The mastermind behind Hogwarts

Chapter 23 Mr. Slytherin and the Division of Slytherin House

Moriarty's outstanding performance in Transfiguration class attracted everyone's attention, and students from all four houses were eagerly anticipating his performance in other classes.

In Potions class, Professor Snape strode into the classroom.

Unlike Professor McGonagall, who needed to use harsh deductions to remind students of the importance of class discipline, Professor Snape possessed an intimidating power that could effortlessly maintain order in the classroom.

Perhaps it was related to his fearsome reputation, or perhaps it was related to his cold expression, black hair, and the long hem of his robe.

This outfit made him look like a fearsome giant bat.

As he stepped onto the podium, the little snakes and lion cubs shrank their necks, waiting to be called on.

When Moriarty's name was called, Professor Snape stopped, his dark eyes cold and empty, just like his tone of voice.

"The renowned Mr. Moriarty," his voice rose only slightly above a whisper, "I think you should know that Slytherin students always pay a heavy price to live up to the name of Slytherin."

Moriarty was quite certain that he saw himself in those words.

"Of course, they all succeeded," Professor Snape said slowly. "But you are different. Think about how much effort and sweat you would need to put in to live up to the Slytherin name."

He is indeed a good professor, Moriarty thought.

Professor Snape raised his voice: "If it weren't for your surname, I wouldn't be saying all this to you, understand, Mr. Slytherin!"

"Understood, Professor," Moriarty replied loudly. "And I know exactly what I'm doing."

“Very well, let’s see if Mr. Slytherin is a proper Slytherin…” Professor Snape sat down opposite Moriarty, staring into his eyes, and said, “Listen, what do I get if I add narcissus root powder to wormwood infusion?”

"You will receive a potion of life and death," Moriarty said calmly.

Professor Snape said without a trace of emotion, "Name the most common ingredients needed to make the swelling potion."

Moriarty glanced at the Potions professor; clearly, this was a second-year Potions class.

But he answered fluently: "The most common one is the eye of a pufferfish."

Who invented the shrinking potion?

Okay, this time it's third grade!

Moriarty smiled. "It's Zygmunt Bach, Professor."

Snape then asked about some knowledge points that students learn in grades four through six, to which Moriarty answered fluently and clearly.

The question-and-answer session between the two lasted no more than three minutes, but after Moriarty finished answering all the questions, Snape stared at him for a full five minutes!

No one knew what he was thinking, and Moriarty didn't realize that his brain had been invaded.

"Slytherin, five points," Snape said abruptly, standing up and walking away, his voice echoing through the classroom. "The Potion of Life and Death is the first potion you will learn about today! Don't make me say it twice!"

Professor Snape began explaining the steps to make the Water of Life and Death. Soon, the sound of writing filled the classroom. Moriarty, however, curled his lips into a smile. Since the Water of Life and Death was part of today's lesson, why not include it in the bonus points?

Strange is a really interesting person.

"Doesn't Mr. Moriarty take notes?" Lilith whispered.

Moriarty shook his head: "The best way to memorize is always through practice."

As he spoke, he took out the ingredients needed to brew the Water of Life and Death, as well as a crucible and a balance.

Moriarty listened to Professor Snape's explanation and began to cook according to the steps.

"An arrogant genius!" Snape suddenly let out a cold laugh, then his explanation speed increased dramatically, as if he had a machine gun in his mouth and Moriarty was the enemy.

The little snake and the little lion were in great distress, so Jericho simply stopped taking notes and started watching Moriarty brew the potion.

Lilith, on the other hand, kept flicking her wrist as she wrote a series of delicate characters with a quill pen.

"I've been copying laws and regulations since I was a child, so I'm used to it." Lilith shrugged, glancing at Moriarty's Water of Life and Death every now and then.

Thanks to Professor Snape's quick explanation, Moriarty's process of brewing the Elixir of Life and Death was greatly shortened. After he ground the narcissus root into powder, he was only one step away from completing the task.

Jericho let out an exaggerated shout: "Hey! Mr. Moriarty, perhaps you don't even need to come to class. I believe that if I just show you the steps for making potions once, you can learn how to make all the potions!"

