Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Summer Vacation (Edited)
[Dungeon Mission: Kingdom War].
Tom looked down the familiar hallway ahead of him, which seemed like a lifetime ago. Only the beeping of the system in his head and the vague ache in his body proved that he had just been through a bloody battle.
Standing in the corridors of Hogwarts, Tom felt a strong sense of unreality and a feeling of listlessness. He wanted to know what would happen to that commander, what would happen after that battle, what would be the future of that nation...
Unfortunately, he could not see it, the dungeon was over, and his hands touched the helmet again, but there was no response, the helmet had become an ordinary artifact.
Tom leaned against the wall and slowly sat up. Although the dungeon had done him no harm, mental exhaustion was inevitable and, for psychological reasons, Tom felt pain in some parts of his body.
It took some time to recover. He clicked on his system and claimed the reward for the mission.
[Reward for dungeon].
[Reward: Boggart's ring square upgrade]
[Reward: Magic Stones Obtained: 1920]
Tom pondered for a moment and asked the system a question, "System, is what I have experienced a real event in history?"
"Yes, and no."
Tom: "..."
What is it with this system and the riddle?
He didn't want to dwell on this dungeon, but he had received his reward anyway. He had more important things to do.
He asked the system to upgrade the undead bird square in his ring, and the system agreed.
[Improved undead bird trait! Traveler - Immortal bird form gains Nirvana ability]
Seeing his new ability, Tom smiled happily, but then thought of something else: Fawkes' Nirvana was to turn to ashes and then be reborn as a young bird. If he died and was reborn from ashes, would he also be reborn as a baby? If so, that was a bit of a problem.
He leaned against the wall, smoothed out his clothes, and went back to the Common Room. He wanted to take a nice hot bath to get rid of his mental fatigue.
"The rewards in this dungeon are quite generous." This was Tom's opinion of the dungeon. Not to mention the ring upgrade at the end of the dungeon, but the key was that he got 1,920 magic stones for the dungeon! Next time - if there is a next time - you can get more magic stones if you are more skilled.
1,920 stones, that equals ten consecutive draws and two individual draws. Before getting the monthly card, Tom needed almost 50 days to save such an amount, and even if he got the monthly card, it would take him half a month.
It's not easy to get magic stones!
Looking at his balance of [32,240], Tom sighed.
In his last remaining time at school, Tom had also upgraded his quill, converting it from Refinement 2 to Refinement 3, and changing the text: [Quill (Five Star - Refinement 3): a quill that can write without ink, corrects mistakes with the user's knowledge, requires Divination talent to use].
"That's interesting," Tom said, looking at the updated information, and felt that this pen was no longer useless. Refinement pen two could automatically correct errors, while refinement pen three could automatically correct errors, provided, of course, the user had the knowledge to do so.
For example, Tom cannot write a sentence like "the nine planets of the solar system" with this pen because he knows that Pluto is going to be demoted. If the media in Europe and the United States used this pen to write articles, they would all be out of a job. Of course, the pen won't save you if you are really uneducated: because there really are a lot of Americans who think Africa is a country....
...
Like magic,
Students' lockers were emptied, all luggage was stuffed into suitcases, and notices were handed out not to do magic during the vacations: the old double standard, which students from wizarding families could use to wipe their backsides and young wizards from Muggle families had to dutifully follow.
This prohibition, which has always existed, has been quietly broken by most wizards, a bit like science on the internet. Most witches consider this ban to be unreasonable, that if they can't use magic during the vacations, then they can't practice the spells they have learned... Is a witch who can't use magic really a witch?
So adult wizards have always turned a blind eye to their children secretly using magic during their vacations. In the Weasley household, for example, Fred and George's pranks were clearly not created without wands.
However, young wizards from Muggle families could take advantage of the situation by finding a temporary home with a friend from a magical family or by moving to Diagon Alley. Harry, for example, could use magic when he moved in with the Weasleys, or during the time he lived in Diagon Alley, he could use magic.
The fundamental purpose of the ban was not to prohibit underage wizards from using magic, but to prohibit underage wizards from using magic without the supervision of an adult wizard.
Tom took the notice with mixed feelings and boarded the boat with Hermione, carrying her suitcase; the freshmen would also take the boat across the Black Lake when they left school.
By eleven o'clock noon, they were on the Hogwarts Express to London.
Before the train got underway, Harry, Ron, and Neville carried a large bag of sandwiches to Tom and Hermione's compartment, where the five of them squeezed into a compartment, eating, drinking, and laughing all the way.
Tom told them over and over again about the exciting adventure under the trapdoor, to the amazement of the three: they couldn't believe that Snape wasn't the villain!
Finally, the train stopped at King's Cross station, on Platform 9, and the young wizards exited the platform, bit by bit, under the direction of Ministry of Magic employees. The Ministry of Magic had posted guards at the exits, allowing only two or three people through at a time, so as not to draw Muggle attention to a large group of people exiting one wall at a time.
In Tom's opinion, this was an unreasonable design. Why not pay for a convenience store at the train station? If that doesn't work, you can join McDonald's and then use the restrooms.
At McDonald's near train stations overseas, you can't use the restrooms, you have to order food at the counter and get a code that you have to enter to open the door.
Little wizards can give a code when they order at the counter, get a special code, and then enter the correct code to get to platform 9. And to avoid escapes, they can also do what the walls of the Leaky Cauldron do, and in one of the cubicles in the restrooms, tap a specific tile with their wand to teleport.
It's not flashy, and after all, many people take their luggage to the bathroom at the station, so no one will mind.
Chapter 73: Chapter 73: Part-Time Work (Edited)
After a long wait, it was finally Tom's turn to leave the station.
