It wasn't until the afternoon that Eda returo the Leaky Cauldron, which acked with people chatting and drinking. Travelers from all over who came to London would often stop by this pce.

  A few old witches huddled together in a er, whispering about something, while their mugs of mead remained untouched. Wizards holding Firewhisky were drinkiily, their joy stemming from some unknown reason.

  A short wizard dressed in a peculiar fashion and a scruffy bearded wizard were fiercely debating the tents of Transfiguration Today. If it weren't for someone holding them back, they might have ended up fighting.

  Wizards of all kinds came a in the small bar, making it a lively pce.

  The bar's waitstaff were rushing around, trying to attend to the ers. They carried trays as they weaved through the crowd, while some impatient ers occasionally shouted loud pints.

  Even the bar owom, couldn't just stand behind the ter polishing gsses like usual. He was busy too, his toothless mouth grinning in a way meant to please the patrons.

  Despite the noise and chaos, Eda didn't find the bar unpleasant. Instead, she found these noisy wizards amusing, so she didn't head straight to her room upstairs.

  Although she had been to the Leaky Cauldron st August, she had only passed through and hadn't stayed, so she hadn't seen this lively, down-to-earth se.

  With her job situatioled, Eda felt rexed enough to observe the bar's patrons. Some were dressed in fine clothes, while others wore simple attire; some were full of energy, while others seemed hurried. These people might reflect what Eda's future could look like.

  Eda leaned against the bar, holding a small cup of tea. Although Tom allowed her to stay, he didn't offer her any alcohol, so Eda had to make do with tea and pin water.

  From time to time, a few ers would push open the door and walk in. Some were heading to Diagon Alley for shopping, while others just came to the bar for a drink or to meet up with old friends and chat.

  After entering, many of them would g Eda.

  Naturally, a pretty face tends to attract attention, and Eda, leaning against the bar, was indeed hard to miss.

  With her striking long blonde hair and dark wizard robes, Eda stood out even more. If it weren't for her young age, someone would likely have approached her for a chat.

  Though, whether a wizard's pick-up lines would be cliché inal was still a mystery.

  If Eda were dressed in a more elegant robe and stood outside Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions or Twilfitt and Tatting's, she would undoubtedly serve as a living advertisement—a perfect hostess to attract ers.

  However, her of these shop owners had that idea.

  After a busy day, Tom finally returo his beloved bar ter. His hands trembled slightly as he polished a gss. It had been a long day, and the skinny old man was thhly exhausted.

  "This pce is a mess. Why don't you go back to your room?" Tom asked.

  To Tom, Eda, leaning against the bar, seemed to be in the way. She wasn't drinking, so there wasn't any profit to be made from her presehe Leaky Cauldron didn't need a young and inexperienced hostess like Eda, who couldn't pare to the charming Madam Rosmerta.

  "I'd like to try some sherry. Someone onpared it to 'Spanish sunshine in a bottle.' Could you sell me a gss?" Eda asked, swirling the teacup in her hand as if it tained sherry instead of tea.

  Old Tom shook his head; he couldn't serve alcoholic beverages to someone underage like Eda.

  "How about some Gamp's Old Gregarious? I've heard that after drinking a pint, you earn a reward of 100 Galleons," Eda tinued.

  After the *Iional Statute of Wizarding Secrecy* was ehe then-Minister fic, Ulick Gamp, allowed the Leaky Cauldron to tinue operating. To orate this, the pub's ow the time created a brand of beer, but it was said to taste awful—extremely, extremely, extremely awful.

  This kind of notoriously terrible beer obviously didn't survive, and old Tom certainly didn't have any of it. Instead, he pulled out a bottle of butterbeer from beh the bar and said, "Sigh* This one's on me."

  Eda took a sip of the butterbeer, and to her surprise, it was quite good. It was sweet, with a low alcohol tent, ahought it tasted more like a soft drink than an actual beer.

  This drink opur among underage witches and wizards because it was one of the few alcoholic beverages they were allowed to e. Firewhisky, oher hand, was something they'd have to wait until they were of age to try.

  As Eda watched the tinuous flow of ers in the pub, she uood old Tom's point. However, she wasn't in the mood to go upstairs; she found it more iing to stay downstairs rather than head up to her room and read.

  "Ok! I've decided! Since you treated me to the butterbeer, I'll give you a hand!" Eda, abandoning her bookworm persona, stepped behind the bar uom's astonished gaze. "o t this as work."

  Eda stood behind the bar. Although she was a bit clumsy at first, her mischievous system kicked in again, presenting her with a Bartender progress bar, which, surprisingly, gradeable. The level was titled Pub Owner.

  "Five pints of mead!" one of the waiters called out.

  "Five pints of mead, ready!" Eda filled the gsses and pced them on a tray, handing it over to the waiter.

  The waiter was taken aback by the unfamiliar female voistead of Tom's usual one. He stood there, dumbfounded, not even notig when Eda reached out for payment.

  Eda lightly tapped the ter with her knuckles, finally snapping the waiter out of his daze. He handed over the s to Eda and asked, "Who are you? Why are you here? Where's Tom?"

  These almost philosophical questions received no response from Eda.

  After pg the s in the cash box, she quickly returo work. A slightly disheveled-looking wizard had just ordered a brandy.

  The waitstaff quickly got used to the "neointed" bartender, Eda. They found it much easier dealing with her than with old Tom, especially since Eda was swift and effit in her work.

  When ers ordered directly at the bar, Eda would hand them their drinks immediately. They assumed she was a retive of old Tom. However, they were a bit curious—how could someone as pin-looking as Tom have such a good-lookiive?

  If an order ced through a waiter, they would either shout it over to Eda or use magic to send the order slip flying to her.

  Old Tom moved around the pub, ensuring no er felt ed, but he would g Eda behind the bar every now and then. Watg how skillfully she handled everything, Tom couldn't help but wonder if Eda had worked in this field befoing to Hogwarts.

  In just oernoon, not only did the waitstaff bee familiar with Eda, but even the regur patrons of the pub got to know her. Eda got along well with the ers; she didn't dislike iing with people—she just wasn't a fan of too much versation.

  Standing behind the bar as a bartender might seem like a waste of Eda's time, but in truth, she gained a lot from the experience.

  The Leaky Cauldron was a hub for all sorts of people, and amidst their casual chatter, Eda picked up on many things that intrigued her.

  Vampires, ghouls, various dark creatures—these topics expanded Eda's knowledge base, she wasn't an HP reader after all. These rumors introduced her to the big wizarding world even her friend could never have found in books. Naturally, this was the case sihis was not just a fial book; it was a whole real world.

  These rumors, though sometimes bizarre, captivated Eda's imagination. After she graduates, she dreams of traveling the magical world, embarking on adventures in different tries.

  With Eda's help, the waiters were no longer in a rush, and they were able to take better care of the bar's business. Although it was a bit exaggerated to say this, Eda's bright smile illumihe dim bar like a little sun.

  __________

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