The mastermind behind Hogwarts

Chapter 437 Clash at Gringotts (Happy Birthday to Hall Master Long Tang Jiuxiao!)

Moriarty led Jericho and Soldaya to Gringotts.

This is one of the few large buildings in Diagon Alley, white on the outside but exuding a profound luxury inside.

As Moriarty approached Gringotts, the goblins guarding the outside came up to him with saccharine smiles on their faces.

Everyone knows that the Slytherin family is incredibly wealthy. For Gringotts, even if Moriarty kept only one ten-thousandth of the Galleons, it would still be an enormous sum of money.

However, Moriarty never went to Gringotts on his own initiative.

Today's arrival has made many fairies happy to inform the higher-ranking fairies.

Moriarty and his two companions entered Gringotts Hall, where they were greeted by a large group of goblins.

The leading fairy was very old and had almost no hair left; the few remaining strands were silver-white.

Fairies always have sparse hair, and wizards often use this to mock them. At this moment, Soldaya smiled with her lips pursed.

The old fox was dressed in a suit. He walked up to Moriarty, bowed deeply, and performed a very ancient and complicated ritual.

Although few wizards know this etiquette now, the old fox believes Moriarty still remembers it.

"Dear Mr. Slytherin, Peperia the goblin sends you her highest greetings and wishes you well—Gringotts in England will serve you with all her might."

The old fox kept a low profile, but it didn't attract Moriarty's attention. Only when he heard the old fox's name did Moriarty's eyes twitch slightly.

A fairy with four characters.

Peperia.

He is the highest-ranking goblin in Gringotts.

Moriarty glanced at the group of fairies.

The old goblin was followed by a group of goblins; almost all the goblins in Gringotts had come. They were all bowing, including Gripping Hoop, the goblin who had taken Harry Potter to Bellatrix Vault. He was standing in the last row.

The fact that all the goblins of Gringotts had come out was no ordinary event, and the wizards in Gringotts all looked towards the hall in surprise.

When they saw that the visitor was the head of the Slytherin family, they were not surprised; instead, they were filled with curiosity.

The Slytherin family has never had any dealings with Gringotts.

Because Gringotts wasn't even founded when the Slytherin family was established!

But the Muggles didn't know this; it was their first time in Gringotts, and they were filled with awe for everything there.

Gringotts' attitude towards Muggles was far from friendly, and compared to their current respect, the Muggles found it even stranger.

On this special day, there were many Muggles at Gringotts, including the Granger family from London.

Hermione craned her neck, looking back and forth at Moriarty, her mouth slightly open, swaying back and forth like a little squirrel searching for fruit.

Finally, she found Moriarty and immediately recognized him as the male witch who had rescued her from the witch and led her out.

Hermione told her parents about this, and Mr. Granger, a well-mannered gentleman, felt he needed to thank Moriarty.

So he led the Granger family toward Moriarty.

Hermione walked quickly, coming up behind Moriarty and saying excitedly, "Hey, kind sir, it's so nice to see you again so soon."

As she spoke, she waved in front of Moriarty, trying to remind him of her.

Jericho and Soldaya exchanged a glance. How did this girl manage to squeeze past us?

"So it's Hermione Granger," Moriarty said casually. "Coming to Gringotts to exchange for Galleons?"

"Yes, the currency exchange system here is too complicated; it confuses me—does 1 Galleon exchange for 15 Silver Sickles or 17 Silver Sickles? And how many Bronze Nats can 1 Silver Sickle exchange for?"

"Oh my god! Luckily, my dad is quick-witted. He said that as long as you remember that the human tongue is made up of 17 muscles, you'll remember how to convert between galons and siscoats!"

Hermione started talking non-stop again, her face beaming with excitement and a smile.

Moriarty said to her, "An interesting method of memorization. Perhaps your father was a doctor?"

Hermione's eyes widened in surprise as she leaned closer to Moriarty: "You guessed right!"

At this moment, Granger's parents came over and pulled Hermione back, telling her not to get too excited.

They then thanked Moriarty, who shook his head and said that Hogwarts would not allow any student to be threatened.

Just then, Marcus led Harry out of the vault entrance; they had just come out of the Potter family's vault.

Marcus spotted Moriarty immediately, disregarding Gringotts' rule against shouting.

"Hey, sir!"

His loud voice drew everyone's attention.

Marcus waved to Moriarty and strode over, leaving Harry Potter to jog after him.

Moriarty recognized Marcus's voice, looked over, and nodded to Marcus.

