Hogwarts: Chill, I’m Not That Tom Riddle

— — — — — —

Snape felt like he was meeting Tom all over again.

Before, he'd thought Tom was just… a little wild. Not like most students, who treated professors like mice spotting a cat—tense, anxious, overly polite. Tom was much more casual.

But after today, Snape realized he'd been way too generous in that assessment.

This wasn't just "lacking respect." This was utterly fearless.

"..."

After Tom's blunt questioning, Dumbledore had simply lowered his head. No one knew what he was thinking.

Tom, after cooling off a little, went back to his seat.

Don't be fooled by how righteous he'd sounded earlier—how he'd stood up for all the students when going after Dumbledore. At the heart of it, this was still about himself.

If Lockhart had just strutted around the castle scamming people but otherwise left him alone, Tom wouldn't have cared. Whoever taught DADA didn't matter—he always learned in his study space anyway.

But Lockhart just had to keep showing up in front of him, over and over, and even had the gall to set his sights on Usaki.

And once you pick a fight with Riddle? Well, you'd better be ready to be knocked flat. Leaving Lockhart in the school would just keep making him sick.

That said, results matter more than motives. Getting rid of Lockhart would be a blessing for all the students. Even self-study was better than sitting through one of Lockhart's self-congratulatory stage plays every class.

Of course, there were other benefits too.

When Lockhart had cornered him to try and buy Usaki, the system had triggered a task: [Mission: Bye-Bye, Braggart]

[Detected: An incompetent fool is trying to disrupt the host's peaceful study life. Task issued.]

[Objective: Expel Gilderoy Lockhart from the school.]

[Time limit: 1 month.]

[Twice the rewards if completed within 1 week. No penalty for failure.]

[Reward: 500 (1,000) credits, 50 (100) achievement points, 1 Intermediate Gacha pull (upgraded to Advanced if completed early).]

[Note: The Gacha Tiers are Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, Legendary.]

For Tom, sure, failing the task had no direct punishment. But losing those rewards and having to keep seeing Lockhart? That was punishment enough.

If he couldn't get rid of him in a month, it wouldn't matter if he had a year.

That's why Tom had dropped his usual polite attitude toward Dumbledore and gone on the offensive—clean cut, no hesitation.

He wasn't really afraid of Dumbledore.

After all, in this world, there were only two people who truly understood Dumbledore: himself, and… well, the other one was currently lounging in the study space eating metaphorical popcorn.

Tom's earlier anger and accusations were exactly what you'd expect from a student—not enough to truly provoke Dumbledore. Even if they disagreed, Dumbledore would just try to guide him toward his own way of thinking. He wouldn't get angry just because a student had challenged his authority.

Meanwhile, Grindelwald was enthusiastically slandering Dumbledore to Andros.

"See? This is the man I lost to. You know why? I cared too much about our past. If I'd been willing to cut ties completely, I had a hundred ways to take him down—assassination, ambush, using the people closest to him…"

"I believe you," Andros nodded quickly. "But honestly, Gellert, feelings are just dead weight. You two broke up decades ago, and you still can't finish him off? Emotion slows down the speed of your wand, man."

After nearly a year as roommates, Grindelwald had told Andros the whole story of his relationship with Dumbledore.

At first, Andros had been shocked—not by the gender thing.

That was nothing unusual in his era. In ancient Greece, they even had a custom called "boy-love"—a mentor-protégé arrangement where the older, more knowledgeable man provided for the younger's education and well-being… and the younger, well, provided emotional and physical "value" in return.

Frankly, Andros didn't care about that

No—what shocked him was that two people with such utterly opposing worldviews could fall for each other in just two months… and that Grindelwald would still harp on about it for a lifetime afterward.

Was Dumbledore some kind of incubus or what?

…Didn't seem like it.

---

Back outside the study space, Dumbledore finally broke the heavy silence.

"Mr. Riddle, I didn't expect you to see through Lockhart's true nature in just one week."

"You're right—he is a seasoned fraud. At least ninety percent of the stories in those bestselling books were stolen from others. And as it happens, some of those people are my friends."

"When I visited them over the holidays, they had no memory of the events at all. Even I couldn't restore those missing memories."

"In that sense, Lockhart is actually very skilled. He's a master at earning people's trust—and a master of Memory Charms."

Dumbledore gave a self-deprecating smile. "If he were willing to share his experience with Memory Charms, I might actually sit in on his class."

"Yes, I had planned to use Hogwarts—to let the students' eyes find the truth. Over time, Lockhart would have slipped up."

"But there's another reason," Dumbledore sighed. "It's been over forty years. We've gone through more than forty DADA professors. Fewer and fewer people even want the job. Lockhart was the only applicant this year."

"No way," Tom called him out instantly. "At the very least, there was one other person who applied."

He turned toward Snape.

Snape straightened slightly, looking dignified.

"Dumbledore, I submit a request to switch subjects every summer. You just have a bad memory—you've never replied."

"Er…"

Dumbledore glanced between Snape and Tom with an odd expression.

