"Harry, why is Hedwig going to Roger?" Ron asked, staring in confusion as a white shape flashed past above the Great Hall.
For more than a month since the start of term, Roger Williams had become the professors' favourite target whenever a lesson turned difficult. If there was an odd question, an obscure spell, or some bit of theory that made everyone else stare blankly, one of the teachers would call on him, and he would somehow produce a perfect answer. The praise and points that followed had become so routine that Ron now found them personally offensive.
Unfortunately, Roger was a Slytherin. In Ron's mind, every outstanding performance only proved that he was destined to become a dangerous Dark wizard, and Hermione's willingness to speak with him made her seem more and more like a traitor to Gryffindor. Ron conveniently ignored the fact that Roger almost never raised his hand in class.
"That isn't Hedwig," Harry said after a moment. He vaguely remembered the elegant woman they had met at King's Cross mentioning that her son also had a snowy owl.
"What's wrong?" Daphne asked, leaning closer when she noticed Roger's suddenly excited expression.
"The Flash Revealing Tincture can finally be mass-produced," Roger said, unable to keep the delight from his voice.
"Really? That's brilliant!" Daphne's eyes lit up immediately. "So the instant cameras can be sold now?"
After seeing Muggle cameras, Daphne had completely lost patience with bulky, old-fashioned wizarding cameras. Their size was bad enough, but the long developing process annoyed her even more, especially now that she knew photographs could be taken far more elegantly.
Earlier that month, following Snape's suggestion, they had discovered that silver frost solution had developing properties. After half a month of repeated experiments and improvements, they had finally created a new potion: Flash Revealing Potion, which could reveal an image almost instantly when dropped onto specially prepared photographic paper.
From there, they developed double-layered magical photographic paper. The outside was coated in a black film layer, while a white absorbent layer was sealed inside, and after a picture was taken, the white layer absorbed the solution and caused the image to appear instantly as a moving magical photograph.
Once the image stabilised, the white layer could be peeled away, leaving the black portion behind as a preserved film copy. Roger had always thought the black film was unnecessary, since wizards already had copying, enlargement, and shrinking charms, but Hermione and Elena had been firm on the matter.
A camera without film had no soul.
Roger had finally surrendered and agreed to produce the photographic paper in two layers. Unfortunately, the mass production of the Flash Revealing Potion had then become another obstacle.
As the key future consumable for making money, large-scale production was completely different from brewing a few small batches in a cauldron. Roger could not abandon school to spend his days brewing potions, and he was even less willing to hand the formula to other wizards.
After thinking it over again and again, he had decided to improve the formula instead. Seller's letter contained Jessica's test results, and the new method had finally succeeded.
Following this process, Flash Revealing Potion could now be mass-produced. More precisely, it could be produced as Flash Revealing Tincture, and at a much lower cost.
"All the problems are solved," Roger said happily.
He finally had an old wizarding relic that could be updated, replaced, and sold back to the magical world with style. The thought alone made breakfast taste better.
"If Professor Snape hadn't reminded me, I never would have thought silver frost solution had revealing properties," Roger said, raising his glass of juice toward Daphne. "I also need to thank you for all the materials the Greengrass family provided."
"You're too polite," Daphne said, lowering her head slightly as a blush touched her face. "I only helped send the letters home."
She clinked her glass gently against his. The gesture was small, but the warmth in it was real.
"Go tell Elena and Hermione the good news," Daphne said. "They'll be so happy."
Under Roger's influence, Daphne had gradually become more accepting of non-pure-blood witches and wizards. Of course, her standards for friendship were still strict, because someone either needed noble blood or had to be as intelligent and outstanding as Hermione.
"If those two knowledgeable ladies hadn't helped find the right information, this definitely wouldn't have gone so smoothly," Roger said.
"Yes," Daphne agreed, then gave him a sideways look. "But you can't call Hermione Know-It-All anymore."
Roger nodded gravely. "That would be rude."
"Tch. Everyone knows you're the one who gave her that nickname," Daphne said.
Roger smiled, picked up his juice, and walked toward the long tables where Ravenclaw and Gryffindor sat. During this period, he had also been corresponding with Elena's father, Alexander, through Elena, and their letters had even touched on the situation in Eastern Europe's magical government.
Although every country's Ministry of Magic insisted that wizards must not let Muggles know they existed, no one could deny the connection between Muggle leaders and the wizarding world. In truth, Muggles and wizards influenced each other far more often than anyone cared to admit.
For example, it was difficult to say there had been absolutely no connection between Hitler's downfall and Grindelwald's imprisonment. History rarely moved in only one world at a time.
