Chapter 72: Reply and Photos

A thin letter arrived from Gringotts.

The letter listed his recent income and an expenditure—a sum of Galleons withdrawn from the vault by his father, Ferdinand Grey. Wade glanced at the numbers, then casually put the letter away.

The package came from Marchioni, accompanied by a letter detailing the recent sales of the Book of Friends, the income Wade was due, and the next steps for the Book of Friends' promotion plan—despite production still lagging, Marchioni had already expanded the market to Asia and Africa.

Marchioni also included illustrations in the letter of several new versions of the Book of Friends to be launched soon, "pleading" with Wade, as the inventor, to "offer valuable suggestions" so that the new products could "achieve even greater success."

Reading Marchioni's earnest words in the letter, it seemed as if this business magnate was genuinely losing sleep over this, and only Wade could guide his life.

Wade: ...

He now understood why Professor Morrie had said, "You just let that fellow's abilities make money for you. If he bothers you normally, just ignore him."

Professor Morrie must have often received similar owl mail from Marchioni in the past.

However, for Wade, Marchioni not only brought him a large sum of Galleons but also specifically sent a package of alchemy materials—though most were common, it also included precious materials like African tree snake skin, which were hard to acquire even with money.

Wade still diligently wrote a reply.

Of course, it wasn't about trivial matters like which design was more appealing. What Wade wrote about were some ideas he had recently developed while studying alchemy regarding improvements to the Book of Friends.

For instance, the original limitation of only connecting two or three people often proved inconvenient. He had modified the runic circuit so that with a simple spell, multiple blank Books of Friends could be linked together.

Another example: the new Book of Friends could have an illustration on its bottom page, listing various emoticons that could express emotions with simple symbols. While seemingly useless, Wade knew such things were popular among young people. Some words that might feel too cold when written out could become humorous and endearing when replaced with emoticons or emojis, potentially stimulating another wave of consumption.

Additionally, some Books of Friends could be given a special positioning function, allowing the holder of the other person's Book of Friends to view their location at any time.

Wade thought for a moment and added a paragraph to the letter:

"I believe this type of Book of Friends should prominently state its positioning function in the header, and its color and appearance should be distinctly different from regular Books of Friends—if a Book of Friends meant for communication could also track location, it would risk invading privacy, which ordinary people might find unacceptable. Its purchasers should ideally be parents and children, or genuinely devoted lovers..."

He wondered if his Book of Friends would inadvertently break up a few couples in the future.

Wade imagined such a scenario—

In the past, lovers would ask: "Do you love me—how much do you love me—swear it!"

In the future, a way for lovers to express loyalty might become: "Can we exchange positioning Books of Friends?"

Hmm…

The test had arrived so unexpectedly.

Wade then considered his own situation—he didn't mind his parents knowing his location. As for a hypothetical future lover... if he were to fall in love, it would definitely be with marriage in mind, and loyalty to the marriage would be a basic requirement.

Besides, Wade had no intention of marrying young—was magic not wondrous enough? Or alchemy not interesting enough? Dating? Love what love! It would only waste his precious time...

So the arrow he shot today would never boomerang back to him.

Wade confidently continued writing and quickly finished. He handed the letter to the owl, attaching the modified Book of Friends, and watched it fly off.

The Great Hall, the Entrance Hall, the Boathouse, the Library, the Black Lake, the Forbidden Forest, the Quidditch pitch, the Ravenclaw common room, the dormitories…

Wade took photos in almost every representative place he could access at school. When he encountered familiar classmates and professors along the way, they would also pose for pictures together.

Though Wade had never been a parent, he had been a son for many years. He used to love taking pictures of unique buildings and natural landscapes during his travels, hoping his parents could share in these beautiful sights. Later, he realized that his parents weren't interested in the landscapes themselves; they only wanted to see him in the scenery.

Therefore, in his photos now, no matter how wondrous the environment, the focus was always on the people—in front of the greenhouses, he stood beside a kind-faced, gently smiling professor; by the Black Lake, he had his arm around a bright and lively classmate; inside the Boathouse, the SSC members sat together, chatting and laughing.

Fear often stems from the unknown, like walking in boundless darkness, hearing only one's own heartbeat. If one holds a lamp, illuminating the surroundings and allowing the eyes to see the thorns and mud, even if the path remains rough, the fear will naturally dissipate.

The classic models of film cameras that could be used at Hogwarts, and the process of developing photos, were originally intricate and lengthy, but magic accelerated the process.

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

He moved to a brightly lit area and flipped through them one by one.

The camera not only recorded their actions and situations but also seemed to capture the mood during the photo session. The smiles of the people in the photos seemed brighter than usual; Professor Sprout would occasionally stroke his head, while Professor Flitwick would sometimes excitedly jump onto a stack of books, and then jump back down.

Professor Morrie was usually benevolent and gentle; Wade regarded him as a source of wisdom and a life mentor. In the photos, Professor Morrie initially appeared this way, but after taking a sip of tea, his entire face suddenly scrunched up, eyes tightly closed, eyebrows displaced, and the corners of his mouth twitching slightly, as if it was incredibly bitter.

—That tea... was it that bitter? Could it have been Americano black coffee?

Wade tried to recall, but at the time, he hadn't paid any attention to that cup of tea. Now, looking at the photos of Professor Morrie wincing from bitterness, then curiously taking another sip, and wincing again…

Wade couldn't stop laughing.

He had to keep this photo private; if Professor Morrie saw it, it would surely be destroyed to ashes for ruining his image, wouldn't it?

Wade continued flipping through the photos, then his hand stilled, and his eyes instantly softened.

It was a simple family photo from Christmas, with them sitting together on the sofa.

But now, the three people in the photo were very close, his parents leaning against him, hands clasped. They gazed tenderly at each other, occasionally sharing a kiss; or they would bend down to gently kiss the forehead of Wade in the photo.

Leaning by the window, Wade gently caressed the photo, a smile spreading across his face, his eyes shimmering with warmth.