By late August, Diagon Alley had practically become the kingdom of students. Every shop seemed overrun by young witches and wizards from Hogwarts.
Tom's shop was no exception. Oh, and it is worth mentioning that his store now bore a new name: Helder's Magical Workshop.
When Daphne, Hermione, and Penelope first saw the new sign, they spent quite some time digging through books and records, trying to find out who this "Helder" was. She was not a Hogwarts student, nor any historical figure they could trace. No famous witch bore that name.
In the end, unable to suppress their curiosity, the girls went straight to Tom.
Tom had not expected that a name he had casually come up with would trouble them so much. Amused, he explained, "Helder is the name of a powerful witch I once read about in an old manuscript. She was nicknamed 'Second Sister.' Supposedly she committed all sorts of outrageous deeds that angered the heavens and the people alike. Many so called heroes were just waiting for the day her health bar finally appeared."
He waved a hand dismissively. "Just take it as a story. The name popped into my head when I was thinking of one. There is no special meaning behind it."
Only then did everyone relax and stop obsessing over it.
...
Inside Helder's Magical Workshop, there were noticeably fewer customers than in previous days. Those who had planned to buy had already done so. The ones who had not either had yet to make up their minds or simply were not interested.
Young people were always the quickest to embrace new things, but ten Galleons was still a hefty price. Hogwarts was poor, Dumbledore was pretending to be dead to the world, so Tom could only turn his attention to the Ministry of Magic. He persuaded Cornelius Fudge to subsidize five Galleons for every student who purchased the enchanted paper.
Fudge had been reluctant at first. But politicians, well... those who understood, understood.
When Tom brought in Rita Skeeter and guaranteed two positive feature interviews to polish Fudge's image, the Minister generously opened the Ministry's purse and agreed to cover the cost.
Less than a thousand students. Five thousand Galleons in total. Spending the Ministry's money to boost his own reputation and political standing was practically a free ride for Fudge.
As for Tom, he followed up with a discount on the paper itself. Hogwarts students could enjoy twenty percent off, and if they bought ten packs, they would receive one free.
Under wave after wave of promotions, students became the main buyers during the final two days before term started. They often came with their parents, carefully choosing their favorite cover designs.
And once they bought it, the very first thing they did was add friends.
That became the owls' final glorious chapter, flying all over Britain carrying the magical rune codes of young witches and wizards.
The boys were simple enough. The girls were another story. Not only did they add friends, they created all sorts of chat groups.
Their social circles were not even that large. Usually, their closest friends were their roommates. Yet somehow, five girls could form nearly ten different groups, chatting endlessly every day. The amount of paper they burned through was astonishing.
When Tom looked at the sales figures, he nodded repeatedly.
No wonder people said women's money was the easiest to earn. The gossip a woman could exchange in a single day might surpass what a man spoke in half a month. Absolute paper consuming powerhouses. If that was the case, what about other areas?
For a moment, inspiration exploded in Tom's mind. He designed a series of potions specifically aimed at female customers and then... sent the orders straight to Severus Snape.
When Snape received the letter, he was so furious he kicked over two cauldrons. Did Tom think he was some household servant to be ordered around at will?
But after reading the second page, the old bat's expression gradually softened.
The students had needs. As their professor, if he could help, then perhaps he should.
On that second page, Tom had explained the payment.
A Frostbolt spell. Silent and wandless casting. Its power could not rival those earth shattering large scale spells, but like Sectumsempra, it belonged to the category of subtle, highly practical, skill based magic. Exactly the sort of thing Snape favored.
He simply could not resist that kind of temptation.
So, pinching his nose yet again, he accepted the order.
The reason Snape could never refuse Tom's outrageous demands was simple. Dumbledore had been drawing pie in the sky promises for over a decade. Snape had labored tirelessly all those years and never received what he truly wanted. But Tom, at least, delivered what he promised.
Compared side by side, the work no longer seemed so unbearable. In fact, he found himself strangely more motivated.
...
On the last day before school began, Tom brought Hermione and the Greengrass sisters to Diagon Alley to buy supplies.
More accurately, everyone else had already finished their shopping. They were simply accompanying him.
Except Hermione.
She had firmly refused the Pygmy Puff Tom recommended. Instead, she decided to get an ordinary pet, at most one with a trace of magical creature blood.
Thus, their first stop after arriving in Diagon Alley was the Magical Creatures shop.
As the most talked about figure in Britain at the moment, Tom's appearance immediately caused a stir. Fortunately, the wizards maintained a degree of civility and did not swarm around them.
Several Hogwarts students proudly called out greetings to Tom. After he responded, they straightened their backs and glanced around smugly, as if to announce to everyone nearby that they knew someone important.
They crossed to the shop opposite the ice cream parlor and looked inside.
The interior was cramped. Cages covered the walls from floor to ceiling. The air was thick with a suffocating stench, worse than Dungbombs left to rot, and the cacophony of screeches, hisses, and squeals was a torment to the ears.
Anyone who could work in such an environment every day deserved respect.
Behind the counter, a witch was explaining to a customer how to care for a two tailed salamander. Only after the wizard left with a bag of dead toad spawn did Hermione step forward and explain what she was looking for.
Perhaps it was fate.
After browsing for quite some time, Hermione's eyes settled on a large ginger cat. The moment their gazes met, it felt as if something clicked. Hermione crouched down, the more she looked, the more she adored it, and without thinking she reached out her hand.
The big cat leaped gracefully, about to dive straight into her arms.
"Meow!"
Tom caught the plump orange cat by the scruff of its neck and lifted it into the air.
Man and cat stared at each other, wide eyed.
The cat's fur bristled. It was just about to explode in indignation when Tom shot it a glare.
The intimidation of dragon might and thunderbird presence erupted at the same time. The fat ginger instantly went limp. Its outrage melted into shameless cuteness.
"Meow~"
"Hold still. Let me check something."
Tom lifted the cat and examined it carefully, then nodded in satisfaction.
Very good. A female.
"Tom, what are you checking?" Hermione asked, baffled by his behavior.
The boy's expression did not change in the slightest. "Nothing. I just noticed she has some Kneazle blood. I was worried her wild instincts might not be fully tamed and that she could be dangerous to you. But she seems quite obedient."
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