The Stolen Boots Incident

The news that the Heir of Slytherin was searching for the Chamber of Secrets immediately put everyone on guard.

By dinnertime, many upper-year students looked at Moriarty with a little more wariness in their eyes.

No student doubted Moriarty's talent, nor had they forgotten Salazar Slytherin's rejection of non-pure-blood wizards.

Moreover, Slytherin House was already famous for producing Dark Wizards. They did not want to see Moriarty become the kind of person they despised.

Jericho was indignant about this. He loudly defended Moriarty at the dining table, but Moriarty told him to calm down and enjoyed his dinner as usual.

After dinner, Moriarty headed for the library. On the way, he encountered the Bloody Baron.

The Baron seemed to have come specifically for Moriarty. After confirming that Moriarty intended to search for the Chamber of Secrets, he spoke to him in cryptic terms.

"If you seek the Chamber merely to fulfill Professor Salazar's final wish, then I guarantee you will face endless interception and obstruction.

But if you are willing to seal the Chamber and ensure it never appears again, we can offer you some valuable intelligence. That intelligence may prove unexpectedly useful to you."

After saying that, the Baron floated away. Moriarty no longer felt like going to the library, so he returned to his dormitory to ponder the meaning behind those words.

The Baron had mentioned "Professor Salazar's final wish." Moriarty was certain that the Baron had misunderstood his ancestor Salazar's intentions. In fact, Voldemort, Dumbledore, and even all of Hogwarts believed that Salazar had left behind the Chamber in order to "purify the school."

That was not the case, because his ancestor Salazar was not a narrow-minded man.

The Baron had also mentioned valuable intelligence. Moriarty neither agreed nor disagreed with that claim. With the Slytherin staff in hand, most of Hogwarts' secrets could not be hidden from him if he truly wished to uncover them.

What surprised Moriarty instead was the "we" the Baron had mentioned. Was he referring to the ghosts?

As night gradually deepened, Moriarty cleared his mind and fell asleep.

Early the next morning, Moriarty woke at dawn as usual. When he prepared to get up, however, he discovered that his boots were gone!

Moriarty looked toward his roommates. Jericho was still snoring away as usual, while Keith and Larpo, who should have been in their beds, were nowhere to be seen. Neither of them normally woke early.

It was clearly a prank, and equally clear who had done it.

Moriarty took out another pair of shoes, put them on, and walked out. Before he reached the common room, he heard Larpo's smug voice. "I brought the boots over. He really sleeps like the dead! Maybe what that novel said is true—did he inherit all the wealth of Slytherin Castle? Look at these boots. They're more exquisite than most wizards' formal robes! I'm going to try them on. Oh, they're so comfortable."

Moriarty stopped walking. He was waiting for the other person to speak, but to his surprise, that person was Keith—and he was sighing.

Keith tried to persuade his companion. "Larpo... sigh, I beg you, put the boots back. Mr. Moriarty saved my life! I—we can't prank him."

"Idiot!" Larpo sounded as though he was struggling to suppress his anger. "Didn't Marcus tell you? Once he opens the Chamber, I'll be the first student driven out! Because I'm a half-blood! We can only stay if we drive him out of the school first.

"If you don't want to get involved, then don't get in my way. I'll give the boots to Marcus first. He said he'll handle the rest. Oh, here he comes."

Upon hearing that, Moriarty walked toward the common room. With Marcus Flint involved, things became much simpler instead.

At that moment, Marcus rubbed his eyes and sat down on the sofa, grumbling under his breath. Waking up early made him uncomfortable.

Larpo walked toward Marcus, lifting his legs high with every step as though showing off the fact that he was wearing the boots too.

"Well done, Larpo," Marcus said lazily. "Now go put them in the Forbidden Forest..."

"What?" Larpo asked cautiously. "You said... you would handle what came next."

Marcus glared at him. Before he could speak, Moriarty's voice rang out. "You stole my boots and planned to leave them in the Forbidden Forest, so I'd go looking for them and get expelled for breaking school rules?"

Larpo's face instantly flushed red. Guiltily, he moved behind the sofa and hid the boots on his feet.

