The mastermind behind Hogwarts

Chapter 14 Penelope and Lilith

"I heard someone mention Mr. Moriarty?" The blonde girl walked in, her dark eyes sweeping across the private room before finally settling on Moriarty's face.

"I knew you'd be in the last box, Mr. Moriarty! Mr. Lockhart mentioned you like quiet."

She extended her right hand confidently towards Moriarty. "My name is Lilith Pilivik. It's an honor to meet you."

Moriarty discerned from Lilith's words that she came from a wizarding family and was clearly a devoted reader of Lockhart.

"Hello, Miss Pillivik." Moriarty stood up and shook her hand gently.

"Even though you know my name, I still want to introduce myself. My name is Moriarty Slytherin, as a sign of respect."

Lilith wholeheartedly agreed, saying, "People often say that etiquette represents the outdatedness of pure-blood families, but I believe that all wizards should observe etiquette! Simply because we are wizards!"

"Oh? Your idea is novel; I've never heard of it before." Moriarty became interested. The girl in front of him seemed to come from a pure-blood family, but her vision transcended that of a pure-blood family.

“Yes, my theory has only been perfected recently,” Lilith said, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “Mr. Moriarty surely hasn’t forgotten Mr. Lockhart’s proposed Age of Renaissance, has he? My immature idea was inspired by him.”

Slytherin's beard! Someone actually got inspiration from Lockhart?

Moriarty sat up straight, looking all ears.

Seeing this, Lilith's voice grew even stronger, "Then what I'm saying is: Wizards are supreme!"

She raised her face: "Actually, I agree with breaking the International Wizarding Federation's Secrecy Act, but I'm different from the two generations of Dark Lords. I accept the existence of Muggles, and I hope to live peacefully with them. But wizards, that is, us, must control the entire world!"

This long-winded discussion left the private room silent. Percy stared blankly at Lilith and Penelope, who seemed lost in thought, his eyes reddening.

Moriarty looked Lilith up and down. He was amazed by the girl, not because of her looks—although she was indeed very exquisite.

Lilith's boldness and courage showed Moriarty another student who looked up at the magical sky.

"Putting aside your ideals, your remarks are very much like those of a Gryffindor."

Moriarty smiled. Breaking the secrecy law takes courage, but frankly admitting that he wants to break it takes even more courage.

"This is a little witch with absolute self-confidence!" Moriarty judged.

Lilith smiled too: "Mr. Moriarty, I can say with certainty that every Pilliwick is a true Slytherin! I wouldn't be surprised at all, and you are too, right? After all, you yourself are a member of the Slytherin family."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your conversation, but what is Slytherin? And what is Gryffindor?"

A slightly stubborn voice rang out. Penelope was biting her lip, her hands clenched into fists, her somewhat sad gaze shifting between Moriarty and Lilith.

Ever since Lilith came in, Penelope felt like she had been forgotten; she couldn't understand a single thing Moriarty and Lilith were talking about.

But Penelope was not a timid little girl. Just like in her previous schools, she immediately asked questions when she didn't understand something.

Another person who felt forgotten was Percy, so he cleared his throat in preparation for answering Penelope's question.

But Lilith beat her to it: "Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor are the four houses of Hogwarts. I think you might be sorted into Hufflepuff."

Penelope didn't understand why she would say that, but she instinctively sensed something was wrong. She glanced at Lilith indifferently, "Hufflepuff? No way! I want to go to the best house!"

"Then you'll definitely be sorted into Gryffindor!" Percy said quickly, finally seizing the initiative.

"Hey, listen up, Penelope! Gryffindor is the best house!" Percy added loudly to make his words more believable, "The greatest white wizard of all time, Dumbledore, graduated from Gryffindor."

"Oh, you must be Weasley," Lilith said thoughtfully, looking at Percy's red hair. "As everyone knows, your family is Gryffindor."

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it,” Percy said curtly. “On the contrary, I’m proud of it.”

"Your reaction was too strong, although I didn't mean to mock you," Lilith said, shaking her head gently.

"You know what, Weasley? This is precisely where your sensitive pride comes in, and in that you might learn something from Bill Weasley—I've heard my father talk about him; he's a very special man."

Lilith spoke very sincerely, but Percy didn't seem to listen.

"So you also come from a wizarding family?" Penelope asked expressionlessly.

“I think the Pilliwick family is quite famous in England,” Lilith said, seemingly answering Penelope’s question, but actually staring at Moriarty. “My grandfather’s name was Justus Pilliwick, and he served as the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.”

"As far as I know, the previous director was named Barty Crouch."

Moriarty thought of Amelia Bornes from the Daily Prophet, the current director of the Department of Law Enforcement.

"Mr. Barty Crouch was promoted by my grandfather," Lilith said casually, then became serious. "But I'm not saying this to show off. I was born into a family of lawyers, and by the time I was eight, I could recite the Secrets Act fluently. The laws and regulations of the British magical world are firmly etched in my mind!"

The more I study the law, the more dissatisfied I become with the Secret Service Act. Can you understand this feeling, Mr. Moriarty?

Although the world needs laws to function, we are wizards! We belong to magic—as Mr. Lockhart also said, and magic needs no constraints.

"Miss Pilivik, I think I can understand how you feel, and I also appreciate your views on magic, but do you know why magic doesn't need constraints?"