The gains Roger had made in the financial district before term began had merely been a trial run. His real interest lay in the coming chaos of Eastern Europe's magical world, especially the old archives and forbidden collections that might be loosened when governments began to tremble.
He did not deny that Hogwarts had a long history and a rich library. But under Dumbledore's watchful eye, Roger did not believe he could easily learn Dark magic there without being discovered.
"Elena, thank you for your help," Roger said with a smile, handing the letter to her at the Ravenclaw table.
"Wonderful. It really worked!" Elena jumped up in delight after reading it. "You have to send me one when the time comes."
"No problem. You'll also receive a share of the shop's profits," Roger said, clinking his glass against hers. "Has your father sent any new information from Eastern Europe?"
"Not yet," Elena said. The joy on her face dimmed slightly, replaced by a trace of worry. "Dad only said to wait and watch."
"That's fine. We can wait a little longer," Roger said.
When the flag above the Kremlin changed, the Eastern European magical government certainly would not remain peaceful. And chaos, properly handled, was a ladder.
Hermione had never played Quidditch before. In an effort to fit in, she had been reciting passages from Quidditch Through the Ages at anyone trapped close enough to hear her.
The young witches and wizards around her looked exhausted. They were clearly tired of the boring rules, and several seemed to be silently praying that she would stop before breakfast ended.
"Roger, the rules of Quidditch are so strange," Hermione complained the moment he approached. "For example, catching the Golden Snitch ends the game immediately. If someone caught it right at the beginning, wouldn't their team almost never lose?"
Several nearby students breathed a sigh of relief. Even though Roger was an unpopular Slytherin to many of them, they still thanked him silently for interrupting Hermione's lecture.
"You're right, Hermione," Roger said with a smile.
His gaze drifted briefly toward Harry, and he sighed inwardly. "Maybe in a few days, you won't think that way anymore."
Harry noticed Roger looking at him but had no idea why. Every time he saw Roger, he remembered the professors praising him for exceptional talent and a humble attitude, and compared with that, Harry felt ordinary except for the title of Saviour that had been dropped onto him without asking.
"Our instant cameras are ready for production," Roger said, turning back to Hermione. "My mother has confirmed that the new mass-production method is completely feasible."
"Really?" Hermione shot to her feet, excitement lighting her face. "That's wonderful. Let me see."
She eagerly snatched the letter, then began reading with shining eyes. Within moments, she was already marveling at the design.
"How did you come up with the idea of using a purity-reduction process for mass production—"
"Shh," Roger said at once, raising a finger to his lips. "Trade secret."
Hermione immediately covered her mouth. The core secret behind the revealing tincture could not be spoken aloud in the Great Hall, especially with half the school within earshot.
"Look what I've got!" Malfoy's voice rang out suddenly.
He appeared from nowhere and snatched Neville's red Rememberall straight out of his hand. The little glass ball glowed in Malfoy's fingers, and Neville stared at it helplessly, his face flushing with panic.
"Malfoy, give Neville his ball back," Harry said at once, standing so quickly his bench scraped the floor.
Ron stood with him, glaring at Malfoy as if he wanted to leap across the table and tackle him. Around them, breakfast chatter faded as students realised a confrontation had begun.
"Mr Malfoy, you've certainly opened my eyes," Roger said before Malfoy could taunt them further. He wore a faint mocking smile, but his eyes were filled with open contempt for Draco's behaviour. "So this is what the Malfoy family calls honour."
Draco's smile vanished. He turned sharply toward Roger, clearly more angered by a Slytherin's criticism than by anything a Gryffindor could say.
"Even if your family believes in bowing to the strong and displaying perfect courage only toward the weak, you are still a member of Slytherin," Roger continued calmly. "Please do not stain our House's reputation."
"Williams, my family's honour is none of your business," Malfoy snapped.
He had disliked Roger for a long time. The other boy's popularity with professors, his casual friendship with Gryffindors, and his habit of acting as though Draco's surname meant nothing had all piled up into resentment.
"Neville," Roger said, ignoring Malfoy and looking instead at the trembling boy across the Gryffindor table. "As a member of the Longbottom family, you should stand up for yourself when someone steals your things."
Neville froze under the sudden attention. He looked frightened, helpless, and ashamed all at once, but Roger's expression did not soften, because if Neville could not even find this much courage, then he truly would keep being bullied.
Hermione tried to step forward, but Percy caught her arm before she could interfere. He also shot a warning look at his brothers, silently ordering them to shut up, because the Weasley family must not get involved in this dispute, even if it looked like nothing more than a quarrel between first-years.
.....
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