In Sullivan's office, a fist-sized silver-white orb floated above a circular base, glowing with the cool, ethereal beauty of a moon hanging in the night sky.
Up close, the orb was covered in countless intricate magical runes. Flowing through those runes was a liquid filled with starlight—unicorn blood.
Sullivan pulled out his Magic Phone, tapped the orb lightly with his wand, then lifted it upward. A cascade of silver threads poured out like broken lotus roots.
He guided the threads with his wand and fed them into his phone. The silver strands converged inside the device and formed a new icon: a fan-shaped pattern made of four glowing blue arcs labeled Magical Network.
Sullivan tapped the icon. A smaller Magical Network symbol appeared at the top of his phone screen, showing the device was now connected to the server.
Right now the server was completely empty. He opened the Admin app on his phone. Streams of light spilled out and formed a floating magical control panel in mid-air—the custom editor software he'd built specifically for the network server.
Over the next few hours, Sullivan threw together a bare-bones web-page template. He uploaded the editor's user guide and a few alchemy textbooks.
Then he dumped the whole installation package into the Raven's Feather group chat.
It looked a lot like sending an app download in the Muggle world, but the tech was different. Without a full server yet, he was using a combination of the Copying Charm and Floo Network transmission. Once he sent it, the other phones instantly received the complete package.
Pros: instant, no download wait. Cons: not very secure. If magical viruses ever became a thing, phones could be compromised way too easily.
The Raven's Feather group was usually pretty lively. The five kids chatted and joked in there all the time, occasionally dropping bits of new knowledge they'd learned, hoping Sullivan would notice and give them a thumbs-up.
He rarely spoke in the chat himself—just lurked and observed. So when he suddenly dumped a huge batch of files, the group exploded.
Fred: Professor Su, what the heck is this stuff?
Cedric: It says it can be installed—new app!
Gemma Farley: Professor, you work way too fast! We're still nowhere near done with Wizard's Chess… 😭
Alice: Whoa, this Magical Network and browser thing looks pretty cool.
Sullivan: Install everything. Then study the editor tutorial in the browser. You can start adding whatever you like to the pages in your spare time.
Rules are the same as before. Plan out your page layouts. I'll check your progress in one month.
George: Got it——
Fred: +1
The Magical Network server was now technically live, but it was still a long way from a finished product. The base could only supply enough magic for ten phones to stay connected for twenty-four hours straight.
Because of the limited power, the server was slow and clunky. Anything over a thousand simultaneous requests would probably cause noticeable lag. If he tried to open it to the entire wizarding world right now, it would choke instantly.
He still had a lot of optimization left to do. He definitely needed to get his hands on the Philosopher's Stone for research.
Once he finished setting everything up, Sullivan was about to call it a night when someone knocked on his office door.
He opened it—and froze.
Standing there was Quirrell.
Sullivan instinctively took a half-step back before catching himself. He forced his face into a neutral expression. "Professor Quirrell. It's pretty late—what can I do for you?"
Quirrell looked deathly pale, with heavy dark circles under his eyes. He caught Sullivan's small backward step and narrowed his eyes. "Professor Sullivan… it seems you've figured something out."
"No—I mean, what are you talking about?" Sullivan's voice came out a little tight.
That Killing Curse from earlier was still fresh in his mind. If Quirrell was here to start something…
Then again, this was Hogwarts, Dumbledore's turf. If Quirrell tried anything, he'd be dead before he could blink.
Quirrell lowered his voice to a whisper. "Professor Sullivan, I don't care what you've discovered. You're a smart man. You know Dumbledore is old. The Dark Lord will return. You'd be wise to choose the right side."
He wasn't even pretending anymore.
Sullivan figured Voldemort already knew Dumbledore had caught on to Quirrell. The old man was probably letting it play out to draw Voldemort himself into the open. As long as Voldemort didn't show up in person, Quirrell was temporarily safe.
Sullivan kept his tone even. "I've always been good at picking sides. No need for you to worry about that, Professor Quirrell."
"Don't be so quick to refuse. Think it over. The Master doesn't need you to do anything for him. Just stay out of his way. When he returns, he'll reward you with power beyond your imagination. Consider it carefully."
Quirrell didn't wait for an answer. He turned and left.
After the door closed, Sullivan stood in his office for a long time, thinking.
Joining Voldemort? Absolutely not. The guy was a psychotic murderer who'd kill you on a whim.
But right now he had no easy way to deal with Quirrell. For the moment, all he could do was wait and see.
The next morning Sullivan got a message from Hagrid: Su, got some free time? Come by my hut. Could use your help!
Sullivan had no idea what Hagrid could possibly need from him, but he had no morning classes, so he headed straight over.
He knocked. It took a while before the door cracked open and Hagrid peeked out, looking ridiculously suspicious for a guy his size. The half-giant trying to act sneaky was like a minotaur playing cat burglar—awkward as hell.
"Quick, get in!" Hagrid checked the coast was clear, then yanked the door open just wide enough for Sullivan to slip through.
"What's going on, Hagrid? You hiding a female giant in here or something?" Sullivan teased.
Hagrid gave a nervous rumble. "Course not. Su, come look at this!"
He walked over to the coffee table and whipped off the cloth covering it. A huge dragon egg sat there.
Ah. So that's what this is about. Sullivan suddenly understood. Quirrell must have already tricked Hagrid into revealing Fluffy's weakness—music puts the three-headed dog to sleep.
"Su, think you could make me an incubator? Dragon eggs need steady high heat to hatch," Hagrid asked hopefully.
