The mastermind behind Hogwarts

Chapter 435 Hermione Granger's Accidental Encounter in Knockturn Alley (Part 1)

In the early morning, after Moriarty finished washing up, he went to the dining table to enjoy the breakfast prepared by Luke.

His two women: Narcissa was still fast asleep, exhausted from the previous night. Tonks had already finished breakfast and gone to train by the lake.

Violet, as always, remained perpetually sleepy.

"Luke, any interesting news lately?"

Luke handed over the latest issue of the Daily Prophet.

Moriarty opened it and looked at it: "Hmm? Look at our old friend—'Ten Thousand Wizards Request Gilderoy Lockhart to Run for President of the Magical Congress of the United States!'"

"Recently, Gilderoy Lockhart, captain of the UK's International Anti-Mafia Special Task Force, gave a speech in North America, sparking an unprecedented anti-Mafia frenzy!"

"According to sources within the Magical Congress of the United States, approximately 30,000 wizards have publicly endorsed Mr. Lockhart's candidacy for Congress President."

"—We can anticipate that once Mr. Lockhart decides to run, he will win by an overwhelming majority! Reportedly, the vote count is still rising..."

Front page, first page, second page...

It's all news about Lockhart.

It's clear that the Daily Prophet is treating Lockhart as a cash cow, shamelessly riding on his coattails.

Moriarty put down the newspaper with satisfaction; Lockhart's rising reputation could only be a good thing, not a bad thing.

"Young Master, there are some comments in another newspaper that are not very friendly to you."

Luke handed Moriarty a tabloid.

Moriarty took it and looked at it.

Ho!

Is Sirius Black's prison break related to a certain name that can't be mentioned? No! The untold secrets of the Black and Slytherin families!

What does the Azkaban breakout illustrate? A wake-up call! A warning! The Dementors belong to their master!

Sirius Black was murdered in front of my house—Mr. Lovegood's account: I saw the killer!

The title alone has a novel feel to it.

Moriarty smirked. Needless to say, this must be "The Quibbler".

But after reading it, Moriarty seemed to be deep in thought.

Editor-in-Chief Lovegood connected Sirius Black's escape from prison with Moriarty!

Lovegood's reason was that Narcissa asked Moriarty to go to Azkaban to rescue her brother Sirius.

It's obvious they're trying to capitalize on Narcissa becoming Mrs. Slytherin.

But who made Lovegood guess right?

In the second news item, Lovegood pointed out that the Dementors have a master, and he swore that the master was a wizard who had gone mad.

Nobody believed it.

However, given that Lovegood often makes some outlandish remarks, such as harassing horseflies and fire spirits, people have become used to it.

As for the third news item, Lovegood said he saw the killer who killed Sirius Black.

He described in detail how Sirius Black, disguised as a large black dog, swaggered into the Weasley family's house and the nearby hills.

Then one night, Lovegood saw a short man and a tall man kill Sirius!

Moriarty folded the newspaper and put it in his pocket; in his opinion, the news was very likely true!

Isn't Peter Pettigrew a short guy?

And that tall guy is very likely William, who has Voldemort's hair on the back of his head!

Moriarty remembered clearly that William was already very tall when he was in first grade, and three years later, William could only be taller.

If it were William and Pettigrew, they would definitely be preparing for Voldemort's resurrection.

Voldemort now has two henchmen.

Perhaps they'll buy unicorn blood to restore their lives.

"Young master? Do you remember that Miss Lilith invited you to Diagon Alley today?"

Luke's words brought Moriarty back to his senses.

They made a promise after returning from Privet Road; before they knew it, school started tomorrow, a new semester, fourth grade...

Moriarty turned his gaze to the garden outside the window; a little over half of his time studying at Hogwarts had already passed.

While you're at Diagon Alley, why not also stop by Knockturn Alley and ask if anyone buys unicorn blood?

At nine o'clock in the morning, a unicorn carriage drove out of Slytherin Castle, carrying Moriarty and Tonks.

"Nymph, you seem to have become even more beautiful." Moriarty looked at Tonks' legs with a smile.

Not long after, the carriage began to shake.

Thirty minutes later, we arrived at Diagon Alley.

Tonks blushed as Moriarty helped him down from the carriage. Since school started tomorrow, there were many wizards on the street, watching them curiously.

"Senior Tonks~"

Not far away, Lilith smiled and waved at them.

Penelope, Gemma, Cho Chang, and some of her close friends had all gathered around Lilith.

Moriarty took Tonks' hand and walked over. Lilith could tell what had happened just by looking at the lust in Tonks' eyes.

"You're always doing bad things!" Lilith rolled her eyes at Moriarty.

Moriarty said he was used to it. "Where are Jericho and the others? At the Leaky Cauldron?"

Penelope nodded and said, "Yes, they arrived early this morning, but they didn't see Marcus."

