Chapter 125: Chapter 125: Discovered (Edited)
Snape's nearly 100 Legeremancy tests failed.
He immediately became serious: the "Lockhart" in front of him might know Occlumency! Wizards who know Occlumency are no longer ordinary wizards, and he had to be taken seriously.
"Is there anything else? Professor Snape, if there's nothing else, I'm off to class, the students are waiting for my exams" Tom smiled, his eyes narrowed to slits.
"I'll find the thief" Snape said, expressionless.
"Good luck, and if there's anything you need, ask" Tom walked away, and Snape stood still, watching Tom's back until he disappeared around the corner.
By the next lesson, the young wizards taking part in the exam were more or less distracted, some of them present in person, others having heard from their friends what had happened at the Astronomy Tower. The news spread faster than anyone could have expected.
After class, for the first time, Tom was stopped by students.
"Professor, you've been on countless adventures, what do you think of this attack?" A tall boy stopped Tom before he could leave the classroom, and at his question, most of the young wizards stopped what they were doing and listened.
"What do I think? " Tom laughed, pulled out a stool and sat down on it.
"What's this? Hogwarts has gone through countless ups and downs in the thousand years since its establishment, and this little thing can't stop it. Have you ever heard of Hogsmeade? In 1612, a goblin rebellion broke out near the town. At the time, the wizards were using a pub in Hogsmeade village as their headquarters. It's hard to imagine that over 300 years ago, goblins even fought the wizards next door to Hogwarts. And look at the staircase outside-"
Although the young wizards couldn't see the stairs, their eyes were drawn to the door.
"Why did Lady Ravenclaw design the castle this way?"
The young wizards were still so engrossed in historical tales of goblins fighting wizards next to Hogwarts that no one answered for a while.
Tom just asked for one of the prettiest girls.
"Uh, to work on our memory? "
"Yes, and no. There's also a very important function of designing the stairs this way, that is, to resist foreign invasion. You didn't expect that, did you? Hogwarts really is a fortified castle!"
Everyone was in an uproar, and it was hard for them to imagine how Hogwarts would be reduced to a battlefield.
Tom stood up again, walked over to the window and showed the students the terrain, "Look, the castle is built on a cliff, and below it is the Black Lake, so it would be foolish to cross it and attack Hogwarts. If we wanted to attack, we would have to go up the hill, Hogwarts castle is on top of the hill and we have the advantage!"
Then he changed perspective, "Look at the grass in the center of the castle, you can grow food and with magic you can feed the whole school with no problem, plus being so close to the Black Lake, there is no shortage of water. Hogwarts castle is so easy to defend and so hard to attack that it would take three to five years to lay siege to it, even with an army of tens of thousands."
Of course, this is all on paper, Muggles will not enter Hogwarts castle, it is full of Muggle banishment spells.
But it was a sermon that immediately calmed the young wizards down, they didn't understand much of what Tom was saying, but it seemed to make sense.
"Now, do you still think the so-called attack on the Chamber of Secrets is a big deal? We have to trust Professor Dumbledore - he's the man who defeated two generations of Dark Lords!"
"Come on, have you heard of Grindelwald?" Tom didn't seem to want to leave the classroom, and the young wizards weren't looking forward to being dragged out of the classroom, even though it was almost dinner time, they were willing to stay in the classroom and listen to the professor tell them something they hadn't heard of.
"No, but we have heard of Grindylow" Interjected someone from the stage.
Suddenly, many burst into laughter, and the subdued air that had been building up in the classroom since before the lesson ended dissipated.
"Well, live and learn," Tom pounded on the table to silence everyone, "And I'll tell you the story of Grindelwald. "
...
"... A fire that consumed the lives of a dozen Aurors, that's a dozen Aurors! There may not be enough Aurors in the UK today. Of course, the fire was eventually extinguished thanks to the cooperation of Master Newt and Nicolas Flamel, otherwise Paris would have burned to the ground!"
The little wizards in the room fell silent.
"So, how was such a powerful Dark Lord defeated?" said the little witch who had just been summoned by Tom, raising her hand with a slight trill.
