The mastermind behind Hogwarts

Back in his dorm, Harry Potter tossed and turned all night, and the next day, sporting dark circles under his eyes, Neville Longbottom noticed his unusual behavior.

"You look like you fought ten trolls last night," Neville asked with concern. "What happened?"

Harry shook his head groggily, and Neville could only say, "Fine, if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. But don't forget about Saturday's classes. You don't want to look listless in front of the teacher, do you?"

Harry shuddered at the mention of the course.

Here's the crucial point! Am I really going to betray the Hogwarts Army?

With mixed feelings, Harry waited for Saturday.

Before class, Hogwarts Army students walked in twos and threes toward the Room of Requirement.

Harry paced back and forth outside the House of Requirement. Although he had already agreed to Gump's request, he hesitated again now.

"Hiss!"

A low, serpentine voice suddenly rang out.

Harry was startled and looked down to see that it was Lalpo's Seven Deadly Sins Serpent, the one called the Gluttonous Snake.

The snake spoke in a human voice: "Harry Potter, what are you doing! Moriarty will become suspicious if you don't go in."

"For the sake of our deal, you'd better walk in like nothing happened!"

Upon hearing this, Harry took a deep breath, pretended to be normal, and walked into the Room of Requirement.

The scene inside left Harry completely bewildered!

The Room of Requirement has been transformed into a Muggle movie theater, where the entire Hogwarts Army watches a film!

Harry, confused, asked Neville, "Aren't we teaching spells today?"

Neville stared intently at the screen and whispered, "The teacher said we've moved on to the next stage of the lesson, and today we'll learn about the cruelty of the magical world."

Harry felt a sense of foreboding upon hearing this. The previous lessons had always focused on spells, so why the sudden change today?

Could it be... that I've been discovered?

Harry looked ahead guiltily; Moriarty, Jericho, and Lilith were there.

Seeing Harry's gaze fall upon him, Moriarty casually gestured for him to sit down.

He was unaware of Harry's deal with Gump; if he had known, he would have thanked him.

Gamp and Larpo are both arrogant people. It's always better for them to discover their own weaknesses than to hand them over to the enemy!

But Harry was too nervous and guilty at that moment, and a single glance from Moriarty made him imagine all sorts of terrible scenarios.

Not to mention, Lilith and Jericho's gazes weren't exactly friendly either...

Harry sat down, sweating profusely. As for Lilith, well, this senior hadn't given anyone a second glance except for Moriarty.

But Jericho was different; he didn't have the arrogance typical of Slytherin, and was always approachable.

Why was Jericho's gaze filled with contempt and disdain just now?

Did he find me?

Harry's heart clenched, and before he knew it, his legs began to tremble uncontrollably.

"Huh? Why is your face covered in sweat?" Neville noticed his friend's unusual behavior.

Harry could only laugh awkwardly and say, "I was too nervous watching the movie."

This film is a documentary about 11 magic schools in the wizarding world, which Moriarty used his money to create.

Although it is a documentary, it incorporates the brutal battles between black wizards from around the world.

Moriarty planned to give the young wizards in the ivory tower one last lesson before he left.

Harry noticed something was off about Lilith and Jericho's expressions because Moriarty had explained the upcoming plan to them.

Jericho's disdainful gaze was directed at Larpo.

"This time when I return home, I will turn North and South America into an impregnable fortress. Even if Larpo were a thousand-year-old snake demon, he wouldn't be able to infiltrate!"

Lilith added, "Well, I'll find a place to hide. Maybe next time, you won't recognize me."

Moriarty smiled at them; he had always trusted Lilith and Jericho.

What I'm really worried about is—

Moriarty turned his head slightly, his gaze falling on Hermione Granger among the students.

Hermione also looked up; rather than saying she had a feeling, it was more accurate to say she had been secretly observing Moriarty's every move.

His eyes seemed to say, "Come with me."

Without hesitation, Hermione told Hannah Abbott beside her, then got up and chased after Moriarty.

Behind the big screen, Hermione met Moriarty.

