Hogwarts: Voldemort, don't stop me from studying!

Chapter 72 Replies and Photos

A thin letter from Gringotts.

The letter listed his recent income and the amount his father, Ferdinand Gray, had withdrawn from the vault in galleons. Vader glanced at the figures and casually put the letter away.

The package came from Machioni and included a letter detailing recent sales of the Book of Friends, the revenue Vader should receive, and the next steps in promoting the Book of Friends—although production capacity is still lagging, Machioni has already expanded its market to Asia and Africa.

In his letter, Magioni also drew several new versions of the Book of Friends that would be released next, and "earnestly requested" Vader, as the inventor of the Book of Friends, to "offer valuable advice" so that the release of the new products could be "more successful".

Judging from the earnest tone of Marchionni's letter, it seemed as if this business tycoon was truly worried sick about this matter, and only Vader could guide him through life.

Vader: ...

He finally understood why Professor Murray had said, "Just use that guy's abilities to make money for you. If he bothers you often, just ignore him."

Professor Morrie must have received these owls from Marchionne quite often in the past.

But for Vader, Machione not only brought him a large sum of Galleons, but also sent him a package of alchemical materials—most of which were ordinary, but some were rare materials like African tree snake skin, which were hard to buy even with money.

Wade still wrote a letter back seriously.

Of course, it wasn't some trivial matter like which pattern was more appealing. What Vader had written down were some ideas he had recently developed while studying alchemy, ideas for improving the Book of Friends.

For example, limiting the connection to only two or three people is often inconvenient to use. He modified the magic rune circuits, and now with just a simple spell, multiple blank friend lists can be linked together.

For example, the bottom page of the new Friends Book could include an image listing various emoticons that can express emotions with simple symbols—although it's not very useful, Wade knows that this kind of thing is very popular among young people. Some words that feel too cold when written down become humorous and cute when replaced with emoticons or emojis, which might stimulate another wave of consumer desire.

In addition, special location functions can be added to some friend lists, allowing users to check the location of others at any time by holding their friend list.

After thinking for a while, Wade added another paragraph to the letter—

"I believe that such a friend's notebook should prominently display its location tracking function in the header, and its color and shape should be clearly distinguishable from ordinary friend's notebooks—if a friend's notebook, originally used for communication, can also be located, it raises concerns about privacy, which ordinary people would likely find unacceptable. Its purchasers should be parents and children, or couples with genuine affection..."

I wonder if his Book of Friends will unintentionally break up a few couples in the future.

Wade imagined that scenario—

In the past, lovers would ask each other, "Do you love me? How much do you love me? Swear it!"

In the future, the way lovers express loyalty will probably be: "Can you exchange locations with me in my friends list?"

Well……

The test came so suddenly and unexpectedly.

Wade thought about his situation again—he didn't mind his parents knowing his whereabouts, and as for a lover who was still just a prospect... if he were to fall in love in the future, he would definitely do so with marriage in mind, and fidelity in marriage would be the minimum requirement.

Furthermore, Vader has no intention of getting married at such a young age—is magic not magical enough? Or is alchemy not interesting enough? Dating? What's the point of dating! It would only waste his precious time…

Therefore, the arrow he released today will absolutely not return to him.

Wade continued writing with confidence and finished quickly. He handed the letter to the owl to catch, along with a revised copy of the Book of Friends, and watched it fly away.

……

The Great Hall, the foyer, the Umbrella House, the library, the Black Lake, the Forbidden Forest, the Quidditch pitch, the Ravenclaw common room, the dormitories...

Wade took photos of almost every representative spot on campus he could reach. He would also take photos with familiar classmates and professors he encountered along the way.

Although Wade had never been a parent, he had been a son for many years. He used to enjoy taking pictures of unique architecture and natural landscapes when he traveled, hoping his parents could share in these beautiful scenes. Later, he realized that his parents weren't interested in the scenery at all; they only wanted to see him in the landscape.

Therefore, in his lens now, no matter how wonderful the environment is, the focus is always on people—in front of the greenhouse, he stands next to a professor with a kind expression and a slight smile; by the Black Lake, he is arm in arm with a classmate who is smiling brightly and lively; inside the Umbrella House, the SSC members sit together chatting and laughing.

Fear often stems from the unknown, like walking in boundless darkness where you can only hear your own heartbeat. If you have a lamp to illuminate your surroundings, allowing your eyes to see the thorns and mud, even if the road remains bumpy, the fear will gradually dissipate.

……

The film cameras available at Hogwarts are of a very classic style, and the process of developing photos was originally tedious and lengthy, but magic speeds it up.

Wade transformed the Room of Requirement into a darkroom for developing photographs. He then placed the negatives into developing chemicals and, after a series of processes including developing, stopping, washing, fixing, and printing, finally obtained a stack of moving photographs.

He moved to a brighter environment and flipped through the photos one by one.

The camera not only recorded their actions and the scene, but also seemed to capture their emotions at the time of the photo. The smiles in the photos seem brighter than usual; Professor Sprout would occasionally pat his head, while Professor Flitwick would sometimes excitedly jump onto the pile of books and sometimes jump down.

Professor Morrie was usually kind and gentle, and Wade regarded him as a source of wisdom and a mentor in life. The Professor Morrie in the photo originally looked like this, but after taking a sip of tea, his whole face suddenly wrinkled, his eyes closed tightly, his eyebrows shifted, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly, as if he was suffering terribly from the bitterness.

—Was that tea... really that bitter? Could they have put Americano in it?

Wade tried to recall carefully, but unfortunately, he hadn't paid any attention to the cup of tea at the time. Now, looking at the photo of Professor Morrie, who was grimacing from the bitterness, then curiously taking another sip, and then grimacing again...

Wade laughed uncontrollably.

