Task: "Bring the Serpent Home" (September Success)

The first night back at school, Moriarty lay in bed.

"Beep beep~ Mission issued: Bring the snake home. Host is required to open the Chamber of Secrets before June 1st and bring the Basilisk back to Slytherin Castle!

Reward: 5000 points. Failure to complete the mission will result in the host turning into a Basilisk!"

Moriarty sat up abruptly, all sleepiness gone. The system had chosen the worst possible time to issue a mission—June 1st marked the start of exams at Hogwarts, meaning he only had five months!

Excluding the ultimate mission, this was the most challenging one Moriarty had encountered, and the reward was naturally more generous.

"Bring the snake home..." Moriarty closed his eyes, contemplating how to transport a twenty-foot-long Basilisk back to the castle!

"Space magic array!" Moriarty recalled how he and Lockhart had entered Slytherin Castle. Without a doubt, among the magic he knew, only a space magic array could achieve ultra-long-distance teleportation.

"If I were to build a space magic array, I couldn't do it alone." Moriarty got out of bed, sat down at the desk, and began writing a letter: "I need help, I need materials..."

The sound of writing rustled in the dormitory. Moriarty finished writing five letters and handed one, addressed to the Goblin Ingo, to Poseidon.

"Make sure it's delivered back to the castle before tonight," Moriarty instructed, as only his own Snowy Owl could return to the castle.

Looking at the remaining four letters, Moriarty shook his head. They would have to be sent via the school's owls.

The next day, as dawn broke, Moriarty woke up and headed to the West Tower, where the school's owlery was located on the top floor.

On the spiral staircase leading to the top of the tower, Moriarty encountered an unexpected person: the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, Randi Cullen.

They passed each other without a word. Due to the narrowness of the stairs, Moriarty was certain he smelled blood.

If only I could see the letters Professor Randi sent out.

Moriarty thought as he sent out his own letters.

The four owls hooted, seemingly puzzled why a student at the school was sending a letter to another student at the school.

Leaving the West Tower, Moriarty headed to the Room of Requirement. His Christmas gift to Tonks was an auto-casting charm, which could automatically summon a wand to the wizard's hand, useful for Auror combat.

After fighting Tonks in the Room of Requirement for an hour, Moriarty went to the Great Hall for breakfast.

A large flock of owls flew in. Jericho, Marcus, and Tonks all received a letter. After opening and reading them for a few moments, their expressions changed slightly, and they hastily left their food behind.

Poseidon brought Moriarty two packages. These were the precious materials Ingo had sent according to Moriarty's instructions, along with Salazar's research records on space magic arrays.

Moriarty placed the packages into his system space, finished his breakfast at a leisurely pace, and then got up to leave. He walked through a dimly lit corridor with glowing text on the walls and arrived at the girls' lavatory on the second floor.

Three people were already waiting for him there. As soon as Tonks saw Moriarty, she asked with concern, "What could possibly be so important that you couldn't tell me in the Room of Requirement? You had to come to this dreadful place!"

"My dear," Moriarty patted Tonks's hand and smiled, "I have my reasons."

Tonks looked around and sighed, "I really don't know why you chose this place. Alright, I admit it's quiet and secluded, but none of us girls come to this lavatory. There's a crying ghost here."

"A ghost doesn't scare me, and the lavatory doesn't matter. But why is it a girls' one?" Jericho stepped forward, shrugging. "If I hadn't seen the signature on that letter was Mr. Moriarty, I would have thought some pervert invited me over to spy!"

Marcus offered no opinion. He stood at the entrance of the lavatory like a guard, having a premonition that his trial was about to begin.

Moriarty led them into the lavatory. He searched in front of each sink until he saw a small snake carved into the side of a brass faucet. He extended his right arm, and the Slytherin staff in his hand struck the faucet with a "clang."

The faucet emitted a dazzling white light and began to spin rapidly.

Then, the sinks started to move. Moriarty watched as the sinks slowly disappeared from view, revealing a thick pipe large enough for a person to crawl through.

Moriarty heard Marcus and the other two gasp. He looked at them, "Now you know why I chose this lavatory as our meeting spot. This is the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets."

