Hunting Vampires and an Old Witch (Please Bookmark, Please Bookmark)

A large black cabinet in Borgin and Burkes creaked open, and Moriarty stepped out from inside.

Moriarty swiftly scanned his surroundings. Not a single person was in the dim, spacious shop, and none of the items here could possibly have appeared on Hogwarts' school supply list.

To the right of the Vanishing Cabinet stood an old stone fireplace. Beside it, on a cushion inside a glass case, lay a shriveled human hand, a stack of bloodstained cards, and a motionless glass eyeball.

"The Hand of Glory. Only the person holding it can see the candlelight." Moriarty quietly approached the hand. Ingo had once wanted to buy it, but Mr. Borgin had refused to sell.

Before Mr. Borgin noticed him, Moriarty ought to leave. Although Mr. Borgin was also a Dark Wizard, Moriarty had no intention of going after him.

As he passed the glass counter, Moriarty noticed the corpses of two beetles on an Opal Necklace. Poor little bugs.

The label on this necklace should now be changed to—Beware: Do Not Touch, Cursed—having already claimed the lives of nineteen Muggles and two insects.

Heh. Moriarty sneered as he left the shop. Before the bell above the door could ring loudly, he had already reached a filthy alley.

Moriarty looked around. Dark Magic shops lined both sides, and an old wooden street sign hung outside a shop selling poisonous candles. Written on it in blood were the words "Knockturn Alley."

The wizards of Knockturn Alley were all ragged Dark Wizards in hoods, their eyes gleaming with malice. They stared fixedly at Moriarty and whispered among themselves.

"System, how many points would I get for killing those two Dark Wizards?" Moriarty turned his gaze toward a shop whose window eerily displayed several shrunken human heads. Two men stood at its entrance.

"52 points."

Moriarty instantly lost any interest in killing them. He hadn't come all the way to Knockturn Alley just to deal with two minor thugs.

Perhaps the two Dark Wizards had noticed the disdain on Moriarty's face. They swayed as they walked over.

"A new face, mate!"

The words seemed to release a signal. More and more Dark Wizards began moving toward Moriarty, malicious grins on their faces.

Moriarty could not be bothered to tangle with such petty thugs, so he started walking deeper into the alley.

"Lost, are we, dear?"

A shrill voice suddenly sounded beside his ear. An Old Witch appeared before Moriarty, holding a dish piled with things that looked like entire dead fingernails.

"Werewolf claws? You don't see those often." Moriarty gave them a few extra glances as he silently asked the system how many points he would get for killing this Old Witch.

"300 points."

Moriarty smiled with satisfaction, and the look he gave the Old Witch turned strange. "You look just like my Aunt Petunia. Could you take me out of here?"

The Old Witch instinctively sensed that something was off about Moriarty, but she had lived in Knockturn Alley for decades. What kind of person had she not seen?

She eyed Moriarty sidelong, revealing moss-covered teeth. "Come with me. I'll take you out. You look at least forty—first time in Knockturn Alley?"

To win Moriarty's trust, the Old Witch took the lead and headed forward.

Moriarty followed, answering as he went, "I'm Italian. I came to Flourish and Blotts in Diagon Alley to accompany my wife while she bought Mr. Lockhart's novels. I don't know how, but we got separated. Oh, Merlin, there's nothing harder to use than Floo Powder. I got lost! I actually wanted to use a Portkey, but my wife wouldn't allow it—she's always so overbearing and unreasonable!"

Moriarty was like an ignorant fledgling, as though he truly regarded the Old Witch as his so-called Aunt Petunia, pouring out his grievances.

Yet judging from his attire, he looked nothing like the decent gentleman his words suggested.

That strange aura made the Dark Wizards who had intended to follow hesitate and retreat. Still, a tall, thin man wrapped head to toe in a black cloak followed Moriarty from afar.

The Old Witch led Moriarty into a cold, damp alley. Its walls were covered in black blood that gave off a foul stench. The Old Witch suddenly stopped and turned to look at Moriarty.

"Why did you stop, Auntie? Tired from walking? Want to catch your breath?" Moriarty seemed deeply immersed in the act.

The Old Witch chuckled. "It's a dead end. Where else are we supposed to go?"

Moriarty shrugged. "So you're ready to make a move on me? Heh, I'd really like to see what's inside that shriveled brain of yours."

The Old Witch was furious. She glared viciously at Moriarty but did not dare act, until the tall, thin man appeared behind him. Then she bared her ugly teeth again and laughed loudly. "Balor, kill him with me! From now on, I'll buy back werewolf claws from you at a high price!"

Hearing the terms the Old Witch offered her companion, Moriarty turned to look at the tall, thin man behind him. So he was the one supplying her with werewolf claws.

Detected that Host has discovered a vampire. Mission issued: Kill the vampire! Reward: 500 points. Punishment: If Host falls into the vampire's hands, he will give Host his first embrace.

Moriarty drew his Snow Fir Wand. "Vampires and werewolves are mortal enemies. No wonder you have a source for werewolf claws! Come on, let me see a vampire's magic!"