Building a temperature-controlled box was easy enough, but Sullivan remembered Hagrid was supposed to hatch this dragon himself. Plus, this was the first dragon egg he'd ever seen up close. He leaned in for a better look.
"No problem, Hagrid. But honestly, I don't think it even needs an incubator. You could probably just toss it straight into the fire."
While examining the shell, Sullivan noticed faint magical runes etched into it. They were complex—hardening and protection, insulation, and a mechanism that converted heat into magic to feed the embryo inside.
No wonder dragons are apex predators among Class-5 magical creatures. The whole damn egg is basically a self-sustaining magical furnace.
"Hey, Hagrid," Sullivan asked, "what usually happens to the eggshell after the dragon hatches?"
"Normally the baby eats it," Hagrid said. "It's their first meal—gives 'em a real boost to grow fast."
That explains why dragon eggshells never show up on the market. Sullivan's mind was already spinning. Dragon-egg shell was fantastic alchemical material. He needed to get his hands on some.
"Hagrid, be honest—you're planning to raise this dragon in secret, aren't you?" Sullivan pressed.
Hagrid's eyes darted around guiltily. "Su, I have to take care of him. A baby dragon'll die quick without proper looking after."
"But where are you going to keep it? From what I know, dragons grow to two or three meters in six months—and they fly. How exactly do you plan to hide something like that?"
Hagrid looked miserable. Sullivan had hit the exact problem he'd been worrying about.
"I've got an idea," Sullivan said, timing it perfectly.
"What? Tell me!" Hagrid grabbed his arm like a drowning man clutching a rope.
"We can slow its growth a little. Don't let it eat the shell. And remember the collar I made for Coal Ball?"
"I could make one for the dragon too. It'll keep the baby small. It won't be able to disguise itself as another animal, so you'll still have to keep it hidden. But at least it won't be flying around the castle."
"Oh, Su! You're the best person in the whole world—I don't know how to thank you!" Hagrid looked like he might cry.
Sullivan felt a tiny pang of guilt—like he was taking advantage of the big softie—but he still said, "No big deal, Hagrid. We're friends. Just… when the baby hatches, can I have the eggshell? I want to run some experiments with it."
"Take the whole thing if you want!" Hagrid agreed instantly. The shell was useless to him anyway.
Over the next few days Sullivan first built Hagrid a cylindrical incubator that could hold a steady 180–200 degrees. It looked suspiciously like a magical air fryer. He tried not to imagine what would happen if Hagrid accidentally "cooked" Norbert.
The shrinking collar was a lot harder. Sullivan only managed a rough prototype; he'd have to fine-tune it once the dragon actually hatched and he could match the device to its exact physiology.
Time passed. Quirrell seemed to have forgotten about him. After that late-night visit he never came back.
But anyone with eyes could see Quirrell was getting worse. His face was corpse-pale, eyes sunken. He looked even sicker than the vampire count Sullivan had fought.
Sullivan had a feeling Voldemort's plan was about to kick into high gear. Otherwise Quirrell's body was going to give out first.
"Su, quick—get over here! I think Norbert's about to hatch!" Sullivan's phone buzzed with Hagrid's excited message.
"Who's Norbert?" Sullivan typed back.
"The dragon! That's what I named him!"
Sullivan stared at the screen for a second, then glanced at Coal Ball. "Shouldn't you have gone with something like Hammer or Steelclaw?"
"???"
He put the phone away. He was genuinely annoyed. Everyone else in this world was terrible at naming things—how the hell had Hagrid landed on a normal name?
When he reached Hagrid's hut he knocked. The door opened—and Harry was standing there.
Sullivan slapped his forehead. "Hagrid, why'd you bring them into this?"
Hagrid scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "They saw me at the library looking up dragon books, so… It's fine, Su. They're my friends too."
Sullivan shook his head. "It's not fine. Every extra person who knows raises the chance you get caught."
"Professor Sullivan, we swear—we absolutely will not tell anyone else!" Hermione shot to her feet, chin high, glaring like her honor had been insulted.
Sullivan didn't feel like arguing with the three loudest secret-keepers in Gryffindor. He simply yanked the collar off Coal Ball's neck.
"Coal Ball, go check outside. Make sure no other students are around."
Coal Ball leaped from his arms and instantly swelled into a two-meter-long black panther. Hermione yelped and fell back into her chair. Harry and Ron were seeing her true form for the first time.
Sullivan wasn't worried about them knowing. Dumbledore already did, and with the headmaster's protection, Coal Ball would be fine.
Logically, now that Hagrid and the trio all had Magic Phones, communication was private and instant. Malfoy shouldn't have been able to follow them.
Reality, however, refused to cooperate.
A few minutes later Coal Ball came back dragging Malfoy by the collar.
"Let me go! Let me go! My father is on the Board of Governors—you can't do this to me!" Malfoy kicked and flailed, still trying to intimidate everyone with his dad's name.
The second he saw Sullivan inside the hut, he went completely silent.
After the flying-lesson incident, Malfoy had run to his father again. Lucius had chewed him out so badly that the boy had actually shut up for once.
Inside the castle Malfoy might still mouth off. Out here? He knew better.
Seeing the little brat, Sullivan felt a headache coming on. He couldn't exactly do anything drastic to him.
"Master Malfoy," he said evenly, "why were you lurking outside?"
"I was just passing by! Needed to use the bathroom!" Malfoy snapped.
Everyone gave him the same are you serious? look. Even he realized how stupid it sounded.
"I knew Potter and the others were up to something secret, so I followed them," he admitted sullenly.
"And what exactly do you know?" Sullivan pulled out a small vial of truth potion. "Don't lie. I have Veritaserum."