Confronting Albus Dumbledore

Albus Dumbledore pursed his lips and fell silent.

Snape stared in disbelief at Tom, who was now unleashing his full power, his wand already in his hand.

At that moment, he had only one thought in his mind: Courageous! This kid is really brave Albus Dumbledore!

As Snape watched Tom's retreating figure, he felt as if he were getting to know the boy all over again.

He used to think Tom was just a bit wild, and not so timid around the professor.

Unlike other students who would cower before a teacher like a mouse before a cat, this student was surprisingly fearless!

No way, if Tom manages to get away unscathed this time, he'll definitely give this kid a good talking-to.

Let him know what kind of ruthless character Albus Dumbledore really is, and stop him from mistaking the old fox for a kind and gentle Santa Claus.

After being questioned by Tom, Albus Dumbledore kept his head down, tapping his fingertips lightly on the table, and no one knew what he was thinking.

Tom calmed his tone slightly, sat back in his chair, and the sharpness on his face was gone.

Despite his righteous words and his stance of standing up for all the students and confronting Albus Dumbledore, he was ultimately only thinking of himself.

If Lockhart were smart enough to behave himself and keep quiet while he was swindling people at school, he wouldn't bother with this.

Anyway, no matter who his Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is, he can learn it on his own using his Study Space. Whether Lockhart's class is good or not has nothing to do with him.

But this old swindler was blind to the truth, repeatedly trying to make his presence known, and in the end, he even dared to make a move on Usachi.

Since he's willingly walked into the line of fire, he should be dealt with decisively. We can't just let him continue to annoy us, can we?

Regardless of his intentions, his decision to expel Lockhart was indeed a relief for all the students.

Even self-study is better than spending every day in class accompanying Lockhart to perform stage plays and read his autobiography.

Moreover, there are also system tasks to support it.

Just now, when Lockhart stopped him and tried to buy Usachi, a mission prompt popped up in the system.

[A useless person has been detected interfering with the host's studies and life. A mission has been issued: Expel Lockhart from Hogwarts within one month; double the reward if completed within one week; no penalty for failure.]

[Basic Rewards: 500 Credits, 50 Achievement Points, 1 Intermediate Lottery Draw; Double Rewards: 1000 Credits, 100 Achievement Points, 1 Advanced Lottery Draw.]

Although there's no penalty for failure, not getting the reward is a minor issue; being annoyed by Lockhart again is a major one.

Whether he can be driven away in a month or in a week makes no difference to him, so it's better to be decisive and cut the Gordian knot, which will also earn him double the reward.

This is also why he suddenly changed from being amiable to Albus Dumbledore and became extremely aggressive.

Tom had no idea about Snape's concerns, and even if he did, he would have thought they were unnecessary.

The two people who know Albus Dumbledore best in this world are him and someone else who's currently in the Study Space, just watching the drama unfold.

Tom's anger and accusations just now were exactly what a passionate student should be like.

Even if they disagree with the headmaster, they will only argue their point of view and will never actually anger Albus Dumbledore.

Albus Dumbledore been like this; he only tries to guide people into his own thinking and will never get angry just because his authority as the headmaster is challenged.

Meanwhile, in the Study Space, Gellert Grindelwald was relentlessly criticizing Albus Dumbledore to Andros, his spittle practically flying out of his mouth.

"See? I actually lost to someone like that back then! If it weren't for our past relationship and my inability to be ruthless, I would have a hundred ways to kill him."

"Assassination, sneak attack, or using the person he cares about most—any one of these could bring him to ruin!"

"Believe it or not, I can easily forge a Resurrection Stone with a curse engraved on it, and he'll definitely fall for it!"

Andros nodded repeatedly, his earnestness deceptive. "I believe you, I believe you. But Grindelwald, not to be rude, but relationships are just a burden."

"You two have been broken up for so many years, yet you still can't bring yourself to end it all. Love will slow down the speed at which you swing your magic wand!"

Having been roommates for almost a year, Gellert Grindelwald had long since stopped hiding things and told Andros everything about his past with Albus Dumbledore.

Andros was initially shocked, but not because of the two men's genders.

In his time, the custom of "boys' love" was common in ancient Greece.

Older scholars taking on young students as apprentices, imparting knowledge and providing livelihoods, while the young students reciprocate with emotional and even physical companionship—this was nothing new to them.

If he hadn't been a skilled fighter back then, building up his strength through battles, he might have been entangled with his teacher.

What truly shocked him was that two people with completely opposing stances could actually develop feelings for each other within two months.

To be remembered by Gellert Grindelwald for a lifetime, is Albus Dumbledore perhaps a succubus reincarnated?

But looking at his kind old man appearance, he doesn't seem like it.

Leaving aside the two idle old Dumbledores in the Study Space, in the Headmaster's Office outside, Albus Dumbledore finally broke the silence.

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

He looked up at Tom, a hint of regret in his voice, "That's right, he's a seasoned conman."

"The stories in those bestselling books are, conservatively speaking, 90% plagiarized, and many of the people involved are my friends."

"But when I visited them this holiday, they had all forgotten those adventures, and even I couldn't restore their missing memories."

Albus Dumbledore paused, then added, "In some ways, Lockhart is quite a capable man."

"He's incredibly adept at gaining people's trust, and his mastery of the Memory Charm is at a master level."

He chuckled self-deprecatingly, "If he were willing to share his experience with the Memory Charm, I'd be happy to attend his lecture."

"I admit, I did have ulterior motives. I wanted to use Hogwarts to let the young wizards discover the truth. Given time, Lockhart would eventually slip up."

Albus Dumbledore sighed. "But there's an even more important reason. In the past forty years, we've had over forty different Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Fewer and fewer people are willing to apply for this position; Lockhart is the only applicant this year."

"Impossible." Tom saw through his lie without a second thought, pointing at Snape. "Besides Lockhart, there's at least one other person who definitely signed up."

Snape straightened up instantly, a smug and proud expression on his face, as if to say, "You have good taste."

"Albus Dumbledore, I remember submitting an application to change my subject every summer," Snape said, a hint of displeasure in his voice.

"It's just that you have a bad memory; you've never replied to me."

Albus Dumbledore's expression instantly turned strange, and he secretly glanced at Tom.