"So, do you have any plans for the vacations?" looking at the line moving slowly in front of them, Hermione seemed to suddenly remember something and asked Tom in a low voice, "Do you want to stay at my house? I mean, we could all study for second year and do homework together during the vacations, the teachers have left a lot of homework for the summer! Also... we can go fishing together!"
Hermione's voice gradually softened, "Fishing is fun too, isn't it? I hear from Dad that there are more fish in that river lately..."
It seemed Hermione didn't want to study, she wanted to fish!
But Tom had no plans to stay at Hermione's house during the vacations.
"Erm, Hermione, I have plans for the vacations. I want to find a job in a store or two in Diagon Alley..."
Hermione: Σ(⊙▽⊙"!
Tom's words reminded her.
"Gee! why didn't I think of that?". She stomped her foot, "Indeed, I should get a part-time job for the summer, I'll have to talk to my parents about it..."
Before she could finish her sentence, it was their turn to cross the platform. They crossed the wall that led to the Muggle world and arrived at King's Cross station, between platforms nine and ten.
Tom saw that the Ron family was near the platform, and his little sister Ginny looked very excited to have just seen Harry. Harry was already disappearing into the distance, Vernon didn't want to stay here for a second, he felt the "magic factor" in the air was too high.
The Grangers were also waiting for their daughter on the platform. Hermione crossed the platform and ran towards them. But before they could say a word, Hermione was quick to say that she wanted to find a part-time job in the magical world during the vacations.
Mr. Granger scratched his head in confusion, but agreed with his daughter.
"It's okay, I might have to take the subway home alone after work..." said Mrs. Granger, a little worried.
Mr. Granger grimaced, "What's the matter? this is London! The heart of the British Empire-"
Mr. Granger had once been to Paris, France, and was so impressed by the dirty, smelly, bum-filled subway stations that he often joked with his friends that French subway stations were the most medieval places in Europe.
To be fair, the London Underground is cleaner and more hygienic than either New York or Paris, and is undoubtedly the pride of the subway in the country. But the thought of his only daughter having to take the tube alone was very distasteful to Mr. Granger. So he changed the subject: "But I have a lot of free time these days, so I can pick you up after work!".
Of course he was free, because he worked in his own clinic, which actually gave him a really flexible schedule.
Hermione didn't notice her father's entanglement, she was taking stock of the pros and cons of the situation.
"Where's little Tom?" Mrs. Granger suddenly remembered the child.
"He should be in Diagon Alley by now, shouldn't he? He's also trying to get a part-time job for the summer there."
"Oh~~" The Granger's suddenly realized something.
By this time, Tom had moved to Diagon Alley, and when it came to a part-time job, the first thing that came to mind was Flourish and Blotts Bookstore. The nice thing about this part-time job was that there were books to read. Not bad.
So he walked into the bookstore and told them why he was there. The manager, Lawrence, was a thin middle-aged man and, like many Englishmen, he was bald. Lawrence looked at Tom quizzically: very few Hogwarts boys chose to work part-time in the summer, most young wizards opting to spend their vacations playing with friends and family.
But it was good to have cheap labor arriving on their doorstep.
Lawrence may be a manager, but there are really few people below him.
When things get complicated, he often has to do it himself. It was the summer vacations, and Hogwarts would soon have a new intake of students, a new course, and a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, so there would be a lot of new books and he would have to work overtime if he did it all himself, so he needed to hire someone.
So he invited Tom into the bookstore office.
Once inside, Lawrence sat down in his worn armchair and, with a wave of his wand, brought Tom a chair as well.
"What's your name?" he pulled a roll of parchment and a quill from a drawer.
"Tom Yodel, twelve years old."
Lawrence looked at Tom, "It's not an easy job in a bookstore, you have to move books."
"I'm pretty good with the levitation spell." Tom pulled out his wand and moved the stack of books in Lawrence's office back and forth with a wave of his hand.
Lawrence looked at Tom with some surprise: being able to use a levitation spell like that at twelve years old was pretty good, many third years might not be as skilled as he was.
"Can I have a look at your report card?" he took a mild interest in Tom.
"Sure." Tom pulled out his report card and handed it over.
When Lawrence saw Tom's grades, he raised his head in surprise and looked carefully at Tom. He suddenly understood why Tom wanted to come to work here: he was a student!
"Ahem, don't tear the pages when you're reading, and try not to touch the new books." It only took Mr. Lawrence a second to see what Tom really intended: He had done the same thing when he was younger, "And you can't waste time on your work."
Then came the salary and schedule.
Lawrence suggested to Tom that he come to work on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 08:00 am to 17:00 pm, with an hour's lunch, a galleon a day and no food or lodging.
Tom was unhappy: Dumbledore was offering Dobby ten galleons a week, and I only get one galleon a day for working from morning to night?
I'm an outstanding student at Hogwarts, Dumbledore's confidant, I need to be paid more!
It took a lot of haggling before Lawrence agreed to three days a week, five galleons, no board and lodging, and a set of second-year materials.
It was a happy ending.
Unbeknownst to Mr. Lawrence, the second year was about to have a fantastic teacher, Professor Lockhart, who wanted seven textbooks for a course! Seven books! How could those little wizards from poor families live?!
Professors at some European and American universities often make their students buy their own books for profit; don't think they're not worth a few dollars, it's not uncommon to pay hundreds of euros for a new, authentic book.
This cocksucker, Lockhart, wants seven books at a time! If you are not able to empathize, imagine that one day before the start of classes you receive an email telling you that you have to spend a thousand euros on a textbook for a compulsory subject. By the way, Lockhart books are very expensive, at five gallons a copy. The same compulsory book, "Standard Spells, Level 2", costs only one galleon.
Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
0 Power
stone You may also Like
Paragraph comment