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[Hogwarts] Ch 122: Tom's Latest Invention
🕑 Added 2025-08-05 18:27:00 +0000 UTC— — — — — —
"...And then Aladdin used his third and final wish to—"
Daphne lay half-curled up in Tom's arms, completely absorbed in the story. But just as Aladdin decided to free his blue friend, she finally couldn't hold on any longer and drifted off to sleep.
Tom let out a quiet chuckle, gently pulled the blanket up over the little witch, and fetched himself a second one.
She always moved around a lot during naps. Tom was almost certain she'd kick the blanket off in her sleep.
Sure enough, the next morning, she had wrapped herself up like a dumpling.
Not wanting to wake her, Tom carefully slipped out of the room—only to bump into Astoria just coming out of hers.
"Morning, Astoria."
"M-Morning, Tom."
Tom quickly noticed something odd about her expression. She kept sneaking glances toward his door.
"You… saw Daphne go into my room last night, didn't you?" Tom asked cautiously.
The silver-haired girl offered a polite but awkward smile.
Even if she didn't know all the details of human biology, at her age, she understood enough about what might happen between a boy and a girl.
Tom immediately rushed to explain, trying to clear up the misunderstanding. "She couldn't sleep last night and asked me to tell her a story. I didn't get far before she passed out."
He gave a helpless little smile. "Thank Merlin there were two blankets in the room, or I'd have frozen to death."
Astoria blinked in surprise—but then remembered scenes from when she used to sleep next to her sister. She quickly pieced together what had actually happened and let out a soft laugh.
"What kind of story did you tell her? The Fountain of Fair Fortune? Or maybe the Tale of the Three Brothers?"
"Neither. But if you're curious, you can come listen tonight."
Astoria's face turned bright red, and she fumbled for words.
Teasing done, Tom strolled out of the castle in a great mood for his morning workout.
This routine had been Andros's idea. The ancient wizard firmly believed that even wizards needed strong bodies—sometimes, throwing a punch just felt better than casting a spell. And with the fire dragon bloodline enhancing Tom's physical potential, it'd be a waste not to take advantage of it.
Tom didn't object. Being healthy was never a bad thing. Now that he'd gotten used to training every morning, skipping it just felt… wrong.
...
After a quick breakfast, he dove into the library to research how to make a magical Cell Phone. Maybe he'd get some inspiration.
He found what he was looking for in a book called 'Alchemical Works of the 18th Century'. But after skimming a few pages, his excitement dropped. By the time he finished reading, Tom could only shake his head with a sigh.
"Completely useless information."
Turns out, Items like the Two-Way Mirrors didn't involve any particularly complex techniques.
They relied on a rare magical resonance that happened by pure chance during the enchanting process. The mirrors didn't have a fixed size or shape, and most attempts failed. That's why they were so expensive—there just wasn't a reliable way to mass-produce them.
Tom dug into a few other long-distance communication methods using alchemy, but after weighing his options, he realized his current skill level just wasn't enough. He was missing too many components and techniques.
Alright then, start with something simple.
He projected all his alchemy books into the study space and built a virtual library inside it. Then he headed to the meditation room to start studying—maximizing efficiency.
Tom was earning 100 credits a month, and his research papers would eventually bring in more. That steady income made him a lot more generous with his study space usage.
Unlocking new income sources early on would mean a more stable supply of points. It was a positive feedback loop.
Yup, even here, Passive income was the way.
---
"...Not bad."
Seeing Tom study so diligently made both Andros and Grindelwald proud… though also a little jealous.
The more time Tom spent in the meditation room, the less time they could use it.
Especially Grindelwald—Andros might be getting stronger, but he was technically still dead. Grindelwald, on the other hand, was very much alive and ambitious.
If things kept going like this, Tom might actually surpass Grindelwald's peak strength—even when he held the Elder Wand.
And if that happened… well, Grindelwald hadn't decided what to do yet—but one thing was certain: he was going to beat old Dumbles soon.
Yeah, he'd just never gotten over losing to Dumbledore.
("to" can also be deleted... lol)
— — —
It wasn't until after ten in the morning that Daphne finally woke up. After breakfast, she immediately went to find Tom, but once she saw he was busy, she sensibly left the library and wandered off to visit the unicorns.
She might be clingy, but she wasn't unreasonable. When Tom was free, sure, she'd drag him around to play. But if he was working? Then she knew not to interrupt.
Still, the story from last night was just too interesting. She had to hear what happened next.
Daphne made up her mind—she'd sleep in Tom's room again tonight. Not only were his stories great, but she also slept way better there.
---
After a long, busy day, Tom had just finished washing up and was sitting in his room, waiting for Daphne to show up. He knew she would come for the story.
The door opened quietly a few minutes later.
He turned, ready to greet her—only to see someone else in the moonlight.
"...Astoria?"
Not the older sister—the younger one? What next? Their mom?
