Hogwarts: Chill, I’m Not That Tom Riddle

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At dinner the night Lockhart was taken away, Dumbledore stood up before the whole school to explain.

"I must apologize," he began gravely, "for my clouded judgment in appointing a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor who turned out to be… far from qualified."

"According to the Ministry's investigation, every so-called adventure described in Gilderoy Lockhart's books was stolen from others."

"As of today, I have dismissed Professor Lockhart. Until a replacement is found, Defense Against the Dark Arts will be a mix of self-study and substitute lessons from other professors."

The moment he finished, the Great Hall erupted in chatter.

So that was it. People had been wondering why the Ministry was involved at all—getting fired shouldn't concern them—but now the truth was out.

And it confirmed what plenty of students had suspected all along: Lockhart was a fraud.

That smug peacock had just made a lot of people's day.

"I knew it," someone said loudly. "The way he swanned around, there's no way he was actually any good. Believe me now?"

"I always thought it was weird," another chimed in. "His books sound so realistic, but ask him in person and he can barely answer. Turns out he just copied it all!"

"Couldn't even handle pixies, yet some people still believed him."

The comments were made with extra volume, deliberately aimed at Lockhart's little fan club, whose faces went green with embarrassment.

And what could they say? The Ministry had literally dragged him away. All they could do was endure the mockery until the whole thing blew over.

Not that it mattered much—Lockhart's diehard supporters were few. Most students, whether Gryffindor or Slytherin, were thrilled to see him gone. It was one of those rare moments when the two houses were in complete agreement.

In a way, it was impressive. Lockhart had achieved in a single week what it had taken Phineas Nigellus Black years as Headmaster to accomplish: uniting the school.

"Headmaster Dumbledore!"

The sudden voice cut through the noise. Daphne Greengrass had risen from the Slytherin table, and the hall went silent.

"If it's been proven that Lockhart was a fraud and a criminal," she said, "shouldn't the punishment against Tom be cancelled as well?"

Astoria's eyes went wide. Her sister had just openly challenged Dumbledore in front of the entire school.

Even Tom was caught off guard. His own clashes with the Headmaster had been behind closed doors, with Snape as the only witness. By comparison, Daphne's move made him look like an amateur.

But she didn't care. Lockhart had been the one to provoke Tom in the first place. Whether or not Tom cared about points, he didn't deserve that stain on his record.

"She's right!"

Tom blinked. Another ally?

Of course—it was Hermione, already on her feet.

"Headmaster," she said firmly, "even if Lockhart hadn't been exposed yet at the time, he was after Tom's pet. Everything Tom did was to protect his property. He shouldn't have been punished for that."

No one from Gryffindor argued or got angry at her for siding with a Slytherin.

Partly because everyone knew about Hermione and Tom now—and no house rivalry was going to break up the school's most talked-about couple. But also because, honestly, Tom's actions had been deeply satisfying to watch.

Dumbledore's face remained calm, his half-opened eyes gleaming in the candlelight.

"Miss Greengrass, Miss Granger," he said, voice carrying that quiet authority only he could pull off, "I still believe the punishment was fair. At the time, Mr. Riddle could have chosen a more measured response... or brought the matter to a professor. Instead, he chose the most damaging course of action. If there had been a specific rule against it, the penalty might have been more severe."

Daphne's brow furrowed, her aristocratic temper flaring—but before she could speak, Dumbledore continued.

"However, you've reminded me of something I had yet to announce."

"It was thanks to Mr. Riddle's efforts that Lockhart's true nature was exposed so quickly. For that, Slytherin will be awarded one hundred and fifty points, in recognition of his contribution to the school."

Daphne's face lit up instantly.

Applause broke out at the Slytherin table, spreading quickly through the hall. Both girls sat down, satisfied.

After the feast, the Slytherins returned to their common room and the real celebration began.

Bringing down Lockhart had showcased their influence—eight Board of Governors had stepped in, Dumbledore had admitted fault, and they'd proven the school didn't have to dance to only one man's tune.

Tom had made sure there was plenty of food and drink for the party, joining in for a while before slipping away to his dormitory. He pulled out his magical communicator to message Lady Greengrass.

The Ministry's speed had caught him off guard. His original plan had been to confront Lockhart in public, forcing him to cast a few basic spells. If the man couldn't manage even that, Dumbledore would have had no choice but to fire him—McGonagall certainly wouldn't tolerate such incompetence.

But the sudden arrival of Aurors today had saved him the trouble.

Naturally, Tom wanted to know the juicy details.

『Tom Riddle』: Auntie, since when is the Ministry this efficient?

『Lady Greengrass』: I take it your opinion of the Ministry isn't very high.

『Tom Riddle』: Oh, you've got me wrong. I have a deep understanding of government efficiency—and I don't just mean the Ministry. I mean every government department.

『Lady Greengrass』: Then your understanding still isn't deep enough. If they're under enough pressure and their higher-ups are cracking the whip, they can become the most efficient organization in the world.

『Tom Riddle』: Fair point. That's actually quite profound.

『Lady Greengrass』: Honestly, it wasn't a complicated process. A lot of what Lockhart wrote in his books left traces. We tracked down a few people who were actually there, restored their memories, and—boom—evidence.

