Magical Food

Moriarty sampled a little of every dish. The only one he simply could not swallow was Lilith's gravy ice cream.

"I'm suddenly curious. Do you have any brothers or sisters?" Moriarty asked Lilith, who sat to his right.

Lilith was picking up a pork chop with her fork. She glanced brightly at Moriarty and the cup of gravy ice cream.

"I know what you're thinking, but I don't have any mischievous siblings. My childhood was very dull; the only things that kept me company were thick volumes of legal codes. That's why I like cooking."

"So that's why you make dark cuisine? Were you planning to poison me unconscious with gravy ice cream so you could inherit my Slytherin staff?"

Moriarty made the little snakes around him laugh. Lilith snorted and played along.

"Then I'm afraid you'll have to try lamb charlotte pudding, fried chips with baked jelly, carrot sausage pie... I'll be releasing a new dish every week, so don't forget."

Gemma Farley set down her roast chicken, her eyes smiling. "Seriously, Lilith, why don't you open a food shop in Hogsmeade?"

"I'd bet Professor Dumbledore would definitely visit," William joined in. "He loves desserts."

"Speaking of desserts, I remember you said on the train that you didn't like sweets." Moriarty took a chocolate muffin for himself. "Then why do your Magical Foods always include desserts?"

"Because I love meat, especially heavy meat dishes."

Lilith put a piece of pork chop into her mouth with a rather ceremonial air. Watching her eat was like looking at a Mural.

A second-year girl gasped. "Oh, Merlin's fat! Don't you worry about gaining weight?"

"Lilith will only become more and more voluptuous." Gemma's gaze roamed brazenly over Lilith's body, and she wore an improper smile.

"Senior...!" Lilith finally grew embarrassed, her cheeks flushing faintly as she glared at Gemma. "I bet you've secretly watched girls bathing!"

"Whoa~" The girls all burst out laughing, while the boys secretly chuckled and pricked up their ears.

Gemma's pretty face instantly turned red. Though she knew Lilith was joking with her, she had never discussed such a topic before.

"Is this paid content?" Moriarty extended his wand to Lilith's lips. "Tell us the story between you and Senior Gemma. I can cast a Sonorus on you, and I'm even willing to sponsor you with one Knut."

The girls laughed so hard they could not eat. Lilith and Gemma looked at Moriarty as though they had just met him again, their expressions turning strange.

At that moment, a tall boy at the head of the long table stood up and called toward Moriarty, "Watch yourselves! This is Slytherin, not that noisy Gryffindor!"

"Alright, Leon." William patted his shoulder. "It's the Sorting today. Things are different from usual, and there's nothing wrong with everyone having a little fun."

"Don't touch me!" Leon shook off William's hand and said irritably, "Don't think that winning three House Cups gives you the right to boss me around. That was what you were supposed to do as Quidditch captain!"

William's expression darkened. He wanted to hit Leon with a Stupefy, but as the oldest prefect, doing so would set a terrible example.

"Leon Minchum, sixth-year prefect. Harold Minchum, the previous Minister for Magic, is your uncle. Am I right?"

Lilith stood up, her soft expression from earlier gone. Her eyes were wide as she met Leon's gaze.

"I admit our topic was a little spicy, but what right do you have to discipline us? Headmaster Dumbledore, Head of House Snape, and not even the other professors have said anything to us. What gives you the right to lecture us? Or are you trying to establish your authority? Unite the House so you can become Head Boy next year, isn't that right, Senior?"

The string of questions gave Lilith an unstoppable presence. Her voice, clear as a lark's, was like a sword striking Leon's heart again and again.

Leon nodded viciously. "Very good. I heard long ago that the Peverell family's only daughter was famously rebellious. You should have been Sorted into Gryffindor!"

"No, no, Mr. Leon, you really mustn't say that." Moriarty tapped the floor with his wand, drawing the little snakes' attention. He smiled without quite smiling. "If Lilith went to Gryffindor, that sword would sooner or later shave off your hair."

An invisible chill spread through the air, and every little snake felt a cold draft over their head.

Leon felt it too. He was certain he had not been hit by a spell, so his gaze toward Moriarty gained a trace of scrutiny.

But thinking of Slytherin's usual hostility with Gryffindor, Leon merely snorted.

The appearance of the Sword of Gryffindor had filled the lions with fighting spirit. Although they had also welcomed back the Slytherin staff, Moriarty was clearly not on Leon's side.

With that thought, Leon's gaze gradually turned cold, though his words were full of smoothness. "Little Mr. Moriarty has told me an impossible story, but if it did happen, surely the Slytherin staff would not ignore me?

Perhaps the Slytherin staff would fiercely poke the Gryffindor holding that sword in the backside! Haha."

