The mastermind behind Hogwarts

Chapter 402 Decision Making: Hogwarts Professors and Freshmen

"Phoenix Nest?"

This time it was Moriarty and Polly's turn to be surprised. They exchanged a glance, confirming that it was the first time either of them had ever heard of Phoenix Nest.

"Hmm," Dumbledore looked up, his azure eyes full of stories, and said, "If necessary, I will go to the Phoenix's Nest and bring out the fire elemental magic artifact—the Immortal Organization cannot take it away, I can guarantee that."

Since Dumbledore had said so, Moriarty and Polly chose to believe him.

"That leaves five magical relics: wind, earth, wood, lightning, and light."

Moriarty pondered, considering where they might appear.

The Ice Moon Necklace appeared in Eastern Tibet, China, while the Fire Element Magic Relic was in Phoenix Nest.

It seems that every magical artifact is related to its environment.

To find wind elemental magic relics, go to places with lots of wind.

Go to the area of ​​Redo to find the holy relic of lightning elemental magic.

At first glance, it seems logical, but can it really be found?

Moriarty fell into deep thought.

The earth is so big, and there are countless places with lots of wind and thunder. If we went to them one by one, Moriarty would probably die of old age on the road before we found the holy relic.

Moreover, there are some unknown secret realms and alternate dimensions in the magical world, and if you can't find a way to enter them, you simply can't.

Thinking about it this way, finding the sacred object is indeed fraught with difficulties.

Unlike the Deathly Hallows, which at least have legends that have been passed down and people know what they look like.

No wonder the Immortal Organization has searched for thousands of years and found very few items!

I finally found one, but Moriarty snatched it away.

Moriarty thought that Ye Jingyu didn't know that the Ice Moon Necklace was a sacred object of water elemental magic. He had only heard that there was such a strange thing in Eastern Tibet, China, and collected it with a try-it-out mentality.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have sent three ordinary Japanese black magicians.

Thinking of this, Moriarty said to Dumbledore, "In the search for the Holy Relics, we are not lagging behind the Immortals; we are on the same starting line as them."

"Yes, that's our advantage," Polly interjected.

"Wait, I'm not finished yet," Moriarty chuckled, then continued, "The Immortal Organization must be sending out a lot of people to search for all sorts of strange magical objects in the world. If you just pay a little attention, it's easy to spot the people from the Immortal Organization."

Dumbledore had many friends and students; at least half of the wizards in Europe were his students.

Leveraging these connections allows for effective surveillance of the lower-level members of the immortality organization.

Polly is the chieftain of the largest centaur tribe, and she and the centaurs can monitor magical artifacts scattered in the wild.

Moriarty himself would then make arrangements with the pure-blooded British families.

Instruct the purebloods to keep an eye out for traces of various magical items circulating in large families and the black market.

With the three parties joining forces, the hidden tentacles of the Immortal Organization will have no chance to cause trouble.

Dumbledore and Polly quickly understood Moriarty's meaning and readily agreed.

"I'll write to my friend tonight," Dumbledore said, regaining his relaxed and humorous demeanor. "I must hurry, or I'll be writing all night."

"Oh, right, I also need to borrow the owl from Hogwarts. I'm destined to have a lot of letters, so I hope I won't tire the owl out."

"I don't know if the owl is exhausted, but the students certainly won't be able to mail a single letter today," Moriarty shrugged.

Dumbledore had as many students as there were goblins in the Weasleys' garden.

No wonder Fudge was wary of Dumbledore.

Speaking of students, Moriarty thought of one person.

He looked at Dumbledore: "Three hundred years ago, a Hufflepuff student at Hogwarts mastered earth magic. Perhaps he has information about the whereabouts of earth magic artifacts."

"Really?" Dumbledore seemed quite surprised, and pondered, "Three hundred years ago... I'll check the records, and I'll let you know if I find out."

“Okay,” Polly nodded, then said to Moriarty, “Shouldn’t we also start an organization to oppose the Immortal Organization?”

Moriarty and Dumbledore exchanged a glance and shook their heads simultaneously.

Moriarty explained, "Once this organization was formed, our relationship changed."

"Moreover, the goal of the Immortal Organization in collecting magical artifacts is to achieve immortality, not to rule the world or conquer the earth. I don't think the members of the Immortal Organization have such a clichéd ambition."

"If we form an organization, it means that we have already tacitly agreed that the Immortal Organization is the evil side and we are the righteous side."

"This kind of thinking will drag us into the abyss, and—more people into the abyss."

"Ye Jingyu said that I had long been inextricably linked with the Immortal Organization because I accidentally stole the Ice Moon Necklace and obtained water elemental magic."

"It was originally a personal grudge. Our feud with the Immortal Organization was also caused by Ye Jingyu setting his sights on Hogwarts, which triggered the Blood Feast battle."

"This is also a personal grudge."

"Personal grudges have their own way of being resolved, and I have no intention of starting a war," Moriarty said calmly.

