The Hogwarts Emerald

Chapter 61 Job Hunting in Diagon Alley

When it was completely dark, Ada arrived at Charing Cross Road. This street full of bookstores, bars and restaurants is very famous in the Muggle world. People who love detective stories will like to go to Baker Street, and people who love reading will choose here and choose to visit 84 Charing Cross Road.

Ada had never read "84 Charing Cross Road", so she naturally would not understand the warmth and touching moments of "We had not met for twenty years, but we were still close despite being thousands of miles apart".

She came here only because the Leaky Cauldron was here, the oldest pub in London, located on Charing Cross Road, but its real address was 1 Diagon Alley.

The old sign at the door seems to be telling the wizards passing by about its history. It is said that this bar was established in the early sixteenth century. It has gone through many ups and downs along the way and witnessed the rise and fall of the wizarding world over hundreds of years.

Its most difficult period was probably in the 19th century when the Muggles planned the area and the Leaky Cauldron was almost razed to the ground. Wizards spontaneously protected the area and the pub survived the new planning.

Some people say that wizards cast a lot of forgetfulness spells to make Muggles ignore the location of the bar, so they avoided the bar when planning. Others say that wizards used the Imperius Curse to control the designer, so that the designer left such a blank when planning.

But no matter which method was used, the Leaky Cauldron remained, providing a place for later wizards to rest.

Inside the small and dim bar, there were still a few guests who had not left. They were drinking and chatting, and did not notice the little witch who walked in.

Tom, the thin, toothless bar owner, was standing at the bar wiping cups. He looked over when he heard the bell at the door.

"I remember you. You came to Diagon Alley with Professor McGonagall when Hogwarts started." Tom looked at Ada and said, "But why are you here at this time?"

The bar was crowded with people every day. Tom shouldn't have had any impression of a little witch like Ada, but she came with Professor McGonagall, and Professor McGonagall took good care of her, so Tom had some impression of her.

"School is out for the holidays." Ada walked to the front of the bar, "I need a room."

"You should go home, your family will be worried." Tom didn't know Ada's situation, he didn't even know Ada's name.

Ada took out the purse from her pocket and said, "I need to stay here temporarily for some personal reasons. I will pay."

"Okay, what kind of room do you need?" Tom didn't ask any further. The door was opened for business, and the Leaky Cauldron had no rules prohibiting underage wizards from living there.

“The cheapest one is fine.”

Tom took out a ledger from the bar and said, "Let's register."

"Esmeralda Drizzt." Ada told Tom her name.

"Come with me." After registering, the boss Tom came out from the bar, picked up Ada's box and walked in front to lead the way.

Tom took Ada to the second floor along a beautiful wooden staircase, and the two walked all the way to the innermost room.

Tom opened the door, and Ada unexpectedly saw a clean and comfortable guest room, which was in sharp contrast to the dim and simple downstairs.

Although the room was small, the oak furniture was polished to a high shine and the bed looked very comfortable. What made Ada happiest was that there was a small window in the room.

"This is the cheapest room, and I can give you an extra breakfast, of course it's just jam and bread." said Tom, standing at the door of the room.

“Thank you for your generosity. I am very happy here.”

Tom bowed to Ada, then left the room, closing the door behind him.

After a day of running around in London, Ada was very tired. After changing her clothes, she planned to go to bed directly. Ada put the wand under her pillow so that she could get the wand directly in case of any emergency.

Ada, lying in bed, did not fall asleep quickly. She still had to think about her vacation. Since she was not going to Surrey to join Lady Mary, she had to support herself.

It costs a lot to eat and live in the Leaky Cauldron every day. Ada can't spend all her money without earning any. If she does that, she will definitely end up on the streets. She now regrets handing over that small bag of Galleons.

I have no choice but to work. I'll go to Diagon Alley tomorrow to see if I can find a job! Ada thought. The next day, Ada went downstairs early. It was still early and there were not many customers in the bar. Ada chose a table close to the bar and sat down.

