Struggling to survive at Hogwarts

Since the woman named Darcy returned to the orphanage, the gloomy building seems to have been revitalized, as evidenced by the increasing number of visitors.

The local residents seemed to greatly admire this mysterious woman named Darcy, and upon hearing that she had returned, they all came to visit her with bread and wine.

But to Thea's surprise, her next encounter with Darcy would be like this:

The woman pressed her forehead against the wall, her shoulders trembling uncontrollably, her faint sobs coming in fits and starts, like a dying swan crying out in despair to its fate.

Sensing footsteps behind her, the woman immediately turned around warily, only relaxing when she saw that the person was just a little girl.

Thea didn't greet the woman immediately, but silently handed her a clean handkerchief, indicating that the woman should wipe away her tears first.

She quickly apologized and turned to leave, not wanting to continue watching others' embarrassing situation.

When Darcy saw the handkerchief the girl offered him, his cheeks flushed instantly. He took the handkerchief with a red face, and as the little girl turned to leave, he instinctively called out, "Wait, don't go yet!"

Thea turned around in confusion and saw the woman blushing and stammering as she invited her to afternoon tea.

Faced with the kindness of others and her curiosity about this person, the answer to the mystery seemed to be right in front of her, and Thea readily agreed.

Even after Thea sat down in front of Darcy, Darcy still couldn't understand how things had gotten to this point. He had only wanted to find a secluded place to have a good cry, but in the end, he had brought a little girl to have afternoon tea.

Thea watched as Darcy unconsciously tugged at his handkerchief, almost twisting it into a pretzel, and couldn't help but find it amusing. Her body gradually relaxed from the initial unease of being in an unfamiliar room, and she began to take in the overall layout of the room.

The room is predominantly warm white, with wallpaper featuring subtle silver patterns on the walls, creating an elegant yet feminine feel. The sofa, coffee table, and fireplace are all outlined in clean, elegant ivory white and light gold, lending a luxurious and sophisticated ambiance. Warm sunlight softly floods the room, easily evoking a sense of joy.

Darcy had already realized what was happening. Seeing the little girl's relaxed expression and the curiosity in her eyes, he picked up the hot milk on the table and handed it to her, saying with a smile, "Stop looking, drink some hot milk."

"Let's have milk, it'll get cold later."

Seeing Thea obediently pick up the cup and start drinking in small sips, Darcy's mood instantly improved, and he felt a surge of happiness, like a pet owner watching their pet drink milk.

To keep the atmosphere lively, Darcy started the conversation by asking about Thea's studies. But as soon as he finished speaking, Darcy realized how inappropriate the question was.

The girl in front of her was not her companion in Birmingham. There, academics were practically their go-to talking point. As long as studies were mentioned, even the most socially awkward person could strike up a conversation. It was a powerful tool in social situations, always effective.

Just as Darcy was feeling guilty for his slip of the tongue, Thea generously stated that she was just like the other children in the orphanage, attending a nearby public elementary school, and that her learning progress was only to the point of recognizing a few words.

When Darcy learned of this, she was overwhelmed with guilt and quickly offered a solution: she hoped that Thea could come to her place in her free time so that she could teach Thea to read and write.

Thea hadn't expected this unexpected surprise. Since transmigrating, Thea's biggest headaches, besides her Parsnip accent, were her literacy. She had seen the grammar homework the original owner had left in her drawer, and it was truly indescribable.

She also subtly inquired about going to school with Jennifer, but Jennifer's answer greatly disappointed Thea.

Before her time travel, Thea had also read British history. In this era, the British women's rights movement was in complete decline, and the slogans advocating for certain civil rights for women were just empty promises. Many women even regarded marriage as a lifeline, as if unmarried women were heretics, and they scorned women's education.

Unfortunately, Thea is now in this awkward situation. She possesses the thoughts and knowledge from the future, but is constrained by her age and cannot even express her own thoughts.

She was once obsessed with time-travel novels, and the part she couldn't understand the most was that the protagonists of these novels wanted to use their knowledge of the future to try to advance the wheel of time, but most of them failed halfway through and not only did they fail to achieve their goal, they also drove themselves to the brink of despair.

At the time, I thought the protagonist was just whining, but now that I'm in that situation, I'm slowly realizing that one person's efforts in this era are like a drop in the ocean. When you dedicate your life to a goal, only to find that your idea is simply impossible to achieve, that huge sense of disappointment is enough to drive a person crazy.

Thea fell into thought until Darcy asked her with some concern if she was unwilling. Thea quickly nodded in agreement. After Darcy confirmed several times that Thea was not unwilling at all, he hurriedly walked to the bookshelf in the room, intending to give Thea a lesson right now.

Watching Darcy's hurried actions, Thea put aside her previous thoughts and began to analyze Darcy's temperament again.

The result only plunged Thea into greater confusion. Judging from Darcy's behavior, either Darcy was a truly superb actress, or she was genuinely naive and innocent, as evidenced by the fact that she took on the job of a teacher within minutes.

Thea grew increasingly curious. Mrs. Green's unusual attitude, Darcy's naivety and enthusiasm, and the speed of his emotional shifts all seemed a bit off.

Thea's smile gradually widened, and she felt that life in the orphanage was becoming more and more interesting.

Thea stayed with Darcy until evening before reluctantly ending her lesson for the day. Overall, Thea was amazed by Darcy's knowledge and vision.

After a quick dinner, Thea went straight to her dormitory. She had a lot of thoughts she wanted to write down, including the few casual remarks she overheard from Darcy during their time together today, which caused Mrs. Green's trust in Thea to plummet.

From the moment Mrs. Green appeared that day, Thea keenly sensed something was amiss. Mrs. Green's first expression and movement was one of slight surprise, causing her mouth to open slightly. She immediately covered it with her hand, a gesture that itself was not inappropriate.

But the occasion is wrong! For example, your boss often travels for work, and when her employees greet her upon her return, she is surprised? This wouldn't be inappropriate for most people; at most, it would just seem like the boss is being a bit pretentious.

But all Thea heard from others were praises of Mrs. Green for being straightforward, generous, and unpretentious. This stark contrast made Thea suspicious.

Besides, what feelings could an orphan who was adopted by someone else at a young age and had no contact with them for ten years have for the orphanage? He was ostensibly visiting old friends and taking a break, but if he really had deep feelings for them, how could there have been no correspondence for ten years?

Thinking of this, Thea's brows furrowed even more. Jennifer opened the door and saw her expression, completely forgetting all her previous plans, and could only blankly hand the information she had gathered to Thea.

"Waaah, Thea is so scary!" Jennifer sat to the side, her face calm, but inwardly she was wailing in pain.