If you put yourself in Vincent's shoes, you wouldn't possess Lockhart has already been exposed.
But Tom's thoughts are hard to fathom, so it's best to leave him as a suspect for now.
He began to recall things that were wrong with Lockhart.
Everything seemed fine until Sprout woke him up.
Cornish Pixies, the Acromantula of the Forbidden Forest, the Kraken of the Black Lake, the dancing zombie, and tonight's Duelling Club.
Spiders, begone!
This obscure spell was perhaps told to Lockhart by Tom.
After the Kraken and the zombie incident, Vincent was attacked by the Basilisk.
Given the great opportunity of Halloween, Tom will definitely urge Lockhart to open the Chamber of Secrets.
Perhaps sensing something after that, Lockhart went to visit them at the Hospital Wing.
Vincent remembers that he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief at the time.
Knowing that Tom had ill intentions, they slacked off in the following Defense Against the Dark Arts?
Dumbledore isn't at school, so tonight's Duelling Club is the second chance.
If you set aside his narcissism and attention-seeking tendencies, Lockhart isn't actually that bad.
But was he really just a victim?
Vincent didn't believe it, Sprout didn't believe it even more.
The diary in the drawer, which had been enchanted with Dark Magic, is the best proof of this.
"Is something wrong?" Hermione, now back in her school uniform, approached the two and asked with concern, "What is it? Is he here?"
She understood the current situation from their troubled expressions.
They escaped, but not completely.
The reason might be Basilisk, or it might be something else.
Waiting is agonizing.
Many of the Acromantula have already entered the Great Hall.
The professors organized the students to drive away several waves of students, and then things returned to calm once again.
Harry behaved very well, neither turning pale like Ron nor suffering a humiliating slap like Draco.
Vincent, who was at the very back, was about to give up.
No one noticed anything wrong; everyone acted as usual.
After about ten minutes of silence, Sprout realized that the threat of the Acromantula had been eliminated.
But the threat from Tom still exists.
She walked out of the Great Hall, leaving the older students on guard.
Just after four in the morning, the three professors from the Forbidden Forest returned.
McGonagall was holding a small glass bottle filled with black smoke.
Snape removed his bat-helmet and coldly scanned the crowd in the Great Hall.
Mutual suspicion is undesirable.
Flitwick whispered a few words in his ear, and only then did his questioning gaze soften slightly.
Vincent obediently moved closer to McGonagall.
She pursed her lips. "It's still alive."
The biggest chip has been secured.
"May I take a look?"
"After this is all over."
McGonagall pretended not to see his tearful little face. "Severus gave us a general overview. What do you think we should do now?"
Vincent glanced at Snape. "He has hostages, and so do we."
She nodded slightly. "It's consistent with the conclusion we reached before we came."
Tom must be very anxious right now.
If he completely loses the Basilisk, he will have no choice but to slink away.
But when people are driven to the brink, they are capable of doing anything.
Dumbledore might return after daybreak.
"What exactly happened?" Ron asked Harry quietly beside him.
"I don't know the specifics, I only know it's related to that person."
"Ah!?" Ron quickly covered his mouth. "Why did he come back?"
"It seems he's some Heir of Slytherin, coming back to open a Chamber of Secrets."
The same thing happened to Hermione.
Lavender and Parvati were both questioning her, and even Ginny and Luna came over.
"All I can say is that we are in great danger right now; anyone could be suddenly taken hostage."
"This is too terrible—" Lavender hugged his shoulders and trembled.
She now sees everyone as a bad person.
Ginny was a little better. "The professors will have a solution, right?"
"Of course," Hermione said, trying to sound calm. "So don't be afraid if we're being watched. We'll be fine."
"Are you just trying to comfort yourselves?" an untimely voice rang out.
Draco swaggered up to them. "Oh right, we still have Wayne. He'll definitely protect us!"
He almost got pounced on by the Acromantula, so he took his anger out on them?
Hermione was very unhappy. "Stay away from us. You're not welcome here."
"Whoa—" Draco drawled, "Is Miss Beaver angry?"
"Malfoy, everyone has bad days." She tried to calm herself down. "But what you're doing just makes you seem really immature."
Draco's face looked grim.
A little over an hour ago, he was lying happily on his bed in his dorm room, dreaming that Vincent and Harry were kneeling in front of him begging for mercy.
But before he could even open his mouth to mock her, he was suddenly thrown off the bed by two red-haired strange men wearing bat eye patches.
I was already incredibly frustrated, and just now I almost got pounced on by the Acromantula.
When things get this bad, how can you not try to cheer someone up?
"This lousy school..." Draco muttered as he walked away.
McGonagall, who had seen everything, shook her head.
She couldn't see anyone suspicious, not even the slightest bit.
The same goes for Flitwick and Sprout.
Only Snape stared at the crowd with a "slightly" restrained scrutinizing gaze.
Perhaps whoever dares to look him in the eye is the most likely to be possessed by Tom.
Vincent neither confirmed nor denied this.
A whole night has passed, it's just two more hours.
He stretched and decided to go outside for some fresh air.
"Where are you going?" Snape looked at him like he was a criminal.
"Go find Jerry."
There is an animated series that is suitable for all ages among Muggle, called "Tom and Jerry," also known as "Cat and Mouse."
Vincent had assumed Snape wouldn't understand, but to his surprise, Snape did, and even made a sarcastic remark:
"Weasley has a mouse. You're not thinking of getting your hands on it, are you?"
"Professor, it seems that Scabbers only has one name."
Snape turned away expressionlessly, which temporarily dispelled any remaining suspicion.
Vincent left the Great Hall after getting McGonagall's permission.
On the right, Rolf and Davis were at peace, while on the left, Percy seemed to be arguing with Marcus.
"Weasley, we captured one alive!"
"Flint, how did you get tackled?"
Watching the two men, who were on the verge of exchanging blows, he thought it might be a good way to pass the time.
Unfortunately, they were both rational and did not actually start fighting.
Vincent could only feel a thousand regrets in his heart.
As he turned to walk into the Great Hall, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a figure retreating into the stairwell.
In the entire Hogwarts, only one person could outshine the flamboyant man in the gold-trimmed white cloak.