Seeing that Snape had agreed, Sullivan was thrilled. "Alright, I'll leave this with you. According to the diary, once that human-skin book is steeped in a specific 'Wand-Soaking Solution,' a map will reveal itself. That sort of thing is right up your alley."
Snape asked grumpily, "When do you plan to set off? We need to be fully prepared."
Sullivan thought for a moment. This wasn't something to rush, and he needed to make his own preparations. "Next summer," he decided. "I have classes during the term, the Christmas holidays are too short, and with the Magic Phone just launching, I can't exactly step away."
Hearing this, Snape visibly relaxed. "Fine, I got it. If there's nothing else, get out. Just looking at you right now is annoying."
"As you wish!" Having achieved his goal, Sullivan didn't linger. He turned and walked out of Snape's office.
---
The following days returned to a peaceful rhythm. Sullivan's daily routine consisted of research, classes, and keeping Tonks company.
The members of "Raven's Feather," however, were incredibly active. Their pre-sales of the Magic Phone within the school were going quite smoothly.
Sullivan had originally assumed one of the Weasley twins would be the sales champion. They had a wide network and were used to selling prank items, so they had established channels.
In reality, the top seller was Gemma Farley. The girl had leveraged her status as a Slytherin Prefect to sweet-talk the wealthy trust-fund kids in her House, managing to sell 36 units.
George and Fred combined only sold 42. Cedric came in next with 15 units.
Alice had the lowest performance, selling only 10, though she had practically handled the entire "new recruit assessment plan" Sullivan had requested on her own.
---
On December 23rd, Snape finally finished brewing the Sanguine Purifying Draught. Sullivan suspected the man had timed it precisely so Tonks could go home for Christmas.
In the Hospital Wing, Tonks lay in bed, clutching a vial of blood-red potion. Madam Pomfrey, Dumbledore, Snape, and Sullivan stood by her side.
Dumbledore held a vial of emerald-green potion. He nodded to Sullivan and Tonks. "We may begin."
Tonks looked at the potion in her hand, clearly a bit apprehensive. Sullivan ruffled her hair encouragingly. "Don't worry. I'm here, and Professor Dumbledore is here. It'll be fine."
"And what use are you exactly?" Snape scoffed from the side.
Sullivan glared at him, then took Tonks's hand. She nodded at him and downed the potion in one gulp.
The next moment, crimson veins resembling spiderwebs began to spread from Tonks's pale neck, crawling up her face. Her expression twisted in pain.
She squeezed Sullivan's hand tightly, controlling herself to keep from screaming. Feeling the strength in her grip, Sullivan felt anxious and looked toward Dumbledore.
Snape's voice cut in again. "No, not yet. We must wait for the potion to permeate her entire system. The crimson web must reach her fingertips and toes; otherwise, tainted blood will remain in her body."
Sullivan respected the judgment of professionals. He could only grip Tonks's hand just as firmly, as if trying to transfer his own strength to her.
Finally, after ten agonizing minutes, the red spider patterns appeared on Tonks's wrists and ankles, slowly inching forward. Throughout the entire process, despite the immense pain, Tonks didn't make a sound.
"Now!" Snape barked.
Dumbledore waved his hand. The green potion flowed out of the vial, transforming into thousands of fine threads that accurately latched onto every single spider-web vein on Tonks's body.
Madam Pomfrey wasn't idle either. She waved her wand, chanting healing incantations. Pale golden light poured from her wand tip like spring water, washing over Tonks.
Tonks visibly relaxed, her expression softening as the spider patterns faded at a visible rate.
About ten minutes later, Tonks suddenly coughed up a mouthful of black blood. Sullivan was quick; with a wave of his hand, he used magic to catch the dark liquid mid-air, guiding it into the empty vial Tonks had just used.
"What are you doing? That is the corrupt blood of a Vampire Lord. It's a highly malicious Dark ingredient," Snape frowned.
Dumbledore also looked at Sullivan, waiting for an explanation.