"Oh, him?" Moriarty smiled slightly. "He went to pick up Harry Potter."

"Harry Potter?" Penelope and Cho Chang exchanged a glance. "The one who defeated Mystic?"

"That's right, he's a freshman."

Moriarty said casually, when suddenly he saw a little girl running hurriedly into another alley.

"That direction... is it Knockover Alley?"

Lilith heard Moriarty's words, glanced in that direction, and saw the back of a little girl.

"Huh? It really is Knockdown Alley—no upperclassman would run into Knockdown Alley, it must be a freshman."

"Speaking of new students," Tonks said to Moriarty, reminded of the occasion, "Narcissa said yesterday that Draco and Pansy are also coming to Diagon Alley today, and she asked you to look after them."

"Oh? Two new students?" Moriarty shrugged. "I see. Since they're my stepsons, I'll reluctantly take care of them."

"Look at him, he clearly took advantage but is still acting innocent, what a jerk!" Tonks gave him an expression that said, "I'm shocked by your shamelessness."

Lilith smiled and moved closer to Tonks: "I heard you, what's your name, Narcissa? Hehe~"

Tonks blushed and inadvertently blurted out some intimate details about what happens under the bed.

Fortunately, Moriarty was the only man there; the other girls knew about their relationship to some extent and didn't think much of it.

"It's getting late, let's get started!"

Lilith called to everyone: "We'll split up—Moriarty, Penelope, and I will go to Flourish and Blotts and Transform Ink Stationery to buy fourth-grade books, ink, and quill pens."

Gemma is going to buy fifth-grade books, and Tonks is preparing for the NEWT exam.

Zhang Qiu, a junior student, is going to the Quidditch boutique to buy herself a new set of protective gear.

I also need to buy some fang geraniums to prepare for the OWL exam.

Shall we begin? Let's meet at the Leaky Cauldron at 10:30 and grab a drink together.

"no problem."

One after another, responses came in, and everyone agreed.

Only Moriarty said to Lilith, "Buy me a copy, I have to go to Knockturn Alley."

Lilith glanced at Moriarty with surprise, wanting to say "take me with you," but in the end she agreed.

Moriarty then separated from the main group, crossing Diagon Alley, turning and twisting his way into another alley, and climbing over it.

Moriarty arrived at Mr. Borginbock's shop with practiced ease. Mr. Borginbock was a local bigwig in Knockturn Alley, and nothing could be kept from him.

Mr. Borgin is also a member of the Borgin family of the 28 Holy Families. Moriarty met him two years ago in Malfoy.

So when Moriarty walked into the shop, Mr. Bogin paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Dear Mr. Moriarty, your eternal friend, old Bogin, sends his greetings."

"Alright, how come you've picked up Lucius's tricks too?" Moriarty snorted.

Suddenly, they discovered there was another person in the store: Draco Malfoy!

"Draco? What are you doing here!" Moriarty scolded the little Malfoy, who only reached his chest.

"Your mother asked me to look after you, but you ended up in Knockturn Alley all by yourself—did you even consider your mother's feelings?"

Draco lowered his head dejectedly.

"What did he buy from you?" Moriarty asked old Bokin without any politeness.

Old Borgin wasn't angry at all, and said with a smile, "Young Master Malfoy wants to buy the Hand of Glory, but he doesn't seem to have enough Galleons."

"Bang!"

Draco reacted as if he'd stepped on a bomb, bursting through the door and running away.

"This child." Moriarty shook his head and let him be; he had more important things to do.

"Have any wizards been buying unicorn blood in Knockturn Alley lately?" Moriarty asked without any hesitation.

House Burke is now tied to the warships of the pure-blood families, with House Slytherin at the head.

The bigger the business, the more Galleons they earn, and the closer the pure-blood family becomes to the Slytherin family.

Even if the problem might expose Voldemort, Moriarty didn't believe Borgin was hiding anything from him.

Sure enough, old Bokin bent down and whispered, "A wizard did buy a bottle of unicorn blood for an hour, but he didn't seem to have enough money."

"Describe the male wizard."

"Hmm... very tall, with a London accent, wearing a black hood, he gives me a sense of déjà vu."

Moriarty nodded. "The Slytherin family has felt the friendship of the Burkes."

After saying that, he turned and left, and Bokin's words largely echoed William's.

"Squeak—"

The door to the Borginbock shop was pushed open, and Moriarty stepped out, his mind preoccupied with William's situation.

Will William not apply to Hogwarts for the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor position?

Dumbledore should have figured out what was going on as soon as he saw William.

But William, how did you manage to save him...?

Suddenly, a little girl ran out of a room diagonally opposite in a panic.

She ran forward without looking back and bumped right into Moriarty, who was walking towards her.

"Bang!"

(Raise your hand if you like Hermione! Raise both hands if you like Emma Watson!)

(End of this chapter)