"Hermione." Moriarty grabbed her hand without a word, and Hermione half-heartedly leaned into Moriarty's arms, her voice soft: "Senior~"

"I'll be leaving Hogwarts for a while," Moriarty said briefly. "You have a fiery temper, and without my protection, Hogwarts would be very dangerous for you right now. So, the person I'm most worried about is you."

"I want you to promise that you won't act impulsively or follow the crowd, and that you will be an ordinary student."

Hermione was about to ask Moriarty where he was going when she suddenly felt a pair of large hands on her waist. Moriarty looked her up and down, seemingly estimating her size.

The intense gaze made Hermione's pretty face flush red, and her mind went blank.

"Little Hermione, grow up strong and healthy!"

……

As the movie was about to end, Hermione covered her mouth and slipped back to her seat. Hannah muttered, "Where have you been all this time? The movie's almost over."

"Um, I was hungry, so I drank some milk," Hermione had no choice but to resort to her old, tired excuse.

Hannah nodded knowingly: "I thought so too. You love drinking milk, you're such a little glutton."

During this time, Harry felt like every second was an eternity. Finally, the movie ended.

Harry's heart pounded so hard that Neville could hear it.

Neville gave Harry a strange look, and was about to say something when Moriarty's voice rang out.

That concludes today's lesson. Everyone can go home now.

As Moriarty spoke, he walked over to the students with Lilith and Jericho.

Unlike usual, Moriarty headed straight for the exit!

"Let me go out first today." Reaching the door, Moriarty gave the students a mysterious smile. "Goodbye, everyone."

"Click."

The door to the Room of Requirement was pushed open, and Moriarty led the way out, followed by Jericho, Lilith, and Krum.

Krum closed the door after he left.

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

Several beams of light flickered and shone on the faces of Moriarty and his two companions.

Larpo, Lionheart, Hades... all the young wizards from the Gump lineage were present.

Umbridge emerged from the shadows of the eighth-floor corridor.

"Let me see who you are!"

"Oh, Merlin! We've caught a big fish!"

Umbridge approached Moriarty with a wicked grin. Moriarty remained calm, his eyes scanning the surroundings, where snakes lurked in the shadows.

"Come with me! You've violated the Higher Education Order!" Umbridge said arrogantly. "Let's see what Dumbledore and Grindelwald have to say this time."

Moriarty and his two companions obediently followed them without the slightest reluctance. Jericho even joked with Lionheart, "I heard you're pursuing Greengrass from our school? I advise you to give up on that idea. Because she doesn't like big, burly guys."

"Really?" Lionheart actually believed it.

"Yes, yes, yes." Jericho suppressed a laugh and started spouting nonsense in a serious tone.

As Moriarty was taken away, the students in the Room of Requirement were stunned.

Harry then realized that Fleur, who always came, was not here this time!

Did Moriarty discover something?

Harry panicked, but then he heard the Weasley twins shout, "Come with me! We know some secret passages!"

Hermione fought back tears and followed the others out of the Room of Requirement. Although she desperately wanted to rally everyone to rescue Moriarty, she remembered Moriarty's words, "Don't be impulsive, don't be impulsive, don't be impulsive."

Many people are destined to have a sleepless night; the principal's office is packed with people.

The three principals, Vice Principal McGonagall, Gamp and two ministers, plus Umbridge, Moriarty, Larpo and others who came in, filled the entire office.

Phoenix Fawkes squawked a few times in dissatisfaction, and Fawkes seized the opportunity to say, "Headmaster Dumbledore, Headmaster Grindelwald, I think you should explain why your students are having a secret party so late at night?"

Dumbledore smiled and replied, "Oh, what a pity, you've found out."

"What?" Fudge didn't understand. Shouldn't it be Dumbledore and Moriarty desperately denying it, then they let Harry Potter stand up and correct them, and finally they were arrested and sent back to Azkaban?

Dumbledore's answer was quite unexpected.

To Gump's and the others' surprise, Dumbledore and Grindelwald stood up at the same time!

"What a pity," Dumbledore shook his head.

"Today is the first gathering of the Hogwarts Army, and you've discovered it."

