The mastermind behind Hogwarts

Chapter 47 Professor Randy's Office

It's unclear what Moriarty said to the basilisk, but Moriarty reached out and stroked the skin on the basilisk's head. "That heir of Slytherin commands you and enslaves you in Parsleyan, oh how pathetic! For a thousand years you've only been able to eat rats to fill your stomach!"

The basilisk closed its eyes, made a gurgling sound, and gently flicked its tail, wrapping it around Moriarty's ankle.

"Come home with me, Shiva, to the castle left by Salazar Slytherin. Now I am your master."

"Hiss!"

Marcus needed to let his imagination ride a flying broomstick to understand the conversation between the man and the snake. He looked at Moriarty in shock, then at the basilisk.

"Young master, it—um, you tamed it?"

Moriarty smiled. "Be a gentleman, Marcus. She has a name, Shiva! I remember it's the name of a snow goddess in the ancient Celtic pantheon."

The basilisk let out a low growl. She no longer looked frightening at all. Moriarty's palm seemed to have a special magic that made the basilisk as docile as a lamb.

Marcus was dumbfounded, and Moriarty explained to him: "Male basilisks have a bright red feather on their heads. Look at her head, she doesn't have a feather. She is a female basilisk, so the ancestor Salazar named her Shiva."

Tom Riddle, also known as Voldemort, relied on his Slytherin bloodline to order Shiva to do evil deeds.

At this point, Moriarty looked at Shiva: "With me here, you don't need to worry. Voldemort is nothing but a junior in front of me."

Marcus, who had just recovered from his shock, stared wide-eyed. Voldemort was Moriarty's junior? This was big news.

"Wand, come here!" Moriarty suddenly shouted. He took back the wand that Marcus had lost, handed it to Marcus, and then spoke a few words in Parseltongue to Shiva, who then crawled away.

"Let's go. If we're lucky, we might make it to the end of the last class."

Moriarty took Marcus and flew back the way they came.

As they flew up from the entrance, Tonks and Jericho pounced on them.

"We almost went to see the professor!" Tonks breathed a sigh of relief, still shaken.

"If we don't show up soon, Professor McGonagall will probably come looking for us," Moriarty said, looking at Jericho.

Jericho slapped his forehead: "Damn it, Transfiguration class is this morning! Professor McGonagall is going to tear us apart."

"I have a divination class. I don't think it'll matter if I don't go; that woman Trelawney is a bit crazy." Marcus belatedly remembered his second-year schedule.

"Looks like I'm the only one who's exempt from the professor's punishment. No classes in the fourth year mornings," Tonks said, arms crossed and a smile playing on his lips. "Don't be envious, juniors. Grow up quickly."

"So, Nymph, you can stay here, or go to the Room of Requirement to learn magic circles. We're going to class." Moriarty led Jericho away.

They encountered Professor McGonagall in the Transfiguration classroom, and the professor angrily deducted fifty points from Slytherin's score.

"Skipping the first class and being almost an hour late for the second! Even if you're a Slytherin, you can't do that!"

Professor McGonagall's angry rebuke could be heard throughout the hallway. The students quickly learned that Moriarty had skipped class without reason, but no one could guess the reason.

As for the college points? Students from all four colleges unanimously agreed that Moriarty would make up for the lost points many times over in less than a week.

However, when this reached the ears of the Stalinist Church, they ruthlessly imprisoned Moriarty and Jericho.

"Professor Karen, your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, told me that he needs a few people to help him tidy up his office, so your confinement will begin Friday night."

At 8 p.m. on Friday, Moriarty and Jericho set off for Randy Cullen's office.

As the two walked up the floating platform, Jericho complained, "What bad luck! I was supposed to be reading Quidditch, 'Flying with the Cannons,' in my warm, cozy lounge! Now I have to clean an office for a vampire teacher?"

Moriarty stopped in his tracks: "How do you know Professor Randy is a vampire?"

Jericho blinked. "I thought you already knew—everyone's talking about it, after all, Professor Randy looks a lot like a vampire."