Sullivan calmly pocketed the vial of cursed blood. "Nothing much. I'm just taking it back for research. That vampire isn't dead yet. Since he dared to cast a Blood Curse on Tonks, I need to make sure I leave a lasting impression on him the next time we meet."
Dumbledore nodded slowly. "Sullivan, please be careful."
"Don't worry, Professor," Sullivan assured him.
By now, the red spider webs had completely faded, and Tonks had fallen into a deep sleep. Her hair had shifted from silver back to black, indicating her magical core was functioning normally again.
Dumbledore checked Tonks one last time. "She is fine. Her magical flow is normal, and there is no lasting damage. She should be right as rain when she wakes up."
Sullivan adjusted Tonks's position and tucked her in. He bowed formally to the three professors. "Thank you all very much for this. Regarding the Magic Phones you ordered, I'll have Twinkle deliver them to you before midnight tonight."
---
When Tonks woke up, it was already evening. She opened her eyes to see a man sitting by her bedside, holding a book and reading.
From her angle, she could only see Sullivan's profile. He looked serious, seemingly deep in thought.
Tonks couldn't help but recall their first meeting. Sullivan had mistaken her for a stalker and subdued her with that strange magic gun of his.
Then came their time living under the same roof, the chance encounter in Hogsmeade, and finally, when she was captured by the vampire... the first person she had wanted to call out to was Sullivan.
She hadn't expected him to actually come. Like a prince in a fairy tale, he had stormed the castle, defeated the evil vampire, and saved her—even if the process had been a bit messy.
Now, seeing him keeping her company so gently, Tonks felt her heart lock onto him completely. In an instant, her hair turned a vibrant coral pink.
"You're awake! How do you feel?" Sullivan noticed the change in color and put down his book.
"I feel great! I'm back to being the energetic young Auror I was meant to be!" Tonks smiled sweetly, stretching her limbs before hopping off the hospital bed.
"Alright, I know you're tough. But next time you run into a mission that dangerous, try to dodge a little. Don't just charge to the front line like a fool," Sullivan lectured.
Tonks put her hands on her hips. "That won't do. I'm a Metamorphmagus. I'm best suited for gathering intelligence, so naturally, I have to be at the front."
"Like this time? If I hadn't gotten there when I did, you'd be a vampire by now! Aren't you scared at all?" Sullivan scolded her lightly.
"I was scared. But there are things you have to do even if you're scared, right? You risked your life to save me, didn't you?" Tonks tilted her head up, seemingly very stubborn about this point.
Sullivan was stumped. He couldn't exactly say, 'Actually, I was prepared to run away at any second.'
That would ruin the mood. So, he just waved his hand, pretending to be nonchalant. "Fine, fine, whatever makes you happy. Just don't come crying to me next time it gets dangerous."
Tonks stuck out her tongue and hugged Sullivan's arm. "I promise, I'll be doubly careful next time."
---
After lunch, Tonks had her things packed. At the gates of Hogwarts castle, she hugged Sullivan reluctantly.
"I'm off, then!" Tonks waved.
"Go on, get moving. You've said that five times already," Sullivan said helplessly.
"I haven't been home in a month. I have to go back for Christmas, or my mum might storm Hogwarts herself," Tonks explained again.
Sullivan was calm about it. Having lived alone for 90% of his life, he was used to solitude. He waved back. "It's fine. Take care of yourself!"
---
After seeing Tonks off, Sullivan didn't return to the castle. Instead, he went straight to the factory shop in Hogsmeade. The place was bustling with activity.
The equipment in the workshop ran non-stop. As soon as parts were produced, they were assembled. With three production lines and only one master assembler, even Lupin had to roll up his sleeves and join in on the manual labor.
Even Teemo, the factory's head of security, had been drafted by Lupin to help fold packaging boxes.
Outside the shop, curious villagers occasionally peeked in, trying to figure out what exactly this "Magic Phone" thing was.
