Chapter 72: Replies and Photographs
Chapter 72: Replies and Photographs
A thin letter arrived from Gringotts.
The letter listed his recent income and a withdrawal of gold galleons from his father, Ferdinand Grey. After a quick glance at the figures, Ved nonchalantly put the letter away.
The package was from Marchioni and came with a letter detailing the recent sales of the Friend's Journal, Ved's expected income, and the next steps for promoting the product. Despite lagging productivity, Marchioni had already expanded the market to Asia and Africa.
Marchioni also included sketches of several new versions of the Friend's Journal to be released soon and "earnestly requested" Ved's "valuable feedback" as the inventor, to ensure the new products would "achieve greater success."
Reading Marchioni's sincere words in the letter, one might imagine the business tycoon lying awake at night, troubled and seeking guidance from Ved for his life decisions.
Ved: ...
Now he understood why Professor Mori had said, "Just use that guy's ability to help you make money. If he bothers you frequently, just ignore him."
Professor Mori must have received similar owls from Marchioni in the past.
But to Ved, Marchioni not only brought substantial galleons but also sent a package of alchemy materials, including rare and precious African tree snake skins, which were difficult to acquire even with money.
Ved wrote a serious reply.
Of course, he didn't bother with trivial matters like which pattern was more attractive. Instead, Ved shared some ideas he had while studying alchemy recently, ideas that could improve the Friend's Journal.
For instance, limiting the association to only two or three people beforehand could be inconvenient at times. He altered the magic circuit, and with a simple spell, he could now create associations between multiple blank Friend's Journals.
Another example was adding a page at the back of the new Friend's Journal with a chart of emoticons—simple symbols expressing various emotions. Although it might seem pointless, Ved knew such things were popular among youngsters. Some words that felt too cold when written could become playful and cute when replaced with emoticons or expressions, perhaps stimulating another wave of consumer desire.
Additionally, he suggested adding a special location function to some of the Friend's Journals, allowing holders to check each other's locations at any time.
Ved thought for a moment and added another paragraph to the letter:
"I believe that this type of Friend's Journal should have a prominent note on the header indicating that it has a location function, and its color and appearance should also be distinct from the regular ones. If the original Friend's Journal for communication can also be used for location tracking, it may raise privacy concerns, which ordinary people might not accept. Its buyers should be parents and children or deeply devoted lovers..."
He wondered if his Friend's Journal would unintentionally break up a few couples in the future.
Ved imagined such a scenario—
In the past, lovers would ask, "Do you love me? How much? Swear it!"
In the future, the way lovers express their loyalty might become, "Will you exchange location-tracking Friend's Journals with me?"
Hmm...
The test had arrived so suddenly.
Ved thought about his situation. He didn't mind his parents knowing his location, and as for a lover without a shadow... If he ever fell in love, he would certainly aim for marriage, and loyalty in the relationship would be a basic requirement.
Moreover, Ved didn't plan to marry young—was it because magic wasn't wondrous enough?
Was alchemy not interesting enough? Fall in love? Love was a waste of his precious time...
So the arrow he loosed today would never turn back on himself.
Ved wrote with peace of mind and soon finished. He handed the letter to an owl, along with the modified Friend's Journal, and watched as it flew away.
...
The Great Hall, the Entrance Hall, the umbrella stand, the library, the Black Lake, the Forbidden Forest, the Quidditch pitch, the Ravenclaw common room, the dormitories...
Ved took photos in almost all the representative places he could set foot in at Hogwarts. Along the way, he also took photos with familiar classmates and professors.
Although Ved had never been a parent, he had been a son for many years. Whenever he used to travel, he liked to take pictures of unique buildings and natural landscapes, hoping that his parents could also share in the beauty. Later, he realized that his parents had no interest in these landscapes at all; they only wanted to see him in the pictures.
Therefore, in his lens now, no matter how wonderful the environment was, the focus was always on people—in front of the greenhouse, he stood next to Professor Sprout, who had a kind and slightly smiling expression; by the Black Lake, he had his arms around the shoulders of his bright and lively classmates; inside the umbrella stand, the members of the SSC sat together, chatting and laughing.
Fear often stems from the unknown, like walking in boundless darkness, hearing only the sound of one's heartbeat. If you have a lamp in your hand to illuminate the surroundings and let your eyes see the thorns and mud clearly, even if the road remains bumpy, the fear will naturally dissipate.
...
The film cameras that could be used at Hogwarts were quite classical in style, and the process of developing photos was originally cumbersome and lengthy. However, magic accelerated this process.
Ved turned the Room of Requirement into a darkroom for developing photos. He placed the film into the developer, and after a series of steps of developing, stopping, washing, fixing, and printing, he finally obtained a stack of moving photos.
He moved to a brightly lit area and flipped through the photos one by one.
The camera seemed to have recorded not only their actions and scenes but also the mood during the photo-taking. The people in the photos smiled more brightly than usual, Professor Sprout would pat Ved's head from time to time, and Professor Flitwick would sometimes jump excitedly onto piles of books and then jump down again.
Professor Mori was usually kind and gentle, and Ved regarded him as a fountain of wisdom and a mentor in life. Professor Mori's image in the photos was consistent with this, but after taking a sip of tea, his entire face suddenly scrunched up, his eyes squeezed shut, his eyebrows twitched, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly, as if he had been bitterly disappointed.
- Was that cup of tea... that bitter? Did he accidentally put American-style black coffee in it?
Ved tried to recall, but at the time, he hadn't paid any attention to that cup of tea at all. Now, looking at Professor Mori in the photo, sometimes he was bitterly grimacing, and sometimes he curiously took another sip, only to grimace again...
Ved couldn't help but laugh.
This photo had to be kept private; otherwise, if Professor Mori saw it, he would surely be destroyed down to the last ash for ruining his image? Ved continued flipping through the photos, and suddenly, his hand paused, and his eyes softened instantly.
It was a family photo taken on Christmas, with the three of them sitting casually on the sofa.
But at this moment, the three people in the photo were huddled close together, with his parents on either side of him, their palms clasped together. They gazed at each other gently, kissing each other from time to time; or lowering their heads to lightly kiss Ved's forehead in the photo.
Leaning against the window, Ved gently caressed the photo with his fingers, a smile on his face, and a warm glow in his eyes.
(End of Chapter)
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