Moriarty leaned back in his chair, his arms crossed, resting on his Slytherin staff. His gaze, fixed on Lilith, shone sharply in the sunlight.

At this moment, Lilith felt as if she were surrounded by a dazzling starry sky. She pursed her lips and said, "I want you to tell me the answer."

"The answer is simple: magic can overcome the law! To have magic is to have everything."

Moriarty said in a slow, light tone that Lilith was like a rebellious child from a wealthy family, to whom the law was just a few pieces of paper, perhaps not even as real as a chocolate doll picture.

The only difference is that Lilith is exceptionally confident, to the point that her rebellion has turned into maturity.

For a child from a pure-blood family and a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Magic to say that he accepts Muggles might be of epoch-making significance.

Moriarty could see that Lilith was sincere; she had broken free from the shackles of bloodline, but she couldn't escape the strange cycle of "the essence of life."

While Lilith was still striving for the status of a wizard, Moriarty was already planning how to become a god.

However, Moriarty did not make it clear. He saw that Lilith was deep in thought, and it was obvious that his words had stirred up her inner turmoil.

"I admit you have a point, Mr. Moriarty," Lilith quickly regained her composure, a bright smile appearing on her face. "But I will not give up on my goal. In fact, I came to you specifically to invite you to join me in this great undertaking."

"Oh, of course, it seems to have failed so far. Perhaps you knew my purpose from the beginning?"

Lilith's playful gaze lingered on Moriarty's face as she leaned back in her chair, sitting gracefully.

Moriarty smiled slightly, tacitly acknowledging her question: "I don't think I'm famous enough for a little witch to come to me for an autograph."

"Haha, that sounds more like Mr. Lockhart's story!" Lilith laughed too. "But you still underestimate your fame. Your name is in every book about the history of modern magic!"

And a whole truckload of pure-blood wizards are talking about you! Muggle-born or half-blood wizards are also trying their best to find out about you.

Penelope asked sullenly, "Moriarti, are you famous?"

Moriarty looked at her: "To be precise, it's my surname that's famous, you'll know when you get to Hogwarts."

"I think you're famous now because of Slytherin," Lilith said rhythmically, glancing at Moriarty. "One day, Slytherin and Hogwarts will be famous because of you—no, even more famous, the kind of famous that's etched into people's souls."

"I really have to thank you for your compliment. I'll treat you to a drink later." Moriarty was amused, and Lilith's little mouth was as sweet as honey.

"Then don't forget. By the way, I don't like desserts," Lilith replied with a smile.

"Ah, girls don't like desserts," a muffled voice came from beside Moriarty. Percy laughed awkwardly again, "I mean, desserts make you fat."

When Percy saw Moriarty and the two girls politely nod at him, he became even more embarrassed, but he still continued, "Um... Miss Pillivik, may I join that great cause you mentioned?"

Moriarty gave him a strange look. Percy was generally a good person, but he was a bit too ambitious.

So he might be saying this because he values ​​Lilith's connections in the Department of Legal Enforcement.

Lilith, however, hadn't thought that far ahead. She solemnly addressed what could be her first supporter, saying, "Welcome, Mr. Weasley. I assure you you won't regret it!"

Lilith then turned to Penelope and Moriarty and said, "Of course, I welcome everyone to join us."

But it was clear that her gaze lingered on Moriarty the longest.

Moriarty simply smiled, but Penelope unexpectedly said, "I'm sorry, I'm not joining! I came to Hogwarts to learn—to learn magic!"

"It won't interfere with your classes or studies," Lilith said, not wanting to be misunderstood. "Our first priority is to improve our magic level."

Penelope, however, did not want to listen. She closed her eyes and gently shook her head: "I'm sorry, Miss Pilivik, but I don't think it's my job to overturn the law, and I find it hard to agree with the idea of ​​letting wizards control the world."

Lilith's enthusiasm vanished instantly, and she asked indifferently, "Why?"

"Because I am—you mean Muggle!" Penelope said seriously. "And we ordinary people always say that the minority should obey the majority. Although I am also a wizard, you have to admit that only a minority are wizards."

"Doesn't that precisely illustrate the problem?!" Lilith exclaimed. "A select few who possess magic cannot enjoy vast spaces and even need to hide? What kind of law is this?!"

"Ahem," Percy tried to calm the two girls down, "Miss Pilivik, please keep your voice down, it's not good if someone hears you."

"I don't think there's anything wrong with my ideas!" Lilith raised her head. "I welcome others to question me and discuss things with me, but if anyone dares to disrespect me, I'll let them taste the power of magic!"

"Does that include Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall too?" Percy was stunned. He had only wanted to curry favor with them, but now it seemed...

"Aha," Lilith flashed a bright smile, "As far as I know, there is no law that prohibits people from thinking about how to overturn the Secret Service Act!"

"I was just thinking, when should we start taking action? Don't you think so, Mr. Weasley?"

At this moment, Lilith embodied the Slytherin's shrewdness to the fullest, and Moriarty now understood why she said every Pylivek was a Slytherin.

Percy couldn't refute it and could only laugh awkwardly.

Penelope was about to say something when Moriarty stopped her: "Alright, girls, stop chatting and go change your clothes, we're here!"

1. Penelope Crivart's bloodline is not officially defined; it's only stated that she is half-blood or a Muggle. Here, we'll use Muggle origin. 2. Justus Piliwick was Barty Crouch's former Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

(End of this chapter)