The mastermind behind Hogwarts

Chapter 5 Slytherin Castle

Life on the Isabella was pleasant for Lockhart, as he could always find people willing to listen to his stories amidst the noisy crowd.

Not long after boarding, Lockhart attracted everyone's attention, while Moriarty asked the crew for a pen and a lot of old newspapers before diving into his cabin.

Aside from having Lockhart bring him three meals a day, he neither sees anyone nor goes out.

Five days later, Moriarty summoned Lockhart: "Here you go!"

He tossed a large stack of old newspapers to Lockhart.

Lockhart opened them and saw that the newspapers were filled with beautiful black-bordered lettering. He read the headline carefully: "With Slytherin in the Eastern Tibet!"

"Young Master!" Lockhart's neck flushed with excitement. "I thought you were just saying it casually, but I never expected you to actually publish a book for me!"

"From now on, you need to cultivate your mindset, Lockhart," Moriarty said. "No matter where you are, no matter what happens, you must remain calm, like with this book..."

Moriarty looked at Lockhart seriously: "Do you know what kind of shock this book will cause once it's published?"

From England to France, Germany... you will become a household name in the entire European magical world, and then to the Americas and Africa!

And I, Salazar's last direct blood relative, will also come into the public eye.

Lockhart was engrossed in the prospect Moriarty had described, and he smiled foolishly.

"Oh, young master, that's wonderful. I can already picture us waving to the wizards under the flashing lights; we're sure to make the front page of the Daily Prophet!"

"Wrong, you're the only one waving to the wizards! You're the only one making headlines! People will see you transform from a writer into a discoverer!"

Moriarty stared at Lockhart with his eagle-like eyes: "This is important, Lockhart."

Look into my eyes, and you must make people believe that you have keen insight, that you discovered me! You brought back the last descendant of Slytherin to England!

Lockhart swallowed hard. He understood the meaning behind those words. He frowned and said, "Young Master, I understand. But there's one thing I must tell you. I'm not sure if this will affect your plans."

He explained, "The Foley family, one of the Twenty-Eight Pure-Blood Families, is my partner, or rather, my work is operated, promoted, and sold by the Foley family."

Lockhart spread his hands and shook his head helplessly: "We split the profits 40/60, me 40% and the Foley family 60%. There's no way around it; any business related to books is inseparable from the Foley family. My 40% was something I fought hard for..."

Moriarty hesitated for a moment, then patted Lockhart on the shoulder.

"We'll talk about the Foley family when we get home. What you need to do is refine your persona and improve your image! Think about how to mold yourself into the kind of person wizards love most."

Moriarty needs to return to the castle first to see what valuable things Salazar left behind before he can formulate a plan to deal with the pure-blood families.

Five days later, the ship passed through the English Channel and arrived in England.

Moriarty took Lockhart with him immediately to Bristol.

"Merlin, Salazar Slytherin has come to Bristol after leaving Hogwarts! Right here in England! Everyone thought he had left Europe!"

Lockhart was like a victorious general all the way, and he maintained this demeanor until he reached his destination.

"Young Master?" Lockhart looked at the endless plain, without even a trace of a castle, and he didn't understand why Moriarty had stopped.

"Besides the Muggle-expelling curse, there must be an extremely powerful concealment spell here. But that's no problem for me, Lockhart, step back."

Moriarty searched his memory for relevant information, pointed his staff straight ahead, and said in Parseltongue, "Speak to me—Slytherin!"

Although it wasn't the first time he'd heard it, Lockhart was still horrified.

Moriarty seemed to be truly speaking to Salazar's spirit: "Open your eyes to death, close your eyes to the future! Every angel has a past, every demon has a future!"

A dazzling silver light shot out from the tip of the staff, and Moriarty and Lockhart were instantly swept away by a tremendous force, their ears filled with a hissing sound, as if a thousand snakes were hissing in their ears.

"Oh, this is terrible," Lockhart said, rubbing his backside as he got up from the ground. He felt like he had fallen. "Are you alright, young master?"

Lockhart tried to help Moriarty up, but heard him say, "We've arrived. There's no doubt this is Slytherin Castle."

Lockhart sensed a hint of excitement, which was rare for Moriarty, and he quickly looked up at the castle.

"Oh! Oh—" Lockhart covered his mouth, wanting to say something but unable to utter a word.

The castle is made of granite, with purple agate inlaid on the outside, like a pair of magical eyes staring into the distance.

The castle's exterior is enchanted, with alternating silver and green hues. During the day, it resembles a soaring magical palace under the sunlight, while at night it looks like a coiled giant serpent.

Although it is in the Gothic style, it has all the elements: towers, fortresses, stone bridges, city walls, and outer castles.

Compared to a noble manor, it's more like a battle fortress.

Of course, the castle is full of Salazar Slytherin's style, with its gold-stone walls polished to a pure, gleaming glass.

A silver stone road, wide enough for four carriages to travel side by side, led from Moriarty's feet straight to the gate.

A large lawn stretched out on both sides of the stone road, and then a lush oak forest, like a knightly order, surrounded the lawn and the city wall.

Behind the castle is a large lake, and the faint sound of flowing water can be heard.

