Professor Randy's Office

No one knew what Moriarty said to the Basilisk, but he reached out and stroked the skin on its head. "That Heir of Slytherin commanded and enslaved you with Parseltongue. Oh, how pitiful! For a thousand years, you could only eat rats to stave off hunger!"

The Basilisk closed its eyes and made a low purring sound. It gently swished its tail and coiled it around Moriarty's ankle.

"Come home with me, Shiva. In the Castle Salazar Slytherin left behind, I am your master now."

"Hiss!"

Marcus had to set his imagination on a Flying Broomstick just to understand the conversation between the man and the snake. He stared at Moriarty, then at the Basilisk, utterly stunned.

"Young Master, it—um, you tamed it?"

Moriarty's eyes were smiling. "Be more gentlemanly, Marcus. She has a name—Shiva! I recall it was the name of an ice-and-snow goddess in the ancient Celtic pantheon."

The Basilisk gave a low cry. She no longer looked frightening at all. Moriarty's palm seemed to possess some special Magic Power, making the Basilisk as docile as a lamb.

Marcus gaped as Moriarty explained, "A male Basilisk has a bright red feather growing from its head. Look at hers—there's no feather. She's a female Basilisk, which is why Ancestor Salazar named her Shiva.

"And Tom Riddle—Voldemort—relied on the small amount of Slytherin Family blood in his veins to make Shiva do evil things."

At that, Moriarty looked at Shiva. "With me here, you needn't worry. Even Voldemort is nothing more than a junior before me."

Marcus, who had only just recovered from his shock, widened his eyes until they were round. Voldemort was Moriarty's junior? That was huge news.

"Accio Wand!" Moriarty suddenly shouted. He summoned Marcus's lost Wand, handed it back to him, then spoke a few words of Serpent Tongue to Shiva. She slithered away.

"Let's go. If we're lucky, we can still catch the end of the last class."

Moriarty directly took Marcus into the air, and they flew back the way they had come.

When they flew up through the entrance, Tonks and Jericho rushed toward them.

"We were this close to going to get a professor!" Tonks let out a relieved breath, still shaken.

"I imagine if we hadn't shown up soon, Professor McGonagall would have come looking for us." Moriarty looked at Jericho.

Jericho slapped his forehead. "Damn it, we had Transfiguration this morning! Professor McGonagall is going to tear us apart."

"I have Divination. I suppose it doesn't matter much if I skip it. That woman Trelawney is completely unhinged." Marcus belatedly remembered the second-year timetable.

"Looks like I'm the only one spared a professor's punishment. Fourth-years have no classes in the morning." Tonks crossed her arms, a smile tugging at her lips. "Don't envy me, juniors. Grow up quickly."

"So, Nymph, you stay here, or go to the Room of Requirement and study Magic Circles. We're going to class." Moriarty left with Jericho.

They ran into Professor McGonagall in the Transfiguration classroom. The professor angrily deducted fifty points from Slytherin.

"Skipping the first class, then arriving almost an hour late for the second! Even if you are a Slytherin, you cannot behave like this!"

Professor McGonagall's furious scolding could be heard throughout the corridor. The students soon learned that Moriarty had skipped class without reason, though no one could guess why.

As for House points? Students from all four Houses unanimously believed that Moriarty would earn back the deducted points several times over within a week.

However, when Severus Snape heard about it, he mercilessly gave Moriarty and Jericho detention.

"Your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Cullen, told me that he needs a few people to help organize his office. Therefore, your detention begins Friday night."

At eight o'clock on Friday evening, Moriarty and Jericho set off for Randi Cullen's office.

As they walked up the floating staircase, Jericho complained, "What rotten luck. I should have been reading Flying with the Cannons in the warm, comfortable common room. Instead, I have to organize an office for a vampire professor?"

Moriarty stopped. "How did you know Professor Randy is a vampire?"

Jericho blinked. "I thought you already knew—everyone's been talking about it. After all, Professor Randy looks no different from a vampire."

He sighed and continued, "Still, Professor Randy has behaved properly enough, and I heard from Prefect William that our Defense Against the Dark Arts class seems to be cursed. It's good enough that we have a professor teaching us at all, so no one made a fuss."