Then, seeing Harry behind him, he asked, "Have you finished with Potter's business?"

"I'm done, sir," Marcus nodded. "Now I'm going to Knockturn Alley to buy some food for my little bird."

So he looked down at Harry: "You'll have to buy your own school supplies later—there's a list in the letter the school sent you. Just buy what's listed, you can manage, right?"

Harry didn't know if he could do it on his own, but he didn't want to be looked down upon by Marcus and Moriarty.

Harry tried to appear mature, nodding. "No problem, Mr. Marcus."

Moriarty, however, asked Marcus with interest, "The harbinger? From Ireland? Is it the harbinger whose call has always been interpreted as a death tale?"

“That’s right,” Marcus said happily when talking about magical creatures. “Actually, their cries are just a little shrill, not that scary—I want to raise them as soon as possible.”

"A toad?" Hermione asked curiously. "Is it a pet? I saw in the letter Hogwarts sent me that I could bring one pet—a cat, a toad, or a mouse? I prefer cats, but I couldn't find one I liked after looking around, so I've decided not to bring any this year. Will that affect my studies?"

Marcus stared blankly at Hermione, then at Moriarty, as if wanting to ask who this person was.

Moriarty found it amusing; Marcus was not good with words to begin with, but he was more talkative in front of him.

I ran into Hermione today and was completely taken aback by her rapid-fire questions.

Seeing that Marcus couldn't offer any advice, Hermione turned her attention to Moriarty.

Moriarty laughed and said, "Pets are nothing to worry about; they won't affect your studies or grades."

"That's great!" Hermione exclaimed firmly. "I made up my mind the moment I received the letter: no matter which school I'm in, I'm going to be number one!"

"Cough cough..."

The old goblin Peperia suddenly coughed, and people then realized that the goblins had been bending over and bowing their heads the whole time.

Even though fairies are short, holding this pose for a long time will cause back pain.

The old goblin was furious. They had been bowing for so long, and Moriarty hadn't said a word. Instead, he was chatting with a Muggle girl and Marcus.

Marcus knew that the Flint family kept a large sum of Galleons in Gringotts every year.

They can't afford to offend the big spenders, but the Muggle girl can only bring so little to Gringotts.

The old goblin decisively chose to interrupt Hermione to make his presence known.

"Little wizard, don't shout in Gringotts. Bad things always happen unexpectedly."

The old fox gave Hermione a smile, but considering what he said, the smile looked more like a threat.

Moriarty, Jericho, Soldayafen, the Grangers, and some adults all recognized it.

Moriarty snorted; he knew that the old fox was using the warning to Hermione as a way of expressing his displeasure.

Soldaya, observing the situation, stepped forward at the opportune moment and said to the old fox, "Peperia, how come I didn't know Gringotts had a rule against shouting? Huh?"

"It seems like whenever a large sum of Galleons is deposited into Gringotts, you goblins are always the first to yell and scream, aren't you?"

Sordaya took out a Galleon and rolled it back and forth in his left hand, while holding his wand in his right.

He stared at the old vixen, giving her the look that said, "If you keep talking nonsense, I'll cast a spell on you."

The old witch looked at Sordaya for a while, then smiled and bowed, saying, "So you are the young master of the Selwyn family. You look just like your ancestor, Aldwe Selwyn."

Soldaya's expression changed; the old devil had guessed his ancestor's name! That was his great-great-grandfather!

How long has this fairy lived?

Moriarty answered his questions, and he finally spoke his first words to the fairy.

"Peperia the fairy, isn't she?"

The old witch bowed: "Yes..."

But before he could finish speaking, Moriarty interrupted him loudly: "Many wizards don't know that among fairies, the length of a name represents their social status."

The old devil shuddered and tried to lower his head so that Moriarty could not see his expression.

But a storm raged within him: Did the Slytherin family know this secret? Damn Salazar, he knows far too much!

Moriarty glanced at the old goblin and continued, "Most of the goblins that wizards encounter have two-character names, like that employee, Pull-Ring."

Moriarty pointed to the last one, Griphook, and many wizards looked over. Griphook tried to shrink himself in.

"Take, for example, the fairy who left her mark on the history of magic—Lala the Slovenly, the fairy who ignited the fairy rebellion."

Jericho slapped his forehead: "Oh, I remember now, all the goblin names Professor Binns told us to memorize were two-letter names!"

"That's right, because fairies with three or four characters in their names are high-ranking fairies, or even nobles."

