The mastermind behind Hogwarts

Chapter 18 Magical Foods

Moriarty ate a little of everything, except for the gravy ice cream made by Lilith, which he couldn't swallow.

"I'm suddenly curious, do you have any brothers or sisters?" Moriarty said to Lilith, who was on his right.

Lilith was picking up a pork chop with her fork, glancing at Moriarty and the gravy ice cream with a bright, sparkling look.

"I know what you're trying to say, but I don't have any mischievous siblings. My childhood was very dull, and all I had to keep me company were thick volumes of laws and regulations, so I like to cook."

"Is this your excuse for making culinary disasters? Are you planning to poison me with gravy ice cream so you can inherit my Slytherin staff?"

Moriarty amused the little snakes sitting around him, and Lilith snorted and continued in his footsteps.

"Then you'll probably have to try the lamb pudding, potato chip jelly, carrot sausage biscuits... I'll be launching a new product every week, so don't forget."

Gemma Farley put down the roasted chicken in her hand, her eyes smiling. "Seriously, Lilith, why don't you open a grocery store in Hogsmeade?"

“I bet Professor Dumbledore will definitely go,” William added. “He loves desserts.”

"Speaking of desserts, I remember you said on the train that you don't like desserts," Moriarty said, taking a piece of chocolate muffin. "Then why is there always dessert in your magical food?"

"That's because I love to eat meat, especially meaty dishes."

Lilith put a piece of pork chop into her mouth with a sense of ritual, and the way she ate was like watching a mural.

A second-year student gasped, "Oh, Merlin's fat! Won't you get fat?"

"Lilith will only get more voluptuous." Gemma's eyes roamed freely over Lilith's body, a lewd smile spreading across her face.

"Senior...!" Lilith finally blushed, her cheeks turning slightly red. She glared at Gemma: "I bet you've been peeping at girls showering!"

"Wow~" The girls all laughed, while the boys secretly chuckled and pricked up their ears.

Gemma's pretty face flushed red. Although she knew Lilith was joking with her, she had never talked about such a topic before.

"Is this what paid content is?" Moriarty held his staff to Lilith's mouth. "Tell me your story with Senior Gemma, and I can grant you a powerful voice and sponsor you a bronze nut."

The girls were laughing so hard they couldn't eat. Lilith and Gemma seemed to have a new understanding of Moriarty, and their eyes changed.

At that moment, a tall boy at the top of the long table stood up and said to Moriarty, "Mind your manners! This is Slytherin, not some chaotic Gryffindor!"

"Alright, Leon," William patted him on the shoulder, "Today is Sorting Day, which is different from usual. There's nothing wrong with everyone being happy."

"Don't touch me!" Leon shook off William's hand and said with annoyance, "Don't think that just because you've won three House Cups you can boss me around. That's what you're supposed to do as Quidditch captain!"

William's face darkened. He wanted to knock Leon unconscious, but as the oldest prefect, doing so would have dire consequences.

"Lion Mintham, the sixth-year prefect, is your uncle, the former Minister of Magic, Harold Mintham? Am I right?"

Lilith stood up, her gentle expression from when she was joking vanishing. Now, she opened her eyes wide and met Leon's gaze.

"I admit our topic got a bit heated, but what right do you have to discipline us? Headmaster Dumbledore, Dean Snape, and even the other professors haven't said anything to us, so what gives you the right to discipline us? Or are you trying to establish your authority? To unite the house so you can become student council president next year, right, senior?"

The continuous questioning gave Lilith an unstoppable aura, and her clear, melodious voice was like a sword, striking Leon's heart again and again.

Leon nodded fiercely: "Very well, I've long heard that the only daughter of the Piriwick family is notoriously rebellious. You deserve to be sorted into Gryffindor!"

"No, no, no, Mr. Leon, you mustn't say that," Moriarty tapped the floor with his staff, attracting the snakes' attention. He smiled smirkly, "If Lilith goes to Gryffindor, that sword will cut off your hair sooner or later."

An invisible chill emanated from the air, spreading through it, and the little snakes all felt a chill on their heads.

Leon was the same; he was quite certain that he was not under a curse, so he looked at Moriarty with a more inquisitive gaze.

However, remembering his usual animosity with Gryffindor, Leon snorted.

The appearance of the Gryffindor sword energized the lions, and although they also welcomed back the Slytherin staff, Moriarty was clearly not on his side.

Thinking of this, Leon's eyes gradually turned cold, but his words were full of shrewdness: "Mr. Moriarty told me a story that could never happen, but I think if it did, the Slytherin staff wouldn't abandon me, would it?"

