On the first night back at school, Moriarty lay in bed.
"Ding ding~ Mission issued: Bring the Snake Home. The host must open the Chamber of Secrets before June 1 and bring the Basilisk back to Slytherin Castle! Reward: 5,000 points. If the mission fails, the host will become a Basilisk!"
Moriarty sat bolt upright, all sleepiness gone. The system could have issued the mission sooner or later, yet it had to do so at this crucial moment—exams at Hogwarts began on June 1, which meant he had only five months!
Setting aside the Ultimate Mission, this was the most troublesome mission Moriarty had encountered. Naturally, its reward was far more generous.
"Bring the snake home..." Moriarty closed his eyes and considered how to bring a twenty-foot Basilisk back to the Castle!
"Space Magic Array!" Moriarty recalled how he and Lockhart had entered Slytherin Castle. Without question, of all the magic he knew, only a Space Magic Array could achieve long-distance teleportation.
"If I'm building a Space Magic Array, I can't complete it alone." Moriarty got out of bed, sat down at the desk, and began writing letters. "I need helpers. I need materials..."
The sound of scratching filled the dormitory. Moriarty wrote five letters, then handed one addressed to the Goblin Ingo to Poseidon.
"Make sure it gets back to the Castle tonight," Moriarty instructed. Only his own Snowy Owl could return to the Castle.
Looking at the remaining four letters, Moriarty shook his head. He could only send them through the school owls.
At first light the next morning, Moriarty got up and headed for the West Tower. The school owlery was at the very top.
On the spiral staircase leading to the top of the tower, Moriarty encountered someone unexpected: the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, Randi Cullen.
Neither of them spoke as they passed each other. Because the stairs were so narrow, Moriarty was certain he caught the scent of blood.
If only I could see the letters Professor Randy sends out.
With that thought in mind, Moriarty sent off his own letters.
The four owls hooted and muttered, seemingly puzzled as to why a student at the school was sending letters to another student at the school.
After leaving the West Tower, Moriarty went to the Room of Requirement. His Christmas gift to Tonks had been a Quick-Release Magic Sleeve that automatically snapped a Wand into a wizard's hand, suitable for Auror combat.
After sparring with Tonks in the Room of Requirement for an hour, Moriarty went to the Great Hall for breakfast.
A flock of owls flew in. Jericho, Marcus, and Tonks each received a letter. After reading only a few lines, their expressions changed slightly, and they hurried away, leaving the food on the table behind.
Poseidon delivered two packages to Moriarty. They contained the precious materials Ingo had sent at Moriarty's request, along with Salazar's research notes on the Space Magic Array.
Moriarty placed the packages in the System Space, finished breakfast at an unhurried pace, and then got up to leave. He passed through a dim corridor whose walls gleamed with words and arrived at the girls' bathroom on the second floor.
Three people were already waiting for him there. The moment Tonks saw Moriarty, she asked anxiously, "What on earth is so important that you couldn't tell me in the Room of Requirement? Why did we have to come to this awful place?"
"Nymph." 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. Fine, I admit it's quiet and secluded, but none of us girls use this bathroom. There's a crying ghost here."
"Ghosts don't scare me, and I don't care about the bathroom. But why did it have to be the girls' one?" Jericho stepped forward and shrugged. "If the letter hadn't been signed by Mr. Moriarty, I would've thought some pervert had invited me here to peep!"
Marcus offered no comment. He stood at the bathroom entrance like a guard, with a feeling that his trial was about to arrive.
Moriarty led them into the bathroom and searched in front of one sink after another. When he finally saw a small snake carved into the side of a copper faucet, he extended his right arm and struck the faucet with the Slytherin staff in his hand with a clang.
The faucet emitted a dazzling white light and began spinning rapidly.
Then the sink moved as well. Moriarty watched it slowly vanish from sight, revealing an enormous pipe wide enough for a person to crawl into.
Moriarty heard Marcus and the other two gasp. He looked at them. "Now you know why I chose this bathroom as our meeting place. This is the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets."
Marcus and the others slowly shuffled toward the opening at the edge of the pipe and craned their necks to peer inside.
