The mastermind behind Hogwarts

Chapter 119 Draco's Great Assist

The next morning, Marcus went to the secret room to deliver a letter. Nicolas Flamel opened the envelope and glanced at it. The contents of the letter were like a magnet, firmly attracting his gaze.

He locked himself in a secret room, forbidding anyone from entering, and even skipped breakfast. He then laid out paper and pen and began to do calculations.

In fact, today is Friday, and the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw students will be having their first alchemy class. After breakfast, the little lion and the little eagle happily went to the Chamber of Secrets, but the door to the Chamber of Secrets was locked.

As more and more students arrived, the discussions grew louder and louder. The students speculated about what was wrong with the professor, never imagining that Professor Nicolas Flamel was engrossed in calculations.

As noon approached, Nicolas Flamel finally figured out a strange sequence of numbers. Wearily, he opened the door to the Chamber of Secrets and handed an envelope to the Gryffindor closest to the door. "Give this to Moriarty and Lytrin, thank you."

Feeling flattered by the professor's politeness, the little lion accepted the envelope and solemnly told Nicolas Flamel that he guaranteed to complete the mission.

He jogged to the Slytherin table and handed the envelope to Moriarty.

Moriarty opened the envelope, looked at the arrangement of the letter, and nodded in satisfaction.

The sorting rules calculated by Nicholas Flamel are exactly the same as those given by the alchemical matrix.

This proves that Moriarty and Nicolas Flamel were fully capable of making a new type of broom.

With this business opportunity in mind, Moriarty visited Malfoy Estate at 3 p.m.

Lucius Malfoy, accompanied by his son Draco Malfoy, stood at the manor gate in full regalia to greet them.

"Dear Mr. Moriarty, do you often attend afternoon tea after returning from China?" Lucius looked at Moriarty with an appreciative gaze.

"No, today is my first time attending a formal British afternoon tea."

Moriarty adjusted the white collar of his black tailcoat, and with a black top hat and a silver cane in hand, he looked quite dashing.

Lucius adopted a serious expression: "Mr. Moriarty, it is an honor for both the Slytherin and Malfoy families that you have chosen the Malfoy family as your first afternoon tea guests. I can assure you that you will not be disappointed this afternoon."

Moriarty nodded slightly. Lucius was also wearing a tailcoat and a top hat today, which made the man appear even more shrewd and sophisticated. Even Draco was dressed in the exact same clothes, like a miniature version of Lucius.

However, all the clothing was very appropriate and perfectly in line with the etiquette for British afternoon tea.

Seeing Moriarty glance at his son, Lucius put his hand on Draco's shoulder.

As if given a hint, Draco looked at Moriarty and said what his family had agreed upon: "Senior Moriarty, it's a pleasure to meet you. Welcome to Malfoy Manor."

Compared to last time, Draco was much more respectful and greeted him politely.

Moriarty then steered the conversation towards Draco, looking at Lucius and asking, "When is Draco enrolling?"

Lucius immediately smiled and said, "Two years later."

Moriarty and Lucius began to talk, and the two walked into the house as they talked, with Draco following behind.

"It was exactly one year after Fudge came to power."

"Yes, a year is enough time for Fudge to secure his position as Minister. With Draco enrolled, Fudge will be in the Ministry of Magic, and you will be in Slytherin. I believe my son will definitely become a great wizard."

Lucius looked expectant. Moriarty smiled faintly. Lucius valued family, which was good; there was room for him to be used.

Draco could hardly believe his ears. Lucius had always been strict with him since childhood, and he had never imagined that his father would have such high expectations of him.

"A great wizard, is that it? Father..." Draco lowered his head, clenched his fists, and smiled happily.

"Draco? What are you doing so slowly? Come inside!" Lucius shouted.

Hearing the familiar roar, Draco suddenly looked up and saw his father and Moriarty already walking up the steps of the villa, while he lagged behind, his father glaring at him with displeasure.

"I'm here." Draco strode over, looking as if he had grown up. He bowed slightly to Moriarty and apologized, "Sir, please forgive my distraction. Your feat of leading the Slytherin team to the championship is widely known in the pureblood community, so I was just thinking about Quidditch."

Lucius's expression finally improved. He looked at Moriarty and smiled, saying, "Draco is right. As a Slytherin alumnus of Hogwarts, I must sincerely say, well done!"

Moriarty smiled. Draco could bring up Quidditch and then casually pick up the new broom, thus avoiding any appearance of ulterior motives and winning the Malfoys' favor.

"Slytherin will still be the Quidditch champion this year," Moriarty told Lucius. "I can send you a letter before the match, and if you have time, bring Draco to watch the game."

