Standing to Earn Points

Daphne, however, acted as if she hadn't seen Padma at all, not taking her as a threat in the slightest. She had heard Tom complain about certain exotic customs.

It seems absurd now; Tom would never be interested in that type.

"Ouch!" Suddenly, a cry of pain rang out as Brocklehurst's face contorted in pain; she had accidentally had her finger bitten by Mandrake doll.

Despite its baby-like appearance, this little guy has a surprisingly strong bite. Two rows of teeth marks instantly appeared on Brocklehurst's fingers, and blood seeped out.

"Stupefy!" Tom reacted quickly, a beam of red light shot out, and the ugly thing immediately rolled its eyes and fainted.

Daphne quickly took out a medical bandage, but was unsure if the Mandrake was poisonous, so she turned to look at Tom.

After receiving a nod of approval, she carefully bandaged Brocklehurst, and the little witch naturally earned grateful glances from the two Ravenclaw.

Compared to the indifference of other Slytherin, Tom and Daphne were a breath of fresh air, but even so, it couldn't change Slytherin's reputation as a "snake pit."

After that scare, Brocklehurst never dared to touch Mandrake again; she took over the composting, and Tom did the transplanting.

If the child obeyed, Tom would shove it into the new flowerpot; if the child disobeyed, he would first slap it before shoving it in.

Being so ugly and still causing trouble, it's even more detestable than the brats in the Muggle World.

In the end, Daphne and the other two couldn't keep up with Tom's speed in preparing the flowerpots.

By the end of class, their group had actually transplanted twenty Mandrake.

This saved Professor Sprout a lot of trouble, and the professor was in a great mood, adding ten points to both Slytherin and Ravenclaw.

"Mr. Riddle, your repotting movements are so skillful, it seems you handle Mandrake quite often?" Professor Sprout asked curiously.

"Yes, Professor, I spent some time with Mr. Scamander this summer and dealt with Mandrake."

Tom nodded, looking disgusted. "But those are all mature ones. I thought mature ones were ugly enough, but the seedlings are even uglier, they're an eyesore."

Professor Sprout completely ignored his complaints, his mind preoccupied with "Mr. Scamander".

Her eyes lit up, and her expression was as excited as a modern-day fangirl chasing after a celebrity. "You saw Mr. Scamander?!"

"Yes, I visited him in the United States during the summer vacation and stayed for more than half a month."

"Is he alright?" There wasn't a single Hufflepuff who didn't admire Newt Scamander, not even the Headmaster.

Tom suppressed a strange laugh, "Good, very good. He walks with such speed and power, I can't even keep up with him."

"Professor, I happened to bring a few of his autographed books with me. I'll bring you one during the next class."

"I can't accept this! Thank you so much, Mr. Riddle!" Professor Sprout beamed.

She immediately made a decision, allowing Tom to come to her anytime he needed any herbal ingredients or encountered any problems.

Even the Whomping Willow were given to him in several places.

Tom left the greenhouse with a smug look on his face, and as he passed through the garden, he heard Malfoy's shrill voice.

"Autographed photos? Potter, are you handing out autographed photos?"

Harry was seen being pulled along by a freshman, standing there helplessly, while Malfoy shouted at passing students.

"Everyone line up! Harry Potter is giving out autographed photos, don't miss it!"

"Shut up, Malfoy! I didn't!" Harry cried, his face turning bright red.

"Malfoy, you're just jealous!" Ron said angrily, pointing his finger at him.

"You're practically invisible. Even if you wanted to sign an autograph, would anyone want it?"

"That's not necessarily true," Malfoy said in a high-pitched, affected voice.

"Once you get expelled from school, I'll definitely sign your name on the petition. If you cause any more trouble, you'd better come home immediately."

A group of Slytherin burst into laughter, and Ron, enraged, drew his wand, about to strike.

A figure suddenly burst in. "What's going on? What are you all doing gathered around like this?"

It was Lockhart. When he saw the camera next to him, his eyes lit up instantly, and his smile widened.

Seeing that things were going badly, Malfoy quickly led his henchmen away.

Lockhart then grabbed Harry and had Colin take several photos of the two of them, striking even more exaggerated poses Harry.

"Riddle! Riddle, my friend!" Tom was about to enter the castle when Lockhart called out to him.

"Is there something you need, Professor Lockhart?" Tom frowned, wondering to himself. He had no connection with this conman whatsoever, so why was he suddenly targeting him?

Lockhart flashed a standard eight-tooth smile, her teeth gleaming brightly.

"Riddle, if you've read my books, such as ' Travels with Trolls ' and ' Holidays with Hags,' you'll know I'm quite accomplished in the field of Fantastic Beasts."

"I've never seen this breed of Usachi before; it's extremely valuable for research!"

He rubbed his hands together, lowered his voice, and asked anxiously, "Where did you find it? Professor, I'd like to try my luck too."

Lockhart's plan was shrewd; such a cool pet perfectly complemented his imposing figure.

Once he finds one, along with a phoenix, people might start comparing him to Albus Dumbledore.

Tom could tell what kind of trick he was up to just by looking at him, and a mocking smile crept across his face, "It fell from the sky."

Lockhart's smile froze for a moment. "Mr. Riddle, I'm asking seriously."

"I answered seriously, Professor. There's an old saying you probably haven't heard."

"What did you say?" Lockhart's intelligence was questionable; he didn't catch the sarcasm at all and asked with curiosity.

"The treasure belongs to the virtuous," Tom said slowly, his tone dismissive.

"It means that only people of high moral character can obtain rare treasures."

"I didn't find Usachi; she willingly fell into my hands."

He paused, deliberately drawing out his words, watching Lockhart's face slowly turn pale and then flushed.

He reached out and patted him on the shoulder, adopting the posture of an elder disciplining a younger person:

"Professor, what does it mean that you didn't get your mythical beast? It means you lack moral character."

"So, if you can't find it, look for the problem within yourself. Isn't that a bit unethical? Do you think the mythical beast wouldn't even look at you?"

After saying that, Tom didn't give Lockhart a chance to refute him at all, and turned and went into the castle.

He couldn't be bothered to waste words dealing with this kind of swindler.

Although Lockhart's intelligence would allow him to easily gain a lot of credits and achievement points by going along with his lies, it's just too frustrating.

He learned magic so that he could do whatever he wanted and not have to care about anyone else's opinion.

If he were to feign compliance with a swindler for such a small benefit, wouldn't he become a slave to the system?

Tom Riddle, he'll have to earn his points standing up!

Of course, there's also a small reason: he's now found more ways to earn academic credits.