"Remus, why aren't you letting those people outside come in?" Sullivan asked.
Lupin didn't stop working. He replied gruffly, "Why let them in? The product hasn't officially launched yet."
Sullivan slapped his forehead. He had been so busy with networking that he forgot to mention the strategy.
From the start, Sullivan intended the shop to be like a modern "Experience Store"—a showroom. But he hadn't explained the concept to Lupin.
"Let them come in and play with the phones. If people haven't seen what the product is like, why would they shell out money for it?" Sullivan said.
Lupin paused, then shook his head. "No, we're all busy working. There's no one to watch the shop. What if they steal the phones?"
That was a valid point. Sullivan thought for a moment, then went to the front retail area. He waved his wand, transfiguring several existing tables into the long, sleek display tables you'd see in a modern phone store.
He used a Levitation Charm to arrange them, then took out several Magic Phones. He named them by number, added them as friends to each other, and placed them on the long tables.
Finally, he cast a series of spells: Anti-Apparition Jinxes, Sticking Charms, and most importantly, a Caterwauling Charm set to trigger a piercing alarm if a phone was moved more than three feet from the table.
Once everything was set, Sullivan threw open the shop doors.
Immediately, someone asked, "Professor Sullivan, are you opening early?"
Sullivan smiled. "We're open, but we aren't selling just yet."
The man scoffed. "If you aren't selling, why open?"
"We call this an Experience Store. Naturally, that means we want everyone to come in and experience the product first. Come on in, everyone," Sullivan beckoned the dozen or so curious onlookers inside.
These were Hogsmeade villagers and local shop owners, mostly there to see what the fuss was about.
Sullivan didn't stop them. He let them browse and figure things out for themselves. He poured tea for everyone and occasionally dropped a hint or two. Very quickly, the guests were immersed in the joy of messaging and group chats.
---
December 24th, Christmas Eve.
Hogwarts was officially on break. Many students were heading to the station to catch the train home, though some stayed behind at the castle.
The "Raven's Feather" group was among those staying. The five of them showed up at Sullivan's shop early in the morning. Having made a decent amount of commission selling phones, they felt obligated to help out in their spare time.
Sullivan didn't exactly treat them as employees, though. He sent them to the lounge area to play, telling them to just teach customers how to use the phones if they felt like it.
If you asked which shop in Hogsmeade was the hottest spot today, it was undoubtedly the " Magic Phone Experience Store."
The price tag of 50 Galleons was roughly a month's salary for an average wizard. It was the kind of purchase that was affordable, but still pinched the wallet enough to make one hesitate.
Sullivan had allocated a quota of 400 units for the UK. By early morning, 219 orders had already been shipped out via owls and house-elves.
Many villagers and shop owners who had tested the devices yesterday showed up first thing in the morning to pay and claim their own Magic Phones.
Sullivan deliberately kept only one sales window open and dragged out the process of verifying the device and explaining the features. This caused the checkout speed to crawl, forcing people to queue up.
The foot traffic in Hogsmeade was huge today. Students staying at school and wizards out Christmas shopping filled the streets.
Passersby who were just walking past saw the queue and got curious, wandering in to see what good stuff the shop had.
This was where Gemma Farley and the others came in handy. They used their own Magic Phones and the demo units to show the customers the ropes.
Once customers realized how convenient the Magic Phone was, a portion of them joined the queue. This created a positive feedback loop, giving the illusion that the Magic Phone was in critically short supply.
Sullivan had also tipped off Rita Skeeter for a follow-up report on her previous news story. He was confident that within a few days, the Magic Phone would genuinely be in short supply.
At that point, he could consider pulling a "Steve Jobs" maneuver and engaging in some hunger marketing. As for scalpers driving up the price? Sullivan didn't really mind.
It wasn't that Sullivan was particularly noble; he just wanted to capture the market share quickly. If the semi-automatic casting and pressing equipment weren't so expensive to build, he would have already set up another two production lines.