The mastermind behind Hogwarts

Chapter 668 I Just Want to Open Champagne with Brother Moriarty

Tom performed exceptionally well in the following lessons.

This made the demanding Professor Snape think back to the past. If Tom Riddle hadn't become Voldemort and had stayed at Hogwarts after graduation, he would surely be an outstanding professor now, and could well be the next headmaster of Hogwarts.

Tom's high-quality teaching continued until the end of get out of class. The students left the classroom one after another, chatting and laughing. They all expressed their satisfaction with the lesson and looked forward to future classes.

Seeing the smiles on the young wizards' faces, Tom plopped down on the podium.

Although he was still a spirit, he acted as if he had a real body, and his eyes revealed some real emotions.

Moriarty stepped forward and patted Tom on the shoulder: "You did it. The convergence of fate has finally returned. Isn't this the life you've always dreamed of?"

"Let me be alone for a while," Tom said weakly, clutching his head. He seemed to have all his strength drained away, returning to the day Dumbledore refused to let him become a professor.

Moriarty, unsuspecting, walked out of the classroom with Lilith and Jericho. Tom's behavior was perfectly normal, reflecting his true feelings so much that no one suspected anything.

Meanwhile, in the principal's office.

Professor Snape rushed into the Headmaster's office without stopping after leaving the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom: "Albus, he passed the course."

"Pass? That's almost the highest praise you could give." Professor Dumbledore was wearing a silver-white wizard's robe today, looking like someone who had just woken up wearing a dressing gown, but his eyes were bright.

After the Battle of London, Dumbledore was seriously injured and could not use the magic to restore youth for the time being, but he remained the pillar of Hogwarts.

The old man, who appeared to have just woken up, actually knew everything that had happened inside the castle.

"I thought you'd be prejudiced against Riddle," Dumbledore said with a smile.

"I've always kept my personal and professional life separate," Professor Snape said without batting an eye. Well, that's true, except when it comes to Potter.

"So, he can continue being a professor?" Dumbledore walked to the Pensieve, seemingly lost in thought about the past.

Professor Snape did not answer, because he knew that Professor Dumbledore's words indicated satisfaction.

The following Thursday afternoon, in the fifth-grade Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Professor Tom taught the Patronus Charm, which broadened the students' horizons.

They had never seen a wizard who could get a student to successfully summon a Patronus Charm without having one!

Soon after, it was revealed that most of the students who summoned the Patronus participated in last year's Hogwarts Army, and had a solid foundation laid by Moriarty.

Despite this, Tom's reputation began to improve, and more people were happy to call him Professor Tom.

On Friday morning, during the fourth-grade Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Tom deviated from his usual style and introduced the Unforgivable Curse.

Tom explained his teaching style, which is similar to Moody's: "I think fourth grade is a turning point."

To see if a young wizard can stand on his own, look at how much he learns in fourth grade. Fourth grade is crucial to his future.

Upon hearing this, Moriarty exclaimed, "Good heavens, you're the one who started this internal competition!"

Lilith, who was applying lipstick, smiled and said, "I remember a few years ago Moriarty also stirred up a frenzy of competition, but that time it was among the students, and this time Tom is among the professors."

The weekend arrived, and Moriarty agreed to go shopping with Lilith.

And Lilith was right. It was as if Tom had flipped a switch to involution. Professor Flitwick was the first to get caught up in it. He had Roger Davis bring over a huge pile of sandbags to use as props. The fourth-year students suffered terribly because Professor Flitwick made them chant spells over the sandbags.

"I didn't realize the dean had such a competitive side."

Another Ravenclaw beauty who was shopping with Moriarty, Ms. Zhang Qiu said with a smile.

"Professor Flitwick is a dueling champion, so it would be strange if he didn't have a competitive spirit to compete for first place," Moriarty said confidently. "More importantly, Professor Flitwick is Tom's junior! Naturally, Professor Flitwick would want to compete with Tom."

"Huh? Really?" Zhang Qiu was caught off guard by this gossip.

"That's right. Not only Professor Flitwick, but Professor McGonagall and Hagrid were Tom's classmates, except that Professor McGonagall was his senior."

