In the winter of 1987.
In a dilapidated wooden cabin on the southern side of the Tibetan plateau, strange creaking sounds echoed in the cold wind.
Ten-year-old Moriarty Slytherin had put on all the clothes he could wear, wrapped himself in all the blankets and quilts available at home, and curled up in a corner of the room.
Moriarty Slytherin was clearly freezing, with blue lips, icicles on his eyelashes, and his grey hair looking especially dull.
But he held tightly to a pitch-black long box.
Realizing his hands and feet were icy cold and starting to lose feeling, Moriarty Slytherin used his elbow to hold the black box so he could take one last look.
"Great Slytherin, I'm sorry. I would rather die sooner than endure this suffering."
...
Three hours later.
Moriarty Slytherin suddenly frowned, a look of struggle appearing on his face.
Strictly speaking, he was no longer the true Moriarty; although he occupied this body, the soul lurking deep within it was that of a young person from the 21st century.
The real Moriarty was already dead, and now occupying this body, Moriarty did not want to be frozen to death just after coming to life.
Having inherited all of Moriarty's memories, he was well aware of the mysteries and charms of the Harry Potter world.
"Indeed, the last Slytherin, even a lost descendant knows more than others!"
Moriarty opened his eyes as if awakening, but the movement caused pain in his frostbitten face.
"On a whim, I forgot that the original body might be a dud, otherwise I wouldn't be frozen to death."
Cold air had already seeped into Moriarty's throat, and he hoarsely whispered.
Realizing his current situation, Moriarty could only lie flat on the floor, too scared to move, not even daring to make a facial expression.
However, he soon felt something long and large pressing against his chest!
"The black box?" Moriarty realized that this was the only thing that the original body had to protect even in death.
Moriarty recalled the memories of the original body; for this black box, the Slytherin family maintained a blend of respect and fear.
"It is said to be a treasure passed down from Salazar Slytherin! It seems there was some agreement with the ancestors?!"
But Moriarty couldn't care less about that.
He was about to freeze to death; what did it matter about agreements with his ancestors!
Outdated pureblood!
Since it was a treasure passed down from Salazar, it might just save his life.
With arms that had nearly frozen solid, Moriarty struggled to open the black box.
Inside lay a silver wand, perfectly positioned, along with a roll of parchment.
The silver wand seemed to be Moriarty's lifeline.
He wanted to twist his arm to pick up the wand, but it was difficult to do so.
His hands and feet were no longer very agile, but fortunately, as his sense of touch gradually faded, his sense of pain also became less sensitive.
Ultimately, Moriarty did touch the wand.
He was thinking about the spells in his memory when he suddenly heard a "ding dong~" near his ear.
"Detected that the host has discovered and touched a magical item. Activating the Ultimate Boss System, the host is entitled to one initial lottery opportunity."
"Hurry, lottery! Can you give me a spell to restore my health? Or a warming spell? At the very least, give me a roaring fire! After all, isn't this lottery equivalent to a newbie gift pack, right?!"
He who possesses the system possesses the world; the system is out, so survival shouldn't be a problem, right?
"All prizes from the initial lottery come from the Harry Potter world."
"Including fifty daily items, ten magical items, ten alchemy tools, ten spells, ten potions, and ten wands."
"Confirming whether the host wants to draw a lottery?"
"Draw!" Moriarty chose without hesitation.
"Okay, good luck to the host."
Although the chances of drawing fifty daily items were high, Moriarty believed in his luck.
" ding dong~ Congratulations, the host has drawn a pair of wool socks!"
A thick pair of white socks instantly appeared in Moriarty's hands, looking exquisitely made.
"Initial lottery ends, and wish the host to soon become the Ultimate Boss of the Harry Potter world."
"What the hell!!! Is this your idea of good luck?"
Moriarty cursed in anger, what kind of system is this? Which dimension's fortune is just a pair of wool socks!
"I'm about to freeze to death, and you give me a pair of socks?" Moriarty exclaimed angrily: "System, come out! I refuse to accept the initial gift pack draw! I demand a redraw!"
