Summer Part-Time Job

With nearly all her worries resolved at once, Rose became just like the other ordinary students, spending much of each day attending classes, doing homework and revising for her final exams.

As June approached, rainy days gradually grew fewer, the sky was always cloudless, and the air began to turn warm. The girls gradually began moving their revision sessions to the open ground beside Black Lake.

They occasionally ran into Edgar there, and after several chance encounters, he began bringing Rose and the others a few bowls of chocolate ice cream or a few pints of chilled orange juice from the kitchen every day. After that, Rose revised outdoors less often. She didn't think she knew Edgar that well and really didn't want to accept his favors.

In the second week of June, they finally struggled free of the seemingly endless darkness of exam week. Until the results came out, Rose didn't want to look at her textbooks again, so she stuffed them all into her bronze-colored trunk.

The common room was almost empty. Everyone had gone outside to enjoy their long-awaited freedom.

Rose curled up in her favorite armchair, placed a thick book beneath a sheet of parchment and set the stack on her knees. With the pretty blue quill Marlene had given her, she wrote and scribbled away.

Yesterday, Professor McGonagall had brought her wages for working part-time in the library-less than one Galleon. It wasn't much, but it was enough to buy a new bottle of ink and a few used books next term. Her robes were still barely wearable, but she also needed a brand-new set of brass weights. Her old set was no longer accurate, and during the exam, Slughorn had reminded her that she ought to replace it.

She brushed the end of the quill back and forth across her chin, calculating that she needed to earn at least £100 over the summer if she was to have any chance of doing what she wanted most: moving out of the orphanage when the following summer arrived.

The paperwork might be difficult, but she would write directly to Johnson and say she was staying at school for the summer and wouldn't be coming back. The old fellow would surely be delighted never to see her again.

A hundred pounds was no small sum in the 1970s. With the turmoil of the past few decades, even the welfare funding allocated to the orphanage had fallen year after year. The previous summer, she had heard the adults complaining about it repeatedly, and several staff members who had worked there for ten years had resigned and returned to the countryside.

Several ways of making money flashed through her mind, but she ruled them out one by one. Every method she could think of depended on being several decades in the future, when the economy and technology were highly developed.

With a sigh, she put away the parchment and decided to make plans after she returned to Frenshem.

At the end-of-term feast, thanks to the hundred points Rose and Sirius had earned for their house over Christmas, and their victory in the Quidditch House Cup that year, Dumbledore turned the hanging streamers in the Great Hall bright red, with a magnificent lion hanging in the very center. Professor McGonagall shook hands with Slughorn with a stern expression, but everyone could see the smile she was holding back beneath it.

The next morning, as they packed their trunks in the dormitory, Hestia, the female Prefect, brought them their exam results. As with the previous year, Rose's best subjects were Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts and History of Magic. To her surprise, however, Professor Slughorn and Professor McGonagall had both given her an Exceeds Expectations, giving her three Os, three Es and one A! Such good results were completely unexpected!

On the train back, the girls took off their robes and changed into their own clothes. They crowded into a compartment, laughing and fooling around as they ate Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans and admired the green grass and clear lakes outside the window.

Before long, the train pulled into Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, and it was time for Rose to say a temporary goodbye to the magical world again.

Under the old guard's supervision, they emerged through the wall one by one. Taking in the bustling crowds and the noisy whistles at King's Cross Station, Rose felt disoriented for a moment.

"You have to come and visit me again this summer-" Lily gave her a tight hug. Her parents and sister were waiting for her in the distance, so she had to bid Rose a reluctant farewell.

Marlene's, Mary's and Natasha's families all invited Rose to visit. She greeted each of them politely, then watched them leave one by one.

"All right, let's go back together-" Rose picked up her trunk and spoke to it, looking down as if it could answer her.

Pretending not to see Elena's impatient expression, she thought silently, Next year you'll get your wish and won't have to see me anymore! Early on the morning after her return, she went out to try her luck.

It had rained the night before, and the ground was still damp. After crossing a large stretch of grass, Rose came to the town's only relatively busy area.

The main road was paved with neat, clean asphalt, its color slightly darkened by the rain. Rows of red stone houses stood on both sides of the road, with lush Virginia creeper and other plants growing in front of them, adding a touch of life to the old-fashioned buildings.

There weren't many shops in town. Rose had worked part-time at a bookshop at the end of the street the previous year, but another child had taken her place this year, so she had to look elsewhere.

By noon, she still had no idea where to find work and was wandering aimlessly around town like a young animal.

Just as she was about to give up, a delicious smell caught her attention. It came from an inconspicuous little shop, hidden behind several tall birch trees, with a simple handwritten sign hanging by the door: fish and chips.

Rose pushed the door open. The only person inside was an elderly lady, sitting behind the till, wearing glasses and struggling to read a book.

"Good afternoon," Rose said politely. The lady looked at her through her glasses, as if asking what she would like.

"Er—I wanted to ask, are you hiring?" Rose asked tentatively.

The lady smiled and shook her head. Pointing to the sign by the door, she said, "We're out of the way here, and not many people come. My husband and I are planning to rent the place out next month."

Rose nodded in disappointment. She politely said goodbye to the lady and prepared to leave.

"Perhaps you could eat here?" the lady said slowly and gently. "You look a little tired, and I happen to have some food left over. Come, sit down and have something to eat. I won't charge you."

The warm invitation left Rose a little flustered. She sat awkwardly at a table for one by the window.

Before long, the lady set a large plate of food in front of her. "You remind me of my little granddaughter. She lives in Birmingham with her mother, and I haven't seen her in a long time." She looked at Rose affectionately and urged her to try her cooking.

Rose picked up a piece with her fork. The fish was tender and the coating crisp; when she bit into it, the aroma of the oil burst in her mouth. She narrowed her eyes in enjoyment.

"Hehe..." The lady sat down opposite her. Once Rose had gradually slowed her eating, she asked hesitantly, "What do you think?"

"It's delicious, ma'am!" Rose said.

The lady could see that she seemed to be weighing whether it was appropriate to say more, and kindly encouraged her to speak freely.

"When my husband and I were young, we wanted to open a fish-and-chips shop, but once we actually opened one, we realized it wasn't so simple. Every customer praises our fried fish, but few of them come back afterward." She sighed and said sadly, "That's why we decided to rent out the shop."

"The fried fish really is delicious!" Rose said. Encouraged by the lady's look, she continued, "But after eating a lot of it, it feels a little too rich. It would be much better with something to cut through the grease. If you don't mind, could you let me try something?" she offered eagerly. "I happen to know a few sauce recipes that might solve the problem of swallowing it!"

The lady agreed and took her to the kitchen at the back of the building. It was neat and clean, and had all the usual ingredients.

Recalling her experiences in her previous life, Rose cooked up a pot of brightly colored pea sauce using peas, lemon and honey. She also mixed apple cider vinegar and lemon juice into the existing mayonnaise.

Once everything was ready, she put the sauces and fried fish on a plate, set it on the table and waited nervously for the verdict.

"It's delicious!" the lady said in surprise after tasting it, while Rose watched expectantly. She looked delighted. "It seems we can keep the shop open after all. I must hurry and tell Ian the good news."

"Oh-all right, now shall we talk about our monthly wages?" The lady smiled and winked at her.

"Do you mean I can work here?" Rose was delighted, but then she said dejectedly, "But I can only work during the summer holidays. I have to go to school up north in September."

"Of course that's no problem-every child has to go to school! You can call me Mrs. Bennett, but I'd rather you called me Mia," she said playfully. "Would you like to start work tomorrow?"

"Anytime, Mia!" Rose said happily. "I can start right now!"