Mr. Slytherin and the Slytherin House Sorting

Moriarty's outstanding performance in Transfiguration class drew everyone's attention, and students from all four houses were very much looking forward to his performance in other classes.

In Potions class, Professor Snape strode into the classroom.

Unlike Professor McGonagall, who needed to use stern point deductions to remind students to be on time, Professor Snape possessed an aura of deterrence that could effortlessly maintain order in the classroom.

Perhaps it was related to his fearsome reputation, or maybe it was his icy expression, black hair, and the hem of his long robes.

This appearance made him look like a formidable giant bat.

As he walked onto the podium, the young snakes and young lions tucked in their necks, awaiting the roll call.

When Moriarty's name was called, Professor Snape paused, his dark eyes cold and empty, much like his tone.

"The renowned Mr. Moriarty," his voice was only slightly louder than a whisper, "I believe you should know that students of Slytherin House always pay a great price to bear the name of Slytherin."

Moriarty was quite sure he saw Snape himself in that sentence.

"Of course, they have all achieved success," Professor Snape said slowly. "But you are different. Think about it, how much effort, how much sweat will you need to put in to be worthy of the surname Slytherin?"

He's actually a good professor, Moriarty thought.

Professor Snape raised his voice: "If it weren't for your surname, I wouldn't be saying so much to you. Do you understand, Mr. Slytherin!"

"I understand, Professor," Moriarty replied loudly. "And I am very clear about what I am doing."

"Very well, let's see if Mr. Slytherin is a worthy Slytherin..." Professor Snape sat down in front of Moriarty, stared into his eyes, and said, "Listen, what do I get if I add powdered narcissus root to wormwood infusion?"

"You get a Draught of Living Death," Moriarty said calmly.

Professor Snape said emotionlessly, "State the most common ingredient needed to brew Shrinking Solution."

Moriarty glanced at the Potions professor, realizing this was clearly second-year Potions.

But he still answered fluently, "The most common is pufferfish eyes."

"Who is the inventor of Shrinking Solution?"

Okay, this is third-year!

Moriarty chuckled, "It's Zigmund Bage, Professor."

Next, Snape asked several more questions covering knowledge points from fourth to sixth year, and Moriarty responded with fluent and clear explanations.

The exchange between the two lasted no more than three minutes, but after Moriarty finished answering all the questions, Snape stared at him for a full five minutes!

No one knew what he was thinking, and Moriarty didn't feel his mind being invaded.

"Slytherin gets five points," Snape suddenly announced, standing up and walking away, his voice echoing in the classroom. "The Draught of Living Death is the first potion you will learn today! Don't make me say it twice!"

Professor Snape began explaining the brewing steps for the Draught of Living Death, and the sound of scratching quills quickly filled the classroom. Moriarty curved his lips upwards. Since the Draught of Living Death was today's lesson, they weren't including it in the point bonus?

Professor Snape is quite an interesting person.

"Mr. Moriarty, aren't you taking notes?" Lilith whispered.

Moriarty shook his head. "The best way to remember is always through practice."

As he spoke, he took out the ingredients needed to brew the Draught of Living Death, along with a cauldron and scales.

Moriarty listened to Professor Snape's explanation and began brewing according to the steps.

"Arrogant genius!" Snape suddenly let out a cold laugh, then his explanation speed suddenly increased, as if he had a machine gun in his mouth and Moriarty was the enemy.

The young snakes and young lions were immediately miserable. Jericho simply stopped taking notes and watched Moriarty brew the potion.

In contrast, Lilith's wrist moved continuously, writing a series of elegant characters with her quill.

"I've been copying legal statutes since I was little, so I'm used to it," Lilith shrugged, glancing at Moriarty's Draught of Living Death whenever she had a moment.

Thanks to Professor Snape's rapid explanation, the process of Moriarty brewing the Draught of Living Death was greatly shortened. After he ground the narcissus root into powder, he was only one step away from completion.

Jericho let out an exaggerated cry, "Hey! Mr. Moriarty, perhaps you don't even need to attend class. I believe you can learn all potions just by showing you the preparation steps!"

