Chapter 129: Trustworthy Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor

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Snape's almost foolproof Legilimency failed.

He immediately became serious: the "Lockhart" in front of him could actually perform the Brain-Closed Spell! A wizard capable of the Brain-Closed Spell was no ordinary wizard; it had to be taken seriously.

"Is there anything else? Professor Snape, if there's nothing, I'll go to the classroom. The students are waiting for me for the exam," Tom smiled, his eyes narrowed.

"I will find that thief," Snape said expressionlessly.

"Good luck. If you need any help, feel free to ask," Tom gradually walked away, leaving Snape standing there, staring at Tom's back until he disappeared around the corridor.

In the next class, the young wizards participating in the exam were somewhat absent-minded. Some were present at the scene, while others heard about the incident at the Astronomy Tower from their friends. The speed at which this explosive news spread exceeded everyone's expectations.

After class, in a rare occurrence, Tom was stopped by the students.

"Professor, you've experienced countless adventures. How do you see this attack?" a tall male student blocked Tom's way before he left the classroom. Hearing his question, most young wizards put down what they were doing and listened attentively.

"How do I see it?" Tom smiled, pulled out a chair, and sat on it.

"What is this? Hogwarts has experienced countless ups and downs in its thousand-year history. This little thing can't defeat her—have you heard of Hogsmeade Village? In 1612, there was a fairy rebellion near the village. At that time, wizards used a bar in Hogsmeade Village as their headquarters. It's hard to imagine, but more than three hundred years ago, fairies were even fighting wizards near Hogwarts. Look at the stairs outside—"

Although the young wizards couldn't see the stairs, their eyes all turned toward the door.

"Why did Lady Ravenclaw design the castle like this?"

The young wizards were still immersed in the historical story of fairies fighting wizards near Hogwarts, and for a moment, no one answered.

Tom randomly pointed at a girl who looked quite pretty.

"Uh, to exercise our memory?" the girl hesitantly replied.

"Yes, and no. The design of the stairs also has a very important purpose: to resist external invasion. Didn't expect it, Hogwarts is truly a defensive castle!"

The crowd erupted in amazement. They found it hard to imagine Hogwarts as a battlefield.

Tom stood up and walked to the window, pointing out the landscape for the students. "Look, the castle is built on a cliff, and below the cliff is the Black Lake. Trying to cross the lake to attack Hogwarts is wishful thinking. We just need to close the underground passages, and the enemy cannot enter. If they want to attack, they have to climb up from the hillside. Hogwarts castle has the advantage of height."

Then he switched his perspective. "Look at the lawn in the middle of the castle. It can easily be used for growing crops, supplemented with magic, and become the food supply for the entire school. Plus, being so close to the Black Lake, there's no shortage of water. Hogwarts Castle is easy to defend and hard to attack, occupying the high ground. Even if tens of thousands besiege, it would take three to five years to see results."

Of course, these were just theoretical discussions. Muggles wouldn't enter Hogwarts; it was protected by Muggle-Repelling Charms.

But this impromptu lecture silenced the young wizards. They couldn't fully understand what Tom was saying, but it seemed to make sense.

"All right, do you still think the so-called Chamber of Secrets attack is a big deal? We should trust Professor Dumbledore. He's the man who defeated two generations of Dark Lords!"

"Come on, have you heard of Grindelwald?" Tom seemed unwilling to leave the classroom, and the young wizards didn't feel like they were being delayed. Even though it was almost dinner time, they were willing to stay in the classroom to hear this teacher talk about things they hadn't heard before.

"No, but we've heard of Grindylow," someone interjected from the audience.

Suddenly, laughter echoed in the room, dispelling the previously heavy atmosphere.

"Ha, learning from experience," Tom knocked on the table, making everyone quiet down, "Let me tell you the story of Grindelwald."

...

"...a huge fire that engulfed the lives of more than a dozen Proudmoore, that's a dozen Proudmoore! Even now, all of Britain might not be able to produce so many Proudmoore. Of course, in the end, with the cooperation of Senior Newt and Nicholas, the fire was extinguished. Otherwise, Paris might have been burned to the ground."

The entire room of young wizards fell silent.

"So, how was such a powerful Dark Lord defeated?" The girl Tom had called upon earlier raised her hand with a slightly trembling voice.

"In 1945, Grindelwald's influence reached its peak. He was a powerful wizard, and the entire European magical world was overshadowed by him. But Professor Dumbledore, when Grindelwald was as dazzling as the noonday sun, took the initiative to seek him out and engaged him in a life-and-death duel. We don't know the details of the duel, but judging from the results, Professor Dumbledore won—Grindelwald disappeared, and his vast power disintegrated instantly."

"That was fantastic!"

Suddenly, applause came from the entrance. The young wizards turned to see Dumbledore standing there, not knowing how long he had been listening.

"I was wondering why these young wizards would rather go hungry than go to the Great Hall for dinner. It turns out there's a fascinating story here," Dumbledore chuckled, looking nothing like the powerful wizard who had defeated Grindelwald.

"Dumbledore!" Many young wizards nervously stood up.

"Alright, so with Professor Dumbledore here, do you still think the attack that happened today is a problem? Compared to the troubles encountered by previous generations of wizards, our situation is really nothing. Alright, class is over, everyone should go to dinner now—delaying people's meals is a serious offense."

The young wizards all laughed; the atmosphere that had been heavy seemed to dissipate naturally once they had a more concrete understanding of Hogwarts' long history and Dumbledore's legendary experiences.

...

After dinner, Tom saw Hermione outside his office. Hermione looked visibly uneasy, indicating that she had been waiting there for quite some time.

Today, Hermione's mood had experienced ups and downs. First, Tom missed the morning class, then the surprise exam, and in the afternoon, she unexpectedly received news that Tom was cursed. Moreover, that Professor Lockhart was able to produce the handkerchief she had given to Tom before made her have a rough idea of what might have happened.

So she came to Professor Lockhart's office in the evening, intending to confront him and get to the bottom of things. Regardless of the outcome, someone needed a lesson.

"Ah, Miss Granger, you must be here for an autograph. Please come in!" Tom, upon seeing Hermione, showed a Lockhart-style smile, opening the door to his office and entering ahead of her. Hermione followed.

She closed the door behind her.

"Oh, and it's not a good habit to close the door when alone with a female student," Tom mischievously winked. But Hermione, in front of him, suddenly pulled out her wand and pointed it at 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 pointed at his throat: vine wood, dragon heartstring core, 10 inches—it was a wand that perfectly suited Hermione's style. He felt the cool touch of the wand tip and suddenly thought that if it were a bit sharper, it could stab directly through a person.

Indeed, she was a witch recognized by vine wood—possessing noble pursuits, having foresight beyond ordinary people, and always shocking friends who thought they knew them. Now Tom was genuinely shocked. If Lockhart hadn't been replaced by him, Hermione was definitely attacking the professor.

He slowly reverted to Tom's appearance.

"Hmph," Hermione had a look of 'I knew it,' but she didn't lower her wand.

"Hermione, what do you think Lockhart is like?"

Hermione frowned. She knew Tom wouldn't say things without reason, so she moved the wand away from his throat.

"Lockhart is a fraud!" Tom's statement was astonishing. He then proceeded to tell Hermione about Lockhart's experiences.

Tom seemed to have the talent of a storyteller, making the story ebb and flow with climax after climax. Hermione listened attentively, slowly moving the wand away from his throat.

"So, you discovered Lockhart's secret and detained him? You even transformed into him?"

"That's right."

Hermione nodded thoughtfully. "It all makes sense now."

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