The mastermind behind Hogwarts

Chapter 44 The Gift

After the conversation ended, Lockhart left the castle; he could not appear before Marcus and Jericho now.

Little Dragon Christmas was also taken away by Lockhart; they will wait for Moriarty's instructions in a safe place.

That evening, Moriarty hosted a Christmas dinner in the castle hall.

Jericho, who was usually unconventional, became more disciplined at this time. He was deeply influenced by the free and easy American culture, but he developed a sense of awe in the face of the Slytherin family’s profound and solemn heritage.

This mood lingered until the Christmas dinner, where Moriarty told several jokes to cheer him up, while Marcus seemed especially fortunate ever since he entered the castle.

Marcus was glad he had made a bet with Moriarty, glad he had lost to Moriarty, and glad he had learned some knowledge about magical creatures as Moriarty had instructed.

After the dinner, Jericho toured the castle with Luke, while Marcus was summoned to the tower by Moriarty.

Guided by the house-raised elves, Marcus entered the tower and saw Moriarty standing in front of the window.

With his hands behind his back and his gaze fixed on the sky, Marcus, as if afraid of disturbing him, said softly, "Sir, I've arrived."

"You've done very well during this time," Moriarty said softly. "Therefore, you will face your ultimate test. You've seen everything in the castle, and everything there can save the Flint family, provided you pass the test."

Marcus scratched his head and said awkwardly, "I will definitely pass your test, sir."

Moriarty nodded, and then the two parted ways. In fact, the three of them hadn't been together since dinner.

Back in his bedroom, Moriarty seemed to have endless things to do. That night, he decided to research the spells and potions left by his ancestor Salazar, as well as add runes to the Kara Boots.

"Ingo!" he summoned the fairy. "I want you to transform into human form and go to Borginborough's shop to buy some black magic alchemy tools."

"Luke! Prepare the potion ingredients. Then come to my room; I need you to be my test subject!"

Oh, and don't forget to send Christmas presents to my friends.

Moriarty stayed up all night and finally developed the flight spell before dawn, successfully brewing the transformation potion.

As for adding a "bounce" function to the Kara boots, he was unsuccessful. Even though he disassembled and studied the alchemical tools of Borginbock, he was unable to apply that experience and knowledge to the Kara boots.

"Alchemy is sometimes similar, and the principles are the same, but every alchemical tool is unique!" Moriarty concluded.

He then wrote down his conjecture in a notebook: "On the evening of December 25th, the three disassembled black magic alchemy items were cursed with misfortune. Since they belonged to the same type of alchemy items, it is reasonable to conclude that the curse can link different alchemy items together..."

Moriarty wrote three long notes in one go, then looked up to find that it was already fully light. He stretched and had Luke lead him to Jericho and Marcus's bedroom.

"Get up!" Moriarty smacked Jericho and Marcus awake with a cushion. "Come outside with me, I've prepared Christmas presents for you!"

The two listless people jumped up instantly, as if they had been doused with a bucket of cold water, and were no longer sleepy at all.

"I thought I wouldn't get any Christmas presents this year. After all, this is Slytherin Castle, and owls can't find this place." Jericho quickly dressed and ran out of the castle.

On the lawn outside the castle, Moriarty and Marcus were talking. Luke directed the house-elves to bring some sofas and chairs to the lawn, while Ingo used magic to conjure a long carpet made of flowers.

"What are we going to do?" Jericho approached Moriarty with a smile. "I thought I'd receive a large jewel as a gift."

"Is just one large gem enough?" Moriarty feigned regret. "It seems I don't need to teach you the Flight Charm. Luke, go give Mr. Blanche a gem and then send him on his way."

"Hey, no!" Jericho waved his hands hastily. "What did I just hear? A flight charm? That's so cool! Gems are common, but not everyone knows a flight charm. I choose the flight charm!"

"Sir, are you sure it's the Flight Charm?" Marcus said somberly. "That man whose name can't even be mentioned, and his Death Eaters, they all know the Flight Charm..."

"Don't worry," Moriarty chuckled dismissively. "Voldemort's flight spell is dark magic, and the Death Eaters dare to call theirs a flight spell? The noise they make in the sky is at best gliding!"

"And the flight spell I'm about to teach you is a magical incantation that our ancestor Salazar researched for many years."

Moriarty shouted to them, "Put down your wands and repeat the incantation with me: 'Liberate the heavens, let the stars summon our bodies and minds, Dimoakka!'"

"Liberate the skies, let the stars call to our bodies and minds, Dimoaka!"

Jericho and Marcus read it once, and a strange feeling flashed through their minds.

"Very good, now take out your wand." Moriarty deliberately held the cedarwood wand to demonstrate for them. After he chanted the spell, he suddenly rose into the sky, changed his form, and flew into the air!

"Wow! That's so cool!" Jericho waved and shouted at Moriarty in the air, then eagerly chanted the spell. His feet gradually left the ground, but he quickly fell down. Ingo caught him with a flower blanket in a flash.

All day long, the three of them practiced the flight spell, and clearly, Marcus and Jericho both loved the gift.

Meanwhile, in the Slytherin dormitory at Hogwarts, Christmas gifts for Moriarty were already piled up. Since people couldn't find Slytherin Castle, they had no choice but to send them to Hogwarts.

In early January, Moriarty and his two companions returned to Hogwarts. Upon entering their dormitory, Jericho was stunned, and after a long pause, he let out a strange, envious exclamation: "Did they move Hogsmeade here?!"

Moriarty used a levitation spell to float all the gifts to the ceiling and examined them one by one.

The largest gift box was from Jericho; it contained a castle model that was meant to store your memories and remind you of things you'd forgotten.

However, Moriarty's reason for making it in the shape of a castle is unknown; perhaps it was simply to command a higher price?

Lilith gave him a wizard's hat. Judging from the craftsmanship, Lilith probably made it herself. Moriarty looked quite handsome wearing it.

Marcus, Keith, and Larpo each sent a book, and interestingly, the Fry family's Tolohart also sent a book titled "The Twenty-Eight and Salazar Slytherin's Origins."

Needless to say, this was definitely something old Foley made up, Moriarty casually tossed the book to Marcus.

Tonks gave her a little wooden doll that could tell jokes, and Gemma gave her a big bag of candy.

As if by prior arrangement, William and Leon each gave Moriarty a sword, and Percy also gave a gift—a notebook containing his reflections on becoming a prefect.

Moriarty was most pleased with Lockhart's gift, which included a badge with Moriarty's portrait on it. He said that as their group grew, they needed something to symbolize and identify their identity.

Then came the gifts from the professors: Dumbledore gave him three pairs of wool socks, and Moriarty also had Luke send him wool socks, the same pair he received in the initial lottery.

The Church of Strange gave Moriarty a copy of "The Complete Guide to Asian Antidotes," while Professor Flitwick gave him a notebook containing information about the All England Wizarding Tournament; he still wanted Moriarty to participate.

The other professors unsurprisingly gave him magic books. It's worth mentioning that Moriarty saw Hagrid give Marcus a book called "The Man Who Dotes on Dragons".

Finally, there were the gifts from the adult wizards. Just as Jericho said, they wished they could bring Hogsmeade with them. The gifts were numerous and varied.

There were too many to examine one by one.

(End of this chapter)