"Detected a severe loss of host's vitality. The host is still conscious due to the exhilaration brought by the crossing."
"If the host does not take action soon, in about thirty minutes, after the exhilaration fades, the host will die from freezing."
"This wand next to me is, even if its sold as scrap, it could fetch a good price. Do you think you could help me pawn it? I need some spells or something to save my life, it's urgent!"
"Ding dong~ Detected host has discovered, touched, and possesses the Slytherin family head's wand. Reward: three lottery chances!"
"Since the wand discovered by the host is a symbol of the head of an ancient pure-blood family from the Middle Ages, this lottery is an exploration lottery. I hope the host makes good use of it."
"Exploration lottery?"
Sounds better than the initial lottery rewards!
Moriarty decisively chose to draw!
"No need for an introduction; I'll check the specifics myself later. Just give me the draw directly!"
"Okay, good luck to the host."
Moriarty's heart raced. If he failed to draw something good in three attempts, he knew he might become the first crossover to freeze to death at the start!
"Ding dong~ Congratulations, the host has drawn a bottle of potion!"
A vial the size of a water bottle suddenly appeared beside Moriarty.
"…"
That's a good omen!
Moriarty reassured himself.
At least it's a potion, not some woollen socks.
"System, draw again!"
"Ding dong~ Congratulations, the host has drawn fifty cubic meters of system space! The host can place any non-living items in the system space."
"…"
It's good, but still can't save my life!
"One last draw! I need something that can save my life!"
"Ding dong~ Congratulations, the host has drawn ten years' worth of magical power!"
"Exploration lottery ends. I wish the host becomes the behind-the-scenes big boss of the Harry Potter world soon."
When Moriarty heard the words "magical power," he ignored the system's customary blessing and immersed himself in the feeling and understanding of magical power.
Ten years' worth of magical power!
Equivalent to Moriarty awakening magical power the moment he was born!
Can a baby from the Slytherin family be the same as other babies?
A baby that awakens magical power right after birth is generally described with two words: monster!
Moriarty felt the subtle changes within his body. He instinctively raised his frozen right hand and placed it over the Slytherin wand.
Suddenly, warmth began to spread within him.
Like a burning match in the icy cold, though subtle, it was precisely captured by Moriarty.
"This is the moment!" Moriarty howled, driven by an impulse surging within him, he gripped the Slytherin wand with all his strength, and magical power erupted instantly!
"Boom!"
A burst of golden sparks erupted from the tip of the silver wand, firing a beam of light made of magical power.
"Boom!"
Watching the beam of magical power pierce through the roof and shoot into the sky, Moriarty smiled.
With magical power, it meant that all the ancient spells in his memory were now open to him.
Moreover, far away in the West.
In a locked tower at Hogwarts, the Accepting Quill quickly wrote down Moriarty Slytherin in the entrance book.
"Whoosh..."
The pages of the entrance book flipped rapidly, each page shimmering with silver light!
This anomaly did not last long, as the Accepting Quill and the entrance book flew out of the tower as if they had grown wings.
In less than a minute, the entire castle came to life:
Stone statues moved from their positions, speaking a language no one could understand.
Figures from the murals began to dance.
The Bloody Baron flew around the castle, laughing maniacally, looking as if he carried a massive bomb in his arms...
That day would later be known as the "Hogwarts Riot." Moriarty would learn of this event five months later, while he was still not out of immediate danger.
Typically, young wizards would feel extremely weak after their first surge of magical power, but Moriarty did not feel weak; instead, he was elated.
"Let me think about a warming spell."
"Modern times do not have a clear warming spell, and neither did the Middle Ages; it should be because warming is too simple to have been recorded."
"But weather spells, fire-conjuring spells, flame-starting spells, heat spells, and handheld flame spells can all generate warming effects."
Moriarty thought for a moment. The weather spell is too powerful and unsuitable for home use.
The dilapidated cabin could not withstand further damage.
The flame spell produces raging flames and is also not very suitable.
