Doesn't a senior sister like this deserve to be doted on?

Moriarty looked at Tonks strangely. Just as he was about to release the silver snake's restraint, a system prompt came.

"Quest Issued: Perfect the Whispering Serpent! Reward: 5000 points! Quest Duration: Three Years! Failure Penalty: Deduct ten years of the host's magic!"

Moriarty asked what the standard was for perfecting the Whispering Serpent, and the system provided three levels.

Level one was to summon more numerous and more varied snakes.

Level two was the effect Salazar Slytherin wanted to achieve, drawing magic power through the Whispering Serpent.

Level three was an increased difficulty from the system; if the Whispering Serpent entangled an enemy, Moriarty would have a chance to obtain one of the enemy's special abilities.

It was precisely because of this quest issued by the system that Moriarty looked at Tonks a few more times.

Although he saw Tonks's slightly curved figure, he was more focused on the changes after the silver snake entangled her.

If the Ancient Latin on the silver snake becoming more vibrant was a change, then what was the meaning of his senior's face becoming as red as her hair?

Moriarty immediately felt that this quest was even more arduous than the previous one of giving Professor Snape shampoo. No wonder the system had given him three years.

But even with three years, Moriarty didn't know if he could complete it, because Hogwarts didn't have a Latin class at all, which meant Moriarty couldn't get much help in his rune research.

However, seeing the silver snake tightening its grip, Moriarty knew that if he didn't release the magic soon, his senior would probably faint.

Moriarty waved his staff, and the silver snake retreated. He helped Tonks onto the mat, bypassed the system's quest, and explained the whole story to Tonks.

"No wonder you were staring at me so intently just now. So you were staring at those snakes," Tonks gasped for air, having been suffocated by the silver snake. "I thought you were some kind of... well, pervert?"

Seeing Moriarty looking at her with the gaze of a snake, Tonks pretended to be nonchalant and changed the subject.

"Can your idea really succeed? Drawing magic power? Absorbing abilities? Believe me, even Merlin wouldn't have such a bold idea."

"That's because Merlin doesn't need to," Moriarty gazed at his senior's hair, which had turned white again. "See, if my idea succeeds, after the silver snake absorbed your abilities just now, I would have become a Metamorphmagus, and then I could..."

Tonks interrupted him with a laugh, staring at Moriarty's hair with great interest: "And then you'd dye this thing green? Hahaha..."

Her laughter was piercing, and Moriarty cast a Babbling Curse on her.

The laughter disappeared, replaced by a flood of inner thoughts such as "Hufflepuff's late-night canteen is delicious, I want to eat until I'm a hundred and never gain weight," and "Professor Dumbledore is truly a crazy old man—yes, after he imprisoned Grindelwald in Nurmengard."

Tonks covered her mouth and used a Silencing Charm to dispel Moriarty's spell, and the two began to tussle again.

This time, they didn't last long. Tonks lay on the mat, laughing happily, "You're a truly excellent opponent, Moriarty."

"Fighting with you has also improved my basic magic," Moriarty looked around, finding the place a bit monotonous.

"Basic magic?" Tonks propped her head with her hand, lying on her side on the mat. "I've self-taught myself up to sixth-year charms, and you call this basic magic! Oh, I remember, you have Slytherin's family magic. Can I see it?"

"You've already seen it, those Whispering Serpents."

"No~ I want to see the magic array and the great Ice Snake, just like in the novels," Tonks's hair turned yellow.

Moriarty gently shook his head. "Next time. We should go for breakfast, or we'll be late for the first class."

"Okay, it's a deal," Tonks stood up, saying with delight.

"Provided you can withstand the fear brought by the Ice Snake."

"I'll practice the Shield Charm more later."

"I don't think the Shield Charm will be very effective."

"What about the Patronus Charm then?"

The two walked out of the Room of Requirement, chatting and laughing, heading towards the Great Hall.

In the Great Hall, under the magical ceiling indistinguishable from the real sky, the four house long tables were laden with bottles of milk, plates of fish pieces, and piles of bread slices, eggs, and meat strips.

"It's cloudy today," Tonks glanced at the ceiling and turned her hair gray. "See you later, junior~"

"Goodbye, Nymph."

They parted ways near the Slytherin long table. As soon as Moriarty sat down, Jericho sidled up and said with a cheeky grin, "Mr. Moriarty, is the reason you're up early because you're dating your senior?"

Gemma watched Tonks walk towards the Hufflepuff long table and winked at Moriarty, "And she's a Hufflepuff senior, no less."

Moriarty picked up a slice of bread and said, "It's not a date, neither of us is in that mindset."

Jericho nodded noncommittally and leaned closer to Moriarty, whispering, "When I woke up this morning, I heard those two boys in our dormitory—Keith and Larpo. They were talking about you. They don't seem to have good intentions, Mr. Moriarty. You should be careful."

Moriarty nodded slightly at him. Lilith had mentioned to him twice that someone in the Slytherin house was plotting against him. Now Jericho was reminding him again, indicating the seriousness of the situation.

Students of Slytherin House were actually plotting against him, the true Slytherin. He wondered what Salazar, their ancestor, would think if he knew?

No wonder Dumbledore was always wary of Slytherin; some Pure-blood families were truly going too far.

Moriarty finished his breakfast calmly and casually asked, "What class do we have this morning?"

"Transfiguration!" Lilith walked over from the group of girls.

Jericho's face showed a complex expression: "Miss Peverell, I've never seen you proactively answer other boys' questions."

"The moment you opened your mouth, I knew what you, this American cowboy, were thinking," Lilith shot Jericho a cold glance. "I just want to follow Mr. Moriarty to get to the stairs."

Jericho suddenly understood, then put on a simple, honest smile, "Mr. Moriarty, do you mind taking me along?"

A dozen first-year Slytherins looked at Moriarty with eager eyes. As long as Moriarty was there, the stairs wouldn't move erratically.

Moriarty noticed the other two from his dormitory were among them. As expected, they were true egoists.

"Let's go. After all, no one wants to be late for Professor McGonagall's class," Moriarty said, leading the way out, with Lilith and Jericho following closely behind.

The little snakes quickly realized that following Moriarty was indeed the wisest choice. With a gentle tap of the Slytherin staff, the floating stairs automatically connected, creating a path straight to the Transfiguration classroom.

It didn't take long for the little snakes to enter the classroom. Professor McGonagall had to abandon her idea of turning into a cat and awarded Slytherin five points.

"For your promptness," Professor McGonagall explained. Just then, a Gryffindor entered – it was Percy Weasley.

"Good morning, Professor McGonagall. Oh..."

Percy clearly hadn't expected so many people to be in the classroom.

Judging by Percy's expression, he seemed to want to greet Moriarty, but when he saw Keith and the others staring at him, he sat down on the right side of the classroom with his copy of A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration.

Before class started, Moriarty initiated a topic: "Jericho, how much do you know about the Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in America?"