The door closed behind Barry, and the faint sound of him humming a tune drifted down the corridor. The tune was off-key, but you could tell he was in a good mood.
Christopher sat behind the desk, glancing down at the manuscript with its edges neatly trimmed, a smile still lingering on his lips.
He placed the manuscript on top of the pile of unprocessed documents on his left and reached for his teacup.
The tea had gone lukewarm, Christopher tilted his head back and gulped down the remaining half cup, then stood up and stretched his shoulders.
The news spread faster than he had anticipated.
That afternoon, Barry had the marketing department release the launch announcement. The copy was concise, just one line:
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Part 2) and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Complete Edition) will be available simultaneously across Great Britain on November 15th.
Below was a design draft of the new poster: a black dog leaps out from the moonlight on a dark purple background, its shadow stretching long, its tail brushing against the silhouette of Hogwarts Castle.
The poster features the Bloomsbury logo in the lower right corner and a line of small print in the upper left corner. "The first eleven chapters are included in the first half; the second half contains chapters twelve through twenty-two."
The announcement first appeared in the industry news section of the weekly magazine " The Bookseller," and by that evening it had caught the attention of the culture editors of major newspapers.
In the editorial office on Fleet Street in London, the phone had been ringing non-stop since evening.
First, an assistant editor from the culture section of the Times called the front desk at Bloomsbury to ask if they could get the manuscript in advance for a book review.
The receptionist had been instructed on what to say, and spoke politely but without exposing any flaws, only saying that "the sample books will be mailed out a week before the release date."
Then the Daily Telegraph called, this time directly to Barry.
Barry chuckled on the other end of the phone, saying, "Dude, you know our rules," then hung up and shrugged at Christopher.
Christopher was busy making phone calls to nearby partner manufacturers.
The first call was to a workshop in East End of London that makes precision metal models. That workshop had previously made replica pocket watches for museums, and its craftsmanship was among the best in Great Britain.
Christopher explained the design requirements for the Time-Turner over the phone:
The golden hourglass is set in a rotating ring, the surface of which must have fine rune engravings. The golden sand in the hourglass must have a flowing texture, not be a sealed decoration.
The old craftsman on the other end of the phone was silent for a while after hearing the story, clearly somewhat bewildered.
After thinking for a while, the old craftsman still grunted and said, "I'll take the job, but it will take at least four weeks."
Christopher readily agreed.
The second call was to a wood factory that makes flying broom models.
That factory originally made decorative brooms; the craftsmanship was good, but the scale was small.
Christopher emphasized three times on the phone that "the shape of the Firebolt must be exactly as described in the book."
The woodworking shop owner chuckled on the other end, saying, "Mr. Little, don't worry, my son has worn out the upper part. He can draw up blueprints for any details you need."
Christopher then hung up the phone and dialed a third one, this time to a factory that makes fiberglass sculptures.
He specially ordered a batch of stag models, requiring them to be made of translucent silver-white resin with a layer of mica powder embedded inside, so that when light shines on them, they would have a silvery sheen that shines through from the inside out.
The factory manager hesitated for a moment on the other end, then confidently stated, "Silver-white, semi-transparent with mica powder, the process is too complicated... it will cost extra."
Christopher rubbed his temples and said helplessly, "Okay, but you have to guarantee delivery by early November."
After making three phone calls, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for a while. His temples were throbbing, but there was still a lot of work to be done.
After all, there's more to the merchandise in the book than just these; the replica parchment for the Marauder's Map needs to be sourced from a factory that makes antique-style paper, the metal chess pieces for Wizard's Chess need to be sourced from a foundry, and so on...
Christopher's train of thought was interrupted by the sound of a door being pushed open.
Barry walked in carrying a stack of documents, his face showing a mixture of exhaustion and excitement from just finishing a battle.
"The deal with the Magic Cards is done." He put the documents on the table and sank into his chair.
"We signed a supplementary agreement with the printing company we worked with last time. The new cards for the third book will be released simultaneously with the new book. The first batch will be 200,000 sets, and if it sells well, we'll print more."
Christopher opened one eye and looked at him. "What about the confidentiality agreement?"
"Signed." Barry pulled a piece of paper from the pile of documents and shook it. "Everyone in the factory who handled it, from the workshop foreman to the ink mixing master, signed it one by one."
"I told their boss on the phone that if even a single detail is leaked, our legal department will come knocking on their door directly."
"Legal Department?" Christopher raised an eyebrow. "What legal department do we have?"
"I told the boss we had one," Barry grinned. "He doesn't know if it's true or not anyway, and of course, we'll definitely set one up later."
Christopher chuckled, then sat up straight and picked up the peripheral design specifications from the table, flipping through them.
The merchandise list for the third book was longer than he had initially planned: Time-Turner model, Firebolt broom model, a Patronus figurine, a replica of the Marauder's Map, a Hogwarts field model, and a set of four black dog-themed keychains.
He read the list from beginning to end, his finger pausing on a line of text.
"There are even Dementor masks listed here?" He looked up at Barry. "Wouldn't parents object if these were made into merchandise and sold to kids?"
Barry leaned closer for a look. "That's a glow-in-the-dark ornament, not a mask."
"The design draft describes it as a glowing stone in the shape of Dementor, emitting a cool, grayish-white light in the dark, intended for use as a bedside lamp."
"A bedside lamp." Christopher put down the list, his expression somewhere between amusement and exasperation. "Use Dementor as a bedside lamp."
"You don't understand." Barry waved his hand, his tone carrying the certainty of someone experienced in publishing.
"The most unforgettable thing about the third book is the Dementor. The more terrified the readers are by these creatures, the more they want to have one in their homes. This is called -- fear consumption."
Christopher, not wanting to engage with him, slammed the list down on the table. "When can the printing press produce the first batch of samples?"
"Next Wednesday." Barry had already stood up from his chair and was walking towards the door. "I'll bring back two sets then, one for you and one for me. We can make changes in advance if there are any problems."
He walked to the door, then turned back, pulled a small cardboard box from his pocket, and tossed it to Christopher: "Almost forgot, the sample cards for the new Magic Cards series arrived this afternoon. Take a look at them first."