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When Sullivan saw Hermione's message, he'd already guessed what it was about. But Harry had a Magic Phone now—he shouldn't have been completely unreachable!
"Harry's in trouble? What happened?" Sullivan asked.
Hermione replied almost instantly: "Harry hasn't answered me in two whole weeks. He's ignoring Ron's messages too, and he hasn't posted a single thing on Moments."
"Ron and I even wrote him real letters, but still nothing. It's like he's vanished off the face of the earth."
Right then the System chimed: Ding! Congratulations—you've triggered the main quest: The Boy Who Lived 3.
Quest details: Your friend Harry Potter seems to have run into some kind of trouble and lost all contact with the outside world. Locate Harry Potter before August 1st and figure out exactly why he went dark. Reward upon completion: one free skill point.
Sullivan stroked his chin. Looked like the Malfoy family's house-elf had probably swiped Harry's Magic Phone along with the letters. This quest was going to be a piece of cake for him.
"What are you planning to do?" Sullivan asked Hermione.
"I don't know," she answered. "But Ron says he and his brothers are going to check on Harry on his birthday. I'm worried they'll cause a huge mess, so I came to you first."
"Got it. I'll handle this. Don't worry," Sullivan told her. He then messaged the Weasley twins and Arthur Weasley, telling them to stand down—he had it covered.
On the evening of July 31st, Sullivan pulled up outside Number 4 Privet Drive in Little Whinging with Teemo riding shotgun in his Bentley. They hadn't Apparated; he wanted to arrive the Muggle way.
He told Teemo to wait in the car, walked up to the front door, and knocked.
When the door opened, Sullivan saw all five Dursleys plus two extra guests—Vernon's so-called big clients, no doubt.
Vernon didn't clock him as a wizard right away. Sullivan was dressed sharp, and the Bentley parked under the streetlight screamed money.
"May I help you?" Vernon asked, surprisingly polite.
"Hello. I'm Sullivan, professor at Hogwarts. I'm here to see Harry Potter. His classmates mentioned he's been out of touch lately," Sullivan said, keeping his tone civil.
The second "Hogwarts" left his mouth, Vernon's face twisted. Petunia and Dudley's eyes went wide as dinner plates.
"There's no Harry Potter here—you've got the wrong house!" Vernon snapped, attitude flipping one-eighty as he tried to slam the door.
Sullivan didn't hate the Dursleys. Not really. They'd taken in their orphaned nephew with zero financial help after Petunia's sister died. Strip away the "Boy Who Lived" stuff and it was actually kind of touching.
But they were also weird as hell—terrified of wizards, secretly jealous, yet desperate to act like they were in total control whenever one showed up. Classic overcompensating insecurity.
He wasn't going to indulge it. "Mr. Dursley, I suggest you think very carefully about whether you can handle the consequences of shutting this door in my face."
Vernon's hand froze mid-swing. His face turned an ugly shade of purple as he wrestled with himself.
Sullivan didn't wait. He stepped inside like he owned the place, gave the two guests a polite nod, and said, "Evening, gentlemen. If it's not too much trouble, I'd recommend you leave. Things might get… unpleasant in here shortly."
"Who the hell do you think you are, telling people what to do in my house—" Dudley started.
Sullivan raised a finger to his lips with a soft shh. Dudley's mouth snapped shut; all that came out was a muffled "mmph."
"I think everyone's on the same page now," Sullivan said with a pleasant smile.
The two guests took one look at the impossible situation and bolted, muttering hasty goodbyes to Vernon on their way out.
Vernon's face went from red to black. He glared at Sullivan. "There goes my biggest order of the year. Happy now? The boy you want is upstairs. Go get him yourself!"
Sullivan ignored him and headed straight up. The moment he stepped into Harry's room, the kid lit up and threw his arms around him.
"Professor Sullivan! You have no idea how glad I am to see you! There's this house-elf who stole my Magic Phone and intercepted all my mail—"
Harry rattled off the whole story in one breathless rush. When he finally wound down, Sullivan asked, "A house-elf? How'd you even spot him?"
"He showed up on his own and warned me," Harry said. "Said there's some big conspiracy brewing and that if I go back to Hogwarts I'll be in mortal danger."
Sullivan nodded and fired off a quick text to Teemo: Any other house-elves in the area?
Should be none, Master! Teemo replied almost immediately.
So the little guy had already left. Sullivan had half-expected a fight.
"Never mind. Pack your things, Harry. We're getting you out of here," Sullivan said. He wanted the quest reward first; they could sort the rest later.
"Really? You can actually take me?" Harry looked ready to explode with joy. "I mean—yes! I'll pack right now!"
"You are not taking him anywhere," Vernon snarled, stomping up the stairs. "We're his legal guardians. You have no right!"
"You don't even like Harry, do you?" Sullivan asked.
"Damn right we don't!"
"Then me taking him should be exactly what you want, right?"
"No—no, you can't! You have no authority—" Vernon insisted, still digging his heels in.
Sullivan paused. In the original story Vernon had nearly thrown himself out a window to stop Harry from leaving. It never made sense to him—wouldn't the Dursleys be thrilled to get rid of the kid?
But standing here now, Coal Ball's mental link gave him the answer. Vernon didn't know Sullivan from Adam. He was genuinely afraid some stranger might hurt Harry.
It was completely illogical… and yet painfully human. Even after eleven years of resenting the boy, the second real danger appeared, Vernon's protective instincts kicked in.
Sullivan gave Vernon's shoulder a light pat and showed him the official Hogwarts professor appointment letter. "Mr. Dursley, do you know Avery Construction?"
Vernon blinked, suspicious. "Of course. They're one of the top three building firms in Britain."
"Perfect," Sullivan said. "I happen to be on very good terms with the owner. Next time we meet, if your attitude toward me—and toward Harry—is a little more… cooperative, I might be able to throw some business your way."
Vernon looked stunned. "You people… you have influence in our world too?"
Sullivan just smiled, not confirming or denying. "Did you really think wizards with this much individual power would spend their entire lives hiding?"