Moriarty said this with certainty, and at the same time, the old fox stared at Moriarty with a strange look in his eyes.

"For example, this Peperia standing in front of us." Moriarty turned his head and looked at the old devil.

"For example, there's Hodraught, the Cocoon Hand, who once tried to kill three wizards."

Also, the founder of Gringotts, a goblin named Gringotts!

And… the creator of the Gryffindor sword familiar to wizards—King Legnac I, the goblin king!

"These kinds of fairies usually last a long time, so it's not surprising that they know your ancestor's name."

Moriarty said the last sentence to Soldaya, then stared sharply at the old fox, "I told you so!"

The old demon suppressed his anger, and Moriarty's few words exposed one of their demons' secrets!

Wizards used to think that fairies had no distinction of identity, but now they know that their names are different.

In the future, if there are any further operations, the leader will easily be captured.

However, now was not the time to erupt. The old witch forced a smile: "Mr. Slytherin's wisdom astonishes and delights me. Under the leadership of the Slytherin family, the wizarding world will surely prosper and flourish!"

"Your ability to clearly recognize this has saved Gringotts from a disaster," Moriarty said softly.

The old demon stared in terror, her two round eyeballs almost bulging out.

"I need to go to your office; I have something to ask you."

After Moria finished speaking, Tee walked into Gringotts first, not giving the old devil a chance to refute.

Marcus and his two companions followed behind Moriarty and his group, knocking over many fairies along the way.

The old fox walked behind with his head down. He didn't know what Moriarty wanted to ask, but he had no choice. Moriarty had already issued a warning, and if he didn't explain clearly, the consequences would be unimaginable.

They left quickly, leaving the Grangers and Harry standing there, bewildered.

After watching Moriarty's figure disappear, Mr. Granger said to Hermione, "It seems that gentleman has something to do. Let's go. I'm very interested in that powder that can make people disappear from the fireplace. Perhaps we can buy some?"

"Hmm..." Hermione nodded absentmindedly, repeatedly recalling Moriarty's conversation with the goblin.

She actually didn't understand many of the topics, but there was one word that sounded very familiar to her.

"Mr. Slytherin? Mr. Slytherin! Hiss..."

Hermione remembered that the witch had also mentioned "Mr. Slytherin".

Thinking of Moriarty, Hermione wondered, puzzled, "Why do they all call him Mr. Slytherin? And I'm sure I've seen the name Slytherin somewhere before, but where?"

Hermione walked along, racking her brains, while Harry, equally bewildered, mustered his courage and asked Hermione, "Excuse me, are you also a new student at Hogwarts? Do you know where to buy a cauldron?"

"..." Hermione didn't answer. She was recalling how the kind Mr. Granger had helped Harry, saying that they had bought it before and that Harry could go with him.

Harry thanked them profusely, took a sum of Galleons from the vault, and decided to buy more books.

After meeting Marcus, Harry felt that they were from completely different worlds.

Just like what Moriarty and Marcus were saying, Harry couldn't understand a word they were saying!

"I want to become a wizard as good as them."

Harry pictured Moriarty talking eloquently and Marcus casually buying magical creatures, feeling a mixture of envy and determination.

He clenched his fists tightly.

Two incoming freshmen walked out of Gringotts, lost in their own thoughts.

In fact, not long after they left, Moriarty and his three companions came out.

Moriarty only asked the old fox one question: Had William ever been to Gringotts?

Even though Gringotts has a rule against revealing customers' identities, the old fox chose to follow his heart when faced with Moriarty.

The old witch said yes.

William came to Gringotts to withdraw the money on the exact same day that old Borgin said a wizard was buying unicorn blood.

As Moriarty stepped out of Gringotts, he looked in the direction of Hogwarts.

It's confirmed that William is possessed by Voldemort.

At this time of year, shouldn't William be in the principal's office applying for the Defense Against the Dark Arts professorship this year?

Having confirmed that Voldemort would come, Moriarty immediately pulled out his long-prepared plan.

He returned home and found the book Voldemort's Japan, which contained a fragment of Voldemort's soul—the soul of Tom Marvolognan!

The next day, Moriarty, carrying his diary, boarded the train at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.

Fourth grade has begun.

(A long chapter of 4000 words, wishing Hall Master Long Tang Jiuxiao a happy birthday, good health, and great wealth every day! Thank you again, Brother Jiuxiao, for the generous reward!)

(Also, this chapter covers the main storyline. Except for Peperia, whose name is fictional, all the fairy names are real, including one named Gringotts!)

(End of this chapter)