Slytherin Dungeon

Dumbledore turned his head, speaking to a teacher with greasy black hair, a hooked nose, and sallow skin.

Moriarty knew it was Severus Snape. Although he couldn't hear their conversation, it was related to Slytherin House.

In just one dinner, Moriarty had gathered enough information. Slytherin had been unprecedentedly strong in recent years, and winning the House Cup for three consecutive years was not just talk.

Excellent students like William and Leon, who were almost comparable to adult wizards, were almost nonexistent in other Houses. Only Gryffindor had Bill Weasley who could be compared.

However, there were a few in the third and fourth years who could not be underestimated.

Moriarty looked at Gemma, who was talking to Lilith, then at Charlie Weasley next to Percy, and finally at Tonks at the Hufflepuff table, who was the girl who had interrupted Dumbledore.

Moriarty knew Dumbledore had an Order of the Phoenix, and both Charlie and Tonks were members after graduation.

Therefore, Moriarty believed that Leon should first investigate what Bill was doing. Dumbledore would not assign a task that Bill hadn't completed to a Slytherin.

In fact, it wasn't Leon that caught Moriarty's attention, but Bill.

He had thought Hogwarts in 1988 was peaceful, but now it seemed like there were undercurrents.

A plan gradually took shape. Moriarty remained outwardly calm. As he ate the last piece of pudding, the food on the table disappeared.

Dumbledore stood up, gave a few reminders, and led everyone in singing the school song.

It turned out that not everyone could sing the school song as unrestrainedly as Fred Weasley and George Weasley. The students were hesitant, humming the tune vaguely.

Only Dumbledore's voice was the loudest. Suddenly, he heard another loud voice. Dumbledore turned towards the Slytherin table. Moriarty stood tall, singing the school song in an ancient melody that sounded inspiring.

When the first young wizard started singing along with Moriarty, he shivered, but then his eyes lit up, his face filled with an expression of sacred inviolability.

The students began to sing along, their pores opening up, like warriors about to go into battle, they threw themselves into the chorus.

After the school song, Dumbledore's applause lasted for a long time.

"Music, it has more charm than anything else we do here!" Dumbledore seemed eager to sing again, "Mr. Moriarty, what melody were you using?"

"A battle hymn created by medieval wizards to deal with the Goblin Wars. It has no name, sir." Seeing Dumbledore's slightly disappointed expression, Moriarty smiled faintly, "But I can write down the score and send it to you."

"That would be most excellent," Dumbledore nodded, "Now it is time for bed. Everyone return to your dormitories."

The Great Hall let out a huge roar as the students stood up and began to return to their dormitories with their respective prefects.

The first-year Gryffindor cubs made a noisy commotion, while the first-year Slytherin snakes maintained their quiet elegance, preparing to follow Leon to the Slytherin common room.

"Prefect William usually led us back," Gemma said to Moriarty before they left. "This year Prefect Leon volunteered for this duty. I think he's a bit obsessed; he's too eager to prove himself."

"Hmph," a disdainful snort came from behind Moriarty, from Lilith. "For nearly half a century, the Minchum family has been suppressed by other pure-bloods.

Because Minister Harold Minchum was a strong-willed minister who wanted to curb the rise of the Dark Lord but failed, the Minchum family suffered retaliation from the Dark Lord.

Now Leon is their family's only hope, but I don't have high expectations for him. What achievements can you expect from someone who only shows off in front of girls? Perhaps he'll challenge a giant to prove himself? Heh, don't make me laugh."

Hearing about Leon's background, Moriarty felt that Leon would be easier to control.

After they walked for a while, the floating stairs beneath their feet moved, and the little snakes quickly moved to another section of the floating stairs.

Leon reminded them, "Be careful of these magical stairs. They not only float in mid-air but also move and rotate. If you can't accurately remember all the stairs, you'll be sent to a place no one knows."

Moriarty remembered his staff. With a try, he gently tapped the floating stairs with the end of his staff. After a loud "clack," all the floating stairs stopped moving.

Jericho tentatively jumped onto a floating stair that had moved away earlier, then jumped back.

"That's so cool, Mr. Moriarty! How did you do that?"

"I think it's because the floating stairs cannot defy the Slytherin staff," Moriarty said thoughtfully. In that case, could the staff also uncover other secrets in Hogwarts?

The little snakes surrounded Moriarty, all wanting to see the staff up close. For centuries, Hogwarts' stairs had been rotating and moving every day, and now Moriarty had made them stop!

Lilith said with regret, "I should have brought the Sword of Gryffindor back—maybe if I had insisted, I could have brought it back."

Leon felt neglected, his expression changing several times. Finally, he said with a forced smile, "Mr. Moriarty did well. It's a shame I'm not a professor, or I would have awarded the House ten points. Can we go now?"

The fixed floating stairs saved the little snakes a lot of time. After passing the last section of the floating stairs, Moriarty did not forget to restore the movement of the floating stairs.

