The mastermind behind Hogwarts

Chapter 57 Re-entering the Secret Chamber (Please add to your favorites!)

Dumbledore subtly moved a step forward, blocking Professor Randy's path, his eyes filled with expectation as he looked at Moriarty: "Moriarty, do you have a way to break the curse?"

Old Deng wanted Moriarty to reveal the method publicly, but Moriarty wouldn't let him have his way. He shrugged slightly: "Yes. But breaking the curse is very complicated and will take a long time."

Dumbledore and Professor Randy exchanged a glance but said nothing. A few minutes later, Marcus came up from behind and said in a low voice, "Young Master, it's twelve o'clock."

Moriarty pressed down hard on the Slytherin staff, driving it deep into the ground, leaving only the tip exposed. As water elemental magic surged in, the grass became wet.

"The heir of Slytherin, descendant of the lion of Godric's Hollow, fledgling eagle embracing ancient wisdom, the rose of Hufflepuff, requests a dialogue with the First Order!"

Moriarty suddenly spoke in Parseltongue, his voice so loud that it hissed through the air above Hogwarts.

Upon hearing the Parseltongue, the stone pillars, armor, and murals seemed to come alive as if receiving a command: the stone pillars moved out to guard the outer perimeter of the castle; the armor quickly took up positions in various corridors and key passages; the portraits on the murals became gleaming, their eyes wide open, scanning every corner of the castle—even the portraits of past principals were no exception.

This change naturally aroused surprise and curiosity among the teachers and students. Professor McGonagall walked to Dumbledore's side and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "I can understand that Mr. Moriarty has some control over the castle, after all, he is a descendant of Slytherin. But the state of the castle? It looks like a war is about to break out! Albus, what's going on?"

For the first time, Dumbledore looked at Moriarty with a shrewd and calculating gaze, his voice low and deep: "The four great masters created Hogwarts based on the Battle Fortress. I think Moriarty's spell awakened the castle's original appearance, but what was his purpose in doing so? We don't know yet."

However, people soon knew what Moriarty was going to do. He drew his cedarwood wand and aimed it at the lawn on the right side of the castle.

"Ice Serpent Dance!"

The silver magic circle, centered on the Slytherin Staff, spread out to the right of the lawn, and twelve ice snakes appeared. They crashed through the lawn and went deep into the ground, leaving only a few large holes.

Moriarty's expression changed, and Dumbledore, understanding the situation, stepped forward and asked, "If I'm not already blind, you want to carve out a passage?"

"Exactly, to open a passage to the Chamber of Secrets in Slytherin." Moriarty didn't hide anything, nodding and saying, "Although there is a passage in the girls' lavatory leading to the Chamber, I guarantee no one wants to take that passage."

Dumbledore remained silent. Moriarty's magic focused on practical application, so he was somewhat unfamiliar with life-related magic such as opening underground passages.

However, opening the passage was a piece of cake for Dumbledore, but he didn't know the exact location of the secret chamber.

Just when things seemed to be at a stalemate, Mischievous Ghost arrived!

He was holding a hat, the Sorting Hat.

Peeves sang loudly: "When you're struck by this feeling, it spreads throughout your body and penetrates to your very bones! You ask what it feels like? My Merlin, I've lost my mind, I must unleash it! Oh, but I need to calm down first and witness this magnificent moment!"

The students were baffled. Some of the little snakes said they would let the Blood Man Barrow scare away the Pikachu, but Barrow's eyes were glazed over and he didn't move.

Peeves flew up to Moriarty, dropped his wizard's hat, and Moriarty could hear the hat saying to Peeves with displeasure, "Hey, you'd better be gentle!"

Moriarty grasped the Sorting Hat in his hand, but felt it grow heavy as a sword slid out from inside!

Moriarty gripped the sword, its blade gleaming silver in the sunlight. The teachers and students gasped in astonishment: "The Gryffindor Sword?!"

Why did the Gryffindor sword appear at this moment? This question lingered in everyone's mind.

But Moriarty looked at Peeves hovering in the air, then at the Sorting Hat, and seemed to understand.

