The mastermind behind Hogwarts

Moriarty gestured to the freshmen at the end of the long table, "Slytherin first-years, come with me."

Pansy and the other two immediately stood up and followed him. When Harry saw Neville stand up as well, he quickly swallowed the last bite of cake and followed them. The other freshmen followed behind them.

"Wow, the master himself is leading the new students to the Slytherin dungeon?" Jericho whistled as he saw this.

"You shouldn't be behaving so frivolously on such a solemn occasion," Lilith scolded. "Don't forget, we are Slytherin. You'll set a bad example for the new students."

Jericho shrugged nonchalantly: "Well, well, it seems there are some promising talents among the freshmen that Moriarty thinks are worth nurturing."

Lilith watched Moriarty lead the new students out of the auditorium and into the floating staircase. "It's rare to see him take action personally. The last new student he valued was Soldaya Selwyn."

Soldaya laughed and said, "Let's go too, and see which freshman will win the master's favor—don't forget the Hidden Class Leader rules, hopefully it will be a fierce battle."

Lilith's face darkened. The rules for hidden class leaders hadn't been lifted yet, and Moriarty still had a private bedroom. Tch... he really got off easy.

The older students also began to leave one after another.

Meanwhile, Moriarty led the newborn through the castle, familiarizing them with the layout and giving them a brief tour.

As Moriarty explained to the new students how the floating stairs would rise and fall and where the various corridors led, he recalled his own first year of university, remarking how quickly time flies.

A fleeting memory flashed through his mind, and Moriarty gently squeezed his right hand, summoning the Slytherin Staff in his grasp.

"Even though these floating platforms won't meet your expectations, this is all I need—"

Moriarty tapped the ground of the floating ladder with the end of his staff.

The floating stairs, like building blocks, were connected one after another to form a path leading to the Slytherin dungeon.

Wow~

The new students erupted in admiring praises.

"This is the authority of Slytherin," Moriarty said slowly, glancing at the first-year snakes. "At Hogwarts, you will become the best wizards; in Slytherin, you will become the person you want to be."

Then Moriarty strode forward, followed by the freshmen, some of whom didn't quite understand what he was saying, including Harry.

As they approached the Slytherin dungeon, Moriarty began reciting the rules of the Hidden Class Masters, causing the freshmen to panic upon hearing that a duel was about to break out between them.

"But sir, I don't know magic!" Harry suddenly asked. "I haven't learned a single spell!"

Harry found it hard to describe his feelings at that moment. He desperately wanted to become a wizard like Moriarty or Marcus, but he found himself getting further and further away from them.

Moriarty didn't answer, staring at Harry expressionlessly.

A shrill laugh came from the side. Harry rolled his eyes; he knew without looking that it was Pansy.

Sure enough, Pansy made no attempt to hide her sarcasm towards Harry: "Really? The famous Savior doesn't know a single spell?"

Nott, ever the smooth talker, chimed in, "Nobody's forcing you to be an Invisible Prefect, Potter. Maybe you'll become the first Slytherin student to give up the challenge for Invisible Prefect because you don't know magic? Who knows?"

Some of the little snakes chuckled, and Harry noticed that Moriarty turned his head away, hanging it down in disappointment.

They then came to a room that resembled a basement, with a thick stone wall at the top.

Moriarty stopped in his tracks. "You see the entrance to the Slytherin common room? You need a password to enter."

"I know the previous password included purebloods!" Pansy raised her hand high and said loudly.

"Yes, yes," Moriarty smiled faintly, "not only purebloods, but also honor, all of them are overused passwords. Last year I created a new set of passwords, Serpent Fetus, this is the first one, and we'll change it every week from now on, so remember them well."

"Hidden within the stone walls is a stone door, behind which lies our common room. Of course, we prefer to call it by its old name—Slytherin Dungeon."

After saying this, Moriarty gave the command to the stone wall, and the stone wall opened from the middle. Moriarty went in first, and the little snakes followed him in swarming in.

Harry walked in and was truly taken aback by the luxurious furnishings inside. He even saw an octopus at the bottom of the lake through the glass of the large screen.

The returning students had already returned, and Moriarty walked back to them, clearing his throat for the new students.

"Now I'm going to tell you something about Slytherin."

The new student looked up, his eyes blank.

"You may not be surprised why you were sorted into Slytherin. Bloodline! That's right, most of you have wizarding blood."

"But you must be wondering about those freshmen who weren't sorted into Slytherin—what about them? Don't they have blood? Don't they have wizard fathers or mothers?"

Pansy and the other two all thought of Draco at the same time. Yes, why weren't the Malfoy children assigned to this class?

"That's because the strengths of Slytherin outweigh the strengths of the other three houses."

"You may be as brave as knights, as wise as sages, or as kind-hearted as men, but your yearning for magic and the nobility of your souls far surpass these qualities, and that is why you have come."