From the way Snape had just spoken up for Tom, you'd think the two had a decent relationship. But now? It looked like Tom was tossing him straight into the fire.

Catching Dumbledore's suspicious look, Tom spoke with perfect confidence. "I'm sure our Head of House can handle a curse."

"And if he can't?" Dumbledore asked, stroking his beard.

"Then… we'll find someone else next year. Oh—right—Slytherin will need a new head, too."

The faint smile that had been on Snape's face vanished instantly.

So Riddle's help really was nothing but trouble.

"Let's not," Dumbledore said, shaking his head. "Finding someone to match Severus's skill in Potions is no easy task."

Tom leaned back in his chair, his voice calm. "Professor, school administration isn't something a student like me should be involved in. But you can't keep a fraud on staff just because you can't hire anyone else. You know the saying 'better no teacher than a bad one' far better than I do."

"In the long run, it'll only drag down the reputation of the rest of the faculty. Punish me however you like, but after what happened today, Lockhart's position here is done."

Dumbledore thought for a moment. "Slytherin loses one hundred points, and you'll serve detention for the next month under Professor Snape."

It was a light punishment, clearly showing bias. But then, there was no precedent in Hogwarts history for "a student assaults a professor"—at least, not one anyone would admit to.

"As for Lockhart…" the headmaster went on, "Tom, everything I said earlier was speculation—there's no concrete proof. Without it, I can't expel him."

"And if I find proof?" Tom asked.

Dumbledore's eyes narrowed. "And how do you intend to do that? You know Legilimency and Veritaserum are both illegal."

Tom's expression stayed unreadable. "Professor, that's for me to worry about. But I should warn you—your own reputation might take some damage."

Dumbledore chuckled, unbothered. "As long as you don't get yourself into trouble over Lockhart, I can survive a few scratches to my name."

"You have my word—if you bring me solid evidence, I'll expel him on the spot and hand him over to the Ministry."

"Then you can wait for my good news."

Tom rose from his chair, gave a slight bow, and headed for the door—only to stop at the threshold and turn back.

"By the way, Professor, I've always admired Headmaster Phineas. Could I borrow his portrait for a while? I have a lot of questions for him."

Just then, Dumbledore—thinking Tom was leaving—had pulled the curtain back. Phineas, hearing this, immediately shouted, "Dumbledore! You didn't expel him? And don't you dare give him my portrait!"

"Don't worry, Phineas," Dumbledore said soothingly. "This is your home. You're not going anywhere."

Tom just smirked and stepped out with Snape.

The heavy oak door shut behind them, and Snape immediately asked, "Nice use of Levicorpus. How did you get it to work on a portrait?"

"I blended in a bit of illusion magic. The target wasn't Phineas—it was the scenery inside the frame."

Snape nodded thoughtfully. It gave him a new idea—maybe it wasn't the wizard you had to flip, but the environment around them.

Truth be told, Snape had enjoyed today as much as Tom had. Since joining the staff, Lockhart had managed to offend almost every professor—offering Professor Sprout advice on treating Whomping Willows, "correcting" Snape's potion recipes. No sane man would dare such things.

...

"Tom!"

Daphne, Astoria, and Hermione had been waiting outside the headmaster's office ever since Tom was called in. The moment he appeared, Daphne rushed over.

"Dumbledore didn't give you a hard time, did he? If he did, I'll tell my mum to call a Board of Governors meeting and put the pressure on him."

The Head of House was entirely ignored.

Snape's gaze lingered on the boy surrounded by three eager young witches. After a moment, he turned silently and walked away.

Tom hugged Daphne with a smile. "No, he didn't do much—just docked me some house points and said I've got a month's detention with Professor Snape."

"That's a relief," Hermione said, looking like she'd just escaped disaster. "When I heard from Daphne that you hit Lockhart, I nearly lost it. He's a professor! No one in Hogwarts history has ever attacked a professor—at least, not openly."

"He won't be a professor much longer," Tom said casually. "Dumbledore and I have an understanding. Within a few days, Defense Against the Dark Arts will have a new teacher."

"What? We've only been in school two weeks!" Hermione looked stunned.

Daphne's eyes lit up. "Then we should give him another beating before he leaves."

Astoria hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

Trying to steal Usaki was a bad thing, as far as she was concerned.

"Good idea," Tom said, praising Daphne before adding, "But not yet. Right now, he's still officially a professor. We'll wait until it's all over, then collect interest."

"We'll do as you say."

Tom ruffled her hair, then turned to Hermione. "Hermione, if we want Lockhart gone, there's still some prep work to do. We're heading back to the common room—you should get some rest too. We'll talk tonight."

Hermione nodded. "Just… be careful."

She had been one of Lockhart's biggest fans, but after today—and last week's mess—she was completely convinced Tom was right. He was nothing but a fraud.

Once Hermione was gone, Tom led the Greengrass sisters back to the Slytherin common room.

.

.

.

Read advanced chapters & support me on 👉 patreon.com/_Coreal