"In 1945, Grindelwald was at the height of his power, he was so powerful that all of Europe was in his shadow, but Professor Dumbledore approached Grindelwald when Grindelwald was shining like the noonday sun and fought him to the death, which duel we do not know, but the result was that Professor Dumbledore won, Grindelwald fell into darkness, and his vast power plummeted into the air"
"That's a good point."
Suddenly, there was a clap at the door and the young wizards turned to see Professor Dumbledore standing in the doorway, listening for who knows how long.
"I wondered why these young wizards were willing to starve rather than eat in the great dining hall, but they had a good story to tell" Dumbledore smiled benevolently, not looking like the mighty wizard who had defeated Grindelwald in a duel.
"Professor Dumbledore" Several young wizards stood up nervously.
"So, with a wizard of Professor Dumbledore's stature, do you think the attack that happened today is a problem? It's nothing compared to what wizards have had to deal with throughout history, so let's get out of class and go to dinner, it's a great sin to keep people from eating!"
All the young wizards laughed, the fog cleared from their minds. But when they reached the door, Tom called out to them.
"There's another thing, and it's no big deal, but there's a rat in the school, and he's lurking in the shadows, waiting for his chance. It has disguised itself as friendly and harmless, so be on your guard and don't trust anything, especially if you can't see what's going on in their minds."
With those words, Tom let the students go.
Dumbledore also left with a smile on his face.
For the rest of the day, the atmosphere in the school seemed to lighten up a bit. Tom's talk calmed the young wizards down. Once everyone had a more concrete understanding of the long history of Hogwarts and the legend of Dumbledore, the panic naturally dissipated.
...
After dinner, Tom saw Hermione outside his office. Hermione looked distressed, obviously, she had been waiting here for some time.
It had been an up and down day for Hermione, to say the least. First, Tom had missed class in the morning, then there had been a pop quiz, and in the afternoon she had received the news that Tom had been cursed and that Professor Lockhart had been able to pull out the handkerchief he had given Tom, so she had a rough idea of what was in store for her.
So she went to Professor Lockhart's office in the evening, to intercept him and find out what was going on. Whatever the outcome, someone had to be taught a lesson.
"Ah, Miss Granger, you must be here for an autograph, come in!" Tom grinned like Lockhart when he saw Hermione, opened the office door for her and walked in ahead of her. Hermione followed him with a frown.
Hermione closed the office door.
"Oh, it's not a good habit to close the door when you're alone with a schoolgirl" Tom winked mischievously. But in front of him, Hermione suddenly pulled out her wand and held it to Tom's throat.
"Should I call you Professor Lockhart, is there something you need to explain to me?"
"Calm down. " Tom looked at the wand at his throat: vine wood, with fire dragon heart nerve at its core, ten and a half inches, a wand very representative of Hermione's style. She felt the cold touch of the wand's tip, and suddenly felt that if they had made it sharper, she could have stabbed someone to death.
A vine-wood approved witch, a witch with high aspirations, vision beyond the ordinary, and a wand that always shocked those who thought they knew her friends. Now Tom was shocked, if Lockhart had not been replaced by him, Hermione would have attacked the professor.
He was slowly reverting back to his Tom form.
"Hmph," Hermione said with a look of recognition, but she didn't pull out her wand.
"Hermione, do you see...?" Tom looked at Hermione's wand and swallowed saliva.
Hermione pointed her wand forward, "Mr. Yodel, shouldn't you tell me the things you did? That's the real Professor Lockhart in the school hospital right now, isn't it?"
Tom sighed, "Hermione, what do you think Lockhart looks like?"
Hermione frowned, she knew Tom wouldn't say anything without a reason, so was there really something wrong with Professor Lockhart?
"Lockhart is a liar!" blurted Tom, and then, he told Hermione about Lockhart's experiences.
Tom, who probably had a talent as a storyteller, told the story in such a way that the climax was so intense that Hermione listened with fascination and slowly withdrew her wand from her throat.
"So you found out Lockhart's secret and locked him up? And you disguised yourself as him?" asked Hermione.
"Yes" Tom nodded.
Hermione nodded thoughtfully, "Then it all makes sense."