The little snakes were thrilled by what they heard and nodded repeatedly.

"Therefore you need to know the Slytherin Code of Conduct," Moriarty said, raising his voice by an octave.

Lilith muttered to herself, "What? Is he going to be this rigid and dogmatic too?"

However, Moriarty immediately followed up with, "Many people are probably thinking—oh dear, how long-winded! You're giving another speech after Professor Dumbledore already spoke?"

The older students chuckled, and Moriarty shook his head with a hint of wistfulness: "That's because, perhaps a few big things will happen this year—in fact, you should have heard that in recent years, Hogwarts seems to be a magic school if a few big things don't happen every year."

"Hahaha..." Jericho and his friends laughed the loudest at the joke.

"Alright, let me make this short."

"The so-called Slytherin Code of Conduct is nothing more than the virtues of Slytherin students."

1. Always maintain elegance.

"2. Reject any form of insult. So stop with that nonsense about Muggle-born wizards; Slytherin has no students like that."

3. Don't make promises lightly unless you can easily keep them.

"4. We're not obsessive-compulsive, but we strive for perfection—unless you do nothing at all. Of course, if anyone does nothing, I request that he be locked up in Azkaban."

5. Adapt to the environment. If you cannot adapt, then change the environment.

"6. Be proud of Hogwarts and Slytherin! Slytherin is an integral part of Hogwarts. I hope you will think of yourselves first as Hogwarts people and then as Slytherins."

7. Honor is more important than anything else.

"This honor has nothing to do with how famous you are, Potter. You're called the savior, so tell me, do you know any magic?"

"I won't, sir," Harry answered loudly, feeling not ashamed but rather proud.

Harry doesn't like being called the savior.

Moriarty continued, "This honor doesn't reflect how much wealth you have. Parkinson, your family is very rich. Tell me, which family is richer, yours or mine? Your family is a beggar compared to mine."

"That's why I abolished the Glory password system. Those were just empty titles."

"Then what is honor?" Moriarty asked solemnly. "It is the breakthroughs and discoveries a wizard makes in the realm of magic. This confidence derived from magic will make your soul radiate with deep pride. This kind of honor is what Slytherin pursues."

"Or rather, this is the real Slytherin."

"Gryffindors bravely possess and challenge magic! Ravenclaws use their wisdom to see, seek, and acquire magic. Hufflepuffs calmly accept all that magic bestows upon them."

"Believe me, no one knows the Big Four better than me."

After Moriarty finished speaking, both the seniors and the new students applauded enthusiastically.

"Alright, let's begin the selection of the Hidden Leader."

Moriarty stepped back, leaving the space to the first-year snake. Lilith whispered, "Judging from your tone, magic isn't your favorite thing, is it?"

"Hmm? Haven't you asked me this question before?"

During their conversation, the Hidden Chieftain was chosen!

"Navi Longbottom!" Prefect Gemma clapped her hands. "Congratulations!"

Neville smiled sheepishly, feeling he had gotten the better deal; if Draco Malfoy were there, he might not have been a match for him.

It was getting late, time to go to bed, and Harry sadly discovered that he was assigned to the same dormitory room as Nott, Crabbe, and Goyle, which naturally led to him being teased and bullied.

Lying on the soft, large bed, Harry tossed and turned.

Pansy's mockery and Nott's刁难 all dragged Harry into an abyss of insecurity.

Harry recalled the embarrassment of not being able to use magic; during the selection of the Hidden Prefects, he could only watch from the sidelines, all alone.

But Moriarty's words and Dumbledore's remarks only strengthened Harry's desire to become a great wizard.

"What should I do?"

"Am I not suited for Slytherin?"

Harry couldn't sleep, so he opened his eyes and stared blankly.

What Harry didn't know was that, besides himself, there was someone else who thought the same thing tonight.

Professor Snape's shouts echoed from Dumbledore's headmaster's office...

Draco and Ron are other freshmen who also have trouble sleeping.

The two were assigned to the same dorm room and, unsurprisingly, had a fight, which gave their two remaining roommates, Seamus Finigan and Dean Thomas, nightmares that night.

Ron lay in bed, feeling numb. When Dumbledore checked on him and said there was nothing he could do, Ron sadly shed tears.

The thought that he would no longer have the right and function of being a man made Ron bury his face in the blanket and cry silently.

Draco, on the other hand, hadn't recovered from the Sorting Ceremony. He felt out of place with Gryffindor all night, his eyes wide with a mixture of sadness and anger.

Moriarty was unaware of all this, and had no time to think about the feelings of the three freshmen, because Violet followed him back to his dormitory.

She ripped open her wizard's robes, pressed herself against him, and tenderly offered her lips: "Master, let's bathe together, Master~"

Late at night, Tonks secretly knocked on the dormitory door again.