The mastermind behind Hogwarts

Chapter 10 The Wand and Gringotts (Seeking votes, investments, and collections)

Moriarty took the wand without any particular feeling. He channeled his magic and then waved the wand, and a green snake head appeared in front of Ollivander.

Ollivander shook his head slightly: "It seems there's no problem, but I know it's not that the wand chose you, but that it can't defy you."

"Try this one," he said, quickly pulling out another wand. "Thirteen inches long, yew wood, unicorn tail hair."

Unicorns are sacred magical creatures, and the snake head that Moriarty released with his unicorn wand turned white.

"Still not working." Ollivander glanced at the white snake head. Although the unicorn had worked, the color change involved shapeshifting. If Moriarty hadn't learned shapeshifting beforehand, then his talent was simply too great.

"If you want a wand to accompany you for life, you must open your heart to the wand, like a child who cannot use magic. Otherwise, no matter how many wands you try, the result will be the same." After Ollivander finished speaking, he brought out a large pile of wands.

Over the next thirty minutes, Moriarty tried dozens of times, each time easily casting a small spell; the wands in his hands were as obedient as pet cats.

After a series of attempts, Ollivander sighed in disappointment. Moriarty said meaningfully, "It seems you're testing whether I have a pure heart by choosing a wand. Can you tell me why, sir?"

"You figured it out, alright, alright, you're really too smart." Ollivander walked up to Moriarty and said seriously, "Although there are enough wands in this room, they are not as good as that one wand—the one in the hands of Dumbledore, the greatest wizard of our time."

Moriarty guessed that the wand he was referring to was the Elder Wand from the Deathly Hallows, but what did that have to do with him? Moriarty patiently listened to his continued explanation.

"I must admit, Lockhart was right this time," Ollivander said slowly. "You have great talent, Mr. Moriarty."

So I'd like to study wand science with you. Feel free to ask me any questions you may have.

Oh, of course, all the wands you make are yours.

Ollivander eagerly added, "I'd like to see if you can create a wand more powerful than Dumbledore's!"

"You want me to learn wand magic from you!" Moriarty understood Ollivander's meaning, but he shook his head and declined.

Wand magic is an extremely special kind of magic, obscure and difficult to understand, and requires a lot of experimentation.

Moriarty could not possibly follow Ollivander's path; for him, wand studies were merely a shooting star in the magical sky, worthy of admiration but not a goal.

Ollivander was extremely disappointed, but he was still unwilling to give up. He solemnly took out a wand and handed it to Moriarty.

"Eleven inches long, holly wood, phoenix feather. Beautiful and flexible, this wand is a brother to the one whose name cannot be mentioned; they both contain a feather from the same phoenix."

Ollivander seemed to age suddenly, and he said softly, "You are a descendant of Slytherin, and I was afraid you would become like that person in the future, so I didn't take out this wand in the first place..."

Oh, look, look what I'm saying! Of course you wouldn't, would you?

Moriarty ignored the old man's mutterings and felt offended by putting him alongside a guy who had lost his nose.

Moriarty held the wand up to his face and examined it closely. Without a doubt, it was the wand that Harry Potter used.

"Ding-dong~ A wand compatible with fire elemental magic has been detected. Possessing this wand will increase the level of your fire elemental magic."

Upon hearing the system's notification, Moriarty had a bold idea.

If there are wands that work with fire elemental magic, there must also be wands that work with water elemental magic!

Moriarty needs just such a wand; I wonder if Ollivander has one?

Having thought of this, Moriarty deliberately used his holly wand to cast a freezing spell on the shop's signboard, adding several beautiful ice patterns to it.

As Ollivander witnessed Moriarty's display of ice magic, a strange light gradually shone in his eyes, and his voice rose in fervor: "Merlin, I had completely forgotten that you could summon ice serpents using magic circles! Aha, I remember now! That's it! Perhaps it is the most suitable wand for you!"

Ollivander searched through a pile of boxes for a long time before finally coming over with a white box in his hands.

"Twelve inches long, made of cedar wood. As for the core, I regret to say I don't know—it was made by my ancestor five hundred years ago while traveling the world, and since its creation, no one has been able to use it to cast spells!"

Moriarty opened the box and saw a milky white wand lying there quietly. He had a feeling that this was the wand he was looking for.

"Ding-dong~ A wand compatible with water elemental magic has been detected..."

Upon hearing the system's notification, Moriarty curled the corners of his lips, gently picked up the cedarwood wand, and felt a chill run down his fingers, through his wrist and arm, and finally into Moriarty's heart.

Moriarty didn't sense anything unusual. The system's voice rang in his ears again: "Congratulations on leveling up, host. You are now a level 27 novice wizard."

I've leveled up twice, not bad.

Moriarty held the cedarwood wand in his left hand and nodded to Ollivander: "This is a good wand."

Ollivander was also excited: "Yes, yes, I can see that it has chosen you this time. Seven Galleons if you want to take it away."

"Of course I'll take it. It will be my loyal companion. And not only that, I'll also take the Holly Wand. Name your price, sir."

Moriarty raised his right hand, pointed the Slytherin wand at the scattered wands, and with a gentle wave, the wands on the ground and wall, as well as the open box, all returned to their original positions.

Only the Hollywood Wand remained, floating before Ollivander, awaiting his decision.

Ollivander frowned and tried to explain to Moriarty, "Each young wizard can only buy one wand before the start of the school year."

If a wizard's wand is damaged or lost, Ollivanders Wand Shop will provide him with a second wand.

But no one has ever been able to buy two wands at once.

Moriarty remained unmoved, his calm gaze almost seeing right through Ollivander; he was willing to sell anything for a large enough stake.