"It's pitch-black. I can't see anything," Tonks said, covering her mouth and nose. "But seriously, the smell is overpowering."
"Are we going in?" Jericho blinked, his face full of smiles. "Going on an adventure to find the treasure Salazar Slytherin left behind!"
"If I hadn't seen the wealth in Slytherin Castle, I might have said something like that. Salazar couldn't possibly have left treasure at Hogwarts." Marcus had rarely said anything so sensible.
But Tonks said, "Ravenclaw once said that exceptional wisdom was mankind's greatest treasure. Maybe the treasure Salazar left behind is that sort of thing? Knowledge, magic, or some bizarre secret?"
"Stop guessing." Moriarty waved a hand, his expression grave. "There's a Basilisk inside the Chamber of Secrets!"
Before Marcus and the others could speak, a toilet suddenly erupted with a jet of water, and a ghost flew out of it.
"Oh dear, how terrifying, how terrifying! What did I just hear? Who would've thought a little Dark Wizard ringleader would lead two—oh, no, three—"
The ghost flew between Marcus and the others, staring hard at Tonks through thick black-rimmed glasses. "And one of them is a little girl with white hair! The little Dark Wizard ringleader wants to release the Basilisk and lead you all to it! Or feed every last one of you to the Basilisk! Ooh ooh ooh~ Moaning Myrtle heard it! Moaning Myrtle will tell everyone! Then people will like me!"
"Moaning Myrtle, a Ravenclaw girl killed by the Basilisk fifty years ago," Moriarty introduced her to Tonks and the others.
Then he raised his head. "Myrtle, I hope you abide by the agreement you made. Do not interfere with my actions, or I'll drive every last one of you out of this Castle!"
"Oh—" Moaning Myrtle gasped, her voice turning hoarse. "You know about Peeves's agreement? And you can drive us out? No, you can't do that! Oh heavens, Moaning Myrtle is going to be driven out! I knew nobody liked Moaning Myrtle, boo hoo..."
Jericho and Tonks widened their eyes innocently. "Muffliato!" Moriarty tapped all four of them with his Wand, and the world immediately became quiet.
Tonks looked at Moriarty. "Aren't you worried she'll tell everyone what we're doing?"
"She won't. Besides, I wouldn't do the kind of thing she said." Moriarty glanced at Moaning Myrtle as she flew circles over their heads. The ghosts and Peeves had reached an agreement. Moriarty guessed it had something to do with him, and the ghosts probably would not make trouble for him.
"Marcus, you're coming down with me." Moriarty raised his voice slightly. Marcus shuddered, his face twitching, but he still lifted his head and answered loudly, "No problem, sir!"
"What about me?" Tonks asked worriedly.
"You and Jericho stay here." Moriarty took two packages from the System Space and placed them on the floor. "These are for you. Open them and take a look. From now on, you have three months to study this Magic Circle with me. Before June, I need to build it inside the Chamber of Secrets."
Tonks opened her package, took out the thick book inside, and frowned as soon as she turned to the first page.
Jericho, meanwhile, took out the precious materials first. "These are... Mysterious Vine, Luminous Marrow, Blood Demon Skin. Whose tooth is this? A scarab fossil? And what's this? It looks like a mummy's butt!"
Moriarty nodded in satisfaction. Choosing Tonks and Jericho to study the Space Magic Array with him was a decision he had made after careful consideration. The former was obedient and smart enough, while the latter had endless energy.
Lilith had originally been the most suitable person to build the Magic Circle, but after Moriarty discovered that she had plans of her own, he gave up on inviting her.
As for Marcus...
Moriarty looked at Marcus, who kept taking deep breaths, and signaled for him to jump down with his eyes.
"This is the trial you've given me, isn't it? Dealing with... the Basilisk..." Marcus nodded fiercely, as though that could give him courage. "All right, sir. I'll do it. I can do it!"
With a loud roar, Marcus jumped into the pipe opening!
September had begun. This little brother wanted to become a September success story. Could I ask for some support from my big brothers?
Before you continue