Chapter 126: Chapter 126: Professor McGonagall's Determination (Edited)
As for how Tom was able to discover Professor Lockhart's shortcomings, it was because, naturally, the great Professor Dumbledore had spotted the problem and had asked Tom to investigate, and Tom had lived up to Professor Dumbledore's expectations by successfully uncovering Lockhart's secret.
"So why did you make such a big fuss today? The whole school is in a panic. And you've become the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts?"
Tom sighed, "I wrote that line, but there's nothing wrong with what it says, the heir to the Chamber of Secrets is back, he's infiltrated Hogwarts. I'm just muddying the waters, it's the only way for the fish to move and get caught by the fisherman. "
"As for the professor, I'm sure I can do better than any other Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and I passed Professor Dumbledore's interview! "
Hermione raised her long eyebrows, "Dumbledore really thought you could be a professor?" she said incredulously.
Tom clasped his hands together and said, "I'm a student, and I've suddenly become a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher!"
All of Hermione's doubts were answered and she felt she could leave now. But before she left, she coughed a little and said that she wanted to know the results of today's exam in advance.
Naturally, Tom wouldn't bother her about it and pulled out Hermione's exam, which had been automatically corrected by the pen.
"The only perfect score so far" Tom handed Hermione's paper to her to glance at: "Many little wizards copied their answers directly, but I've changed the questions!"
Hermione was delighted: it was the only complete note all year and she was delighted.
"I just read some more," Hermione said as she put the exam paper back and headed for the door, "Good evening, my Professor Yodel."
"Good evening, Miss Granger. " Tom gestured to Hermione, who, as if remembering something, raised her wand with a smile.
"Avis!"
A flock of birds flew from the tip of her wand and rained down on Tom, sending him scurrying for cover until Hermione closed the door and transformed into a basilisk and petrified the birds.
Shortly after Tom dismissed Hermione, there was another knock at his office door.
...
The fact that "Tom" was cursed on behalf of the heir to the Chamber of Secrets caused some people in the school to panic, and the words written in red on the blackboard were at first erased, but not in everyone's mind. Many people took the words to heart.
However, the popularity of this incident did not last long, for one thing, there was no second victim, and for another, the attention of young wizards was immediately drawn to a new hot topic: Professor Sprout had given her students a set of exams in class!
Professor Sprout thought a quiz would be useful for a class like Herbology, which requires experience and memory. So last night she visited Professor Lockhart, borrowed his printer, and printed a batch of exams with Lockhart's help.
However, her aim was different, as Professor Sprout wanted her students to understand the subject better, so she developed all fill-in-the-blank and short-answer questions, deliberately not changing the type of questions.
The questions were mainly about the students' knowledge of magical plants, whether they knew their characteristics, uses, and how to treat them.
For the little wizards, this was a complete "unexpected joy". In the past, only Professor Lockhart of Defense Against the Dark Arts had taken such a quick test in the classroom. Unexpectedly, Professor Sprout also began to learn. Some of the young wizards had been worried that the other professors would learn from Lockhart's methods, but they hadn't expected it to come true. What surprised them even more was that the first person to make the switch was Professor Sprout, who taught Herbology.
The good news was that Professor Sprout's quizzes were not graded, and the answers were given directly after class, so there was no pressure. But this sent a frightening signal: other professors are imitating Lockhart!
For a moment, the heir to the Chamber of Secrets was forgotten. Heir, how many could he petrify? If he were petrified, he wouldn't even have to take the exam.
But during the following days, no teacher continued to do so. The main reason was that Professors Flitwick and McGonagall's classes were special, more practical, and exams were of no use to them. In Snape's Potions class, it was necessary to have some questions to reinforce learning. But Snape hadn't printed the papers yet, he was still working on the questions! He had to design the questions for seven years on his own, and with his busy schedule, he couldn't do it in a day or two.
Professor Sprout did such a thing, and it really diverted everyone's attention away from the Chamber of Secrets at the same time.
The new week passed quickly. On Friday night, the four deans received their results for the week's Defense Against the Dark Arts. Professor Sprout was in shock to see the average score in her house. She had never imagined that Hufflepuff's average would exceed that of the other three Houses, and that a score of zero would not be the highest.
