Riddle Manor was livelier than it had ever been.
The Greengrass sisters, Hermione, Cho, Penelope, and nearly every outstanding young witch from Hogwarts had gathered under one roof.
Ginny was still in Egypt. Luna had followed her father to Switzerland in search of undiscovered magical creatures. Otherwise, the house might have been even more chaotic.
All of them had gone to Diagon Alley to witness the spectacle firsthand. Some had even enthusiastically volunteered as temporary cashiers. By closing time, only a few dozen Standard Edition notebooks remained. There were still people queued outside, but the shop had to close eventually. The doors shut, leaving the latecomers groaning in disappointment.
The day before, Tom had sent 1,500 Standard Editions and 100 Professional Editions to the shop.
They had sold out in a single day.
Even he had been slightly surprised.
Many witches and wizards did not buy just one. Some purchased copies for family members. Others bought two for themselves, separating work from personal life. In Europe and America, that habit was common. Without dual SIM devices in this era, some people simply owned two mobile phones.
And this was only the beginning.
The more people who owned WhatsApp, the stronger the herd effect would become. If everyone communicated through WhatsApp and you did not, how could you remain connected?
"I bet once Hogwarts starts, everyone will have one," Hermione said excitedly, almost more thrilled than Tom himself.
Cho nodded. "Definitely. I ran into loads of Ravenclaws today. I've already added dozens of them. There are so many group chats now. A hundred pages aren't nearly enough."
"Which is exactly why refill paper is the real profit," Penelope said with a knowing smile. "Tom planned this from the start."
"I get it," Hermione chimed in. "It's like when my dad fixes teeth. The fillings aren't the real money. The checkups and care products afterward are."
Somehow, Tom had become the cunning merchant in their conversation.
He did not mind.
Call him a profiteer if they liked. He did not care about wealth for its own sake. All he wanted was to complete the trials and secure the Golden Apple.
...
Late at night, after personally sending each girl home, Tom finally opened his own notebook, now overflowing with messages, and began checking reports from other countries.
The initial release had been limited to Britain, France, Germany, and Spain. Expanding further too quickly would strain supply. Limiting the rollout also allowed local branches of Gringotts to coordinate the bank card launch properly.
The reports were excellent.
Distributors in the other three countries were demanding more inventory, both refill paper and finished notebooks.
As many as possible.
He glanced at the trial progress.
This morning it had stood at 210,000.
Now it exceeded 250,000.
Most of that increase came from WhatsApp sales. The rest from transaction fees through the card payment system.
Forty thousand Galleons in a single day.
At this rate, he could reach the trial requirement quickly.
But that was only a superficial calculation.
Early sales were explosive. Once initial demand stabilized and inventory caught up, growth would slow. Production capacity was limited. He and Nicolas Flamel could only produce so much each month.
Eventually, card payment fees would surpass notebook profits.
But that required time.
And depended heavily on how aggressively Gringotts pushed adoption.
Tom then checked the system task panel.
[Task Name: Architect of a New World]
[Description: Through your knowledge and vision, you have opened a new path for magical society. Your inventions are pivotal. The future will build upon them.]
[Objective: Continue evolving and promoting your creations. Rewards will be distributed in stages according to completion level. Final reward: one evolution of the Learning Space.]
[Current Progress: 5]
It claimed rewards would be distributed in stages.
Yet not a single one had appeared.
Tom did not even know how many stages existed.
Right now, he only wanted enough Achievement Points to reach five thousand and summon the next teacher.
...
Over the following days, WhatsApp and the card payment system dominated wizarding conversation. Diagon Alley remained packed daily. Some witches and wizards even traveled from other countries after reading the news.
Tom released one thousand Standard Editions and fifty Professional Editions per day.
Every copy sold.
Remaining stock, along with newly produced units, was snapped up by foreign distributors.
Madame Maxime personally requested two thousand Standard Editions and two hundred Professional Editions.
She had even contacted Fleur directly.
Tom could hardly refuse her.
Maxime's move was bold.
Every one of those notebooks would be gifted free to Beauxbatons students and faculty. The covers would bear the Beauxbatons crest.
Tom quietly forwarded this information to Albus Dumbledore.
A subtle nudge.
Look at what other headmasters are doing. Perhaps Hogwarts should consider something similar?
When Dumbledore saw the message, his expression twitched.
Beauxbatons received funding from multiple Ministries.
Durmstrang's student body consisted almost entirely of wealthy pure blood families.
Hogwarts?
One Ministry.
Limited funds.
In a duel, Dumbledore could defeat both schools with one hand tied behind his back.
In finances?
That was another matter.
He chose the safest strategy.
Silence.
He pretended not to have seen Tom's message.
What Dumbledore did not realize was that Tom's own WhatsApp was a newly iterated custom version.
It displayed precise read receipts.
Timestamp included.
Tom looked at the small indicator.
Read.
No reply.
Very well.
So this is how we are playing it.