Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, nine months had passed. It was now late August 1988.
During that time, Lockhart bought two shops in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade Village, selling Cockatrice Yolk Shampoo.
Lockhart's fame drew in large numbers of wizards, all curious as to why a writer like him had suddenly gone into business.
But after the first wizard washed his hair with the newly purchased shampoo and solved his long-standing problem of dry, yellowing hair, countless wizards rushed to buy it.
To everyone's delight, unlike Lockhart's novels, which often cost more than a dozen Galleons each, a 500-milliliter bottle of shampoo cost only one Silver Sickle.
That price was enough to tempt witches, especially those in the prime of their youth. They carried entire cases home.
Who wouldn't want their long hair to become shiny and smooth?
Thus, by the time Lucius Malfoy noticed Lockhart's little business, it was already too late.
Lockhart's two shops were packed every day. In both reputation and effectiveness, Cockatrice Yolk Shampoo utterly crushed Sleekeazy's Hair Potion.
The Pure-blood families wanted to do something, but there was nothing they could do. The Potter Family had long existed in name only—the last Potter had even been locked in a cupboard at his aunt's home.
Other than the Potter Family, what other pure-blood would make shampoo? They could only watch helplessly as Lockhart gradually seized the shampoo market.
Lockhart was overjoyed. He knew this was only the beginning!
So Lockhart excitedly ran back to the Castle to ask Moriarty about the next step in the plan, only for Moriarty to tell him that he was going to Hogwarts.
A week earlier, Professor McGonagall had asked Lockhart to deliver Moriarty's Hogwarts acceptance letter. She simply could not find the location of Slytherin Castle.
Lockhart slapped his forehead and smiled awkwardly. "Look at my memory. I forgot that the young master was starting school. Ahem, of course the young master will attend Hogwarts. It will be Hogwarts' greatest honor!"
Moriarty nodded calmly, but his heart was far from peaceful. After more than a year in the Harry Potter world, he could finally study the magic of this world systematically.
On the morning of September 1st, Moriarty got up an hour earlier than usual and luxuriated in a hot bath in the washroom.
Before heading to Hogwarts, Moriarty decided to use up his accumulated Lottery Draws and see what good prizes he could get.
"System, how many Lottery Draws do I have?" he asked.
"The host has accumulated 18 Exploration Draws and 1 Achievement Draw."
"Give me an 18-draw first, then draw the Achievement Draw!" Moriarty had his reasons for arranging it this way. The prizes from a single Exploration Draw included 20 daily necessities, 10 Spells, 10 types of Potion, 5 Alchemy Items, and 5 magical creatures.
A consecutive draw would undoubtedly increase the odds of getting good prizes.
"Very well. Good luck, host!" The system quickly completed the draw.
"Congratulations, host, on obtaining 5 types of daily necessities: a teacup once used by Queen Victoria, three quills used by a Gryffindor student five hundred years ago, a pair of chopsticks, a second-class Order of Merlin from the fifteenth century, and a large color television!
Congratulations, host, on drawing 6 Spells: Cruciatus Curse, Memory Charm, Banishing Charm, Rictusempra, Densaugeo, and Weeping in the Snow.
Congratulations, host, on drawing 4 Potions: Draught of Living Death, Skele-Gro, Babbling Beverage, and Antidote to Veritaserum.
Congratulations, host, on drawing 2 Alchemy Items: Cara Boots—increases movement speed by 12% (effective duration: 3 days), and Unlucky Hat—the wearer will suffer bad luck for two hours (considered a defective product created when a medieval alchemist failed to make a Lucky Hat).
Congratulations, host, on drawing 1 magical creature: Peruvian Vipertooth Dragon Egg.
This Lottery Draw has ended. The rewards have been issued. May the host soon become the mastermind behind the scenes!"
Moriarty felt a warm current flow from his mind through his entire body. In an instant, he learned the Spells and Potions he had drawn, while the remaining rewards were placed into the System Space.
Moriarty directly ignored the daily necessities. He reviewed the Spells and Potions he had drawn in his mind and found that he had still come out ahead.