"I… came to hear the story…" Astoria murmured, nervously twisting her toes together as she scolded herself for arriving too early. If Daphne had been here already, it wouldn't be so awkward. But now? Just her and her sister's boyfriend alone in a room...
She was about to awkwardly excuse herself when—
Click. The door opened again.
"Tom—AH!"
Daphne had barely said his name before spotting Astoria. She shrieked in surprise.
Did… she walk into the wrong room?
No, she definitely pushed the door across the hall...
"Did I come at a bad time?" Daphne blinked, confused.
"Nope, you're right on time," Tom said, relieved. "Astoria heard you came for a story last night, and she wanted to listen too. We were just waiting for you so I could start."
Daphne's cheeks turned beet red.
She'd tried so hard to sneak over quietly last night just so her sister wouldn't find out… and still got caught.
Well, now that the cat was out of the bag, there was no point denying it.
Daphne hopped up onto the bed and waved at her sister. "Tom's stories are really fun. Come on, Astoria!"
Astoria hesitated, shy but curious. She slowly made her way over and lay on the other side of the bed, sandwiching Daphne between herself and Tom.
Tom cleared his throat and quickly recapped the beginning of the story. It didn't take long for Astoria to get hooked, and soon enough, Tom was moving on to the next story.
"Elsa and Anna from the Arendelle kingdom. One born with icy powers she couldn't control, the other with a heart warm enough to melt them....."
"What happened next? Will Elsa die?" Daphne urged him to keep going.
Tom took a sip of water. "That's what we will know tomorrow."
He noticed Astoria had already drifted off to sleep, and as soon as he said that, Daphne couldn't keep her eyes open either.
Once both girls were asleep, Tom shifted his consciousness into his study space to resume his analyses.
— — —
Over the next few days, the sisters came to hear Tom's bedtime stories every night. And every night, they ended up dozing off in his bed instead of going back to their own rooms.
Lady Greengrass had no idea her precious daughters had grown tired of their own beds and preferred the one in Tom's room.
...
After a few days
During the daytime, Tom was hard at work practicing alchemy and perfecting the Levitation Charm.
His flying spell had made solid progress, but it was alchemy that really soared—thanks to an endless stream of expensive materials. Alchemy was a money pit, after all. In just a few days, Tom had already burned through nearly thirty Galleons' worth of supplies.
"That bracelet is so pretty!" Daphne said, instantly drawn to the piece Tom had just finished. It was more like a bangle—about three centimeters wide—crafted from a gleaming silver alloy, decorated with intricate, delicate patterns and embedded with a few colorful crystals.
She grabbed his hand and gave him a pleading look. "Tom, can you make one for me too? You could swap the crystals for gemstones—that'd look even prettier. I've got some you can use!"
Tom smiled. "This one's just a prototype. I'll add more decoration to the final version. It'll look even better."
"Actually, you came at the perfect time. Help me test it out, will you?"
Daphne's curiosity spiked. "What's it for?"
"It's a Anti-Disarm Bracelet," Tom explained.
He slipped it onto her wrist. The material was slightly elastic, automatically shrinking to fit her small arm perfectly.
The more she looked at it, the more she liked it. She gave her arm a little shake. "It looks amazing!"
"So, how do we test it? What do I need to do?"
"Just stand still and hold your wand. When I cast the disarming spell and the wand flies out of your hand, focus on bringing it back—use the same kind of intent you'd use when casting a spell."
"Oh! Got it." Daphne instinctively reached for her wand… then remembered she wasn't carrying it.
She quickly summoned a house-elf and asked Plla to fetch it from her room.
Tom couldn't help but laugh.
For a witch, your wand is practically a part of your body—you should always have it nearby, even while you sleep. And yet Daphne had just strolled around without it like it was no big deal.
Once her wand arrived and she was in position, Tom took a few steps back, lining himself up at the standard starting distance for a formal duel.
"Expelliarmus."
Tom spoke the spell softly, minimizing its power as much as possible.
Daphne immediately felt a powerful force yank at her wand. Her fingers opened reflexively, and the wand flew out of her hand.
But she remembered what Tom said. As soon as it left her fingers, she focused on calling it back. The wand spun through the air for a few meters—then suddenly jerked back toward her, pulled by an invisible force, and landed neatly in her hand.
Tom frowned slightly. He had felt something strange—his own wand had been tugged on, too.
It was a faint pull, barely noticeable, not enough to affect his casting… but still, not ideal. It meant the bracelet was spreading its magic too broadly. For allies, that kind of inefficiency could be the difference between life and death.
He needs to add an authentication feature—make it work only for the wand it's bonded to. That would also prevent secondhand resale.
After all, if everyone just bought used ones, who would bother buying new?
Actually, now that he thought about it, durability needed tweaking as well. For his own people, he'd use the best materials and carefully etched runes. But the ones sold to outsiders? Those could be made… a little different.
That was called product differentiation—keeping competitive across price ranges.
Just like your laptop, phone, and pretty much everything else on Earth, the companies did the same thing—forcing customers to keep buying their products over and over again.
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