Mark_Ward
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Side Story – Mirror Phone
🕑 Added 2020-10-19 18:42:38 +0000 UTC'Amazing Announcement, readers!'
The newspaper read on the front page.
'Today we come to you with the latest news of a new form of magical communication. Here with us is Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived.'
'Hello, Jim. Happy to be here...'
'Now there is a new product in the market with your family name written all over it.'
'Yes, the Mirror Phone. The latest and newest invention and I hope our answers to the problems we face today.'
'Some might say we are doing perfectly alright with owls. What do you have to say to that?'
'Are we Jim, huh? Do you know how long an owl from Magic Britain to America takes? 7 days, seven days we could have put to much greater use, seven days we could have been in closer contact. We live in a time where magical countries don't have the best of communication. Why you ask, because our form of it is too slow.
I want you to imagine a world where it only takes milliseconds for you to talk to someone from all the way across the world. What would this new world bring, what sort of connections would we form?'
'Sounds good and all, but does it work?'
'Yes, Jim you have my solemn word that I am not trying to trick the people of our fine nation. This is something that has been tested and retested over and over by the finest minds of my family's Golden Tower! So you have my word that it works.'
'Now on to other topics, who would be the new Lady Potter? You are the last Potter so....'
'No comments!'
'Come on, just tell us that fine...'
'No comments, Jim!'
'Okay, there you have it folks- from the Daily Prophet station. Harry Potter!'
'Thank you Jim, and I hope I see you fine folks in our stores trying out our mirror phone!'
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"Did you hear about this new magical form of communication?" asked an older gentleman with a wizard hat and long flowing robes.
"You know nothing beats owls, whatever they tell you. They are safe and stable and have been around for thousands of years," the grumbly friend answered.
"No, this isn't just some new thing, this is from Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived!"
"Really," the other gentlemen asked as his face lifted up a bit.
"Yeah, all the advertisements on the newspapers are saying that these Mirror Phones allows you to instantaneously communicate with any wizard or witch no matter the distance. Plus they have some useful things included in it with even more on the way."
"I guess it couldn't hurt to try it if it from the boy-who-lived."
"Mhmm, plus they have a guaranteed 90 days return policy if the magical mirror doesn't work as advertised."
"Now I must really buy it."
In front of a crystal pristine building with a mirror shard logo was a long line of people waiting for the door to open. There were countless conversations going on about this new form of magical communication.
"I heard you can send messages as well," a young witch stated to her friend.
"Really?" her companion asked in disbelief.
"I heard that the first 100 people get it for free!"
"Same, that's the only reason I am here. It just sounds too good to be true."
"It is a bit on the expensive side," a young Ministry worker stated.
"I know but for what you are getting, it kind of sounds fair," a scholarly looking man replied.
"How is going over 600 minutes a month, and being charged 7 Knuts for every extra hour fair?" a young, and hip looking kid asked.
"Yeah, this is just plain and simple theft!" his friend agreed.
Snorting, the man asked, "what the hell are you doing spending more than 10 hours a month on your phone."
"Hey, we got a life unlike you," one f them exclaimed as they went red in the face.
Shaking his head sadly at youth, he stated, "Still when you look at it in the long term which you youngsters seem unable to do, this Mirror phone, if it works out like its advertised, would cost you less then feeding, sheltering, and taking care of an owl."
"You youngsters and your strange devices, can't you owl each other like in the good old days?" an elderly woman asked.
"Mom," her older son said with a sigh, "don't you always complain of not being able to see your grandson enough. Well, the Mirror phone has a function where you are able to see each other from long distances."
Waving her walking cane she shouted, "then why aren't you getting me this thing. Did I raise such an ungrateful son, that you can not even do this for me?"
"What do you think I am doing," he mumbled.
"Speak up, I can't hear you," the elderly woman shouted as she brought her ear nearer, "and what did I tell you about mumbling. You are too old for that and should know better."
Finally, the doors of the building were opened and people began to enter.
The place was a like a shinning marble crystalline hall with Mirror Phones set up so that people could give it a demo if they wanted to.
Waiting for them were polite and respectful employees demonstrating the functions of the phone to everyone.
"So I can customize my phone if I wanted to?" a woman asked with her boyfriend in tow.
"Yes, ma'am, our Mirror phone come in the default simple white mood with our logo, but we can do a variety of things from intricate golden designs, flowery design, calligraphy, and so forth. Plus we can change frames from metal, wood, glass, and everything in between. We have everything to everyone's specimens."
"Wow," the woman said, "Jack could I please get this wonderful oceanic design."
With the successful opening of Mirror stores all over Magical Great Britain slowly but surely wizards and witches were trying out these new magical form of communication. Everywhere you looked you can see people carrying it around as word of mouth spread and more people came in droves.
With the guaranteed buy-back option more people were willing to try it out, some being skeptical others morose, and even more hopeful.
With Harry's name especially at the front of the campaign, it brought in even more people. And people were giving him credit for inventing the mirror phone and calling him all sorts of things like a genius and the new hope.
The newspapers were having a field day as day in day out they were coving the Mirror Phone calling it the new form of magical communication that would rock the magical world to its core. No longer did they have to run advertisements since they were fervently doing it for him.
Even large companies and organizations started to get into contact with Harry through Tobry asking for big orders. Such as the Ministry itself which was asking to buy thousands in bulk.
From the background, the enchanters worked tirelessly to produce even more Mirror Phones to meet the skyrocketing demand. Plus the arithmancers also did their job expanding the new network developed by Livia and to keep it stable and working.
Still even if he did want to expand to other countries he knew that it would take time, already his workers were swamped with calls coming in about this or that.
It was clear that he would have to take his new budding empire step by step.
Nevertheless, he was doing wonderfully here as gold pilled into his accounts by the day.
Watching from the background and staying out of the public view, it took great enjoyment in that.
Comments
Thanks for the chapter on a good story
