The mastermind behind Hogwarts

Chapter 407 Kidnapping Neville to Azkaban

Sirius Black, that great traitor, is currently imprisoned in Azkaban!

He is widely believed to have betrayed the Potters, killed Peter Pettigrew, and twelve Muggles.

He also used the evil spells taught to him by his master Voldemort to blow up a street.

Indeed, the Ministry of Magic and the public unanimously believe that Sirius Black is Voldemort's loyal subordinate and an important member of the Death Eaters.

Voldemort: Listen to me, thank you~ 3Q!

If Sirius Black, that reckless fellow, were Voldemort's henchman, Voldemort would be truly grateful.

Even during his student days, it was clear that Sirius Black had little ambition; he was rebellious and loved adventure.

Moreover, he comes from a wealthy family and is quite capable; aside from his discord with his parents, there's not much else to say about him.

Such a person fights only for his beliefs, and there's nothing Voldemort could use against him.

Voldemort's winning strategy against other purebloods—strengthening his clan and restoring glory—was completely ineffective against Sirius.

Judging from Sirius's behavior after escaping from prison, he doesn't care about the Black family at all; he hopes the Black family will be destroyed as soon as possible.

But things are different now. The Potters have been killed, and Sirius Black has developed weaknesses and inner demons.

This inner demon is the true culprit who betrayed the Potters, Peter Pettigrew.

If Moriarty tells Sirius Black where Peter Pettigrew is, Sirius Black will escape from Azkaban just like in the original story.

Once Sirius is free, there's no doubt he'll return to 12 Grimmauld Place, London; he has nowhere else to go but the Black family home.

Thinking about Sirius Black's life, Moriarty found it rather amusing.

A person who hates his family will eventually find no place in the world for himself except to return to the home he despises.

It's really ironic.

Moriarty shook his head slightly and Apparated away from Grimmauld Place. He was going to Diagon Alley to find out about the Weasley family's recent situation.

Ideally, I should get my hands on Scabbers, the mouse that Peter Pettigrew turned into, so that I'll have leverage over Sirius Black.

Unbeknownst to Moriarty, after he left, a window in the Black family home was opened, and Mrs. Malfoy stood by the window for a while, lost in thought.

Diagon Alley.

During the summer vacation, many Hogwarts students came to shop, while others came to work part-time.

Moriarty entered the Leaky Cauldron, where old Tom gave him a warm welcome.

"A butterbeer, please."

Moriarty pulled out a Galleon and placed it on the bar, even though it was worth far more than a beer.

Old Tom was clearly used to it; after all, the Slytherin family didn't have Silver Seeker or Bronze Nate!

Galleons are the smallest unit of money in the Slytherin family.

"Alright, generous sir." Old Tom cheerfully handed Moriarty the beer.

Moriarty sipped his drink, nodding and smiling at the older students who greeted him.

Just as they were halfway through their beer, a group of wizards who were talking laughed and said, "You know what? The Weasley family has been blessed by fate! This week they went on a trip to Egypt and stumbled upon a tomb."

His companion expressed his incomprehension: "A grave? What does it have to do with fate?"

"Oh dear, do you even understand? That's a tomb! What do you think's inside? They found a mummy, and look, it's even been reported in the news."

As he spoke, he picked up a crumpled newspaper.

The front page featured a magical, animated photograph of the Weasleys, all sporting identical red hair and beaming with smiles. Behind them was a large tomb, and in front of them was a coffin containing a mummy.

"I see," his companion said enviously. "Such a huge tomb, they could just pull out some burial goods and become rich. The Weasleys are really lucky."

"Who can argue with that!"

Moriarty had no interest in listening to the two jealous wizards spewing sour grapes. In the newspaper, Scabbers the rat was perched on Ron Weasley's shoulder!

Although Moriarty had never met Ron, Ron was, after all, the shortest and ugliest Weasley boy.

It seems that Scabbers is now Ron's pet.

Moriarty exclaimed in disbelief that the Weasleys' trip to Egypt was a plot point from Ron's third year, and now it was happening.

Then he realized that since Arthur Weasley had been promoted, the Weasley family was much better off financially, so it was only natural for them to travel to Egypt ahead of schedule.

As for why they went to Egypt, it was probably Charlie's suggestion—no wonder he didn't come to the Slytherin Castle party.

Having figured all this out, Moriarty bought a copy of the Daily Prophet, took the front page with the picture of Scabbard, and prepared to go to Azkaban!

If you show this to Sirius Black, he'll recognize Little Pettigrew at a glance, right?

Moriarty glanced at the rat's mottled and mutilated toes and gave a cold smile.