Marcus and the other two slowly shuffled forward, peering into the opening of the pipe.

"It's pitch black, I can't see anything," Tonks covered her mouth and nose. "But honestly, the smell is overwhelming."

"Are we going in?" Jericho blinked his eyes, a wide smile on his face. "Let's go exploring, let's find the treasure left by Salazar Slytherin!"

"If I had seen the wealth within Slytherin Castle, I wouldn't say that. Salazar wouldn't leave treasure at Hogwarts," Marcus said something clever for once.

However, Tonks chimed in, "Ravenclaw said that exceptional intelligence is humanity's greatest treasure. Perhaps Salazar's treasure refers to this kind of thing? Knowledge, magic, or some bizarre secret?"

"Stop guessing," Moriarty waved his hand, his expression serious. "There's a Basilisk inside the Chamber of Secrets!"

Before Marcus and the other two could speak, a toilet suddenly erupted with a stream of water, and a ghost flew out of it.

"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! What did I hear? Who would have thought, a little dark wizard leader leading two, uh no, three—"

The ghost flew into the middle of Marcus and the other two, staring intently at Tonks through its black-rimmed glasses. "And there's a little girl with white hair! The little dark wizard leader is going to lead you to release the Basilisk! Or feed you all to the Basilisk! Oh, oh, oh~ Moaning Myrtle heard it, Moaning Myrtle will tell everyone! Then people will like me!"

"Moaning Myrtle, a Ravenclaw girl killed by a Basilisk fifty years ago," Moriarty introduced to Tonks and the others.

Then he looked up, "Moaning Myrtle, I hope you will abide by the agreement you made and not interfere with my actions, or I will drive all of you out of this castle!"

"Ohhh—" Moaning Myrtle gasped, her voice becoming hoarse. "You know about the Peeves' agreement? You can drive us out? No, you can't do that! Oh heavens, Moaning Myrtle is going to be driven out, I knew no one likes crying Moaning Myrtle, boo hoo..."

Jericho and Tonks widened their innocent eyes. "Muffliato!" Moriarty tapped each of them with his staff, and the world suddenly became quiet.

Tonks looked at Moriarty, "Aren't you worried she'll tell everyone about us?"

"She won't, and I won't do what she said." Moriarty glanced at Moaning Myrtle, who was flying around above their heads. The ghosts had reached an agreement with Peeves, and Moriarty guessed that this agreement was related to him. The ghosts shouldn't cause him any trouble.

"Marcus, you come down with me." Moriarty's voice rose a few decibels. Marcus shivered, his face twitched, but he still raised his head and replied loudly, "No problem, sir!"

"Then what about me?" Tonks asked worriedly.

"You and Jericho stay here," Moriarty took out two packages from his system space and placed them on the ground. "These are for you. Open them and take a look. From now on, you have three months to study this magic array with me. I need to build this magic array in the Chamber of Secrets before June."

Tonks opened the packages and took out the thick books inside. She frowned as she flipped to the first page.

Jericho, prioritizing the precious materials, pulled them out. "This is... Mysterious Vine, Luminous Marrow, Blood Demon Skin. Whose teeth are these? Fossilized Scarab? And what is this, looks like a Mummy's backside!"

Moriarty nodded in satisfaction. Choosing Tonks and Jericho to research the space magic array with him was a decision he had carefully considered. The former was obedient and intelligent enough, while the latter had endless energy.

Originally, Lilith would have been the most suitable person to construct the magic array, but Moriarty, upon discovering she had her own plans, dismissed the idea of inviting her.

As for Marcus...

Moriarty looked at Marcus, who was taking deep breaths, and gestured with his eyes for him to jump down.

"This is the test you've given me, isn't it? To deal with... a Basilisk..." Marcus nodded fiercely, as if doing so would give him courage. "Alright, sir, I'll do it. I can do it!"

With a loud shout, Marcus jumped into the pipe opening!

September has begun. This little brother wants to be a successful person in September. Can I ask big brother for some support? (´▽`ʃ♡ƪ)