The Slytherin emblem is printed on the gates, walls, and rooftops, making the castle appear solemn and majestic.

"Alright, Lockhart, look at yourself. We're going in," Moriarty said with a smile, quite pleased with the castle.

Suddenly, a loud "bang" came from the air, and a fairy appeared out of thin air outside the gate.

He wore a long black robe, had long, pointed ears and a very prominent pointed nose, his grayish-yellow skin was full of wrinkles, and his hair was so long that it dragged on the ground.

What particularly caught Moriarty's attention was the fairy wearing a pair of golden shackles.

"Honorable descendant of Slytherin—cough cough." The goblin coughed violently as soon as he opened his mouth, and Moriarty saw a hint of malice in his dark eyes when he mentioned "Slytherin".

"I haven't spoken to a human in at least nine hundred years!" the goblin rasped, staring intently at Moriarty. "So, you are a descendant of Salazar Slytherin... No one can find this place except for the curse Salazar left for his descendants."

The fairy reluctantly knelt down: "As Salazar commands, Fairy Ingo will be loyal to you from beginning to end!"

"Take me in." Moriarty knew that there was another bizarre story behind Ingo, but he first needed to receive Salazar's intellectual legacy.

"Please give me the key." Ingo stretched out his hands.

Moriarty placed the golden key in Ingo's hand, and Ingo stood up and used the key to open the door.

The moment the door opened, Moriarty received a system notification: "Host has been detected to have acquired ownership of Slytherin Castle. Ten exploration draws will be awarded as a reward."

A large group of house-elves rushed out of the castle, eagerly approaching Moriarty and clapping loudly: "This day has finally come! Welcome, descendant of Slytherin!"

Ingo explained in a timely manner: "They are responsible for the care and cleaning of the entire castle, as well as its food. Salazar has cast a permanent spell on them, preventing them from leaving the entire castle."

"You're not allowed to call the master by his name!" A leading house-elf pointed at Ingo, his long nose trembling with anger. He said to Moriarty, "Ingo is a bad fellow. He's been talking badly about the master ever since he left."

Ingo was clearly used to the complaints of house-elves, which had been the case for at least nine hundred years, but he could not ignore Moriarty's opinion.

"I don't want to hide it from you, but I was captured by Salazar." Ingo shook his shackles. "I witnessed Salazar build this castle, so I can't leave it either."

"My name is Moriarty Slytherin, and you will have to call me Master from now on. I have no interest in your past right now," Moriarty said in an unquestionable tone. "What interests me is the legacy left by our ancestor Salazar."

"I'll show you, young master! My name is Luke. Let's go to the master's bedroom first."

The house-elf Luke led the way, as if to boast, while Moriarty entered the castle, surrounded by Lockhart and Ingo.

The exterior of the castle wasn't particularly ornate, but the main hall was magnificent. Twelve massive silver pillars supported the first floor, and the milky white walls and white carpets covering the floor made the hall look bright and airy.

The walls are adorned with portraits, banners, sculptures, and runes, all simple and ancient.

Each ancient structure is adorned with a gemstone or jade on either side.

Strangely, the location of the gemstone embedded in the wall varied depending on its color.

On the wall directly opposite the gate was a large golden clock. Moriarty checked the time; it was a quarter to twelve.

The carpet was embroidered with the Slytherin emblem, and Lockhart immediately climbed onto it: "Oh Merlin, this must be the work of the elves! Only they would make something entirely by hand."

"Compared to exquisite carpets, ancient carvings, and expensive furniture..." Moriarty scanned the hall, finally fixing his gaze on two rows of candles.

"There is a magical presence between these candles, which are as thick as a normal person's arm, and the gems in various positions. I think our ancestors must have arranged them this way on purpose. This must be a magic circle."

Ingo stared at Moriarty, wary of his talent and keen insight, muttering, "Another Slytherin monster!"

He sighed, "Well, young master, you're absolutely right, but I'd like to add something: this is a spatial magic circle, and its presence provides light to the entire castle."

Lockhart seemed to have found inspiration and quickly wrote all of this down.

Ingo showed a hint of arrogance as he raised his face: "In fact, the castle makes extensive use of spatial magic arrays. The young master's incantation activated the magic array to enter the castle territory, and that's how spatial teleportation brought you here."

Don't worry about the serpentine language emanating from the teleportation array; it's a sign of the initial unsealing. No one has been here for nearly a thousand years.

Lockhart clapped his hands excitedly and said, "Ah ha~ the heritage of a thousand-year-old pure-blood family! More wealthy and luxurious than any other pure-blood in England. I think even all the families in Europe combined couldn't compare to the young master's castle!"

Ingo's face immediately fell: "This is all the fairies' wealth!"

Moriarty looked at Ingo with amusement: "It seems you hold a fairly high position among the fairies."

Ingo turned his head to one side, unwilling to speak.

Luke, as if to humiliate Ingo, shouted, "My esteemed young master, let's go. Leave the master's bedroom exactly as it is!"

Moriarty nodded and followed Luke for a long time before finally finding Salazar's bedroom. It was still exquisite and luxurious, but Moriarty didn't look at it much. Instead, he immediately took a liking to a notebook on the desk.

(End of this chapter)