didn't give up. He repeated the incantation and wand movement again.
Only once he began to practice personally did Sean realise just how obscure and difficult magic truly was.
Take the Scouring Charm, for example. Where exactly should the stress fall in the incantation? How much force should it carry? Should the S-shaped wand movement be wide or narrow, swift or slow?
Sean knew that "scour" meant to wash, and "-ify" meant to make something. Combined, the meaning was to make something clean.
So the pause should be between "Scour" and "-ify." As for the S-shape, he could only rely on trial and error.
Fortunately, he could judge success or failure based on whether his proficiency increased, and refine his technique from each successful attempt.
"Scour g ify!"
Sean chanted the spell for the fifth time, moving his wand precisely as his experience suggested.
"First faster, then slower, and for the final arc, make it larger…"
He muttered under his breath while guiding his wand exactly as he remembered from his earlier success.
In that moment, light suddenly flared, and the stains on the poster faded before his eyes!
You have practiced the Scouring Charm to Novice standard, proficiency +3.
Scouring Charm unlocked.
New Charms domain title unlocked, please check.
A Wizard talent unlocked, please check.
Success!
Sean lifted the newly cleaned poster, studying it closely before marveling at the wonder of magic.
As for the Novice standard just as there were variations in spell effects, there were also different standards of correct practice: Apprentice and Novice.
Apprentice-level practice added 1 point of proficiency. Novice-level practice added 3 points. Whether standards existed beyond Novice, Sean had no idea. With his talent, even reaching Novice was a blessing from Merlin.
"Let's see the new title."
Sean eagerly pulled up the panel. Three fresh lines of text appeared:
Title: Charms Novice
Slightly increases perception of Charms; slightly enhances Charms talent.
Sean read on:
Wizard: Sean Green
Charms Talent: Green (Charms Novice title buff; original talent was White)
Note: Ordinary wizards are generally Green.
Sean drew in a sharp breath.
White trash?!
No wonder he had struggled so much with Charms. With such talent, he would have to celebrate just to learn the basics.
Fortunately, he had his cheat. Without it, he could scarcely imagine how difficult his studies would be.
After a quick check, Sean's gaze grew resolute.
No talent? Then I'll grind!
Let's see your limit, panel add proficiency!