Traitors are always shameful, and Moriarty wouldn't mind giving Sirius a chance for revenge, provided he could see Mrs. Malfoy as soon as possible.

Just as Moriarty was looking at the newspaper, a notification popped up: "Ding~ Host detected discovery of an ancient Egyptian witch's tomb. Reward: one exploration lottery draw."

Moriarty was taken aback. The system hadn't had an exploration lottery for a long time, which meant there was something going on in the Egyptian tomb!

The recent sign-in rewards and random draws were all miscellaneous items, which Moriarty cleaned up.

Now there's an exploration lottery, so let's try our luck and see what good stuff we can get.

"Ding-dong~ Congratulations, host, you have obtained Master-level Ancient Egyptian!"

Moriarty nodded. "Okay, now I can speak six languages."

Just as he was about to leave Diagon Alley, Moriarty heard a crying sound.

Moriarty frowned toward the source of the sound and saw a little boy squatting on the ground wiping away tears.

A chubby little boy with short black hair and a round face.

Moriarty frantically searched his memory and recognized him.

"Navie Longbottom?"

At the pure-blood family's party, the Longbottom family also sent three people, and Neville became the butt of jokes.

Because Neville tripped and fell six times while leaving.

In fact, the purebloods' impression of Neville was not only that he was an idiot, but also that he was a Squib.

Neville's uncle, Algiers Longbottom, once deliberately threw Neville into the lake just to see if he was a dud.

It was clear that Neville had no magical talent as a child, and the Longbottom family even thought he might be a Squib.

But what about Neville when he grew up?

The famous Gryffindor swordsman!

With one sword, he severed Nagini's head; with one sword, he became a god.

He later became the professor of herbalism at Hogwarts.

He married Hannah Abbott.

It is worth mentioning that Hannah Abbot is also a pure-blooded family and is also ranked among the 28 Holy Races.

In other words, even in pure-blood families that favor Dumbledore, pure-blood marriage is still upheld.

Since Moriarty was able to subdue the purebloods on Voldemort's side, why couldn't he subdue the purebloods on Dumbledore's side?

Moriarty smiled as he watched Neville cry.

"Neville?" he said softly.

Neville looked up, tears and snot mingling in his eyes, and blinked in surprise, saying, "You are... Mori, Moriarty? Slytherin?"

You actually remember me?

He's a promising talent.

Moriarty was pleased and asked Neville with a gentle smile, "What are you doing here? Did you get separated from your family?"

"Yes!" Neville nodded vigorously, sobbing, "Uncle Algiers said he'd take me to Diagon Alley, but I only went to the shop to watch the flying broomsticks for a bit, and then he disappeared!"

This Algerloinbotton is the uncle who threw Neville into the lake; he's utterly unreliable.

However, this is also good, as it gives Moriarty an opportunity.

Moriarty smiled slightly, and with a snap of his fingers, he cleaned Neville up, leaving Neville looking on with admiration.

"Navie, you know your uncle is doing this to toughen you up, right?"

"I know, they want me to become stronger." Neville nodded. He was just slow to react, not stupid.

Neville's slow reaction and tendency to cry are not due to anything else, but because he was tortured with the Cruciatus Curse by Bellatrix Lestrange, the eldest sister of Madame Malfoy, when he was 1 year old.

Neville was able to use magic to wrap himself in a blanket shortly after birth, simply because he felt cold.

He is extremely talented.

"Do you know why they want you to become stronger?" Moriarty's voice was seductive, and Neville shook his head blankly.

"You may not remember things from your childhood," Moriarty said in a different tone, his voice deep and serious. "You have enemies. Your parents were driven insane by two bad guys using the Cruciatus Curse, and they're still at St. Mungo's Hospital."

"An enemy?"

"My parents?"

Neville's eyes widened and his mouth slowly opened. He remembered—a woman, a tall woman with dark hair.

She was laughing wildly, pointing her wand at her parents!

Neville's mind was filled with that kind of laughter—maniacal, exhilarating, and wicked.

Then, she pointed her wand at herself!

A flash of red light!

Then came the excruciating pain.

"what!"

Neville clutched his head and screamed. He remembered the pain of the Cruciatus Curse and curled up on the ground, convulsing as if under a spell.

Moriarty watched all this calmly. In the original story, Neville's unhappy childhood was cured during his seven years at Hogwarts.

Now Moriarty has a good method: he only needs to chant a few spells on the two scumbags, and in less than seven minutes, he can cure Neville.

The prerequisite is that Nawi must transform.

Yes, Moriarty is taking Neville to Azkaban for revenge!

(1. Weasley's discovery of the Egyptian tomb is foreshadowing. 2. Alger Longbottom was a real person, and Neville was a promising talent.)

(End of this chapter)