"Mr. Blanche, why didn't you write down what I said? Perhaps you think you've learned it? Slytherin, deduct three points!" Professor Snape walked over.

At this moment, Moriarty added the narcissus root powder to the mugwort infusion, and the Water of Life and Death was successfully brewed. Professor Snape nodded, a rare sight for him: "Mr. Slytherin has earned twenty points for Slytherin House."

"Thank you," Moriarty chuckled. "A very unique compliment, Professor."

The little snakes laughed along, as it was rare to see two Slytherins appear at the same time.

Lilith, however, refused to admit defeat and said, "Mine is almost finished too, I don't believe it will be worse than yours."

Moriarty looked over and saw that Lilith's brewing of the Water of Life and Death was just as standard as in the textbook, only she was brewing it slower than him.

After examining her potions, Professor Snape said, "Slytherin gets three points."

When Coach Si went to check on the lion cubs' progress, Lilith pouted, "How stingy, only three points."

Jericho, seemingly incapable of feeling sadness, even when points were deducted, just smiled and said, "Getting three points is already pretty good. You don't want to compare yourself to Mr. Moriarty, do you?"

Lilith's eyes flickered, but she didn't speak. Jericho, however, seemed to have discovered something amazing: "I really want to open your head and see what's inside. You actually want to compete with Moriarty to see who wins more Academy points? Wow!"

According to my calculations, Mr. Moriarty added sixty points to our college's score in those two classes! You only got three points, a twenty-fold difference, isn't that huge, Mr. Moriarty?

"Don't provoke her," Moriarty said to Jericho, noticing a hint of murderous intent flickering in Lilith's eyes. "If you keep doing this, she might come up with a hundred ways to ruin you without breaking the law."

"Hmph," Lilith glared at Jericho slightly, then turned her head away. "Good that you know!"

Even so, Moriarty saw the proud little girl curl up the corners of her mouth.

Jericho touched his short hair and quickly turned his attention to the potion. Moriarty watched as he skillfully picked up the ingredients, arranged them, and began to brew it.

The movement was reminiscent of Moriarty's, and Jericho gave Moriarty an embarrassed smile: "Your pose and movements are so cool, I wanted to imitate them when I saw them..."

"Excellent memory and remarkable ability to imitate," Moriarty said, casting an inquisitive glance at the young American wizard. "Jellicoe, how many more surprises have you prepared for us?"

Lilith turned her head back to Moriarty and said, "Just watch, Mr. Blanche is sure to show off his skills in tomorrow's flight lesson, shall we, Mr. Moriarty?"

Jericho rubbed his forehead and smiled wryly: "Miss Lilith, why don't you become a journalist! The Daily Prophet? Or, perhaps, sing a different tune?"

"It's better for you to go against the grain; after all, you always seem to have access to information that's unknown to outsiders."

"Who gave you permission to call me by my name?" Lilith casually stirred the crucible with a spoon. "And don't compare me to two trashy tabloids."

As for your opinion that I'm gossipy? Actually, I didn't deliberately collect information about you. Rather, I analyzed your behavior after gathering a large amount of information.

"Do you remember what I said on the train, Mr. Moriarty?" Lilith's eyes deepened, and it was hard to believe she was only eleven years old.

"I'm not just a little girl who only dreams. To achieve my goal, I started taking action from the moment I entered Hogwarts."

The young wizards at Hogwarts are the best subjects for investigation. I have no intention of prying into their privacy, but I need to know their character.

So, investigation reports were produced one after another, like brewing a magic potion—not just from Jericho, but also from first-year and second-year students at Hogwarts!

Moriarty, remembering that she often sat with Gemma, asked, "You've already started interacting with third-year students?"

Lilith snorted: "Third-year students are different from first and second-year students. They are quite mature. Haven't you already noticed that?"

Knowing she was implying something, Moriarty smiled: "Are you bothered by not being as mature as them, or are you bothered by not being as mature as they are?"

Lilith rolled her eyes and remained silent.

Jericho rested his chin on his hand, idly flipping through his textbook. He felt like a discarded tool.

(End of this chapter)