"What army?" Fudge's eyes widened.

"The Hogwarts Army," Moriarty announced loudly. "Professor Dumbledore tasked me with organizing and training a group of students to... rebel against the Ministry of Magic."

"Rebel against the Ministry of Magic? Rebel against me?" Fudge shouted excitedly, "Merlin! Umbridge, did you write those words down?"

"Yes, yes, Minister," Umbridge replied, equally excited.

Gamp and Larpo, however, had grim expressions. What was going on?

They were the ones who broke the rules, so why does it seem like they have the initiative?

And all of this went too smoothly.

It seems like Moriarty and his team are working together!

But Fudge, now carried away by his triumph, declared, "I'm going to arrest you all! I won't let a single one escape!"

"Oh?" Grindelwald scoffed. "You're going to arrest us?"

"It's a pity, Cornelius, I'm afraid you can't do it," Dumbledore said.

"This office belongs to Hogwarts, and Hogwarts belongs to every little wizard who loves magic, not to the Ministry of Magic," Moriarty said with a smile.

"Oh no!" Gamp suddenly shouted, "They're going to attack!"

But it was too late.

"Alchemy Matrix!" Moriarty shouted, and Gamp and Lalpo froze instantly.

Only they knew that they felt as if they had been exiled to an unknown place.

But they recovered in an instant, and Dumbledore raised the Elder Wand: "Phoenix Dance!"

A spectacular explosion of flames engulfed the entire office, the flames seemingly targeting only Gamp and Larpo.

"Whoosh."

A black sphere appeared, and Gamp's dark elemental magic automatically protected its master!

"Hiss!"

The gluttonous snake leaped out of Larpo's sleeve and swallowed the flame in one gulp.

In that instant, it was enough for Grindelwald to utter "Expelliarmus" to Professor McGonagall and the students, including Lionheart.

Then Fox flew in large circles above them, crying out loudly. Moriarty, Lilith, Jericho, and Krum grasped the phoenix's long tail, and with a burst of flame, they vanished.

"We should be going too." Dumbledore smiled at Grindelwald and extended his hand.

"Hmph, this is finally getting interesting." Grindelwald grasped the hand, and the two disappeared in the next moment.

Fox brought Moriarty and his three companions to Hogsmeade.

"Are we parting ways here?" Jericho asked, somewhat sadly.

Moriarty patted him on the shoulder: "Who was that guy who just said he wanted to unify North and South America?"

"Haha." Jericho raised his wand and used the Summoning Charm to summon a flying broomstick. He mounted the broomstick and soared into the sky.

"That's Jerry Cobra, the cowboy!"

Goodbye, sir, Wuhu~

Jericho's figure reflected the moonlight in the night sky.

Lilith said to Moriarty, "Give him a flying broomstick and I wouldn't be surprised if he could fly to the moon."

Moriarty smiled upon hearing this, acknowledging that Jericho was indeed that kind of person. He then looked at Lilith and said, "And what about you? You said you were going to hide, but you never tell me where you're going."

Krum wisely distanced himself from the two.

Lilith walked up to Moriarty and suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck.

"You've grown taller," Lilith said earnestly. When they first met on the train, they were about the same height. Now, Lilith had to stand on her tiptoes.

"The place I'm going to is hidden in the video."

"If you can't find me, I'll hide there for the rest of my life."

After Lilith finished speaking calmly, she bit Moriarty's lip like a snake pouncing on its prey, breaking the skin and drawing blood.

"Your blood is warm; I always thought it was cold."

Lilith smiled and stuck out a small, fragrant tongue, licking the blood onto her lips.

The shocking crimson made Moriarty's eyes only see Lilith, and he heard Lilith whisper—

"Farewell, Moriarty."

Lilith licked as she retreated, gradually disappearing into the night.

"The Disappearance Charm, huh?" Moriarty's lips curled into a smile. "When did you learn the Disappearance Charm...? Pretty capable, huh?"

"Krum, it's time for us to get going."

Moriarty turned his head, and Krum came up to him: "Yes, sir."

(The next chapter will delve into the main storyline)