Leon's supporters quickly caught on and joined in the laughter. As though he had forgotten Lilith entirely, Leon chatted with the people beside him and sat down.

The matter seemed to have passed. Lilith sat back down indignantly. "If we weren't at the dining table, I'd teach him a proper lesson!"

Moriarty shook his head. "That's not a good idea. This Leon is quite scheming. He won't confront you directly, but he'll pull little tricks behind the scenes."

"Mr. Moriarty is right." Gemma nodded in agreement. "Leon is a pedantic old fossil, but he performs brilliantly in Charms class. In the House, only Senior William can defeat him. He has his eye on the Head Boy position this year; everyone knows that."

"Thank you, Senior." Lilith spoke sincerely. "Thank you for speaking up for me with the other senior girls."

Gemma waved her hand. "You don't need to thank me. If you want to thank someone, thank Mr. Moriarty. Leon isn't a generous person. He may retaliate against Mr. Moriarty."

"Yes, you must stay careful, alright? Moriarty." Remembering some things she had heard on the train, Lilith spoke worriedly.

"Compared with that, I'd rather know how you plan to thank me." Moriarty raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"Well..." Lilith had a sudden idea. "I'll cook you a meal! I guarantee you'll be satisfied."

Sure enough, Moriarty began devouring the newly appeared strawberry ice cream, wearing an expression that warned strangers to keep away.

Seeing Moriarty like that, Lilith and Gemma giggled happily.

Moriarty gently shook his head. Heh, girls.

"Lilith mentioned the Head Boy position just now. In fact, I don't think Senior Leon will become Head Boy next year." Moriarty's voice was not loud, but it was steady and powerful. Even the little snakes who had been talking heard him.

Lilith looked at Moriarty worriedly, unable to understand why he had brought Leon up again.

Leon heard him too, but he showed no reaction. Instead, his supporters let out scornful laughter.

A boy with short blond hair sat down beside Lilith, holding a huge piece of roast beef. "Why do you think that, Mr. Moriarty?"

Moriarty glanced at him. "I remember you. You're Jericho Blench, the first student to be Sorted."

"Obviously," Jericho said in a lively tone. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Moriarty. I won't shake hands with you." He was gripping the beef and eating it with relish.

"You asked what I think?" Moriarty looked toward the Gryffindor table. "Can any of you find the current Head Boy, Bill Weasley?"

The little snakes searched the entire Great Hall but did not find that familiar head of red hair.

Lilith looked as though she had uncovered a shocking secret. "I remember now. Percy Weasley mentioned Charlie Weasley many times, but he never mentioned Bill Weasley! They're both his brothers, so that isn't normal."

The little snakes turned their eyes toward the Gryffindor table. Sure enough, only two redheads—Charlie and Percy—sat together.

"But what does that prove?" Lilith frowned thoughtfully.

"It proves Bill Weasley had something more important to do than attend the Sorting," Moriarty revealed. "Lilith, you said Mr. Bill was an unusual Weasley. Though he is pure-blood, he is close to Muggles. Other pure-bloods also think highly of him, and he comes from Gryffindor."

"I think that by this point, Mr. Leon should be able to guess a little." Moriarty was pleased to see Leon's dark expression, as though he were still gritting his teeth.

"Bill is Professor Dumbledore's man!" His lips pressed tightly together.

"That's right!" Moriarty spread his hands in a helpless gesture. "So tell me, will the next Head Boy still be Professor Dumbledore's man?"

Leon's expression became ugly. He wanted to become Head Boy because he wanted to enter the Ministry of Magic after graduation and restore the Minchum family's glory. Now, it seemed...

Moriarty did not care about Leon's plans. He went back to teasing Lilith, and Jericho joined the conversation. He drank an entire cup of gravy ice cream!

"I like meat, and I like desserts too!" Jericho licked the corner of his mouth. "So if there are any more Magical Foods like these in the future, please be sure to save some for me."

"Oh my, you have such heavy tastes." Lilith's look toward Jericho instantly changed. She tried to edge closer to Moriarty, putting distance between herself and Jericho.

Gemma and her sisters burst out laughing again, but this time no one meddled. There were visibly more little wizards around Moriarty, chatting as they ate.

In contrast, a group of little snakes at the head of the long table followed the rules of the Pure-blood families even on Sorting Day, eating in silence. However, the atmosphere was extremely oppressive.

Leon absentmindedly picked up some ice cream, then put it back down, while William wore an expression of enjoying the show.

The obvious division at the Slytherin table did not escape Dumbledore's notice. By chance, he caught sight of Moriarty's half-smiling gaze.

Bill Weasley was Head Boy in 1988–1989.