Marcus, on the other hand, rose from the sofa and grinned. "The boots are in our hands now. What can you do to us? I can throw them into the Forbidden Forest and let those vicious Magical Creatures remember your scent!"

"And then?" Moriarty looked him over strangely. Perhaps this was the Troll brain Severus Snape had spoken of?

"And then..." Marcus truly had not thought of a second plan after stealing the boots, but Moriarty's gaze enraged him. "Don't think you're a genius just because people praise you. Are there not plenty of geniuses in the wizarding world who died young?

"Moriarty, cut that act. We aren't afraid of you! Right? There are three of us, and only one of you!"

Marcus glanced at Larpo and Keith, lifting his chin.

"No, he has my help!" Keith declared loudly, then stepped to Moriarty's side. Somewhat embarrassed, he added, "If you need it, Mr. Moriarty."

"You made the right choice." Moriarty gave him a slight nod, then turned to Larpo. "Unfortunately, Larpo made a grave mistake, and he will be punished for it."

"Do you know what the boots Larpo stole are called? They're called Cara Boots." Moriarty spoke casually as he instructed the system to activate the movement speed function of the Cara Boots.

Larpo was still puzzled by the boots' name when he suddenly noticed them trembling, making his feet shake along with them!

Less than a second later, the boots began running on their own. Completely unprepared, Larpo was dragged by the boots and fell heavily.

The boots continued running. Larpo's legs rose beyond his control, spread apart, and then carried him headfirst into the sofa opposite him.

Larpo was left dizzy from the impact. Moriarty deactivated the acceleration function of the Cara Boots, and Larpo's legs were free again. He clutched his head and curled into a ball.

Moriarty thought Larpo should be grateful for the sofa. It was soft; otherwise, he would have ended up in the school hospital. There was another factor as well: Larpo's own speed was probably too slow, preventing the Cara Boots from reaching an unstoppable velocity.

This was Moriarty's first time using an Alchemy Item. He committed these observations to memory, laying the groundwork for crafting Alchemy Items in the future.

Marcus was in no mood to think about such things. The entire process had taken less than ten seconds, and his companion had already gone down.

"What evil spell did you use on him? Was that... Dark Magic!?" Marcus stared at Moriarty in terror. Only now did he realize that the person before him was no ordinary student.

"What are you trying to do? I'm warning you, this is the common room! Leon and the other prefects will come out soon!" Marcus shakily pulled out his Wand, though Keith noticed that he had his legs clamped tightly together.

"Do you want to duel me, Mr. Flint?" Moriarty asked playfully as he looked at the tall, powerfully built boy before him, who looked like a fourth-year but was actually a second-year.

The Flint family was one of the Twenty-Eight Pureblood Families, a representative pure-blood family. Unlike the other pure-blood families, however, only Marcus and his elderly father remained.

A pure-blood who was very easy to control.

Moriarty made his judgment and continued, "I suppose you've had a problem with me for a long time. Maybe you were jealous that I became a Seeker? In any case, now that things have come this far, wouldn't it be letting down the plan you racked your brains to devise if I didn't do something?"

Feeling Moriarty's mockery, Marcus grew even angrier. "Why should you inherit Slytherin's wealth the moment you return to Britain? Who knows what happened to you in China? Maybe you're a fake!

Why does everyone like you? They'll soon see your true face—you're an evil Dark Wizard!

And why should you be allowed to join the team? Just wait. It won't be long before Prefect Leon strips you of your title!"

"You're asking me why?" Moriarty took several steps forward. His calm, waterlike demeanor faced Marcus's blazing jealousy as he raised his voice. "Because of my strength! Because I'm better than you. No matter how much you brood or envy me, you're powerless to change that fact."

Moriarty took a few more steps forward, until he was almost pressed against Marcus. "You don't believe it? Then pick up your Wand—or your Flying Broomstick, your Potion, your Alchemy Item, anything at all—and let's compete!

There will only be one result. The gap between us will make you see the truth—see your own ugliness!"

Thanks to Ye DE Encounter for the two monthly votes. This was the first time this book had received monthly votes. Also, regarding the spell Sectumsempra, everyone has had many different opinions. I explained it earlier. I rather like Severus Snape as a character. He was a good man, but also a pitiful one. In a sense, Severus Snape was a great man.