The fire-conjuring spell can shrink and accumulate flames within a specific area, requiring a high level of control from the caster.
The power of the Heat Spell can vary; it heats the air for warmth and is most suitable for Moriarty at this time.
The Fire spell belongs to elemental control magic and is relatively complex.
Therefore, Moriarty chose the Heat Spell.
He slowly waved his wand, releasing magical energy into the air bit by bit.
Moriarty felt the temperature around him gradually rising; even though the cold wind remained sharp, he no longer felt the biting cold.
"How great it is to have magic," Moriarty sighed sincerely.
He slowly stood up and put the woollen socks and restorative potions into the system space.
He took off some of his clothes to facilitate easier movement.
Then, leaning on his Slytherin wand, he picked up the black box and walked to the only bed in the room, sitting down.
Moriarty took out the parchment from the box, and the moment he unfolded it, a golden key fell to the floor with a clinking sound.
This golden key was about the size of an adult's palm, and Moriarty had to cup it in both hands to hold it.
"How big of a door can this key open? Or how large of a box?"
Clearly, there were no doors large enough in the wooden cabin, nor could it accommodate a huge box.
Moriarty shook his head, gently placed the golden key down, and picked up the parchment to take a look, only to discover it was a family tree!
The source of the family tree was none other than Salazar Slytherin.
This meant that Moriarty Slytherin's identity was genuine!
However, the original story recorded that the Gaunt family was the descendant of Slytherin, and Tom Riddle was the only blood relative of Salazar Slytherin.
After thoroughly examining the family tree, Moriarty finally understood.
After leaving Hogwarts, Salazar Slytherin had a son.
This son was a Squib, so Salazar sent him away after he reached adulthood.
Knowing that this branch of Slytherin could not perform magic, the Squib son intentionally distanced himself from the magical world.
As time passed, this branch of Slytherin moved around continuously.
Due to their belief in pureblood supremacy, even though this branch of Slytherin consisted entirely of Squibs, they would not intermarry with outsiders and maintained within-family marriages.
By the time of Moriarty's parents' generation, their health had always been poor, and they were the only two left.
It was just before World War II when Grindelwald learned somehow that Slytherin still had descendants alive and frantically searched for them.
So Moriarty's parents moved to East Tibet to evade disaster.
Apart from this family tree, the silver wand and golden key also proved Moriarty's identity.
The silver wand was indeed the heirloom wand of Slytherin, stolen by Salazar's Squib son.
Seeing this, Moriarty scoffed softly.
How could he not see there was something more to this!
Needless to say, it must have been stolen right under Salazar's nose.
A Squib managed to steal something from a legendary wizard? Even if that Squib was the son of a legendary wizard.
One wonders if it is more about profound paternal love or the son's exceptional defiance.
If it's the former, it's understandable; if it's the latter...
Moriarty could only smile a few more times. The Middle Ages seemed too distant for him, while the golden key was more enticing.
This was a key to open the castle gates!
Belonging to the castle where Salazar lived after leaving Hogwarts!
The back of the parchment provided a detailed address, which Moriarty memorised firmly.
After understanding the history of the Slytherin family, his identity was authenticated; regarding the purity of blood, he was infinitely purer than Tom Gaunt.
But Moriarty did not adhere to the concept of pureblood.
Whether you are pureblood or half-blood, wizard or Muggle, in the end, we are all mortals, all life.
And having witnessed death countless times, his greatest trait was the indifference to life.
"Perhaps this is the reason why the big boss system is bound to me," Moriarty's expression changed; now he could study the system in detail.
At this moment, the system prompted: "The existence of the system is to make the host into the big boss of this world."
"In order to prevent the host from being inactive, the system will issue tasks at any time; upon completing a task, the host will receive points and rewards."
"Now issuing the ultimate task: Become the big boss of this world! Reward: Ascend to godhood! Task deadline: Until 2012. If the task fails, the host will be turned into a eunuch!"
A massive influx of information surged into Moriarty's mind. After receiving vast amounts of data twice in succession, even Moriarty found it somewhat overwhelming, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.