Perhaps the Slytherin staff will give that Gryffindor with the sword a good shove in the butt! Haha.

Leon's supporters quickly realized what was happening and joined in the laughter. Leon, as if he had forgotten about Lilith, sat down while talking to the people next to him.

With that matter over, Lilith sat back down, still indignant. "If we weren't at the dinner table, I would have given him a good talking to!"

Moriarty shook his head: "This is not a good idea. This Leon is very cunning. He won't confront you directly, but he will do some underhanded things."

“Mr. Moriarty is right,” Gemma nodded in agreement. “Leon is a pedantic old man, but he excels in Charms class. Only William can beat him in the entire academy. Everyone knows he has his eye on the student council president position this year.”

"Thank you, senior," Lilith said sincerely, "thank you for supporting me along with the other seniors."

Gemma waved her hand: "You don't need to thank me. If you want to thank someone, thank Mr. Moriarty. Leon isn't a magnanimous person; he might retaliate against Mr. Moriarty."

"Yes, you must be careful, okay, Moriarty?" Lilith said worriedly, recalling some things she had overheard on the train.

"More than that, I'd like to know how you're going to thank me," Moriarty said with a raised eyebrow and a smile.

"Well... I'll cook you a meal! I guarantee you'll be satisfied." Lilith had a sudden inspiration.

Sure enough, Moriarty was eating the newly appeared strawberry ice cream with a big bite, looking like he didn't want to be approached.

Seeing Moriarty like this, Lilith and Gemma giggled and were overjoyed.

Moriarty shook his head slightly. Ah, a girl.

"Lilith just mentioned the student council president. In fact, I don't think Senior Leon will become the student council president next year." Moriarty's voice was not loud, but it was steady and powerful, and even the little snakes who were speaking heard it.

Lilith looked at Moriarty with concern, not understanding why he had brought up Leon again.

Leon heard it too, but he didn't say anything. Instead, his supporters laughed dismissively.

A boy with short blond hair sat down next to Lilith with a large piece of roast beef. "Why do you think that, Mr. Moriarty?"

Moriarty glanced at him. "I remember you're Jericho Branch, the first Sorting student."

“Obviously,” Jericho said casually, “Nice to meet you, Mr. Moriarty, I won’t shake your hand.” He then proceeded to eat his beef with relish.

"You ask me what I'm thinking?" Moriarty glanced at the Gryffindor table. "Can you find the current student council president, Bill Weasley?"

The little snakes searched the entire auditorium but couldn't find that familiar red hair.

Lilith exclaimed as if she had discovered a shocking secret: "I remember now, Percy Weasley mentioned Charlie Weasley many times, but never Bill Weasley! They are both his brothers, it doesn't make sense for him to do that."

The little snakes turned their gaze to the Gryffindor table, where indeed only two redheads sat—Charlie and Percy.

"But what does that prove?" Lilith frowned in thought.

"This shows that Bill Weasley has more important things to do than participating in the Sorting House," Moriarty revealed the answer: "Lilith, you said that Mr. Bill is a very different Weasley. He is a pure-blood but close to Muggles, and other pure-bloods also have a high opinion of him. Moreover, he comes from Gryffindor."

"I think Mr. Leon should be able to guess something from this point," Moriarty said, pleased to see Leon's sullen face and the fact that he seemed to be gritting his teeth.

"Bill is Professor Dumbledore's man!" He pursed his lips tightly.

"That's right!" Moriarty spread his hands, making a helpless expression. "So, do you think the next student council president will still be one of Professor Dumbledore's men?"

Leon's face darkened. His desire to become student council president stemmed from his ambition to enter the Ministry of Magic after graduation and restore the Mintham family's glory. Now it seemed…

Moriarty didn't care about Leon's plans. He started teasing Lilith again, and Jericho joined in the conversation, drinking the whole cup of gravy ice cream!

"I love meat, and I love desserts!" Jericho licked his lips. "So, next time you have these amazing foods, please save them for me."

"My God, you have such a strange taste." Lilith's gaze towards Jericho instantly changed. She tried to move closer to Moriarty to get away from Jericho.

Gemma and her sisters laughed again, but this time, no one interfered. There were noticeably more young wizards around Moriarty, chatting and eating.

In contrast to them, a group of small snakes sat atop the long table. Even on this day of sorting, they followed the rules of pure-blood families, eating in silence, though the atmosphere was extremely oppressive.

Leon absentmindedly picked up the ice cream and put it down again, while William looked on with amusement.

Dumbledore noticed the obvious divisions at the Slytherin table, and inadvertently caught Moriarty's enigmatic smile.

Bill Weasley was president of the boys' council from 1988 to 1989.

(End of this chapter)