On Friday afternoon, it was the third-grade students' turn to have Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff attend classes together, and Hermione Granger brings along her best friend Hannah Abbott to sit in the front row.

Tom glanced at Hermione; he knew she had been inspiring everyone last year, which was why she held a high place in the young wizards' hearts, but he didn't pay her much attention.

"When Minister Lockhart was a professor, he taught you more about how to deal with dark creatures, and I will continue his style by teaching you how to deal with emergencies."

"For example—what would you do if you encountered a robber while shopping?"

Hermione raised her hand with a "whoosh": "If I were a Muggle, I would hand over the money I had and call the police. If I were a wizard, I would give the robber a 'Forget-Me-Not' spell so he would forget what he was doing."

"Hahaha..." The classroom was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

Tom laughed too: "That's Lockhart's style after all. The Oblivion Charm is good, but not good enough. My suggestion is the Confusion Charm."

"Because the Oblivion Charm would stop the whole thing, while the Confusion Charm would keep it going. We don't know if the robbers have accomplices or if there's a conspiracy behind it, but that doesn't stop us from being fully prepared."

"What I'm teaching you is a way of thinking, an anti-dark wizard and anti-dark magic mindset."

"If you want to defend against dark wizards and dark magic, in addition to learning spells, you also need to understand dark wizards and dark magic."

Hermione listened attentively and took notes in her notebook. The intelligent girl could see Tom's good intentions, but for some reason, Hermione felt a little uncomfortable, though she couldn't explain why.

After class, the students, who had been working hard all week, finally welcomed the weekend.

Hermione couldn't wait to submit her report about going to Hogsmeade Village, "I can finally go shopping with Moriarty!"

Hermione excitedly rushed towards Moriarty, who was already waiting outside the school, which drew a laugh from Moriarty: "Little kittens love sweets, and little Hermione loves to be pampered."

"You big bad senior, you don't understand how I feel at all," Hermione glared at Moriarty, her beautiful eyes sparkling with mischief. "How about we go to the Three Broomsticks? I heard they've added a lot of Muggle drinks there."

"That's true, but who told you that?" Moriarty asked as he walked toward Hogsmeade with his arm around Hermione's slender waist.

A few days ago, when he was shopping with Lilith, Cho Chang, and Penelope, he noticed that not only had the Three Broomsticks Bar changed, but several new shops had opened in the village, and the proportion of Muggle goods had increased.

"Astoria told me," Hermione chuckled, seemingly understanding. "Did she book your date for this afternoon?"

"You're so clever. Since you guessed it yourself, I don't need to tell you." Moriarty flicked Hermione's nose.

"Ugh, what a womanizing wizard!" Hermione grumbled. "You don't even have enough time on the weekend for each of your girlfriends."

"If you, such a smart junior Hermione, can calculate the date time for each girl for your dear senior, I would call you a time management master."

"Junior, you can't do that~" Hermione grinned, winking, and said, "Since we can't distribute the time equally, why don't we all get together?"

"What a sweet little kitten." Moriarty couldn't help but kiss Hermione's lips.

……

The two walked hand in hand to the Three Brooms Bar, where they saw that the wooden sign above the bar had indeed been expanded with more drinks and alcohol.

"This one, this one, this is it!" Hermione exclaimed, pointing to a name on the label. "I've had champagne before at my mother's birthday party, and I want to open it with Moriarty."

"Then let's have champagne, two glasses please."

After receiving it, the two embraced and walked towards the table.

There weren't many customers in the shop; most students were still asleep. But someone at the next table exclaimed in surprise, "Mr. Moriarty? And Granger?"

It turned out to be Draco; the four of them in his dorm were calculating the bronze knuckles they'd earned from the guessing game.

Ron's eyes widened when he saw Hermione, and Dean quickly grabbed Ron's head and turned it to the other side.

"Let's pop the champagne!"

Hermione's clear, cheerful voice rang out, brimming with joy.

"Celebrating my third anniversary with Moriarty!"

"Cheers!"

*Smack!*

The two wine glasses clinked together.

At the same time, in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, Tom stood in the shadows at the back, revealing his snake eyes.

(End of this chapter)