Moriarty, gritting his teeth, sorted through the system's information; in short, this was the cheat.
The benefits provided by the system were plentiful. One could participate in lotteries and exchange points for anything in the Harry Potter world.
The last point mentioned by the system was to earn high rewards by completing tasks.
Since the Harry Potter world was an incompletely developed magical realm, the lottery was divided into exploratory and achievement draws.
Discovering, touching, owning, or destroying valuable magical items or magical realms could grant one exploratory draws.
Upon reading this, Moriarty stood up with excitement written all over his face, itching to turn the wooden cabin upside down.
However, he quickly calmed down; the items in the room were clearly laid out. Besides the black box, the Slytherin family had no other valuable possessions.
"I should be content. By receiving these memories, I have acquired the knowledge of the Slytherin family, which is the most precious treasure! And the system's emergence means I will gain even more!"
Moriarty tightened his grip on the Slytherin wand, realizing he couldn't be greedy; he already had enough.
"Now, I should think about how to monetise this invisible wealth! Preparing to become the behind-the-scenes big boss!"
Moriarty successfully dispelled the cold and casually cast two spells on the wooden cabin, restoring it to its original state and cleaning it up.
After doing all of this, the environment around Moriarty became a bit more comfortable.
He sat on the bed, placing the wand, key, and parchment before him, and began to contemplate.
The deadline given by the system for tasks was until 2012; it was now 1987, exactly 25 years.
To be precise, it was 24 years; Moriarty looked out at the white snow, as it was already the end of 1987.
In other words, Moriarty had to become the behind-the-scenes big boss of the Harry Potter world before he turned 35!
Moriarty quickly drew up a list.
At the top was none other than the white wizard Dumbledore and the dark wizard Voldemort!
Old Dumbledore and young Tom were undoubtedly of the same caliber; behind them was Grindelwald.
After all, he was the first dark wizard, and no one could know when he might emerge to cause trouble.
Old Grindelwald still held a grudge against old Dumbledore; one day, if he decided to act against Dumbledore, Grindelwald could arrive at Hogwarts in a heartbeat.
The above three were formidable competitors for the role of the behind-the-scenes big boss; in addition, Moriarty added pure-blood families and various national ministries of magic to the list.
Lucius Malfoy.
Cornelius Fudge.
…
Moriarty wrote down the representatives of pure-blood families and influential figures from the ministries of magic he knew on the list.
These individuals might not be his competitors, but they would undoubtedly pose certain obstacles to his future actions.
With one hand holding the list and the other propping up his chin, Moriarty pondered, "So, where lies the gap between me and those people above?"
"The gap in strength is evident."
"Without a doubt, there are also gaps in reputation, honor, wealth, status, knowledge, and experience."
"No, knowledge and experience can be excluded."
"Having inherited the family legacy of Slytherin, my understanding of the magical world has already surpassed that of modern wizards."
"As for experience, I've accumulated too much dealing with people of different identities in my previous life; as long as I'm given a platform, whether it's pure-blood or half-blood, wizard or Muggle, I can blend in with them."
"Therefore, what remains is reputation, honor, wealth, and status."
"As long as I satisfy one of them, the others will soon follow."
Moriarty picked up the golden key, a unique glint sparking in his eyes.
"I believe Salazar's castle will satisfy me on that front!"
"It seems necessary to head to England as soon as possible."
Moriarty glanced around the cabin, feeling no attachment whatsoever.
All that remained for Moriarty here was pain.
However, before leaving, Moriarty wanted to take revenge for his original self, whose parents had recently died at the hands of the Yeti during an outing.
"Yeti…?"
Moriarty felt that this name sounded familiar; wasn't Gilderoy Lockhart, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher in Harry Potter's second year, the author of a book about the Yeti?
The title seemed to be "A Year with the Yeti" or something?
Now this was interesting; it indicated that Gilderoy Lockhart had very likely been here!
At that moment, a magnetic voice came from outside the wooden cabin: "Hello, I am Gilderoy Lockhart, a British writer. May I come in and sit for a while? It's really cold out here."