While spreading jam on toast, Ada was thinking about how she was going to apply for a job in Diagon Alley.

"Why isn't Dave here?" a waiter in the bar whispered.

"I heard that he was in the hospital. Should we go to St. Mungo's to see him tonight?" another person replied.

"What's wrong with him? Another spell experiment?"

"Yes, his experiment failed and caused an explosion..."

"I hope everyone is alright," the first waiter said.

Most of the spells used in the wizarding world today were passed down from their predecessors. If anyone could invent a spell, it would mean that he would become famous, and the Merlin Band would also beckon him.

St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries admits many people like Dave every year, but for many more people, not even a complete body can be found.

Although the process of spell experiments is full of dangers, many people still flock to it. Some of them may have lofty ideals and want to benefit wizards, but more people still desire to become famous overnight.

Ada didn't pay attention to the waiters' discussion. There were many wizards in the magical world who were doing all kinds of strange experiments. It was normal for the waiters at the Leaky Cauldron to do spell experiments. The gamekeeper at Hogwarts was still doing biological experiments!

After eating the bread in her hand, Ada entered Diagon Alley through the brick wall of the small patio.

Diagon Alley is the most prosperous commercial street in the British wizarding world, and many first-line brand stores in the wizarding world have "flagship stores" here. As stores open one after another, the land space here is becoming increasingly insufficient, and the land price is increasing day by day, but the merchants are still making a lot of money.

Ada first went to Partridge's Cauldron Shop, which was the first shop she saw when she entered Diagon Alley from the bar. The shop sold cauldrons of various models and materials, but the shop was not short of people, and Ada could not find a job here.

Ada was not discouraged. She went to ask in every shop along Diagon Alley. She felt that she could definitely find a part-time job.

So a strange phenomenon appeared in Diagon Alley today. People who came here to shop could always see a little wizard going in and out of various shops.

"Sir, are you hiring? I can handle potion materials and sell goods..." This was in a potion shop. Ada was quite knowledgeable about potions, but the boss here also did not hire Ada.

In Florin's Cold Drink Shop, "...Do you need a waiter here? I have work experience..."

"Madam Malkin, are you hiring? I can do anything, and I have a good image, so I can play a promotional role..." In Madam Malkin's robe shop, Ada tried to persuade Madam Malkin, but Madam Malkin tactfully persuaded Ada to leave.

Ada went to several stores in succession, including Eeyore Owl Shop, Magic Joke Shop, second-hand store, and stationery store, but couldn't find a job.

During today's job application process, the short and plump Madam Malkin was the best to Ada. The shop owners either had no plans to hire anyone or wanted to hire an adult wizard. It was indeed difficult for Ada, a thirteen-year-old wizard who didn't even have an OWLs certificate, to find a job.

She wandered around Diagon Alley for a day and only found a job at Flourish and Blotts. The owner of the bookstore was advertising and needed to hire a deputy manager and several store assistants. He hoped that the male and female witches who came to apply would be good at stabilizing the situation.

Ada did not ask for a high-paying deputy store manager position. She could only work here for two months, and no one would want to hire such a deputy store manager. Her goal was to become a store assistant.

Bloomingdale's Bookstore often holds temporary events such as book signings. These events are always chaotic, so the bookstore owner needs someone to maintain order on the scene.

However, Ada could not use magic openly and she was still young, so this kind of job was not suitable for her. The bookstore owner did not let Ada be an assistant in the store, but let Ada be responsible for handling the orders of the owls.

Flourish and Blotts accepts letter orders for books, and also accepts advance reservations for large orders with huge demand. All Ada needs to do is to process these orders with other employees, but Ada's salary is lower than theirs.

Fortunately, Ada found this job. If Flourish and Blotts Bookstore had not offered this job, Ada would have wanted to go to Knockturn Alley. If Professor McGonagall knew about this, she would probably skin Ada alive.

(End of this chapter)