"Have any students from Pure-blood families discussed Professor Randy's background?" Moriarty asked. Pure-blood families often had unexpected advantages when it came to intelligence.

"You'd have to ask Peverell about that," Jericho said with a smile. "As far as I know, no."

Moriarty nodded and continued onward. After a while, he turned to glance at Jericho. "Late tonight, we're going to the Restricted Section."

"Great! I've been waiting for this day! The Disillusionment Charm? I'll master it sooner or later!" Jericho excitedly pumped a fist, but quickly sobered. "Won't we be a little short on time? We've been very busy these past few months. We still have to engrave Magic Circles..."

"First, familiarize yourself with how to cast the Disillusionment Charm," Moriarty said calmly. "As for everything else, do what you can."

As they spoke, the two arrived outside an office. Jericho knocked, and the door slowly opened. Professor Randy sat in a chair directly opposite the entrance, writing something on a leather-covered mahogany desk. All Moriarty could hear was the soft rustling of a quill against paper.

That sound... it seemed to be the sound of a quill rubbing against letter paper? He was writing a letter! To whom?

Moriarty's gaze darkened. Jericho did not notice those details and loudly explained why they had come.

"Go organize the corner. I have too many things, and they're too cluttered." Professor Randy did not even look up.

Moriarty and Jericho walked to one corner of the office. The floor was covered with boxes, leather bags, papers...

Those papers had surely been enchanted; every sheet was blank. The boxes and leather bags, meanwhile, were covered in dust.

Jericho frowned in confusion. Could tidying up be enough to stump a wizard?

"Scourgify!" He drew his Wand and gave it a light flick.

The clutter did not react at all. Jericho sharply swung his Wand. "Reparo!"

"Whoosh—"

The papers flew up and stacked themselves neatly against the wall, but the leather bags and boxes did not move.

"Repairing Charms and cleaning Charms are very useful household magic. But they are not suitable for every item." Professor Randy's hand did not stop writing, nor did his mouth stop speaking.

"Those are alchemical objects, aren't they?" Moriarty looked at the crates and leather bags, guessing at their purpose.

"I'm pleased to find that you can distinguish between Alchemy Items and ordinary alchemical objects, Mr. Moriarty." Professor Randy finally raised his head and glanced toward the corner. After only one look, he lowered his head again. "I noticed your boots. Those are an Alchemy Item, while what you need to sort are simple alchemical objects.

"All right, children. Use the Levitation Charm to stack them one by one. I heard from Professor Flitwick that this year's first-years have mastered the Levitation Charm exceptionally well."

Moriarty and Jericho exchanged a glance, then jointly cast a large-scale Levitation Charm, stacking the crates upright with the leather bags placed on top.

As the crates floated in the air, Moriarty sensed their considerable weight. They seemed to contain liquid.

The leather bags, on the other hand, were light as feathers. They might have been enchanted with an Undetectable Extension Charm, making it impossible to tell what they contained.

An hour later, the work was finished. Jericho used magic again to control more than a dozen brooms and clean the classroom.

Moriarty walked over to Professor Randy's desk. Professor Randy brushed his hand across the desktop, and the letter paper upon it turned blank. Though it happened quickly, Moriarty still caught sight of a name: Bill Weasley.

"Moriarty?" Professor Randy said stiffly.

"Professor, it's all sorted," Moriarty replied calmly. He glanced at Professor Randy. At night, the professor's eyes gleamed, and his pupils even carried a faint hint of silver.

Professor Randy coldly told the two of them to leave. Once outside the office, neither of them brought up Professor Randy again. After spending two hours back in their dormitory, they slipped out and headed straight for the library.

The Restricted Section was located in an area at the back of the library, separated only by a rope. It clearly could not stop a determined Little Wizard.

Moriarty guessed that the books in the Restricted Section had probably been thumbed to pieces by students already—provided those students had the nerve to do it.

Entering the Restricted Section, Moriarty and Jericho began searching for Miranda Goshawk's Book of Spells, which contained a record of the Disillusionment Charm.

After checking shelf after shelf, Moriarty passed a bookcase with few books on it—only to collide head-on with someone.