Back at Hogwarts, Sullivan headed straight to Dumbledore's office to brief him on everything Harry had gone through.
Dumbledore thought for a moment. "Sullivan, whose house-elf do you think that was? And what conspiracy was it talking about?"
Sullivan rolled his eyes. "Professor, if I knew everything, why would I be here talking to you?"
Dumbledore choked on his words a bit but didn't get mad. "Since you already know the ins and outs of this, I'm asking you to keep digging. Find out the truth behind it. And if possible, do everything you can to keep Harry safe."
System Alert: Ding! Congratulations, you've triggered the main quest: The Headmaster's Request. Uncover the truth behind the conspiracy targeting Harry Potter next term and ensure his safety. Reward upon completion: +1 Free Skill Point.
Hearing that notification, Sullivan beamed. Just as he'd guessed, the System's main storyline this year was split again—one path tied to Harry Potter, and the other to Dumbledore.
After accepting Dumbledore's request, Sullivan returned to his office. He now had two free skill points and decided to push his Transfiguration to LV8.
After his trip to the Hopping Pot's pocket dimension, Sullivan's inflated ego had cooled down. He started seriously analyzing his combat style and overall skill system.
For the past dozen years, he'd mostly relied on alchemical gadgets in a fight. It was what he did best. But relying on gadgets had obvious drawbacks: it required prep time and setting up the battlefield. If it was a scheduled duel, fine. If it was a sudden ambush or a fight on enemy turf, that fighting style was way too restrictive.
However, combining Transfiguration and Alchemy to create the all-in-one die-casting machine had shown him new possibilities. What if he could fight while simultaneously using Transfiguration and Alchemy to instantly forge custom items to counter his enemies on the fly? The visual alone...
So, Sullivan's next goal was to max out both Transfiguration and Magic to LV10 to test how viable this combat system actually was.
He dumped the two points in. A massive surge of Transfiguration knowledge flooded his brain. He hadn't stopped studying the subject lately, which gave him an even bigger boost during the level-up. Once the upgrade was complete, Sullivan felt like he was finally ready to tackle the Animagus transformation.
The Rise of Arthur Weasley
Over the next few days, Sullivan checked Today's Headlines daily. Arthur Weasley had quickly become the biggest star in the wizarding world, with the app ensuring the public saw his efforts.
August 1st: Arthur Weasley led a raid on nine wizarding households, confiscating four dark magic artifacts and 17 illegally modified Muggle items.
August 3rd: Arthur proposed the new Muggle Protection Act to ensure wizards wouldn't cause uncontrollable harm during unavoidable interactions with Muggles.
August 4th: Arthur introduced the Muggle Artifact Usage Guidelines to help integrate high-quality Muggle products into the wizarding world, making life more convenient for everyone.
Meanwhile, Today's Headlines casually slipped mentions of the latest Muggle tech into its short stories, subtly changing how wizards viewed Muggles over time.
Diagon Alley Drama
Friday, August 7th.
Sullivan headed to Diagon Alley. Today was the day Molly was taking the Weasley kids shopping for their new school books. Sullivan was excited—he wanted to see exactly what surprises Voldemort's Horcrux diary might offer him.
+1
He didn't meet up with Molly's group right away. Gilderoy Lockhart's book signing was in full swing, and Sullivan really didn't want to deal with that guy. Instead, he swung by the Avery family's Magic Phone store first.
The shop had opened on August 1st. The brand was still "Flying Feather," but with the Avery family running the die-casting machines 24 hours a day, they had stockpiled a massive 1,200 phones for launch. Going forward, they could supply 40 phones daily.
Having actual stock on hand meant business was booming. Sullivan took a quick look around and noticed the layout was a direct copy of his Hogsmeade experience store. After chatting with an employee, he learned the initial 1,200 phones had completely sold out. Now, their daily batch of 40 phones was usually gone within six hours.
Satisfied with the update, Sullivan finally made his way to Flourish and Blotts. Just as he walked in, he caught Lucius Malfoy verbally tearing into the Weasleys.
"Arthur, you seem awfully busy lately. I hear you've been raiding quite a few wizarding homes!" Lucius Malfoy sneered. "With all those raids... I suppose the Ministry must be paying you overtime, right?"
Lucius reached into Ginny's cauldron, pulling a pristine copy of A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration from among her glossy new Lockhart books.
"Looks like they are. If memory serves, the Weasley children usually have to make do with secondhand books. Yet here you are, buying new ones this year. Your father must really dote on you, little girl!" Lucius mockingly shoved the book back into Ginny's cauldron, right where he would eventually slip the Horcrux diary.
Lucius reached out to stroke Ginny's cheek, but Arthur barked, "Lucius, keep your filthy hands off her. Stay away from my daughter."
Arthur yanked Ginny behind him protectively. Lucius just scoffed. "What, do you honestly think I'd try to set this brat up with my son? The Malfoy family would never intermarry with blood traitors."
That completely set Arthur off. He threw a punch, clocking Lucius right in the face. The two men tackled each other, sending several bookshelves crashing to the floor.
"Get him, Dad!" the twins cheered wildly.
Molly shrieked, "Arthur, no! Stop it!"
In the background, Mr. and Mrs. Granger stood dumbfounded. They never expected magical beings to throw hands exactly like regular Muggles.
Lucius kicked Arthur off him, using the momentum to roll backward while drawing his wand from his pocket. Arthur clutched his chest, trying to catch his breath. Seeing Lucius pull his wand, Molly instantly panicked and drew hers, aiming it right at him.
Just as things were about to boil over, Sullivan stepped out of the crowd.
"Lucius, long time no see. I didn't realize your brawling technique had improved so much over the years!"
Sullivan obviously knew Lucius Malfoy. Back when Sullivan was a second-year student, Lucius had been a seventh-year. Back then, Sullivan had invented a bunch of little alchemical gadgets to make some quick cash, and Lucius had been one of his biggest VIP clients.
Lucius had also been the Slytherin prefect at the time, while Snape was the rising potions prodigy. Probably to win Snape over, Lucius had backed him up multiple times when he clashed with James Potter.
But one time, the conflict escalated into a massive brawl between Gryffindor and Slytherin. And in that fight, Lucius ended up getting beaten the absolute worst out of everyone.