"If you insist on going to that so-called Hogwarts school, then you'll have to pay for your own tuition and expenses! The orphanage won't give you a single penny!"
"I understand, Matron Anna."
...
Sean watched as Matron Anna walked into the common room and gently closed the door behind her.
If you made too much noise, making Matron Anna think you had a problem with her, your dinner would be downgraded from cheap pork sausages to baked bean sandwiches.
If you didn't drink tap water with it, that stuff could choke you to death.
But the tap water was never clean; drinking too much of it would make you sick. And once you got sick in this impoverished orphanage in the southern suburbs, what waited for you was being collected by the Grim Reaper.
Why did Sean know this so well? Because the original owner of this body had died of illness exactly that way.
Sickness, severe cold, and malnutrition had together taken his life. Sean, who had transmigrated here last winter, had always taken it as a warning. He tried to drink as much of the cheap black tea as possible, and would even fight for a cup of the older kids' instant coffee, even if it meant suffering from insomnia for a day or two.
Over the past six months, he had figured out his situation.
It was now the end of August 1991.
This was the Croydon borough of the Harry Potter world,
one of the most impoverished areas in London.
And the Holisee Orphanage he lived in was the most impoverished orphanage among them.
Why?
Because there was only one orphanage here, and it was opened just for political achievements.
Just like the UK he knew from his previous life.
In late 1990, the "Iron Lady," Margaret Thatcher, had stepped down.
Her Thatcherism had brought economic changes, but also significantly widened the gap between rich and poor.
The City of London benefited from deregulation, with the gentry's wealth soaring;
while traditional industrial areas and inner-city poor areas faced unemployment and cuts in public services.
This was especially evident in the Croydon borough.
The Holisee Orphanage he lived in hadn't received decent funding for five years, which led to strained finances. Each child not only lacked access to safe enough drinking water but also had only a thin blanket for the winter.
In such circumstances, if he couldn't go to Hogwarts, he might not even live to adulthood, especially since his health had always been poor.
Even a slight cold or fever could be fatal. This wasn't because medical care in London was backward, but because of the harsh matrons – they might not "discover" a sick child in time.
"Hogwarts is tuition-free. As for other expenses, I still have the grant Professor McGonagall applied for."
Sean pulled a pouch from the deepest part of his iron-framed bed. Inside were one hundred and forty-three gold Galleons, a wand, some robes, and other items.
He had strictly purchased according to the minimum standard on the school list. Even so, it had cost a full one hundred and fifty-seven Galleons. His savings for the entire school year were now reduced to less than half.
And tomorrow was the first day of term at Hogwarts.
"I need to hurry. If I don't perform well enough to get the scholarship, I'll be finished... The Galleons definitely won't be enough..."
When he collected his acceptance letter and went shopping last time, Professor McGonagall had intentionally mentioned this reward, but it was aimed at outstanding young witches and wizards.
Would Sean be outstanding?
The hope was slim. After all, he had needed a full five hundred attempts just to learn the Levitation Charm.
Fortunately, he had a cheat.
[Name: Sean Green]
[Identity: Wizard]
[Title: None]
[Proficiencies]
[Levitation Charm: Apprentice Level (1/300)]
[Wand-Lighting Charm: Apprentice Level (1/300)]
[Cleaning Charm: Locked (27/30)]
[Three Apprentice-Level Spells required to unlock the Apprentice-Level Title for the Spell Domain]
[Next Stage: Three Novice-Level Spells required to unlock the Novice-Level Title for the Spell Domain]
(Proficiency Levels: Apprentice, Beginner, Experienced, etc.)
...
Yes, Sean had a proficiency panel. Its function was quite practical: as long as he practiced correctly, he received incremental rewards. Apprentice-level spells only required 30 instances of correct practice. Unlocking three Apprentice-level spells would also grant him an Apprentice-level title for that domain.
It seemed straightforward enough.
But even for something this simple, Sean had barely managed it after two months, averaging just one and a half successful practice attempts per day.
It was a pitifully low level of magical talent. He wondered if it was because of the transmigration.
He suspected the unseen magical world was targeting him.
Although it was more likely the magical world simply had no time to bother with him.
"Today, I *must* unlock that title!"
Full of determination, Sean took out his wand, carefully stepped onto the warped floorboards, and leaned out through the single-glazed, drafty window.
The Victorian semi-detached house, located in the impoverished southern suburbs, had fallen into silence.
"Good, everyone's asleep. If I'm careful, I won't be discovered."
If the original owner had left him anything useful, it was this independent, secluded single room.
Even if it was assigned out of fear of disease transmission, for the current Sean, it was undoubtedly a good thing.
It meant he had enough private space to practice magic.
"Scourgify!"
Sean clearly enunciated the incantation towards the dirty poster and swished his wand in an S-shape.
Unfortunately, the count on the panel didn't increase.
Sean wasn't discouraged. He recited the incantation and moved his wand again.
It wasn't until he started learning magic himself that Sean truly grasped how obscure and difficult it was.
Take this Cleaning Charm, for example. Where exactly should the emphasis in the incantation be? How strong should it be? What should the S-shape wand movement look like—large or small? Where should it be faster, and where slower?
Sean knew that "Scour" meant to wash clean, and "-gify" meant to cause something to become. Put together, it meant to make something clean.
So his pause should be between "Scour" and "-gify". As for that S-shape gesture, he could only rely on luck.
Fortunately, he could judge success or failure based on whether the proficiency increased, and learn from his past successful attempts.
"Scour—g—ify!"
Sean pronounced the incantation for the fifth time, moving his wand based on his experience.
"Faster at the start, then slower... and the final curve needs to be larger..."
Muttering to himself, Sean strictly replicated the wand movements from his successful attempts.
Suddenly, a light flashed, and the poster on the table instantly shed its stains!
[You practiced the Cleaning Charm to Apprentice Level with Beginner Level Skill. Proficiency +3]
[Cleaning Charm unlocked]
[A new Spell Domain title has been unlocked. Please check.]
[A Wizard Talent has been unlocked. Please check.]
Success!
Sean picked up the freshly cleaned poster, examined it carefully, and couldn't help but marvel at the wonders of magic.
As for that "Novice standard," just like the varying effects of spells, the standard for "correct practice" also had levels, divided into Apprentice and Novice.
An Apprentice-level attempt increased proficiency by 1 point, while a Novice-level attempt increased it by 3 points. Whether there were standards beyond Novice, Sean didn't know. With his magical talent, reaching Novice was already a blessing from Merlin.
"Let's see the new title."
Sean eagerly opened the panel. Three new lines of text appeared:
[Title: Spell Novice]
[Slightly increases perception of spells. Slightly improves spellcasting talent.]
Sean continued reading.
[Wizard: Sean.
Spellcasting Talent: Green (Boosted by Spell Novice title. Original Talent: White)
Note: The average wizard's talent is Green.]
Sean sucked in a sharp breath.
White trash?!
No wonder he couldn't learn spells! With this talent, if it exploded, he'd have to compliment it on how loud it was.
Thankfully, he had a cheat. Otherwise, it was hard to imagine how difficult his school life would be.
After a brief moment of review, the look in Sean's eyes grew even more determined.
No talent? Then I'll just repeat it endlessly!
Let me see your limits, Panel! Add those proficiency points