"If you insist on going to that thing called Hogwarts to study, then pay all the extra fees yourself. The orphanage will not give you a single coin."
"I understand, Nurse Anna."
Sean watched Nurse Anna walk into the Common Room and gently close the door. He made sure there was no sound at all, because if it was too loud and she thought he had an attitude, dinner would change from Cheap Pork Sausage to Baked Bean Loaf. He knew from experience that this was not an empty threat.
If he did not drink tap water, that stuff could choke a person to death. But the tap water was never clean, and drinking too much of it could make him sick. Once he got sick, in this poor orphanage in the Southern Suburbs, what waited for him was being taken away by the Grim Reaper.
Why did Sean know this so clearly? Because the original owner of this body had died exactly this way. Disease, cold, and malnutrition had taken his life, and the "Sean" who crossed over last winter treated this as a strict warning.
He tried to drink cheap black tea whenever possible, and even fought the older kids for a cup of instant coffee. He did not mind being unable to sleep for a day or two if it meant staying alive. Over the past six months, he had figured out his situation.
It was late August of 1991. This place was the Croydon District of the Wizarding World, one of the poorest areas of London. The Hollis Orphanage where he lived was the poorest orphanage in the area.
The reason was simple. There was only one orphanage here, and it had been opened for political appearance rather than long term care. It matched what he knew about Britain from his previous life.
At the end of 1990, the "Iron Lady" Margaret Thatcher stepped down. Her Thatcherism brought economic reform, but it also sharply widened the gap between rich and poor. The City of London benefited from deregulation and saw wealth rise fast, while old industrial areas and inner city poor districts faced unemployment and cuts to public services.
This was especially clear in the Croydon District. The Hollis Orphanage where he lived had not received proper funding for five years, which left it constantly short of money. The children here did not have enough safe drinking water, and in winter each of them only had a thin blanket.
Under these conditions, if he could not get into Hogwarts, he might not even live to adulthood. His body had always been weak, and even a mild cold or fever could kill him. This was not because medical care in London was backward, but because those harsh caretakers might not "notice" a sick child in time.
"Hogwarts does not charge tuition. As for the other fees, I have a scholarship applied for through Professor McGonagall."
Sean pulled a bag out from the deepest part of the metal bed frame. Inside were one hundred and forty three Galleon, one Wand, a set of Robes, and several other items. He had followed the enrollment list at the lowest possible standard, but even so it had cost him one hundred and fifty seven Galleon.
All of his savings for the year were now less than half of what they used to be. Tomorrow was the first day of term at Hogwarts. If he failed to secure more support, things would turn bad very quickly.
"I need to move fast. If my performance is not good enough to get a scholarship, I am finished. These Galleon will never be enough."
When he received his acceptance letter and went shopping, Professor McGonagall had deliberately mentioned that reward. It was meant for outstanding young wizards. Would Sean count as outstanding?
The hope was slim. He had practiced the Levitation Charm five hundred times before he finally learned it. At least, he had a cheat.
Name: Sean Green Identity: Wizard Title: None
Proficiency Levitation Charm: Apprentice Level (1/300) Light Charm: Apprentice Level (1/300) Cleaning Charm: Locked (27/30)
Three apprentice level spells can unlock the Apprentice spell domain title. Three entry level spells can unlock the Entry spell domain title.
Yes, Sean had a proficiency panel, and it was very practical. As long as he practiced correctly, he gained counts, and apprentice level spells only needed thirty correct practices. Three apprentice level spells could unlock an apprentice title.
It sounded easy. Yet even something this simple had taken him two whole months to barely finish, averaging about one and a half correct practices per day. His magical talent was honestly terrible, and he did not know if crossing over had anything to do with it.
He even suspected that the wizarding world was targeting him. Of course, the wizarding world probably did not have the time to care about someone like him.
"Today, I must unlock the title."
Sean confidently took out his Wand and carefully stepped onto the warped floorboard. He leaned out through the drafty single pane window and looked outside. The Victorian style semi detached houses in the poor Southern Suburbs had already fallen silent.
"Good. Everyone is asleep. As long as I am careful, I will not be discovered."
If the original owner had left him anything useful, it was this isolated single room. It had been assigned out of fear of disease spreading, but for the current Sean, it was a blessing. It meant he had enough private space to practice magic.
"Scourgify!"
Sean clearly recited the spell at the dirty poster on the desk and waved his Wand in an S shape. Unfortunately, the count on the panel did not increase. He did not mind and repeated the incantation and movement again.
Only after learning magic himself did Sean understand how obscure it could be. For example, where should the stress of the Cleaning Charm be placed, and how strong should it be? How big should the S shaped motion be, and where should it be faster or slower?
Sean knew that scour meant to wash, and ify meant to make something into a state. Put together, it meant to make something clean. So his pause should be between scour and ify, and as for the S shaped motion, he could only rely on trial and error.
The good thing was that he could judge success by whether the proficiency increased. He summarized experience from previous correct practices. This was the only way he could move forward.
"Scour g ify!"
On the fifth attempt, Sean recited the spell and swung his Wand based on his experience. Faster at first, then slower, and make the final curve wider. He muttered to himself while strictly following what had worked before.
A bright light suddenly flared, and the stains on the poster vanished at once.
You practiced the Cleaning Charm once at entry standard. Proficiency plus three. Cleaning Charm unlocked. New spell domain title unlocked. Please check. One wizard talent unlocked. Please check.
It worked.
Sean picked up the now clean poster and examined it carefully. He could not help but sigh at how amazing magic was. As for entry standard, just like spell effects, the standard for correct practice was also divided into apprentice and entry.
Apprentice gave one point of proficiency, while entry gave three points. As for whether there were higher standards beyond entry, Sean had no idea. With his talent, reaching entry already felt like a blessing from Merlin.
"Let me see the new title."
Sean eagerly opened the panel, which refreshed with three new lines.
Title: Spell Novice Slightly increases perception of spells and slightly improves spell talent.
He continued reading downward.
Wizard Sean, spell talent: Green. Spell Novice title applied, original talent was White. Note: average wizards are Green.
Sean sucked in a sharp breath.
White trash.
No wonder he could not learn spells properly. With this level of talent, even blowing him up would earn praise just for the noise. Fortunately, he had the cheat, or it was hard to imagine how difficult his studies would be.
After a brief review, Sean's gaze became firmer. If he had no talent, then he would repeat it again and again. Let me see your limit, panel, add proficiency.