💎 WEEKLY POWER GOALS 💎
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⏰ Resets Monday!
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A few days later, the convenience store reopened. With biscuits and toffee, Anthony traded neighbors for some eggs and vegetables. But if he wanted to live comfortably, he needed to buy far more than that.
The snow finally stopped. The sun came out and made the world shine bright. All along the road, residents shoveled snow in their yards. Children bundled in thick coats ran back and forth on the car-free neighborhood streets.
Anthony strolled down the street, smiling. A boy in a knit cap ran past him, then turned back.
"Mr. Anthony!" Kevin called happily. "Where've you been? I haven't seen you in ages."
"I changed jobs. Up in Scotland now," Anthony said. "How are you, Kevin? Which secondary school are you planning on?"
Kevin moved closer mysteriously and waved for Anthony to lean down. He whispered in Anthony's ear, "I'm going to a school called Hogwarts! Sir, do you know where that is?"
"Hmm?"
Kevin said slyly, "Those owls, Mr. Anthony. Soon as I walked into the pet shop in Diagon Alley, I knew something was up."
Anthony nodded. "It's complicated, but I'm a professor at Hogwarts now."
"Wow!" Kevin said. "What do you teach? Arithmetic?"
"Muggle Studies," Anthony said, watching Kevin's puzzled expression. "Basically telling people with magic how people without magic live."
Kevin frowned in confusion. "But I heard there are non-magical people everywhere. Are you saying everyone actually has magic but just doesn't tell me? Like how Mr. Anthony pretended to be a cashier?"
Anthony laughed. "I really was a cashier back then."
At Kevin's invitation, he went to his house ("Don't go to the convenience store, you can eat at ours!"), answered questions from the curious prospective student and his parents ("Really? Nobody commutes?"), and introduced the Joneses to some basic magical world knowledge ("You're so kind. Someone from the school came too, but we were afraid to ask too much.").
Anthony said very understandingly, "The magical world is very different from ours."
"Yes, we were terrified when that teacher appeared. We were eating dinner—you know, watching Coronation Street—and suddenly, a man in black appeared at the dining table."
"He didn't knock?" Anthony asked, shocked.
"No," Mrs. Jones said somewhat indignantly. "He said he was very busy and told us not to waste time chattering and questioning the facts in front of us."
Anthony paused. "...Was his name Snape?"
"How did you know?" Mrs. Jones asked.
When leaving, Mr. Jones cautiously asked him about Hogwarts graduate employment. Former cashier Anthony assured him with a wry smile that he was absolutely an exception among exceptions. In fact, most graduates didn't even know the Muggle world had jobs, and they usually didn't have the various qualifications Muggle employers required.
"These are two different career paths," Anthony explained. "Wizard employment includes some more... how to put it, exciting options? They usually require higher magical knowledge but dismiss general education. As far as I know, career directions after graduation include working as a Curse-Breaker at Gringotts—"
"Gringotts?" Mr. Jones thought. "Ah, the bank."
"—fighting Dark wizards—" Like necromancers.
"Are there many Dark wizards?" Mrs. Jones asked worriedly.
"—researching dragons—"
"Dragons!" Kevin shouted.
"—becoming a Quidditch player, flying around on broomsticks, chasing and dodging magical balls—"
Kevin made a disgusted face. He was somewhat afraid of heights.
"—or some directions closer to careers we know. Like working as a civil servant at the Ministry of Magic, or being a doctor at St. Mungo's magical hospital."
Mr. Jones nodded. "That doesn't sound bad." He patted his son's head. "What do you want to do, Kevin?"
"I want to research dragons!" Kevin answered without hesitation. "I want to find out how they're different from dinosaurs!"
His hands gestured excitedly in the air. The Joneses smiled as he rushed to get his dinosaur picture book.
He was a little dinosaur enthusiast. Anthony stood at their door preparing to leave and could see the shoe cabinet covered with dinosaur models. Kevin's row of shoes was plastered with dinosaur stickers, like a herd of ancient beasts guarding the little boy's sneakers.
"Mr. Anthony, which ones do dragons look more like?" Kevin held up his book.
Anthony smiled. "I don't know. You'll have to research that yourself. Sounds like a very interesting project."
At Kevin's insistence, the Joneses allowed him to walk Anthony to the courtyard gate alone.
Kevin held Anthony's hand and led him to the gate. He looked back at Mrs. Jones watching from the kitchen window, then carefully tugged Anthony's sleeve, signaling him to bend down.
"Sir, do I really have magic?" he asked quietly, somewhat anxious.
Anthony crouched down. "If Hogwarts says you have it, you definitely have magic. Have you ever had moments when something strange suddenly happened around you? Escaped danger completely unharmed? Things suddenly developed according to your wishes without logic?"
"Robert's car hit me," Kevin thought. "I got knocked onto Mrs. White's balcony, but I was fine. Don't tell Mum and Dad, okay? I didn't tell them. They'd worry."
Anthony nodded with a smile. "All right, I'll keep your secret. Don't worry, that was your magic protecting you."
Kevin's eyes lit up, but he quickly shook his head uneasily.
"But nothing's ever suddenly gone my way," he said, troubled. "Like... um... I've never been suddenly allowed a second scoop of ice cream."
"Remember, Kevin, magic isn't the solution to everything," Anthony said patiently. "Whether it's ice cream or anything else, you always have other ways to reach your goal."
Kevin nodded. "I ask my dear Mum and dear Dad nicely and politely. I fetch them the newspaper and their slippers. Then I get ice cream."
"Exactly," Anthony smiled. "You'll find language is a very important part of magic. Magic with incantations and magic without aren't the same difficulty. And isn't language and communication a kind of magic too?"
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