The vampire Balor threw off his cloak, revealing his true appearance: a pale face, long black hair covering the corners of his eyes, and ruby-like pupils gleaming with bloodthirsty malice.

He opened his mouth, exposing long, sharp fangs. His pale arms stretched out, pointed claws protruding as he pounced at Moriarty!

Moriarty noticed that Balor wore formal attire beneath his cloak, along with a smaller black cape, and immediately understood his status. "So you're a viscount. No wonder you dare come out during the day. But your magical attainments don't seem very high. Do you think I'm a werewolf? You want to fight me hand-to-hand?"

With a soft snort, Moriarty aimed his wand at the vampire. "Stupefy!"

"Bang!" The vampire's body transformed. A swarm of bats screeched as they dodged the Spell, then continued lunging at Moriarty.

"Now this is getting interesting." Moriarty conjured an ice wall to block the blood bats while observing them.

He remembered that vampires were naturally skilled at Transfiguration. They could turn into bats or crows, and some could even become werewolves.

"Imperius Curse!" Seizing the opening while Moriarty was observing, the Old Witch viciously cast an Imperius Curse from behind him!

"Super Protego!" Moriarty first raised his defense, then pointed back at the Old Witch. "Confringo!"

The Old Witch tossed away the bowl in her hand and leaped nimbly toward the wall like a monkey. "Expelliarmus! Stupefy! Dragon's Breath!"

Her technique of firing three Spells in succession made Moriarty view her in a new light. The first two Spells shattered Moriarty's Super Protego, while the black snake summoned by Dragon's Breath was transformed by the Old Witch into a giant serpent. Its eyes, each as large as a beer barrel, fixed on Moriarty. Its fangs gleamed with venom as it bit toward him.

"Take him down quickly, Balor!" the Old Witch shouted to her vampire companion. "As long as you catch him, I'll allow you to turn him into your thrall!"

"The blood of an eleven-year-old boy isn't very tasty," Balor's voice came from within the swarm of bats. "If it were a girl, perhaps I'd consider it."

The Old Witch realized she had been tricked and roared furiously, "A boy? Eleven years old? Coming to Knockturn Alley wearing another face at such a young age—looks like you're no good either!"

Moriarty was dismissive. "Trash is trash because no matter how much nonsense it spouts, it can't change the fact that it's trash."

"And as for you—" Moriarty glanced at the vampire with interest. The bats had broken through the ice wall and were flying over again. "Since you saw through me—I don't want to end up on the front page of The Daily Prophet. So the game ends here."

An icy aura emanated from the Wand in Moriarty's hand. "Weeping in the Snow."

Moriarty enunciated the Spell's name heavily. Surging Water Elemental Magic swirled around him in expanding rings, like a rising tide.

The Old Witch and Balor blinked painfully. Through their blurred vision, they saw a Frozen Wasteland, while the faint sobbing of a little girl and miserable wails echoed between heaven and earth.

Neither cry was loud, yet both were incredibly penetrating. The Old Witch and Balor felt as though their heads were about to explode. The Old Witch collapsed to the ground and rolled back and forth, mumbling names Moriarty could not understand.

As for the giant snake conjured by the Old Witch, it had long since frozen into an ice sculpture. Within minutes, it would melt into a pool of bloody water.

Moriarty noticed that Balor had returned to human form. Vampires might have slightly higher magical resistance, but he could not avoid the mental torment. Balor pulled his small cloak over his head and staggered toward the alley entrance, whimpering as he fled.

Using Weeping in the Snow for the first time had drained Moriarty considerably. Seeing Balor run, he merely cast a simple Stupefy.

With a thud, Balor crashed to the ground, smashing his head hard enough to draw blood. A few more gold coins fell from him as well.

Moriarty paid it no mind. He had no habit of looting corpses, nor did he believe a vampire and an Old Witch possessed anything particularly rare.

Even if they did, could it compare to the treasures in Slytherin Castle?

With absolute confidence, Moriarty swept a cold gaze over the Old Witch and Balor, transforming the werewolf claws scattered across the ground into greatswords.

To kill the vampire completely, Moriarty deliberately turned one of the swords into a silver sword. With a flick of his Wand, the silver sword dropped at once, piercing Balor's skull!

A shriek split the air as several more silver swords stabbed into his heart and limbs.

Blood splattered everywhere. Balor's skin rapidly shriveled, while the Old Witch beside him was likewise drenched in blood. Two greatswords pinned her to the ground like a cross!

"Ding-dong~ Congratulations, Host, for completing the mission. Reward: 500 points! Detected that Host successfully killed a Dark Witch in Knockturn Alley. Obtained 300 points."

"Just 200 more points until I unlock the Blind Box Lottery. Maybe I can take another walk around Knockturn Alley?" Moriarty narrowed his eyes, the blood-soaked ground reflected in his gray pupils.

He looked up at the sky. Dinner would be soon, so Moriarty abandoned the thought of continuing to hunt Dark Wizards. He cast "Incendio" at the two corpses, then returned to Borgin and Burkes. Taking advantage of a moment when Mr. Borgin was absent, he used the Vanishing Cabinet to return to the castle.