The mastermind behind Hogwarts

"Yurik Gamp?"

The wizard Black repeated the name, his expression changing drastically.

He glanced around nervously, his voice barely audible, as if afraid of being overheard:

"There are rumors in the wizarding world that this person has the support of the royal family and is going to establish a department to keep an eye on wizards."

"This man arrested many wizards who opposed him, and his henchmen are all over England!"

Why are you bringing this up? Are you one of his subordinates?

Moriarty shook his head. "No, we are not, and as far as I know, the teachers and students of Hogwarts do not support Eurick Gump."

"Yes, Hogwarts never gets involved in politics."

Black nodded repeatedly, his gaze toward Moriarty growing increasingly affectionate, for only a true Hogwarts wizard would know this.

"But..." Wizard Black's face was troubled, "Eurek Gump is a powerful wizard, more powerful than anyone can imagine. He even has a group of powerful followers who support him steadfastly, which puts a lot of pressure on Hogwarts."

Upon hearing this, Moriarty and Lilith exchanged a glance, and simultaneously thought of several names.

"You mean Yurik Gamp's men? Who are they?" Moriarty asked tentatively.

Wizard Black gave Moriarty a suspicious look. "You don't even know their names? They're famous wizards! I seriously doubt your allegiance. Are you the Grey Wizard of Gamp?"

"You pretended not to know and tricked me into saying bad things about Gamp so you could drag me to Gamp and claim credit!"

"There are already grey wizards?" Moriarty asked, somewhat surprised.

I initially thought the Grey Wizards were a force Gump established after becoming Minister of Magic, but now it seems they were a weapon Gump used to suppress dissent.

Lilith walked up to Black with some impatience and said, "What are you doing, a grown wizard, being so fussy? We're grey wizards? How could you even think of that? Gump, does he even deserve to be our master?"

Lilith's arrogance was revealed without her realizing it, and the wizard Black dispelled his suspicions.

"This lady is absolutely right. Gump and I are both graduates of Hogwarts. Who is more noble than the other?"

The wizard Black imitated Lilith's tone, which seemed to give him confidence.

At this time, the Black family was far less powerful than it would be hundreds of years later, and the Black wizard looked somewhat comical.

Moriarty struggled to suppress a laugh, and probed indirectly, "Then, Mr. Black, who are some of Gamp's most famous subordinates?"

The wizard Black lost himself in the clamor of nobility, eager to reveal everything he knew.

"If we're talking about Gamp's men, we can't ignore one wizard: Justus Pilivik!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Lilith choked on her own saliva and got a stitch.

"Cough cough cough..." Lilith's coughing while bent over was really too inelegant.

Moriarty pulled her into his arms, stroking her back and chest to help her catch her breath.

At the same time, Moriarty felt a mix of emotions.

They've gotten themselves into this mess!

Lilith composed herself and looked at Wizard Black with a probing gaze: "Please elaborate on this Wizard Piriwick, the more detailed the better!"

Black felt a sense of pressure and wanted to gossip about the relationship between Lilith and Justus Pilivik, but he immediately dismissed the idea.

He explained in detail: "Justus Pilivik is Gamp's junior. Pilivik is good at business. Whenever Gamp shows strength, Pilivik will turn wizards who admire Gamp into Gamp's supporters, while those who oppose Gamp will be eliminated by Pilivik."

"Gamp has praised Pirivik in public on more than one occasion, saying that he has angelic love and compassion, as well as devilish ruthlessness and evil. Pirivik also admitted that if he had not met Gamp, his future would have become unclear and uncontrollable."

"Most of the famous wizards under Gamp's command were recommended to him by Pilivik."

"Including but not limited to Weasley's red-haired brother, the drunkard Abbott, the wandmakers Ollivander and his son, Mr. Greengrass, Capas Crouch, Edridge Diggory, and young Horn..."

"They are unorthodox, powerful, and most importantly, utterly loyal to Gamp."

Upon hearing this, Moriarty and Lilith simultaneously thought of some of the names recorded in "The Glorious Years of the Ministry of Magic".

The Weasleys' red-haired brother is the "Little Red" Gump refers to; the descendants of the drunkard Hannah opened the Hog's Head pub after the establishment of the Ministry of Magic; in the Ollivander family, the father died and the son inherited the business; Mr. Greengrass is Astoria's ancestor; Capas Crouch is Barty Crouch's grandfather...

Gamp and his men in 1707 left behind a great legacy.

Although Moriarty had defeated these people once, he still couldn't help but sigh when he heard their names again.

"It feels like you, me, Jericho, Marcus, Saul—everything we built, created, upheld, and sacrificed for, hundreds of years later, is overthrown and defeated by a group of little guys with ties to us..."

Moriarty had a feeling he might meet a different Yurik Gamp.

The atmosphere became somber for a moment.

Moriarty and Lilith sensed something, and Black, thinking they were frightened, chuckled self-deprecatingly.

"I've seen many people like you, who talk about making Gamp suffer, but actually greet him with a smile. Who doesn't want to live a happier life?"

"Actually, I completely understand why the wizards who support Gampo desperately need a stable living environment and peace!"

"But I can't get over it. Gump is so powerful, so incredibly powerful! Why doesn't he avenge the wizards persecuted by Muggles? Why does he create a department to control wizards? Why doesn't he create a department to attack Muggles?"

As the wizard Black finished speaking, his face contorted with anger, he slammed his fist against the iron railing in front of him.

The force was so great that the railings shook, and blood flowed from the wizard Black's fists.

But he didn't care and continued:

"I admit that besides anger, I also feel fear!"

"I lack the courage to embrace the new era. I don't know if the future Gamp is leading the wizards towards will be good or bad! I dare not choose, I dare not make mistakes!"

"Okay, I admit that Slytherin can't compare to the Gryffindor lions in this respect. I heard that King Arthur's descendants all support Gump, how outrageous!"

Moriarty and Lilith listened silently to Black's story, and could tell that these words had been weighing on Black's heart for a long time.

"The wizards of this era have hatred in their eyes and fear in their hearts."

Moriarty's brilliant mind made it easy for him to see through this.

"I'm afraid I need to reassess Gamp."

"Cough cough cough," Jack's voice came as he walked over with unsteady steps and a grim face. "Wizards," he said.

He glanced at Moriarty, then at the wizard Black.

"The captain requests your presence; we're in trouble. The Kraken has appeared uninvited!"

(End of this chapter)