The little snakes soon arrived at a room resembling a basement, with a thick stone wall at the end.

"There is a stone door hidden behind the stone wall, and our common room is behind the stone door."

A strange smile appeared on Leon's face. "Of course, that's the common name among the four Houses, but we internally prefer to call it the Slytherin Dungeon.

It's located at the bottom of the lake. We can often see octopuses in the lake through the windows. If you're lucky, you might also see mermaids."

Leon walked a few steps towards the stone wall and said without looking back, "Glory!"

The stone wall made a click, and the stone door rotated, revealing the full view of the common room to the little snakes.

The walls were made of black marble, the emerald green ceiling and chandeliers cast shimmering waves of light, the ceiling was carved from crystal, and the floor was covered with snow-white carpets.

The sofas and armchairs in the room were arranged around a large fireplace, with an exquisite mantelpiece, luxurious furniture, scattered murals, and candle holders, all attracting the attention of the little snakes.

"Never forget the password, lose the password, or leak the password! Because no Slytherin will be friends with a fool who does any of the above."

Leon's sternness pulled the first-years' thoughts back. He scanned the new students, saying without emotion, "Perhaps you are excited because of the Sorting Ceremony, but Slytherin does not need excitement; it needs calmness, focus, and ambition."

The little snakes listened to Leon's words solemnly. Even Lilith didn't make a sound; she was, after all, a Slytherin.

Leon looked at the students' reactions with satisfaction, but his words were still harsh: "From the moment you enter Slytherin, you should abandon childhood fantasies. You are no longer children."

Many say a Slytherin will stop at nothing to achieve their goals, and I don't think that's wrong, nor is there anything to be ashamed of.

We aren't like those reckless lions; only with a clear objective can one find the shortcut to success, and only by finding the target can one strike a fatal blow like a viper.

History has seen too many famous wizards come from Slytherin House, like Merlin—I imagine you've all heard of him—and if you haven't, then get it into your heads!

Although students from other houses rarely mention this, I can tell you with certainty that Merlin attended Slytherin House."

Jericho raised his hand. "Excuse me, Prefect Leon, but according to historical records, Merlin was active even before the four founders of Hogwarts were born. How could Merlin possibly have attended Hogwarts?"

"Very good, you're Jericho Blench from America, aren't you? You've learned to ask questions!" Leon looked like a man-eating viper. "Why don't you ask young Mr. Moriarty about this? Perhaps he, as the inheritor of Slytherin Castle, has firsthand information."

Moriarty saw the sinister smile flash across Leon's face but didn't bother arguing with him. Instead, he calmly picked up his staff and waved it at the stone wall. A line of ancient, dark green text appeared on the wall.

"What is this?" Lilith asked. "What language is it? And... what does it mean?"

"Ancient Runic Script. It means 'time'," Moriarty said, snapping his fingers. With a "snap," the dark green text transformed into English.

Moriarty said to Jericho, "It's undeniable that Merlin attended Slytherin, but your point about the temporal inconsistency is also undeniable.

This temporal discrepancy once caught the attention of Salazar, our ancestor. He investigated Merlin's origins, but the trail went cold.

I discovered the last mention of Merlin in his diary. It only contained these two words: 'time'."

"Are you saying Merlin traveled through time?" Jericho looked as if he were watching an American sci-fi blockbuster.

Moriarty patted his shoulder. "I don't think so, but it certainly involves time magic."

"Time magic?" Lilith asked curiously.

Seeing Moriarty become the center of attention again, Leon felt his established authority vanish. He interrupted the young snakes' conversation. "Why aren't you all in bed yet?"

Less than ten minutes later, the young snakes found their dormitories. Four people to a room, which didn't sit well with Jericho. However, when he discovered his roommate was Moriarty, he lost all desire to sleep.

Jericho wasn't the only one; several other young snakes were also wide awake. They all gathered around Moriarty, who sat down on a sofa in the common room.

"Actually, I came to Hogwarts because of Mr. Moriarty," Jericho said, running a hand through his hair and smiling sheepishly. "My father heard that a descendant of Slytherin would be attending Hogwarts this year, so he pushed against everyone's opinions to let me come."

"In that case, I promise you won't be disappointed," Moriarty said, accepting Jericho's friendship.

Lilith walked over. "If Leon knew you were from the Blench family, he'd definitely regret treating you with such sarcasm just now."

"Oh, there's nothing to say about that," Jericho replied, not sounding proud at all. "Wizards from the Blench family just have a slight talent for riding brooms compared to other wizards. I can't wait for flying class."

Lilith's eyes twinkled. "Mr. Moriarty is also a flying prodigy, isn't he?"

"I've only tried flying on a broom once. It felt very exciting," Moriarty admitted. However, when it came to flying, Salazar, our ancestor, was the expert. The second spell he left behind was an improved flying charm.

After chatting for a while longer, they bid each other goodnight and went back to their dormitories to sleep.