[205] The Last Candle

After class, Hall actually found Professor Ulysses.

"Is there anything you want to ask me?" Professor Ulysses asked calmly.

Hall honestly explained his ideas. Silver coins. Invisibility cloak. A magical projector — something that could show films, like television, but powered by magic instead of electricity. The magical world couldn't accept Muggle technology, but a magical projector could work. He was already preparing scripts and casting. It was all part of building momentum for Lydia to become Minister for Magic.

Professor Ulysses listened, an interested expression on his face. "Very interesting. As for invisibility cloaks, I remember someone once made one by hand." He skipped over that topic. "Silver coins, phonographs, projectors... The former is a new way of using magic. No one had thought of it before you. The latter is somewhat like the concept of a Pensieve and memory threads."

They began discussing. Professor Ulysses, true to his status, had a quick mind and soon offered Hall very constructive suggestions.

Hall's eyes brightened. This idea was good. That idea was also good. New ideas formed in his mind. Give him a week, and he could finish improving the silver coins, making the phonograph and projector.

Professor Ulysses laughed at Hall's excited expression. Hall shuddered involuntarily. He swore he wasn't attracted to Professor Ulysses' beauty — it was a purely physical reflex. No one could resist such top-tier beauty.

"I thought you were going to ask about my appearance," Professor Ulysses said.

Hall was stunned.

"You don't need to explain. Although I've disguised myself well, in these hundreds of years, I've encountered people who have seen through my disguise."

Hundreds of years? Hall's gaze swept over Professor Ulysses' fair, delicate skin. Delicate to the point of not being a man living in England. Hundreds of years old and still so young — this could only mean one thing.

"Don't think about it anymore. I am indeed not human, and Dumbledore knows this." Professor Ulysses saw through Hall's thoughts.

"Then what are you? A goblin? An elf?"

"Is there a big difference between the two for you?"

Hall was silent. Some fairies resembled house-elves, while others were breathtakingly beautiful. British fairy tales inherently possessed a dark flavour.

"My identity isn't really related to the knowledge you want to learn." Professor Ulysses smiled again. In all these years, he hadn't smiled more than today. He disguised his appearance because he knew how attractive he was among wizards. But deep down, he still loved beauty. Finally finding someone who appreciated him without boring him, he didn't mind chatting with Hall a little longer.

"You have a real talent for learning runes. This is where my office is — you can come find me if you have any questions."

In a good mood, Ulysses showed Hall where his office was. Hall glanced at the address — there was a teacher's office next to the Ravenclaw common room? He hadn't noticed it before.

After saying this, Professor Ulysses left.

Hall turned back and went to the Room of Requirement. Experiments! Research! He had to produce everything in the shortest amount of time. Lydia becoming Minister for Magic was imperative. It was just creating hype, wasn't it? As if anyone couldn't do that.

"I thought you were going to repeat last semester — going seven or eight days without anyone catching you." Draco looked at Hall, who had appeared at the Slytherin table on time, with disdain.

"Ah... I kind of wanted to..."

Draco stared. Listen to this. Is this even human language?

"So what happened to you?" Zabini looked at Hall curiously.

"I was hungry." Hall calmly uttered two words.

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Hall was suffering. Before, he could imagine food in the Room of Requirement — he later learned this food was provided by the kitchen. But after Hall met Little, the kitchen stopped providing him with food there. At least when Hall was in his dormitory or the Great Hall, Little would bring him fresh, hot food. But whenever Hall wanted to work overtime and grab a quick bite — thanks. Little wouldn't indulge him. Not a single leaf of vegetables.

Hall sighed. He was genuinely hungry, and his only options were the Great Hall or his dormitory.

"What have you been researching lately?" Draco asked, curious.

"Something you can use. I'll show you later."

After dinner, just as Hall was about to go back to the Room of Requirement, Fred and George caught him.

"Our base station tower is a success! Hall, you promised we could set up a signal network at Hogwarts!"

The twins had been trying to ambush Hall for days. Having finally caught him, they couldn't let him escape.

"Pretty fast. Let me see the different versions you designed first."

Fred and George pulled out several items: a palm-sized wooden block, a slightly larger magic card, and an ordinary exercise book.