Ollivander quickly lost the battle of wits.

"You're really tough to deal with. If we disregard wand magic, I'd call you Mr. Moriarty!"

Okay, I can give you the holly wand, but I hope you'll have time to learn about wandcraft. It shouldn't be too difficult for someone with your talent, okay?

Ollivander placed the holly wand into the box and solemnly handed it to Moriarty.

After Moriarty placed the box into an exquisitely crafted bag enchanted with a Threadless Stretch spell, he took an emerald from the purse and placed it on the table.

"The Slytherin family doesn't have a habit of owing favors. No matter how much the Hollywood Wand is worth, I think this gem is enough to pay for it."

After Moriarty finished speaking, he put away his money bag and said to Ollivander, "Farewell, sir."

As Moriarty stepped out of the wand shop, he was shocked to find all the wizards in Diagon Alley staring at him. When they saw him holding a wand, they burst into cheers.

"For Slytherin! For magic!" the wizards cheered.

They understood that Moriarty's return to England and his acquisition of a modern wand were of extraordinary significance; perhaps, as Lockhart had said, an era of magical revival was about to begin!

Moriarty nodded to the crowd, his aristocratic demeanor impeccable.

"Luke, I have an important task for you." Moriarty pulled out a list and handed it to Luke. "Purchase everything listed here and send it back to the castle."

"Yes, my lord!" Luke headed toward Flourish and Blotts, his first target, where Moriarty wanted him to buy all the magic textbooks from first to seventh grade.

By entrusting the purchasing to Luke, Moriarty could save more time. He was about to take Ingo home when he noticed Ingo's gaze fixed on a tall, snow-white marble building.

That's Gringotts, the only wizarding bank in Britain.

"Don't even think about it, Ingo. I won't take you there, because the Slytherin family never keeps their wealth in Gringotts!"

While tidying up the castle, Moriarty found some of Salazar's diaries, not the original diary, but other scattered entries.

The text records Salazar's hostility towards fairies, and his belief that it was necessary to permanently exterminate the fairy race, otherwise fairies would bring disaster.

While Moriarty wasn't as stubborn as Salazar, he always remained wary of fairies.

To everyone's surprise, Ingo's eyes widened upon hearing Moriarty's words: "Young Master will take me! I'll give Young Master a reason he can't refuse!"

Clearly, Ingo's words carried a hint of rebellion. The golden shackles shrank rapidly after he finished speaking, turning his ankles black.

A sharp pain shot through Ingo's legs, and he collapsed to the ground. He couldn't defy the punishment of the golden shackles until Moriarty pointed his staff at them and said, "Stop!"

The shackles gradually grew larger, and Ingo was freed. He lowered his head and dared not utter another word.

The events that happened to Ingo attracted the attention of wizards and Gringotts goblins.

Lockhart proudly proclaimed the Slytherin Castle vault to the crowd, and upon hearing their envious sighs, he was overjoyed, as if the vault were his own.

The goblin standing beside the Gringotts gate, dressed in a scarlet and gold-trimmed uniform, looked terrible; his skin was flushed red with anger.

It's unclear whether it was because Ingo was punished or because of the Slytherin Castle vault.

Moriarty guessed that both were true: Gringotts largely controlled the wizarding world's economy, but his vault was an exception, and the wealth inside was never stored at Gringotts.

This is enough to make fairies envious, and once Moriarty is targeted by fairies, some of his time and energy will be tied up.

"I need to think of a way to keep these fairies busy..." Moriarty pondered. The Harry Potter world is an incomplete magical world. Take finance, for example; the wizarding financial system is riddled with loopholes.

Voldemort toiled for over fifty years, his ambition to become village chief was truly admirable. He painstakingly created seven Horcruxes and won over a large number of pure-blood families, but why didn't he ever consider a different approach?

Moriarty thought Voldemort might never have considered a different approach, but Tom Riddle certainly had!

I've thought about it, but I can't do it!

Because of monopoly.

Ollivanders monopolized wands, the Foley family monopolized the book business, goblins monopolized financial transactions, the shareholders of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Injuries monopolized medicine, and even shampoo was monopolized by the Potter family...

Voldemort could freely kidnap Ollivander, kill the heirs of the Foley family, and seize the Ministry of Magic... but he could never obtain the knowledge and privileges of a monopolist.

That privilege wasn't as powerful as Dumbledore's or Voldemort's, but it was like an eternal truth, passed down from generation to generation.

To break the monopoly, Moriarty believed that it was necessary to have knowledge and privileges that opposed the monopolists.

In the financial sector, Moriarty possessed the capital to break the monopoly.

That evening, Moriarty summoned Lockhart for a detailed discussion.

The next morning, Lockhart announced at Flourish and Blotts that he would use the money earned from his new book to establish a "Hogwarts Mutual Aid Foundation," and deposited the money into Gringotts that same day!

Seeing the goblin's grinning face, Lockhart couldn't help but sneer inwardly, but on the surface he put on a heartbroken look and claimed that the mutual aid foundation was to help young wizards at Hogwarts improve their defense against the dark magic.

Lockhart's reasoning was that Hogwarts' Defense Against the Dark Arts professor changed every year, and the lack of a complete curriculum would undoubtedly lead young wizards astray.

Some older wizards empathized with this, which earned Lockhart the favor of the student body and further enhanced his reputation.

However, this time, Lockhart did not appear on the front page of the Daily Prophet, and the Daily Prophet did not even report on the mutual aid foundation.

Moriarty had a premonition that something was wrong; Lockhart had become too popular lately and might be being targeted.

So who is it? The Ministry of Magic?

(End of this chapter)