August 1991.
Harry Potter, brimming with anticipation for the magical world, was eagerly counting down the days until school began.
Hermione Granger had already previewed all the textbooks thrice, meticulously studying and committing every word to memory.
Ron Weasley, after persistent pleading at the Burrow, finally inherited his brother's old, fat rat.
Albus Dumbledore ultimately decided to conceal his old friend's stone in the corridor on the right side of the fourth floor at the school.
The world continued to spin on its axis; everything seemed unchanged.
But in an old mansion on the wasteland of Surrey, a butterfly's wings were slowly beginning their first flutter.
---
For the entire month preceding the start of school, Orli remained completely secluded in the potion basement of the old mansion, with only the monotonous mechanical system prompts for company.
It took her three grueling weeks of constant potion-making tasks from the system to finally reach the proficiency of a Hogwarts third-year student. However, even for Orli, progressing further became increasingly challenging.
Despite her exceptional talent and access to numerous ancient texts and notes from predecessors, she lacked systematic training in potion-making. She barely managed to complete a few tasks at the Hogwarts third-year level through self-exploration, but then failed twice in succession. This made Orli too wary to try again, fearing a drop in her hard-earned level.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
In the final week, Orli used all her accumulated system contribution points to exchange for something she had long been eyeing in the system mall:
[Basic Occlumency Training]
Even though Orli had been brewing potions tirelessly to accumulate contribution points, she could barely afford the basic level. The intermediate, advanced, and profound levels that followed required exponentially increasing contribution points.
Moreover, the system clearly stated that Orli's 11-year-old brain could only barely handle basic Occlumency training.
As a transmigrator, Orli keenly understood that if anyone discovered the main plot and memories of her past life in her mind, she would face endless troubles. Not to mention that from September onwards, she would be living under the watchful eyes of two Legilimency masters - the Headmaster and Snape.
So, in the last week before school started, Orli spent day and night rigorously training her Occlumency under the system's guidance.
Finally, her basic Occlumency skills were barely passable. Brief eye contact and normal conversations shouldn't reveal any telltale signs.
However, the consequence of overexerting her mind was that she began to suffer from uncontrollable bouts of migraines.
---
On September 1st, when Orli appeared at King's Cross Station, she was a pitiful sight:
Her face was pale from a month without sunlight.
Her hair was a tangled mess, dry as straw due to malnutrition.
Her eyes were unfocused and dull from lack of sleep and persistent migraines.
She wore a robe with frayed cuffs and telltale potion stains.
In her left hand, she clutched a suitcase that looked ready to fall apart at any moment.
---
For Merlin's sake, she too had dreamed of making a dazzling debut in the magical world, just like other transmigrated heroines.
But the precious system contribution points had almost all been exchanged for basic Occlumency training. Even if there were some left, they would certainly be saved to increase her chances of survival, rather than squandered on fancy robes and beauty spells.
As for the money earned from the system's potion recycling... The basic potions Orli could currently concoct, even if bought back at 50% above market price, could only cover some daily expenses, not amounting to any significant sum. Besides, she hadn't had a moment to spare for shopping in the past month.
So, when she accidentally encountered the bustling Weasley family, she clearly overheard Ron whisper to Mrs. Weasley:
#Ron "Mum, look, there's actually someone even poorer than us..."