Hogwarts Card System Chapter 012

Wizards can form a wonderful bond with their pets, which can be called familiars.

When the master-servant relationship is established, this primitive contract formed by magic is signed.

It’s a bit like a young wizard buying a wand…

Originally, he didn’t have money to buy an owl, but then he got Ansu, and Ted thought it was great.

Although it would take more than half a month for Ansu to fly, as the saying goes, “Raise it by hand from a young age, and it’s easy to handle.”

Ted had been studying basic movement spells these past few days. These are fundamental spells that use magic to move objects, and spells like the Summoning Charm and the Cushioning Charm originate from them.

At school, purely theoretical spells like these are usually only taught in the third or fourth year.

Wizards, after all, are not scholars; many times, they can only cast a certain spell but don’t understand the theory and basics behind it.

It’s a very idealistic way of casting.

Another week passed, and with less than half a month until school started, Ted felt he needed to make more preparations.

Mainly, he needed to make money.

When he worked before, money was only one aspect; the main goal was to gain experience through the magical world.

Now, because the August otherworldly knowledge was the Chakra Cultivation Method, Ted had given up on exchanging it, so he wasn’t as urgent.

So he decided to make some money.

As a new student at Hogwarts, Ted had a “foreign exchange quota.” This meant exchanging pounds for Galleons, which was much simpler than earning Galleons directly in Diagon Alley.

Before, Ted could earn ten or twenty pounds a day just by busking, which was equivalent to four or five Galleons!

So, Ted, the street performer who had been missing for over a month, made a grand return!

This time, Ted had upgraded his gear. Although his old guitar still looked weathered, Ted had used a Reparo Charm on it, and the sound quality was much better.

Ted’s attire also looked more professional, and he had a clever little raven beside him, cawing to attract an audience and cooperating with his performance.

Occasionally, it would pick up coins given by the audience and drop them into the guitar case, which would always draw applause.

The people of Great Britain had never seen a small bird pick out fortunes for divination!

And after Ted mastered magic, besides busking, he could also perform “street magic,” instantly doubling his business scope.

He would alternate between singing and magic to prevent the audience from getting tired of the same thing.

He could genuinely perform some magic. Of course, it was interspersed with wandless basic magic. For example, shooting a playing card and having it fly around him.

Not to mention that his wand wasn’t yet bound by the Trace. Even if a passing wizard suspected him, Ted could explain it with his magic tricks.

“It’s all magic, a deceptive illusion, just for fun, sir!”

I don’t have the guts to use magic in public, but I do have the guts, and a lot of it, to use magic under the guise of magic tricks!

And you know what, business was good.

On the first day, he made over thirty pounds, and on the second day, even more people came…

After a week, Ted even became a small attraction. Three or four hours of performance every day would attract forty or fifty people to watch.

Ted wore a top hat, a small second-hand tuxedo, with a fledgling raven perched on his shoulder, and a worn wooden guitar in his arms… With this getup, you’d be curious enough to take a look if you passed by.

Not to mention that he played the guitar well, sang beautifully, performed magic that left the audience exclaiming in disbelief, and Ansu the raven even seemed to understand human speech and cooperated with the performance.

If he kept this up for another ten days or half a month, he might even go viral.

He had already made over three hundred pounds. If that were converted to Galleons, it would not only be enough to pay back his student loan but also leave him with a considerable amount. His only fear was that the exchange quota might not be that much.

Ted planned to perform for one last day and then leave.

Although he had an excuse not to be held accountable by the Ministry of Magic, it was best not to cause trouble.

If it really blew up, it wouldn’t be good for him.

“Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for your encouragement. As I’ll be starting school soon, today might be my last performance. If there’s a chance in the future, we’ll meet again on the streets.”

“Of all the towns in all the world, and all the streets in all the towns, you had to stop in front of me… I dedicate ‘Casablanca’ to all of you~”

This song was written in the 1970s by Bertie Higgins after watching the film of the same name.

The movie tells the story of how, after the outbreak of World War II, large numbers of Europeans fled their countries to escape the Nazi iron heel, and the city of Casablanca in northern Morocco became an important transit point from Europe to America.

It’s a story of a love triangle that gets reunited after many years, happening in Rick’s Café in the small town…

Love, hate, and separation in wartime—an enduring theme.

It expressed the feelings of many who had to part unwillingly. The song is full of complex emotions of nostalgia, remembrance, and longing, with sincere feelings and a beautiful melody.

Both the movie and the song are classics. On the ancient streets of London, this song carried an ineffable sentiment.

Ted picked up his guitar and began to sing.

His tender child’s voice carried a hint of world-weariness that didn’t belong to his age:

“I fell in love with you watching Casablanca

Back row of the drive-in show light flickering

Popcorn and Cokes beneath the stars became

Champagne and caviar

Making love on a long hot summer’s night

I thought you fell in love with me watching Casablanca

Holding hands beneath the paddle fans

In Rick’s candlelit café

Hiding out from the spies

Moroccan moonlight in your eyes

Making magic in my old Chevrolet

Oh! A kiss is still a kiss in Casablanca

But a kiss is not a sigh

Please come back to me in Casablanca

I love you more and more each day

…”

A classic song was met with countless rounds of applause, and generous donations from kind ladies and gentlewomen.

Hmm~ A girl about Ted’s age even dropped a five-pound note!

Ah, praise to you, kind and generous young lady, may you have no worries, and be healthy and happy~

Soon, Ted started performing magic again: playing cards, ribbons, roses, making Ansu disappear from a hat and reappear.

The audience stared with wide eyes, not missing a single movement, but they couldn’t find any flaws.

Ted’s magic always surpassed their imagination.

The kind and generous little girl once again coaxed a banknote from her helpless father and dropped it into Ted’s guitar case.

Ted had to show his appreciation. He waved one hand in front of him, blocking the view and attracting attention, then snapped the fingers of his other hand, and a small wild flower appeared in his hand.

He handed the flower to the little girl, then bowed in a circle to the audience, and packed up his things.

Happy times are too short, and it’s time to say goodbye again. Sayonara~

After Ted left, the audience dispersed.

The father and daughter also returned to their car and drove home.

On the way, the little girl was still bubbling with excitement from watching the performance.

“Daddy!”

“Hmm?”

“He sings so well.”

“Yes, very moving.” The strange thing was that sense of weariness, which didn’t seem to belong to a child.

The little girl excitedly clenched her fists. “Daddy, what do you think about his magic tricks? Is that magic too? But I didn’t see his wand! I wonder if Hogwarts teaches that?!”

The father, while driving, comforted her, “Yes, yes. When you get to Hogwarts, write often. If you don’t adapt, we can always come back and go to secondary school, no need to force yourself.”

Facing her father’s worries, the little girl was engrossed in the mystery of magic. “No, Daddy! Hogwarts will definitely be the best school.”

“Alright, buckle up, we’re almost home, Hermione.”

It turned out that the “kind and generous little girl” was Hermione Granger.

If Ted had known, he would have breathed a sigh of relief—thank goodness, a white Hermione.

Although Ted felt he was already immune to all poisons, if it had been a dark, ugly, and fat Hermione…

Ted might have become a Dark Wizard—“Perish! This hateful magical world.”