A little wizard who had just enrolled could not possibly learn the Cruciatus Curse or the Banishing Charm, while Weeping in the Snow belonged to Water Elemental Magic, a form of magic that attacked the mind.
Skele-Gro was useful as well.
Moriarty had taught himself several nearly lost magical scripts, including Ancient Runes. It would have been a lie to say he did not feel tired.
The system currently had no way to solve that problem for Moriarty, but Skele-Gro could.
As for the final dragon egg, it was naturally quite an interesting little darling.
Moriarty was extremely satisfied with this Lottery Draw. He hoped the Achievement Draw would be just as impressive. "System, give me one Achievement Draw!"
After its customary blessing, the system replied, "Congratulations, host, on drawing a small bottle of Felix Felicis! Friendly reminder: using Felix Felicis together with a Lucky Hat will produce unexpected results."
A small bottle of Felix Felicis immediately appeared in the System Space, containing about one ounce.
"Felix Felicis... well, fine. Although I have no use for it at the moment, I'll use it eventually."
Moriarty finished his bath. Overall, the draws had been quite good, and having some good luck before heading to Hogwarts was rather important.
He stepped out of the bath, put on a robe, and looked at himself in the mirror. He was somewhat taller and sturdier than children his age, his high nose bridge complementing his fair, handsome face and lending him a sharply defined, cold air.
Yet another combination—soft gray hair lazily draped over his shoulders, crystal-clear gray eyes—added a touch of mystery to him.
"Young master? Breakfast is ready. Would you like to eat now?" Luke's voice came from outside the washroom. He knew that after Moriarty finished breakfast, he would be heading to King's Cross Station.
The House-elves had already prepared the required textbooks and necessities for Moriarty.
After getting dressed, Moriarty went to the dining room and found Lockhart, Ingo, and all the House-elves waiting there.
They took turns congratulating Moriarty. Even Ingo said a few pleasant words in his usual indifferent manner.
After everyone finished breakfast together in harmony, Moriarty left Slytherin Castle.
At around eleven thirty, Moriarty arrived at King's Cross Station. His luggage had been packed into a bag enchanted with the Undetectable Extension Charm, so unlike the other Little Wizards, he was not dragging heavy luggage or pushing a trolley.
Instead, Moriarty's appearance frequently drew curious glances.
Poseidon, the Snowy Owl perched on Moriarty's left shoulder that Luke had bought for him, made people even more curious. Several children were eager to see Poseidon fly.
But when they reached Platform 9, Moriarty had vanished in the blink of an eye!
"This is Platform Nine and Three-Quarters."
Moriarty smiled faintly. Of course he knew how to enter the platform. He looked at the flowing crowd—wizards everywhere, along with owls, toads, and cats.
It was so lively that it hardly seemed like a platform. Instead, it felt as dreamlike as the set of a fantasy film.
Noisy conversations, the dull rumble of luggage dragging across the ground, the cries of all sorts of pets... sounds answered one another from every direction.
And of course, most importantly, a deep-red steam locomotive stood beside the platform packed with passengers.
The sign hanging on the train read: Hogwarts Express!
"Ding-dong~ Detected that the host has discovered the Hogwarts Express. Reward: one Exploration Draw."
The modes of transportation in the magical world fascinated Moriarty.
Portkeys and Floo Powder could be considered the same type of tool, while Flying Broomsticks, the Hogwarts Express, and the Knight Bus belonged to another category.
Take this Express, for instance. It involved one hundred and sixty-seven Memory Charms!
Moriarty, who had just learned the Memory Charm, was deeply interested in this.
Lost in thought, he passed through the noisy crowd and boarded the train. The Little Wizards aboard were all chatting excitedly, but one little boy happened to glimpse Moriarty and let out a muffled scream behind his hand...
Moriarty walked away coldly. He disliked noise, so he headed toward the rear of the train, where he indeed found an empty compartment.
Moriarty sat by the window, took out Magical Theory, and continued reading from where he had left off last time.
It was a magical book about the relationship between Ancient Runes and Spells. Moriarty used all his spare time to expand his knowledge of Potions and Runic Script.
Perhaps he could find clues about large-scale Memory Charms within Runic Script.
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