"I think the Immortal Organization doesn't want to start a war either, otherwise they would have had many opportunities to cause chaos in the world over the course of a thousand years."

Hearing these words, Dumbledore felt that Moriarty was very clear-headed, neither intimidated by the immortal organization nor blinded by anger.

"I agree with Moriarty's views," Dumbledore quickly decided.

He had his own stance; if Ye Jingyu hadn't provoked Hogwarts, he wouldn't have cared about the wizards from the East.

"Okay, I have no objection." Polly could only agree.

She smiled and said, "I have a request, which is beneficial to the fight against the Immortal Organization."

Moriarty and Dumbledore exchanged a smile, and Dumbledore said, "Chief Polly, you have helped us, you have helped Hogwarts. Even if you made a personal request, we would still help you."

“Okay,” Polly readily agreed. “I want to be the Ancient Rune Professor at Hogwarts. Do you remember the Divine Symbol that sealed the Nightfall magic? I can teach the Divine Symbol to the students of Hogwarts, and Mr. Moriarty can also come and learn.”

Moriarty bowed slightly: "Thank you for your generosity. In fact, even if you hadn't asked, I would have asked you anyway. What is the Divine Symbol?"

Polly smiled sweetly: "I'll tell you next year when we introduce the new curriculum. I think it's okay for students in fourth grade and above to take my classes."

Dumbledore thought for a moment and then shook his head: "I'm sorry, Polly, I cannot grant your request."

"Teaching the symbols of God and becoming an ancient Runemaster are two separate things, and they don't conflict." Seeing that Polly had something to say, Dumbledore held out his hand, gesturing for her to wait until he finished speaking.

"Ancient Rune Professors need to be thoroughly familiar with the ancient scripts of various countries. Can Chief Polly do that?"

Dumbledore looked at Polly with a smile: "I think our Professor Bassheda Barberin knows more."

Polly nodded in agreement. Indeed, apart from the divine symbols, she only knew ancient Roman and Mayan scripts; everything else was practically a blank slate.

Seeing that Polly agreed with him, Dumbledore felt even more at ease. "Professor of the Divine Symbol doesn't necessarily require becoming a professor. Chief Polly can create a club and recruit some members."

"I will definitely go and support them," Moriarty said with a smile. The Divine Symbols are not so easy to learn, and there will definitely not be many members who stay to learn them. This is also to prepare Polly in advance.

Polly happily agreed; she simply wanted to pass on the divine symbol.

"If Polly doesn't mind, I'd like to hire you as Professor of Magical Creatures at Hogwarts," Dumbledore said earnestly.

The original Professor Sylvanas Kettleburn was too old, and Dumbledore had originally wanted to promote Hagrid, but now there was a better candidate.

"Professor Kettleburn only has one arm and half a leg left; it's time for him to retire." Moriarty's tone was filled with respect for the old professor.

As the current head of the Slytherin family, Moriarty spared no praise or respect for the dutiful professor.

When Polly heard Moriarty say the same thing, she agreed without hesitation.

"That's amazing! I'll be a professor next year!" Polly said happily, then looked at Dumbledore with concern: "As far as I know, there's no precedent for a centaur becoming a professor at Hogwarts. Will I cause you trouble?"

Moriarty replied, "It's alright, the Ministry of Magic is in a frenzy right now—they have something to show for themselves and have no interest in focusing on Hogwarts."

Dumbledore grinned slyly: "I told Fudge about the collusion between the dark wizards of the East and magic, and he was overjoyed. This will give him more say in the International Wizarding Association."

"Speaking of which—" Moriarty suddenly remembered, "Isn't Professor Lockhart going to the Ministry of Magic?"

"Yes."

Dumbledore nodded, his gaze serious. He was now almost certain that Lockhart was Moriarty's subordinate, and that the massive avalanche in the Himalayas in eastern Tibet, China, was also related to Moriarty and Lockhart.

However, Dumbledore didn't point it out. Instead, he asked, "This means we'll have to change our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor again! Moriarty, do you have any suitable candidates to recommend?"

Moriarty shook his head. If the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is still one of his people when Harry, Hermione, Draco, and Neville enroll next year, Dumbledore will be very uneasy.

However, Dumbledore told Polly that he needed to speak with Moriarty alone. Polly said goodbye to Moriarty and went out first.

Only Moriarty and Dumbledore remained in the headmaster's office.

This reminded Moriarty of the end of the semester last year and the year before.

At this time and in this place, it's still these two people.

Including this semester—Moriarty's third year—the two of them have a one-on-one conversation at the end of each semester.

What are your thoughts on Harry Potter?

Dumbledore's eyes gradually sharpened.

Moriarty seemed somewhat bewildered: "You've asked this question more than once. I believe we've reached an agreement."

Moriarty didn't want to touch Dumbledore's savior; the threat from the immortal organization was far greater than that from Voldemort.

"Yes, yes," Dumbledore said noncommittally, "What if I changed my mind now?"

"Oh?" Moriarty's eyes flashed with a sharp light. In that case, it seemed like they could stir up some trouble.

(End of this chapter)