He tentatively poured water elemental magic into the sword. Although he encountered some obstacles, he succeeded. He aimed at the lawn on his right, gripped the sword with both hands, and chopped down with force!

"Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!"

Four consecutive water blades, accompanied by sword light, slashed across the lawn and embedded themselves deeply into the ground. A cube slowly rose from the ground, revealing an opening large enough for five people to pass through.

Moriarty smirked. Just as he thought. Using the Gryffindor sword to create space was much faster than water magic. He then commanded the twelve ice serpents to burrow underground, opening a tunnel that started from the lawn and ended at the secret chamber.

"Whispering Serpents!" Moriarty summoned even more serpents, commanding them to enter the underground passage and transform into steps or floors, decorating the passage in an orderly fashion.

The teachers and students were completely bewildered, unable to see what was happening below: Moriarty with his staff and sword? Peeves and the Sorting Hat suddenly appearing? And the strange song Peeves was still singing?

They found everything before them extremely strange!

Only Dumbledore seemed to understand; Peeves' song was like a Cruciatus Curse, drilling into his ears, brain, and heart!

Combined with the fact that Moriarty was controlling the Gryffindor sword, Dumbledore finally understood what Peeves meant by "that feeling"!

It's the feeling of witnessing a miracle about to happen.

As Dumbledore watched Moriarty open the underground passage, he seemed to see a scene from a thousand years ago, when Hogwarts was not yet a magic school, and the four great wizards joined forces to use magic to transform Hogwarts Castle into a magic school!

Salazar Slytherin plunged his staff into the ground, creating large magical circles that protected and improved the landscape of Hogwarts.

Godric Gryffindor wields his sword, expanding the castle's boundaries and opening up secret realms and unknown spaces.

So when Hogwarts was first established, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff also used their weapons!

Dumbledore remembered the legend he told at the Sorting Ceremony—that the weapons of the Four Great Generals were real!

Moriarty's voice shattered Dumbledore's reverie; he announced loudly, "The path to the Chamber of Secrets is complete. Please follow me!"

With that, Moriarty led the way into the underground passage. Marcus and the others were about to follow when Dumbledore said, "When danger comes, I have no reason to let my student walk in front of me! Although I trust Moriarty completely, just in case, professors—"

He shouted, "Please come down with me to make sure there is no danger before letting the students in!"

And Fox!

Dumbledore summoned his phoenix and ordered Fawkes to fly in the air and watch over the students. Fawkes seemed particularly interested in Peeves and chased after him.

Marcus and Jericho exchanged a glance. Moriarty clearly wanted all the students to follow him into the Chamber of Secrets, but Dumbledore…

At this moment, Moriarty shook his head at them, indicating that it was alright, and then walked to the steps of the underground passage without looking back. Gradually, he disappeared from people's sight.

"Let's go!" Dumbledore said briefly to the professors, then glanced at the students. "Prefects, take good care of your respective year's students."

Ten minutes after all the professors entered the underground passage, a spotted cat ran out of the entrance and transformed into Professor McGonagall!

"Children, come with me, I'll show you the Chamber of Secrets in Slytherin!" Professor McGonagall beckoned to the students, a smile playing on her lips.

The students eagerly poured into the underground passage, creating a noisy commotion. William and Leon led the way, protecting Jericho and the other younger snakes—they practically leaped into the passage and then raced through the spacious tunnel.

"Wow, look here!" Jericho looked around. The silver floor and black ceiling made the passageway look high-end and mysterious, while a few bright lights on the walls illuminated the passageway.

Jericho dared to call it the jewel of Slytherin's vault. His tone was delighted: "In just a few minutes, Mr. Moriarty has built this place up quite nicely! I'm even more excited for the secret chamber inside! The passage is so beautiful, the chamber can't be bad, can it?"

The other snakes nodded in agreement, but Marcus remained silent. He had been to the secret chamber and found the scene inside quite unappealing.

Soon, hundreds of students entered the underground passage, and the crowd slowly walked towards the secret room.

It's Wednesday, so I'm making one last plea. I hope you can help me advance to the next round of recommendations. Also, thank you to 默首辰归, 大佬之资, and reader 1137275767256047616 for their donations.

(End of this chapter)