Draco's eyes lit up instantly. Moriarty's suggestion was exactly what he wanted. He loved Quidditch so much, but he didn't have a flying broomstick until now!

"Father? Can we go watch the game? I mean, I want to cheer for my senior." Draco rephrased his words, making Moriarty and Lucius laugh. Who couldn't see through Draco's intentions?

Seeing his son becoming more sensible, Lucius patted Draco on the shoulder and agreed. As a school board member, he had the right to take his son to watch the game, and Dumbledore wouldn't stop him as long as he didn't interfere with the game.

But Draco was overjoyed and became a little too eager: "Father, can you buy me a flying broomstick? I've always wanted to fly on a broomstick, maybe I can even try it out on the Hogwarts playing field! That would be so exciting, Moriarty, you'll allow it, won't you?"

Draco opened his eyes wide, looked up at Lucius and then at Moriarty, and felt that his request was not unreasonable at all.

With plenty of Galleons at home, buying the best Nimbus 1700 wouldn't cost much.

My father is a school board member, so why can't he bring me into the school? Of course he can!

Now there's this senior who's a hero on the team, can't he let me use the court for a bit? It won't take up much time.

That's what Draco thought; he felt that his father and senior would definitely grant his request.

But in Lucius's eyes, his son, who had just grown up a little, had given up maturity to time and had become completely immature!

Lucius glared at Draco. "Go and tell your mother that the guests have arrived."

Draco was frightened by Lucius's gaze and walked into the house with a pitiful look on his face. But Moriarty couldn't let Draco leave. If Draco left, who would steer the conversation towards sweeping the broom?

"To be honest, Mr. Lucius, you obviously didn't see the hurt in Draco's eyes. He's a sensible child, and he'll just keep his hurt feelings to himself and not say anything, but that's extremely detrimental to a child's development."

Moriarty spoke softly, but every word reached the ears of Lucius and his son. Draco trembled, stopped in his tracks, and his eyes welled up with tears. He felt that Moriarty had spoken to the heart.

Upon seeing this, Lucius's expression changed, and Moriarty seized the opportunity to advise, "Mr. Lucius, why won't you tell Draco your concerns? I believe he will understand if you tell him."

"Alright," Lucius sighed softly, "Alright, alright, Draco, you should know that your mother and I didn't buy you a broom because you're too young, and it's very unsafe for you to ride on one!"

"But I'm already nine years old!" Draco protested. "I know you're afraid I'll fall off the broom, but I'm very good at it, I won't fall!"

"Arrogant and conceited!" Lucius was angry. Silly boy, you've oversimplified the flying broom. A real flying broom is not the same as your toy broom!

The atmosphere gradually became tense.

Perhaps it was Moriarty's presence that made Draco feel that Lucius wouldn't punish him, giving Draco confidence to meet Lucius's gaze without fear.

Lucius, his face dark with anger, raised his cane and slammed it down on Draco's shoulder with a "smack." Although Lucius held back, Draco still felt a sharp pain.

Draco would usually back down obediently, but this time he was determined to stand firm. However, Moriarty spoke up first: "So you're saying that as long as there's a broom that guarantees safety, you'll let Draco test fly? Is that how I understand it, Mr. Lucius?"

Lucius didn't want outsiders interfering in his family affairs, but since it was Moriarty speaking, he nodded stiffly and then said dismissively, "No broom can guarantee a wizard's safety, never."

"What if I said I did?" Moriarty smiled mysteriously.

"What?"

"impossible!"

Two completely different reactions were reflected on the faces of Lucius and his son.

Draco was the first to speak: "Absolutely impossible! If I had one, I would have it already."

His tone was resolute, like that of a king.

However, Moriarty ignored him, and the topic of the new broom was brought up, thus rendering Draco useless.

Moriarty looked at Lucius meaningfully, and was pleased to see Lucius's thoughtful expression.

Clearly, Lucius knew Moriarty wouldn't lie. Since Moriarty said it was true, it was probably true. Perhaps Moriarty's visit was for this reason.

Lucius thought for a moment, his expression returning to normal, and said, "A broom that guarantees safety? Is this yet another great invention of Mr. Moriarty?"

His tone was slightly sarcastic, but also a little probing.

Moriarty pretended not to notice and laughed, "Let's go inside and talk. Don't let the tea that the lady prepared get cold. You know, even a dog won't drink tea that's cold."

English black tea is astringent and slightly salty. Moriarty didn't like it much, and would only sip it a few times for social occasions, but if anyone said it was cold, Moriarty would not hesitate to slam the teacup down in the face of the person who brewed it.

Thank you to Cat with Moon Flavor for the donation.

(End of this chapter)