Today, Allen randomly got a pair of ears from an unknown animal, which made him breathe a sigh of relief, feeling like he had lived another day in this world.
Hearing the dormitory become lively with everyone introducing themselves, Allen also prepared to get up and get to know everyone. He wanted to find a hat to wear, but after a moment of hesitation, he decided to face his roommates directly as he was.
He pulled back the curtain, immediately attracting everyone's attention in the dormitory. Everyone was stunned by his ears.
Allen took the opportunity to briefly introduce himself to his roommates. Everyone was drawn in by Allen's story. When he mentioned that he grew up in an orphanage, Allen keenly noticed that Harry's gaze softened towards him, and he couldn't help but feel a pang of bitterness.
After a round of introductions, Allen got to know the other four people in the dormitory: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Neville Longbottom, and Dean Thomas.
Everyone started to become more familiar with each other.
Ron suddenly slapped his forehead and said, "I remember now! A few months ago, my mom saw a report in the Daily Prophet calling for donations for unfortunate young wizards. She was thinking of donating something back then. Was that young wizard you?"
"Yes, I'm an orphan. I didn't have money for textbooks, or even clothes. A few months ago, the Daily Prophet did a follow-up report on me, 'The Wizard with the Strongest Magical Outburst in History.' And since I knew I was coming to Hogwarts, I asked them to mention this at the end of the article. I didn't expect to actually receive a pile of textbooks and old clothes! That really helped me a lot! I'm truly grateful to all those kind people," Allen replied.
"My grandma even donated my old clothes to you..." Neville interjected.
"Then please thank Mrs. Longbottom for me next time you see her. Thanks to your donations, I have clothes to wear and was even able to put together a not-so-old set of first-year textbooks from them."
Ron pointed to a pile of old books at his bedside and said with a bit of frustration, "At least you had a choice! My textbooks have been used multiple times by my brothers, my clothes are old, and even my wand is Percy's old wand!"
Allen took out his own wand and said, "I actually didn't have money to buy a wand either. This wand is on credit from Ollivanders. Because of this, I have to work for Ollivanders for a holiday next summer."
Dean listened and felt a bit confused: "Doesn't the Ministry of Magic prohibit child labor?"
"I have special permission from the Ministry of Magic because I owe the Ministry ten thousand Galleons..." Allen smiled and spread his hands.
...
The boys, having finished their chat, went to the Great Hall for breakfast.
During breakfast, Allen received an owl from Professor McGonagall, asking him to come to her office later.
So Allen bid farewell to his roommates and headed to Professor McGonagall's office.
Professor McGonagall was sitting sternly behind her desk, organizing school documents. Seeing Allen about to knock on her office door, she gestured for him to sit in the chair in front of her desk.
Allen obediently sat down. Professor McGonagall waved her wand, and a cup flew out of the cabinet, landing on the table in front of Allen. Steam wafted from the cup's rim. Allen picked up the cup and took a sip; it was hot milk.
Professor McGonagall looked at Allen expressionlessly and said, "The school is fully aware of your situation, and we will do our best to support you in completing your studies. I called you here today to convey some of the school's decisions regarding you."
Allen gripped the cup tightly, trying to speak calmly: "Please tell me..."
"First, you need to drink a healing potion every month to maintain your physical condition. The school will provide the potion to you free of charge. You will go to Professor Snape on the 10th of each month to collect that month's potion. If the 10th falls on a weekend, it will be postponed. During holidays, the potion will be sent to you by owl."
"Then, your situation is very valuable for research. Professor Dumbledore and I hope that you can become one of our Transfiguration research subjects. For this, Professor Dumbledore and I will pay you a total of 20 Galleons each month. Do you agree to this?"
"Will the research methods be the same as before at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries?" Allen asked, feeling a bit uneasy.
"Professor Dumbledore and my research methods are not as crude as before. You only need to provide some transformed products and cooperate with us to experiment with some spells. We guarantee that these studies will not cause you any harm. We would never harm our own students." At this, Professor McGonagall's expression softened a little.
"Then I have no objection to that, thank you, and Professor Dumbledore!" Allen, possessing an adult soul, understood the professors' kindness and care for him from their words.
Professor McGonagall nodded and continued, "However, considering that you are still underage, these 20 Galleons will not be given directly to you. They will be used directly to repay your debt to the Ministry of Magic."
"Okay, I understand. I have no objection!" Allen nodded helplessly.
"Finally, considering that you have special permission from the Ministry of Magic to work, the school, based on actual needs, would like to offer you a work-study job. It pays 5 Galleons a month, and you will work once a week. The salary will be increased annually depending on the situation, but this salary will also be used directly to repay your debt. Are you interested in this?"
Allen thought about it for a moment and agreed. This was clearly another act of kindness from the school. Otherwise, who would hire an 11-year-old wizard who currently only knew a few simple spells? A house-elf would be stronger than him.
Professor McGonagall waved her wand and placed an agreement in front of Allen, saying, "Sign it!"
"How do I sign without a pen?" Allen was a bit at a loss.
"Before, you didn't have a wand, so you signed by hand. Now, take out your wand, concentrate on it, and then use your wand to sign your name on the agreement," Professor McGonagall replied.
Allen did as he was told and signed this 'indentured servitude' contract.
Professor McGonagall put one copy of the agreement into a cabinet and handed another to Allen to keep. Then she walked over to Allen and said, "Alright, let's proceed with the research agreement then! What organ did you transform today? Ears or horns?" Professor McGonagall looked at Allen's hat with interest.
"It's a pair of ears from an unknown animal." Allen reached up and took off his hat.
Allen noticed Professor McGonagall's gaze on his ears became even softer. "They're Siamese cat ears," Professor McGonagall said with certainty, reaching out to touch them.
"Now I need to collect some fur for research. Get ready!"
"Mmm~ Okay! Ow~~~"
Allen found that Professor McGonagall had pulled a tuft of fur from his ear...
...