Coalball had gone off to play, so Sullivan started looking around Hagrid's hut at all the materials. To anyone who didn't know better, Hagrid's place looked rundown and shabby.
But to a wizard like Sullivan—or Snape—who actually knew how to craft things, it was basically a goldmine. Unicorn hairs, Acromantula fangs, all kinds of dried wild herbs… everything in there was worth a fortune.
Back when he was a student, Sullivan had gotten a ton of his experimental alchemy ingredients from Hagrid. Just like old times, he casually picked out a few things from around the hut.
Hagrid didn't mind at all. Sullivan was his friend, and honestly, most of this stuff was useless to him. If a mate wanted it, he could just take it.
Of course, Sullivan wasn't about to take it for free. He pulled out a magical smartphone, handed it to Hagrid, showed him how to use it, and added him to the family group chat.
Before heading out, Sullivan gave Hagrid Coalball's collar. "When she comes back, put this on her. She'll find her way back to me on her own. Anyway, I'm heading back now."
Hagrid took the collar and said, "Actually, if Coalball wants to stay here, that's fine too. I'd take good care of her."
Sullivan couldn't help but laugh. Hagrid's little scheme was practically audible. But he didn't care either way. "No problem. If she wants to stay, she can."
He left the hut and started walking toward the castle. It was pretty late by now. Suddenly, he heard a rustling in the grass up ahead. Sullivan tapped his glasses, switching them to thermal imaging mode.
Right away, he spotted two human-shaped figures sneaking out of a hidden passage. As they got closer, he saw they were holding a piece of parchment.
"Fred, come on, put the map away already. It only shows people inside the school—this far out, it's useless," one voice said.
"All right, George, I got it. Just turn on the lantern!" the other replied.
It was none other than the Weasley twins. When they finally switched on their magical lantern, they suddenly realized someone was standing silently right behind them.
"Ahh!" Fred and George yelled, stumbling backward and falling flat on their butts. Once they got a good look, though, they knew exactly who it was.
"Pr-Professor Sullivan!" The two of them looked like kids caught with their hands in the cookie jar—which, let's be honest, they absolutely were—and couldn't even meet his eyes.
Sullivan stepped forward, snatched the map right out of their hands, and said with a big grin, "Where'd you two get this map?"
George answered quickly, "We found it in Filch's office while we were serving detention."
"So you stole it, then?" Sullivan asked.
Fred jumped in right away. "Filch is a Squib—he can't even use it! It was just going to waste in his office. This isn't stealing; it's efficient resource allocation!"
Sullivan chuckled. "Nice justification. I seem to remember Headmaster Dumbledore saying just a couple days ago at the start-of-term feast that students are forbidden from going into the Forbidden Forest at night."
"We… we haven't gone into the forest yet," George tried. "We were just taking a little walk out here and were about to head back."
"Yeah, yeah, save it, guys. No need to lie to me. Even if you didn't go into the forest, being out here this late is still against the rules."
Sullivan thought for a second and said, "Gryffindor loses ten points because of you two. I'm confiscating this map. Now come on—back to the castle with me."
He turned and started walking. The twins trailed behind him like wilted eggplants, heads hanging low.
But they'd only gone a couple steps when Sullivan spun around and stared at them intently, his eyes practically glowing with excitement. It actually creeped the two of them out a little.
The reason? His system had just chimed in again: Congratulations! You've unlocked the achievement "Enemy of Gryffindor." Reward: +1 universal skill point.
Because of your actions, Gryffindor has lost 10 house points. You are now officially recognized as an enemy of Gryffindor House.
Sullivan still couldn't even complain about the system's wording. What "actions"? These two little lions broke the rules all on their own—he'd just deducted points fairly!
But he wasn't about to dwell on it. Right now he was way more curious: if deducting 10 points got him "Enemy of Gryffindor," what would 100 points get him? Or 1,000?
And if there was an Enemy of Gryffindor achievement, were there ones for Hufflepuff and Slytherin too? Taking it further—if deducting points gave achievements, did adding points do the same thing?
A whole string of ideas flashed through his mind like lightning. Sullivan was buzzing with excitement. He really wanted to test it—give these two 10 points, then immediately dock them 100.
After a long internal debate, he decided against it. That would be way too obvious, and deducting 100 points at once was beyond his authority anyway. Plenty of time for that later.
He escorted the twins all the way back to the Gryffindor common room. Before leaving, he tapped the map and warned them, "No more sneaking around. I can see you, you know!"
"Yes, Professor Sullivan," they mumbled weakly before slipping inside.
Back in his office with the map in hand, Sullivan couldn't stop smiling. He'd been eyeing the Marauder's Map for ages, and now it was finally his.
The creators were from his own year—another alchemy prodigy, Sirius Black.
Back then, Sullivan and Snape had been on one side, while James Potter, Sirius, Lupin, and Pettigrew were on the other. The two groups were constantly clashing in little ways.
Snape alone couldn't hold his own against the four of them, but once Sullivan teamed up with him, things evened out.
Sullivan had been the school's famous alchemy genius, but the existence of the Marauder's Map had always been a thorn in his side.
He'd tried more than once to replicate it, but he could never quite match its effects. In the end, he'd had to give up.
Now that he finally had the real thing, he was determined to study the alchemical secrets hidden inside it.
Back in his office, Sullivan spread out the parchment and pulled out his full set of alchemy tools. He ran every scan and test he could think of.
After a long while, he let out a triumphant laugh. "Hahaha! Sirius, I thought you were some once-in-a-century alchemy genius who invented something even I couldn't pull off. Turns out you just cheated a little!"
But then he shook his head. "No, no—you really are a genius. Finding a loophole like that? That's brilliant."
The truth was, the Marauder's Map Sirius made wasn't as miraculous as everyone thought. It didn't work through its own magical circuits or runes.
More accurately, the map itself was just a display screen. The real core was Hogwarts Castle itself.
Sirius had simply discovered an interface in the castle's magical network and turned it into a map.
Once Sullivan understood the principle, he tried something new: he connected that interface to his magical smartphone.
And just like that, a new app appeared on the phone. The icon was a little castle, and the function? An upgraded, pro version of the Marauder's Map.