The mastermind behind Hogwarts

Chapter 62 Living Freely

Moriarty used the fireplace in Strickland's office to return to Diagon Alley via Floo Powder, and the only price he paid was to give Strickland a dose of pacifier at the start of the semester.

Moriarty readily agreed; the seemingly cold but actually warm-hearted teacher was actually giving him homework.

Emerging from a fireplace somewhere in Diagon Alley and stepping onto the street, Moriarty saw his house-elf, Luke.

Luke had been waiting for Moriarty's classmates in Diagon Alley for the past few days. Whenever a classmate invited by Moriarty to visit the castle arrived, he would take them to Slytherin Castle.

Moriarty inquired and learned that William was the first guest to visit the castle. This senior had been quite adventurous after graduation, and according to him, he would travel to Europe after attending the party hosted by Moriarty.

Moriarty hoped that he wouldn't run into some strange people and end up being possessed by the back of his head.

It's worth mentioning Penelope, who was taken away by her parents as soon as she returned to London and was unable to attend the party.

And then there's Bill, the eccentric Weasley, who remains as mysterious as ever. He disappeared right after graduation, and even Charlie doesn't know where he went.

After Moriarty bought a large quantity of ice cream at Florin Fosco Ice Cream Shop, he had Luke take him back to Slytherin Castle. Two days later, at dusk, the party was held as scheduled.

The castle's main hall had been redecorated by Ingo and Luke. The enormous Lemurian crystal chandelier sparkled brilliantly, and the various antiques, artworks, and brown-red furniture were arranged neatly and dazzlingly. The top-quality wine glasses on the walls made the young wizards eager to try them out. But what attracted the guests most were the murals on the ceiling.

The murals are like a moving movie, playing out the wizarding wars recorded by the Slytherin family!

William and Leon raised their glasses—the wizarding world forbids young wizards from drinking, but here they could drink freely. They sipped their wine while watching the wizarding war. As a pure-blood, Leon was very pleased with the wizards' great victory, and he preached the pure-blood ideology to William.

At the other extreme were Jericho, Marcus, Charlie, and Percy, who went wild at the manor.

As Moriarty lifted Luke's restrictions, the house-elves began raising geese, swans, and peacocks. The little pets strolled leisurely on the lawn, but the Jericho quartet would always ride up on their brooms, scare the little pets away, and then burst into laughter.

At these times, Tonks and Gemma, riding on the back of the unicorn, would chase away the naughty boys.

The unicorn was bought by Lockhart from abroad, reportedly at a high price, but Moriarty was very happy.

Of all the guests, only Lilith didn't play. She strolled along the lakeside accompanied by a house-elf, while the basilisk settled in the lake after being sent back to the castle.

Lilith let her thoughts wander, her eyes deep and thoughtful. She paced around for what seemed like an eternity until fireworks lit up the castle tower. Her house-elf said to her, "We should go back now; it's time for our master to appear."

When Lilith returned to the Great Hall, Moriarty had just come out dressed, and the guests all walked toward him and gathered around him.

"It is an honor to gather with you all in this ancient castle with a history spanning a thousand years!"

Moriarty raised the handcrafted gilded enamel wine glass that Luke had handed him, took a small sip of the Hennessy wine that Lockhart had brought from the Bordeaux winery, and a smile appeared on his face.

"We all know that life is always a mix of joy and sorrow, just like the sun rising in the east and setting in the west, which is perfectly normal."

No matter where we are or what happens in the future... the most precious thing in life is us right here and now!

Think of those unfulfilled promises, the warm glow, the fresh air, the magic never before seen, the bizarre adventures, and the gentle breeze surging across the Quidditch pitch!

Isn't all of this worth loving this world deeply and living life to the fullest?

Ladies and gentlemen, raise a glass and drink with me! A toast to magic, a toast to us!

"Hooray!" The young wizards raised their glasses, clinking them together, while Jericho and Charlie, the two most boisterous boys, jumped up and whistled.

After giving his toast, Moriarty clapped his hands: "Luke, bring out the menu! Let's eat, my guests! Tonight, the whole castle is ours, enjoy yourselves!"

Luke distributed the beautifully presented menus to the guests, and Tonks, a frequent visitor to Hufflepuff Dining, nodded in satisfaction: "This is top-of-the-line! First, a salad, then—stewed rabbit and braised carp…"

She would name a dish, and a dish would appear on the table.

The others followed suit and started ordering food. Lilith first looked at the menu, then ordered some Chinese dishes, which Luke praised for her discerning eye.

The most unique one was Jericho, who used a spoon to scoop out each flavor of the ice cream Moriarty bought into a large cup and rolled it into a big ball. Then he ordered a pork chop and asked Luke to juice the pork chop and pour it all over the ice cream ball!

Marcus screamed and dodged away: "Amazing food, gravy ice cream!"

"Bang!" Jericho slammed the large cup down in front of Charlie. "Here, you're a Gryffindor, so eat this with me!"

Charlie drank some brandy, a strong liquor, and his face turned as red as his red hair. He scooped up a spoonful of ice cream and swallowed it whole, mumbling, "Gryffindors are not afraid of Slytherin! Lions are not afraid of snakes!"

"You're a real man!" Jericho patted Charlie on the shoulder, then drank his butterbeer and started eating with Charlie.

The girls watched this scene with amusement. Lilith even brought a magic camera from home and took pictures of the two somewhat drunk boys.

Percy, standing next to Charlie, shrank back, trying to minimize his presence, afraid of being surrounded by the snakes. There were only two Gryffindors here, and he didn't want to eat any magical food with Jericho.

It's obvious that Percy is overthinking things; the other snakes don't have Jellicle's stomach—Leon said that if Jellicle were put in some of the wild forests of India, the forest would soon be eaten into a desert by Jellicle!

William and Leon laughed heartily. Moriarty walked up to them with a wine glass in his hand. Lilith noticed this and pretended to go find some fruit, passing by them.

She overheard Leon whispering as he clinked glasses with Moriarty, "Bill's whereabouts are really hard to find. I used family connections to ask Lucius Malfoy, the head of the Malfoy family, who, as everyone knows, has some business in the Muggle world. He told me that Bill went to Greece in some Muggle mode of transportation—a plane? A flying carpet? Or something like that! Bill spent the whole last year in Greece..."

Leon's voice trailed off, and Lilith couldn't hear him anymore. She rolled her eyes and left silently.

Moriarty, having overheard the information Leon shared with him, finally remembered something he'd forgotten to tell Dumbledore: Leon, the student council president!

However, considering that he and Dumbledore have already established a cooperative relationship, Dumbledore will probably be sensible enough to promote Leon to student council president, since there is no one more suitable than Leon in the seventh year.

After talking with Leon for a while, Moriarty also left. He had to make some preparations and set off for Greece after seeing off his guests!

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(End of this chapter)