After leaving the Room of Requirement, Moriarty headed straight for the Great Hall.
As he walked, Moriarty pondered. Although Mr. Borgin was rarely in the shop, frequent trips to Borgin and Burkes would inevitably draw attention. Next time, he should place the Vanishing Cabinet he had won from the Lottery Draw in Knockturn Alley. Hogsmeade would also be a good choice.
The other Vanishing Cabinet could be placed at Hogwarts, making travel more convenient.
Moriarty now had 900 points. Winning another 200 points from Friday's Quidditch match would be more than enough to unlock the Blind Box Lottery, so he would not need to visit Knockturn Alley anytime soon. He could use the Vanishing Cabinet to study Runic Runes instead.
Having made up his mind, Moriarty arrived at the Great Hall. To his surprise, the normally bustling hall was quiet. The lively conversations were gone, replaced only by the occasional whisper.
The energetic Little Lions were nowhere to be seen at the Gryffindor table. Students from the other three houses all wore grim expressions, especially those at the Ravenclaw table, where the atmosphere was utterly bleak.
"Moriarty~" Penelope ran toward Moriarty with tears in her voice and threw herself into his arms. As though she had suffered some terrible grievance, she lowered her head and began to cry.
Moriarty frowned, gently patted Penelope's shoulder, then helped her stand. "What happened, Penelope?"
When the little snakes at the Slytherin table saw Moriarty arrive, it was as if they had found their anchor. They all stood and walked over.
Jericho, usually full of spirit, said darkly, "Bill Weasley is back. This afternoon, Gryffindor crushed Ravenclaw by more than three hundred points!"
So that was it. Moriarty glanced at the sobbing Penelope. Ravenclaw had suffered a disastrous defeat unseen in a century. Given