Struggling to survive at Hogwarts

Chapter 1 First Arrival

London, 1988.

When the late autumn wind once again blew through the cracks in the window and lashed against Thea's bare arms exposed outside the blanket, she finally woke up.

The first thing that catches the eye is the room's layout: clean and comfortable. The walls are covered with khaki patterned wallpaper, and a few children's scribbles have been wiped away with towels, leaving only a few scratches. The bedside cabinet is a bit old, but it's spotless. The smell of disinfectant in the air confirms to Thea that this is a medical room.

She shifted slightly and felt the thick mattress beneath her; the quality wasn't top-notch, but it was warm enough.

Overall, my current situation isn't too bad, because the environment seems safe, and so far I haven't had any symptoms other than dizziness.

However, "I've traveled through time!!!" Thea concluded in her mind.

Before she could be in shock for long, her body's instincts made her fall asleep again.

"...Thea's temperature seems to have gone down, thank goodness, the fever has finally subsided." It was a woman's voice.

When Thea opened her eyes, she saw a woman standing beside her bed: a tall, thin woman whose prominent cheekbones made her look somewhat unapproachable.

The woman had pulled all her dark hair back into a round bun, and she was holding a basin of water, seemingly intending to wash Thea's face.

Seeing that Thea had woken up, the woman's expression softened considerably. After putting down the basin, she skillfully brought Thea a glass of water. Only after Thea finished drinking did she wet a towel and gently wipe her face.

She was about to say something to Thea when a commotion broke out outside. The woman's face darkened instantly, and she stormed out of the room, leaving Thea behind.

While the woman was out, Thea began to sort through the memories left behind by the original owner.

The little girl's memories told Thea that the original owner's name was Dorothea, and she was seven years old. The reason she was lying in the medical room was because she had caught a cold a few days ago and developed a fever. The poor little girl started having a fever in the middle of the night. Fortunately, Windsor, who was pulling the blankets up for them in the middle of the night, noticed something was wrong and immediately sent her to the medical room.

The little girl has lived in this orphanage since she can remember.

Every day, the children would quarrel over all sorts of trivial matters, and the arguments would get louder and louder, only to be suppressed by the furious adults.

The children's shrill cries and the adults' scolding never ceased in this orphanage.

Being an orphan means having no parents to support them and no reliable source of income. They rely entirely on the charity of others for food, drink, shelter, and transportation. It's alright when they are young, as society is relatively tolerant of them. But what about when they grow up? What can these children do? Without a doubt, it's a quagmire.

However, outside the orphanage lies an even deeper quagmire. The orphans are already at the very bottom of society. Even when they grow up, those who are lucky enough can find work in factories or become apprentices in shops, barely managing to make ends meet. Those who are unlucky, or who have some kind of disability, have a future that is basically bleak.

Unless one is incredibly lucky and is adopted by a truly good family, they can only truly escape the mire, but such examples are extremely rare.

Realizing this, Thea had only one thought in her mind: to leave this place. But before leaving, she might have to deal with a little trouble. Judging from the original owner's memories, this fever was not as simple as just catching a cold.

The noise outside grew closer, accompanied by a series of footsteps. Several figures passed by the door, and a few small heads tried to peek through the crack, but were quickly pulled away, leaving behind only a few childish words:

"Is the little monster dead? She's been in the medical room for so long."

"It seems not. I just overheard Windsor saying that the little monster's fever has subsided."

"That's a real pity, if she were dead..." The voice gradually faded, probably because the person had already gone far away.

Thea lay half-reclined on the bed, a slight smile playing on her lips: "I knew I was right, this fever is indeed not simple."

While I was pondering this, the area outside the door had returned to silence.

After lying there for who knows how long, the door was suddenly flung open.

It turned out that Ms. Windsor had come in in a flurry, carrying a tray.

Thea looked at the tray, which contained a small cup of milk and a bowl of something that looked like a paste.

The woman put down the food, placed her hand on Thea's forehead for a moment, looked closely at Thea's complexion, and smiled, "Go ahead and eat your breakfast."

Even if she had no appetite, Thea would force herself to eat a few bites when faced with someone's kindness.

Surprisingly, the milk didn't taste as bad as Thea had expected. The warm milk slid down her throat and slowly flowed into her stomach, whetting Thea's appetite.

On the other hand, the porridge was probably made by mashing potatoes, soaking them in hot soup, and seasoning with a small amount of salt. It was only barely palatable.

Windsor saw that Thea had finished the porridge in her bowl, raised an eyebrow slightly, but said nothing, and began to clear the dishes from the table in preparation for leaving.

Seeing that Windsor was about to leave, Thea quickly grabbed Windsor's sleeve, trying to look pitiful. Before Windsor could even frown, she blurted out, "Windsor...where are my mom and dad? I'm so sad. Why don't they come to see me?"

Upon hearing this, Windsor's expression immediately changed from impatience to kindness. She gently patted the girl's head and stammered, "They probably haven't found Thea yet... It's okay... This is your home..."

As she finished speaking, Windsor seemed to remember something, her eyebrows furrowed slightly, and her tone became a little stiff: "Thea, your most important task now is to rest well, so go to sleep now."

Thea lowered her head silently, knowing she wouldn't get any information out of Windsor, so she stopped pressuring her and instead gave a big smile: "Okay, when will Windsor come to see me? I'm all alone here, it's so boring."

Windsor already felt guilty for not being good at expressing herself, and seeing Thea's smile and tears made her heart melt even more.

She looked somewhat embarrassed, but still said, "Every child is a treasure to their parents... Thea's parents must be so foolish... to forget that their precious child is with us..."

Just then, another commotion came from outside. Windsor, who was already unable to continue speaking, felt as if she had been granted a pardon upon hearing the noise. She quickly tidied up the table and hurriedly left the room.

Thea didn't stop her. She had already gotten the information she wanted: the original owner was probably sent to an orphanage by someone else. They may have claimed that the original owner's parents would come to find her, but for some reason they haven't come to the orphanage to find her until now (or they may have simply abandoned her).

To be honest, Thea didn't really have any expectations of her parents. To her, the upbringing of children by their parents was more like a social contract. Parents were responsible for giving birth to and educating their children, and when the parents got old, the children took on the responsibility of supporting their parents. It was a cycle that never ended.

She never felt there was anything wrong with these things. However, rights and obligations always coexist. Since you have never supported me, where do you get the right to expect me to support you?

The reason Thea asked Windsor today was more out of her inner panic; she desperately wanted to know everything about herself and her surroundings in order to fill the void in her heart.

Having gained a basic understanding of the place, Thea slowly moved to the window to take a look and discovered that the medical room was on the second floor, while the open space on the first floor had been transformed into a lawn, which was neatly trimmed.

Several children were playing on the grass, laughing, shouting, and clapping their hands. They looked to be about seven or eight years old, and each of them had a rosy complexion, clearly indicating that they had been well taken care of.

"What are you looking at, Thea?" A little girl's clear voice came from the direction of the door.