『Tom Riddle』: Restored their memories? Even Dumbledore praised Lockhart's Obliviate. The Ministry can undo it?

『Lady Greengrass』: Normally, no. But we brought in the Unspeakables.

『Tom Riddle』: From the Department of Mysteries?

『Lady Greengrass』: You know about them? Even most Ministry employees don't.

『Lady Greengrass』: That's right, them. They might not be the most powerful witches and wizards, but they are without a doubt the most secretive—their specialty is the mind, the soul, death…all the eerie, elusive stuff no one else dares to touch.

...

"Amazing!"

After finishing his conversation with Lady Greengrass, Tom sat in thought.

He had underestimated the rest of the wizarding world. In his mind, there'd only been Dumbledore, Nicolas Flamel, Newt Scamander—giants of their fields.

But the truth was, even a "king of the century" couldn't be the best at everything.

Now in memory restoration, the Unspeakables had shown unexpected skill.

"The Department of Mysteries…"

In the original story, they were just that—mysterious. The only two Unspeakables who appeared had been put under the Imperius Curse by Death Eaters.

Tom had always thought the department was just a bunch of people putting on airs. Now, though, he was intrigued.

He wanted to find a way to poke around inside someday.

But according to Lady Greengrass, people who worked there almost never dealt with outsiders. They knew too many secrets—so many that even Fudge, the Minister for Magic, couldn't interfere with their internal business. He had to pretend they didn't exist.

If Tom wanted to get in openly, he'd need the perfect timing.

A glance at his friend list showed that one particular icon was still greyed out. With a sigh, Tom closed the chat notebook and pulled up his system panel:

[Host: Tom Riddle]

[Status: Second-year Hogwarts student]

[Credits: 2,587]

[Achievement Points: 721]

[Unclaimed Rewards: None]

Huh?

Where were his mission rewards? Had the system eaten them?

Opening the mission tab, Tom realized the rewards wouldn't be paid out until the task had been active for seven full days.

That meant next Tuesday.

So much for the Gacha draw he'd been planning—he'd have to wait.

Closing the panel, Tom shifted into his Study space to continue analyzing alternative schools of magic with Grindelwald.

By accident, Tom had helped Lockhart set a record—the shortest tenure of any Hogwarts professor in history.

After just one week and a day and a half of classes, Lockhart had been carted off to the hospital wing, and less than two weeks later, he was fired.

Before this, the record had belonged to a 19th-century Care of Magical Creatures professor who, a month into the job, had been gored clean through by a wild boar. His intestines spilled everywhere. Even after being magically put back together, he was so traumatized that he quit on his own.

...

Early the next morning, Professor McGonagall informed the students that Dumbledore had left the school for a mission.

His mission? To find a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.

After Quirrell and Lockhart—two disasters in a row—if the next hire was another catastrophe, Dumbledore's reputation among the students would take a serious hit.

The new professor would have to be competent enough to keep the students in line—but anyone that capable already had better job offers. And with the DADA post's cursed reputation, recruiting was going to be hell.

And the rest of the staff couldn't keep covering the class, so Dumbledore had to find someone fast.

The hundred-year-old headmaster had been forced to head out personally, visiting old friends one by one, hoping someone would have a sudden lapse in judgment and accept the job.

Classes went on as usual.

In Transfiguration, Ron actually smiled and greeted Tom first, even striking up a bit of small talk.

The reason for this sudden friendliness? The Ministry's ruling on Lockhart.

After sentencing, they would be issuing fines, and Hogwarts students would be refunded the cost of the entire Lockhart Collection.

Six or seven books, worth over ten galleons in total—enough for the Weasley family to breathe a little easier.

"Weasley," Tom thought, "if just you could cast spells as fast as you talk."

After some time, Ron stopped talking and went back to practicing spells.

Professor McGonagall's sharp gaze lingered on Tom until he successfully transfigured a basket of flowers into a hedgehog. Then she moved on.

Tom idly stroked the spines on the hedgehog's back.

Suddenly, his chat notebook vibrated. He pulled it out and, seeing the sender, felt a rush of alertness.

It was the person he'd been waiting for.

『Vinda Rosier』: Good day, Riddle.

『Vinda Rosier』: I'm sorry it's taken me this long to reach out—Vogel only arrived in Paris today.

『Tom Riddle』: Good day, Madam Rosier. I have a matter that requires the Acolytes' assistance.

『Vinda Rosier』: Name it. Do I need to come to Britain myself?

『Tom Riddle』: Not yet. Keep to your own business for now. I need someone who has no official connection to the Acolytes, but who can be trusted absolutely, to come to Britain and apply for the Defence Against the Dark Arts class at Hogwarts.

『Vinda Rosier』: You want them to infiltrate?

『Vinda Rosier』: Dumbledore's guard against the Acolytes has already relaxed—brilliant idea. Give me some time. I'll start screening candidates in Europe.

『Tom Riddle』: The sooner the better. Dumbledore's already begun the search.

『Vinda Rosier』: By this time tomorrow at the latest, you'll have my answer.

.

.

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(Guess the new DADA professor: he's from the U.S, an OG who's appeared before. And back then, he wasn't part of the Acolytes, but he did admire Grindelwald for unusual reason.)