"Mr. Blanche, why aren't you writing down what I'm saying? Perhaps you think you've learned it? Slytherin loses three points!" Professor Snape walked over.

At this moment, Moriarty added the powdered narcissus root to the wormwood infusion, and the Draught of Living Death was successfully brewed. Professor Snape nodded, a rare sight: "Mr. Slytherin has earned twenty points for Slytherin House."

"Thank you," Moriarty smiled. "A very unique bonus phrase, Professor."

The young snakes also laughed. It wasn't often that two Slytherins appeared at the same time.

Lilith, however, said unconvinced, "Mine is almost finished too. I don't believe it will be worse than yours."

Moriarty looked over. Lilith's Draught of Living Death was as standard as the one in the textbook, only brewed slower than his.

After Professor Snape checked her potion, he also said, "Slytherin gets three points."

When Professor Snape went to check on the progress of the young lions, Lilith pouted, "So stingy, only three points."

Jericho, as if never discouraged, smiled even when points were deducted. "It's good enough to get three points. You don't want to compare yourself with Mr. Moriarty, do you?"

Lilith's eyes flickered, and she didn't speak. But Jericho seemed to have discovered a new continent. "I really want to open your head and see what's inside. You actually want to compare with Moriarty to see who wins more House points? Wow, wow!

According to my statistics, Mr. Moriarty has added sixty points for our House in two classes! And you only have three points. A twentyfold difference is huge, isn't it, Mr. Moriarty."

"Don't provoke her," Moriarty said, seeing a murderous glint in Lilith's eyes. He joked to Jericho, "If you keep this up, she might think of a hundred ways to ruin you without breaking the law."

"Hmph," Lilith glared at Jericho slightly, turning her head away. "You know that much is enough!"

Despite what was said, Moriarty saw the proud young girl's lips curl into a smile.

Jericho touched the short hair on his head, quickly shifting his attention to the potion. Moriarty watched as he skillfully picked up ingredients, organized them, and then began brewing.

His movements were quite reminiscent of Moriarty's style. Jericho smiled sheepishly at Moriarty, "Your posture and movements are very cool. I saw them and wanted to imitate you..."

"Excellent memory, and outstanding imitation skills," Moriarty's probing gaze fell upon the young American wizard. "Jericho, how many more surprises have you prepared for us?"

Lilith turned her head back again and said to Moriarty, "Just watch. In tomorrow's flying class, Mr. Blanche will surely show off. Wanna bet, Mr. Moriarty?"

Jericho held his forehead, a wry smile on his face. "Miss Lilith, why don't you become a reporter! The Daily Prophet? Or perhaps, 'The Quibbler'?"

"'The Quibbler' suits you better, after all, you always seem to grasp information unknown to outsiders."

"Who gave you permission to call my name?" Lilith nonchalantly stirred the contents of the cauldron with a spoon. "And don't compare me to those two trashy tabloids. As for you thinking I'm gossipy, I didn't deliberately collect your information. Instead, I analyzed it based on the vast amount of intelligence I possess and your performance."

"Do you remember what I said on the train? Mr. Moriarty." Lilith's eyes deepened, making it hard to believe she was only eleven. "I'm not just a little girl who only dreams. To achieve my goals, I started taking action the moment I entered Hogwarts. The young wizards at Hogwarts are the best subjects for investigation. I have no intention of prying into their privacy, but I need to know their character. So, investigation reports were churned out, just like brewing a potion. Not only Jericho's, but first-year and second-year students at Hogwarts as well!"

Moriarty recalled her often sitting with senior Gemma and asked, "Have you started interacting with third-year students?"

Lilith snorted, "Third-year students are different from first and second-years. They are quite mature. Haven't you already experienced that!"

Knowing she was hinting at something, Moriarty smiled. "Are you bothered that you're not as mature as them, or not as mature as them?"

Lilith rolled her eyes and fell silent.

Jericho propped his chin on his hand, idly flipping through his textbook. He felt like a discarded tool.