"Concealment! Convenience! Disguise! Difficult to detect! These are essential conditions for our implementation within Hogwarts!"

The wooden blocks had the worst information capacity — only about two lines — but were the most concealed. The magic cards were larger, with a blank back for writing long paragraphs, disguised as chocolate frog cards. The exercise book was inherently deceptive.

"And Hall, you asked for far too many functions. Ordinary wooden blocks and gems can't accommodate so many. But the exercise book is different — each page can be a separate interface!"

The twins demonstrated. Hall opened the exercise book. The first page showed: [Identity Verification]

"What's this?"

"To confirm the owner! You write down something only you know, so even if someone else finds it, they can't use it. Privacy is very important!"

Hall nodded approvingly. Not bad. They'd thought of this themselves.

He casually filled in: [To the future richest man in the magical world—]

The notebook flashed. The text disappeared. The page flipped to the second page.

[Add Friend]

[Moments]

[Mini-Forum]

"Click 'Add Friend,' enter the number on each notebook, and you can chat with the owner. Theoretically, you can add as many friends as the number of pages. Moments lets you post text updates — only the sender's friends can see them. The Mini-Forum is different — anyone who owns a notebook can chat there. No one knows each other's identities."

Hall's eyes widened. Amazing! Absolutely amazing! The Mini-Forum features completely exceeded his expectations.

"I'm very satisfied." Hall nodded, acknowledging the twins' efforts. Then he asked the crucial question: "How are you planning to price them?"

Fred and George had clearly considered this. "The small wooden blocks have the lowest cost. How about one Galleon? The magic cards are slightly larger with beautiful designs — ten Galleons. Finally, the notebooks..."

They looked conflicted. "To be honest, we've put in a lot of effort and used a lot of good materials. Dragon skin and developing tree sap alone weren't cheap. Excluding craftsmanship, the cost is three hundred and twenty Galleons. So we're thinking six hundred."

"The pricing for the small wooden blocks and magic cards is fine," Hall said. One Galleon — almost every young wizard could afford that. Ten Galleons catered to customers who weren't short of money and wanted customisation.

"But the magic cards can have two price tiers. For ten Galleons, you can choose a ready-made card. For fifteen Galleons, you can customise the design. If you want to change the design after purchase, it's one Galleon for two changes."

Fred and George's eyes lit up. How hadn't they thought of this?

"By the way, you're working on designing a unique logo. Only covers made and changed by you can have this logo — something others can't imitate. We need to eliminate counterfeiting."

Even before sales started, Hall was thinking about piracy. Establish copyright awareness. Let everyone understand that only what they bought from them was genuine.

The twins nodded frantically. Just what Hall said was enough for them to study for years.

Then Hall's gaze fell on the notebook. "Six hundred Galleons is too cheap. Unlike the wooden blocks and magic cards, the notebook should target adult wizards, not Hogwarts students. Six thousand Galleons is more like it."

The twins were dumbfounded. Ten times more? "At this price... can it really sell?"

"The Ministry of Magic, St. Mungo's, the International Court of Justice... all these wizards need them. For adult wizards with stable, well-paying jobs, a quick way to communicate is more important than money. Six thousand Galleons to contact each other anytime, anywhere — isn't that worth it?"

But some groundwork was needed. "You can start by selling small wooden blocks and magic cards at school. Keep the notebooks on hold. Once they're used to the convenience, launch the notebooks. Leave the signal base station towers to me. You focus on producing as many notebooks as possible."

George looked confused. "Isn't it small wooden blocks and magic cards?"

"The market at Hogwarts is fixed. If you sell one per person, exceeding that by one and a half times, the market will be saturated. But the outside market is vast. Once everyone accepts the convenience, a flood of orders will come."

"That's Hall for you! He's always full of ideas! We'll do what you say!" The twins eagerly continued their research.

Hall told Dumbledore about the project anyway.

"Truly remarkable." Dumbledore removed his glasses and slowly wiped them. "May I see that little wooden block and the magic card you mentioned?"

"Of course!" Hall smiled. "The little wooden block and the magic card have similar functions, so I'll just give you the magic card."

He pulled out a magic card he'd prepared. On the front, a blond man with an arrogant expression stared at Dumbledore.