This photo must be kept secret, otherwise if Professor Morrie sees it, he'll surely destroy it completely for ruining his image, right?

Wade continued flipping through the photos, then suddenly stopped, his eyes softening instantly.

That was a simple family photo taken at Christmas, with the whole family sitting on the sofa.

But at this moment, the three people in the photo are very close together, with his parents beside him, their hands clasped together. The two of them gaze tenderly at each other, occasionally kissing; or lowering their heads to gently kiss Wade's forehead in the photo.

Leaning against the window, Wade gently stroked the photograph with his fingers, a smile involuntarily spreading across his face, his eyes sparkling with warmth.

Chapter 73 Clubs and Bullying

When Harry finished his arduous training and went to the Great Hall for dinner, he saw Ron and Hermione at the long table. Hermione was flipping through a book, while Ron was deep in thought, holding a piece of bread.

“You know what?” Ron suddenly spoke in a low voice as Harry walked over, “I’ve discovered a truth.”

"—What is it?" Harry asked curiously, filling his plate with food.

“Oh.” Ron turned his head and said with an unusually serious expression, “If you don’t eat lunch, dinner will be even more delicious!” He took a fierce bite of his bread.

“I discovered a truth when I was three years old,” Harry said, mimicking him.

“Please speak, Mr. Potter,” Ron said, extending his hand, his words hesitant but cautious.

“When you’re tired and hungry, any meal will taste delicious!” Harry said, and then ate most of the sandwich in one bite.

Hermione glanced at them, then scribbled heavily in her book, making notes. After Harry had almost finished eating, she frowned and said, "The game's almost here, why is the team's training still so intensive?"

"—Yeah, it's because the match is coming up soon." Harry felt his stomach churn at the mention of this topic: "And Snape is the referee."

“Listen to me, brother, Snape is definitely holding a grudge against you for beating Slytherin last time!” Ron suggested. “Why don’t you just break your leg? That way you won’t have to play.”

Hermione snorted, too lazy to correct their paranoid thinking.

But Harry said with a pained expression, "I can't quit the game—Gryffindor doesn't have a backup Seeker. If I quit, Gryffindor won't be able to play."

“If you’re really worried that Professor Snape or—someone else—is trying to harm you, then you should work on improving your magic instead of daydreaming all the time.” Hermione struggled to refrain from saying Professor Quirrell’s name. She said seriously, “Harry, we were supposed to go to the Umbrella House yesterday afternoon. I told everyone.”

“Yes—I’m sorry,” Harry said awkwardly, “but Wood suddenly announced that we need to have a training session—”

“That’s because it rained yesterday, and Hufflepuff didn’t want the players’ performance to be affected, so he canceled the reservation, and then Wood hurriedly booked the stadium—” Hermione said with dissatisfaction, “as if someone was going to steal it.”

“Don’t say that,” Harry explained in a low voice, “Wood is also doing this for the House Cup—if we can beat Hufflepuff in this match, we’ll be ahead of Slytherin in the House Cup, the first time in seven years—”

Harry wasn't usually so subservient to his friends, but recently Hermione has been willing to lend him her notes for reference, help him check his homework, guide him in completing his essay on "The History of Magic," and even teach him practical spells he hasn't learned yet...

Harry wasn't heartless; in fact, he was quite sensitive and craved affection. He could clearly sense that Hermione genuinely cared about him and offered selfless help without expecting anything in return. As a result, Harry naturally lowered his stance further and further, rarely even breathing heavily in Hermione's presence.

“Hermione, is that ‘Sscamper’ really that good? How come we’ve never heard of it?” Ron questioned.

Hermione frowned: "Don't use that word! SSC stands for Star Chaser, and I dare say it's absolutely the best study club at Hogwarts—at least for first-year students."

Ron gave a look that was a mixture of toothache and awe: "The study club... As expected of Hermione!"

Harry fell into thought.

Hogwarts students formed many societies and clubs, such as the Gobstone Club or the Herbalists' Club, and it was common to see upperclassmen attending club activities in groups. Harry and Ron had heard of some, but didn't join any of them.

"It's just a place to kill time; don't expect to learn anything useful."

When a club invited Harry Potter to join, Ron once privately complained to him: "New members sometimes have to deal with the older members. They will make you do some particularly difficult or embarrassing things, and call it a test."

Given that Ron had five older brothers and seemed very experienced, Harry chose to trust his friend and declined all invitations from various societies.

But now, another friend of his, whom he values ​​highly, is strongly recommending a club that supposedly can significantly improve one's spellcasting level.

Given Quirrell's perfunctory teaching style, Harry was actually quite looking forward to it. He hoped that he could solve problems with magic at crucial moments and easily defeat certain annoying guys—like Malfoy.

But Harry also had to consider Ron's feelings. He didn't want Ron to feel abandoned, so he was always in a dilemma.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, the dinner on the long table disappeared. The group packed up to return to their common room, and Hermione kept reminding Harry, "Comb your hair—make a good impression—"

Suddenly, a loud, arrogant laugh rang out in the corridor, along with the jeering of many students.

The laughter immediately triggered a deep memory in Harry, who said with disgust, "It's Malfoy—he's definitely bullying people!"

Before he could finish speaking, he rushed out, and Ron followed closely behind.

"Wait—Harry—calm down!"

Hermione stamped her foot and had no choice but to run over as well.

In the corridor, Neville was surrounded by a group of Slytherins. He gripped his wand and stammered, "Ma... Malfoy, what do you want?"

Draco Malfoy tapped his palm with his wand and said with a smile, "Longbottom, I've learned a new spell and I'd like to find someone to practice its effects."

Everyone let out low, malicious laughter.

Neville nervously pointed his wand at him: "No—don't come any closer—I'll tell the professor—"

"Stand stiff and stop dead!"