This kind of surprise came all too suddenly. Although Professor Sprout had said at the staff meeting that her House was likely to be at the bottom of the table, there was always a small chance that they would pass, just like the scum who say they're going to fail after exams.
And today they did.
It's hard for a teacher to feel this kind of euphoria.
The main reason the Hufflepuffs got a high average this time was their unit. At the end of the first day, all the Hufflepuff students who had sat the exams gathered in their Common Room, went over the papers and, as a group, immediately produced a set of summaries for the whole school.
In other words, while the other Houses were studying on their own, or doing a bare exam with a dodgy answer and a few words, the Hufflepuff students knew the content of the exam and had the material to study.
This is a direct hit to the other Houses. The other three Houses didn't even think about this. Gryffindor hadn't thought about it, Ravenclaw was used to studying on their own and didn't need all that fancy material, and the young wizards of Slytherin would hardly give their own review materials to anyone else.
With three Houses like that, there was a big difference in the average score between Hufflepuff and them.
Professor Sprout looked at the report card and smiled brightly. A single exam in an ordinary subject should not have elicited so much joy, but the pattern of competition between the four Hogwarts Houses had been too monotonous. They had been competing for the annual House Cup, the Quidditch Cup and, at most, a final exam. But now there's a Defense Against the Dark Arts test, and it's a great incentive for the Deans to compete.
Coupled with the fact that Hufflepuff has rarely had the honor of taking first place before, it was a real pleasure for Professor Sprout to see her entire House pull together and take first place, even if it was only a small test.
Of course, the other deans may not have been in such a good mood.
At this point, Professor McGonagall was in a frenzy: the average score was last, the bottom of the maximum, and the number of people getting zero points was the first positive number!
This time, after Monday, few would get a zero for copying Hermione's answers, everyone knew there had been a slight change in the questions. Even if they didn't know it, someone close to them would have commented on it.
In other words, after Monday, if you get a zero again, you're really bad.
In fact, the number of zero points in Gryffindor this time is largely due to the format of the exam. They are all multiple choice questions, and multiple choice questions also deduct points, which may reflect the difference in personality.
In other Houses, young wizards often skip the unsure choices, but Gryffindor lions are fierce and choose even the unsure ones, which deducts a lot of points. If you get a question wrong, you don't get the four points for the question itself, and you get two points back! They have to get one question right to make up for it, but how can they be sure they'll get the next one right?
So, Gryffindor is miserable now, with a very low average score and many zero points.
Professor McGonagall was already thinking about asking for a leave of absence, she couldn't imagine what it would be like to see Snape tomorrow.
Both Professor Flitwick and Professor Snape were in a good mood: Professor Flitwick because the only perfect grade in the whole school was in Ravenclaw, and Snape because Gryffindor had done so badly this time.
It didn't matter that Slytherin didn't come first, it was just as well that they did better than Gryffindor.
That was Snape's true attitude, and the big zero behind Potter made him feel even better.
The next day was Saturday, and Professor McGonagall reluctantly made her way to breakfast in the Great Dining Hall, not daring to make eye contact with Snape.
But he would arrive anyway.
"Granger, you did very well on your exams" Professor Flitwick initiated the conversation, and Professor McGonagall suddenly developed a keen interest in the kippers in her bowl. For those who didn't know, the animagus transformation would have affected the wizard's preferences.
"Yes, that girl is good, I think she's the only one in the whole school to get a perfect score, that's impressive, I failed a choice in that set of questions myself" Professor Sprout, who seemed to have been waiting for this for a long time, took over immediately, "She was also very active in her Herbology class before"
Professor Flitwick looked delighted, "Really? Ha, what a girl!"
"Congratulations, Hufflepuff did very well this time!"
"No, no, it's just that the average score is relatively high..."
Professor McGonagall was somewhat depressed: that girl, Hermione Granger, how good it would do her to be a student of her own House!
Professor Snape, for his part, also sneered, "Minerva, Gryffindor education, you need to catch up!"
"I know, don't worry, Severus." Replied Professor McGonagall casually, turning a very sharp glance at the young wizards at the Gryffindor house table.
She had made up her mind.
Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
0 Power
stone 
Paragraph comment