He sighed and continued, "However, Professor Randy's performance was just average, and I heard from Prefect William that our Defense Against the Dark Arts class seems to be cursed, and it's good enough that we have a professor teaching it, so no one has made a fuss about it."

"Have any students from pure-blood families discussed Professor Randy's background?" Moriarty asked, as pure-blood families often had unexpected advantages in intelligence.

"You'd have to ask Pillivik," Jericho laughed. "As far as I know, no."

Moriarty nodded and continued walking. After a moment, he turned back to look at Jericho: "Tonight, we'll go to the forbidden book section."

"Great! I've been waiting for this day! The Disillusionment Charm? I'll learn it sooner or later!" Jericho excitedly pumped his fist, but quickly composed himself: "Won't we run out of time? We've been very busy these past few months, after all, we still have to inscribe the magic circle..."

"First, familiarize yourself with the method of casting the Illusionary Body Charm," Moriarty said calmly. "As for the rest, proceed according to your ability."

During their conversation, the two arrived at the door of an office. Jericho knocked, and the door slowly opened. Professor Randy was sitting in a chair facing the door, writing something on a leather-covered mahogany table. Moriarty could only see the rustling sound of the quill pen rubbing against the paper.

This friction... seems to be the friction between a quill pen and the letter paper? He's writing a letter! To whom?

Moriarty's eyes were deep and thoughtful. Jericho, oblivious to these details, loudly announced his purpose.

"Go tidy up in the corner, I have too much stuff and it's too messy." Professor Randy said without looking up.

Moriarty and Jericho walked to a corner of the office, where the floor was covered with boxes, bags, papers...

The papers must have been enchanted; they were completely blank. The boxes and bags were covered in dust.

Jericho frowned in confusion. Could something as trivial as tidying up a house be difficult for a wizard?

"All cleaned up!" He drew his wand and waved it lightly.

The objects didn't react. Jericho suddenly flicked his wand: "Restored to normal!"

"Splash—"

The papers flew up and stacked up against the corner of the wall, but the bag and box remained motionless.

"Repairing and cleansing charms are very useful life magic. But they don't work on every item." Professor Randy's hands and mouth didn't stop.

"They're alchemical items, aren't they?" Moriarty looked at the boxes and bags, guessing what their purpose was.

"I'm pleased to find that you can distinguish between alchemical tools and alchemical items, Mr. Moriarty." Professor Randy finally raised his head, glanced at the corner, and then lowered his head again after just one glance. "I noticed your boots, which are alchemical tools, while what you need to sort out are simple alchemical items."

"Alright, children, use the Levitation Charm to stack them up one by one. I heard from Professor Flitwick that this year's first-graders have mastered the Levitation Charm exceptionally well."

Moriarty and Jericho exchanged a glance and together cast a large levitation spell, stacking the boxes vertically together and placing the leather bag on top.

As the box floated in the air, Moriarty felt it was heavy, as if it contained liquid.

As for those handbags, they were so light that they seemed to have been enchanted with a seamless stretching spell, making it impossible to tell what was inside.

An hour later, the work was finished, and Jericho used magic to control more than a dozen brooms to clean the classroom.

Moriarty then went to Professor Randy's desk. Professor Randy ran his hand across the desk, and the letter on it turned to white paper. Although it was very fast, Moriarty still saw a name: Bill Weasley.

"Moriarty?" Professor Randy said somewhat awkwardly.

"Professor, it's all sorted out," Moriarty replied calmly. He glanced at Professor Randy, whose eyes shone brightly in the evening, with a hint of silver in their pupils.

Professor Randy coldly dismissed Moriarty and his companion. Once outside the office, the two didn't discuss Professor Randy again. After spending two hours back in their dormitory, they slipped out and headed straight for the library.

The restricted section was located in an area at the back of the library, separated only by a rope, which was clearly insufficient to stop any ambitious young wizards.

Moriarty guessed that the books in the restricted section were probably worn out by the students, if they dared to do so.

Entering the forbidden book section, Moriarty and Jericho begin their search for Miranda Goschak's "Book of Spells," which contains records of the Disillusionment Spell.

After examining one bookshelf after another, Moriarty walked past a bookshelf with not many books, only to bump into someone.

(End of this chapter)