Finding Evidence

Judging from the way Snape spoke up for Tom just now, the two must have a good relationship.

Is this kid trying to push Snape into a fire by saying that?

Sensing Albus Dumbledore's suspicious gaze, Tom declared confidently, "I believe in our Headmaster; he can definitely overcome that curse."

"What if you can't withstand it?" Albus Dumbledore stroked his chin, teasing him deliberately.

"Then let's find another one next year. Oh, by the way, Slytherin should get a new headmaster by then too."

Snape's smug expression froze instantly, and his face darkened in a flash. So this kid was up to no good by speaking up for him!

"Forget it," Albus Dumbledore shook his head, his tone serious. "Finding a Potions Class professor comparable to Severus isn't easy."

Tom leaned back in his chair, his tone calm. "Professor, the management of the school is not something a student like me should concern myself with."

"But we can't let a fraud become a professor just because we can't find anyone. You understand the principle of 'better to have none than to have a bad one' better than that" better than me.

"If this continues, it will only damage the reputation of other professors."

"I will accept whatever punishment you give me this time. But after what happened, Lockhart definitely can no longer be a professor."

Albus Dumbledore for a moment, then slowly said, "Using magic in the corridors, fighting, or damaging the castle walls— Slytherin, deduct one hundred points."

"Professor Snape will be in charge of your confinement for the next month."

Upon hearing this, Snape almost burst out laughing; this punishment was blatant favoritism.

Hogwarts doesn't have any rules for punishing "students assaulting professors," so Albus Dumbledore could only come up with these two trivial reasons to get by.

"As for Lockhart, what I just said was all speculation and conjecture, without any substantial evidence, so I can't fire him directly."

"What if I can find evidence?" Tom asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What do you intend to do?" Albus Dumbledore cautioned. "Using Legilimency and Veritaserum are illegal."

Tom remained tight-lipped, smiling mysteriously, "Professor, you don't need to worry about that. However, your reputation might suffer a little damage in the end."

Albus Dumbledore smiled dismissively and waved his hand.

"As long as you don't get dragged into this because of Lockhart, I, an old man, don't care if my reputation is damaged."

He looked at Tom and solemnly promised, "I can guarantee that as long as you find concrete evidence, I will immediately dismiss Lockhart and hand him over to the Ministry of Ministry of Magic."

"Then you'll have to wait for my good news." Tom stood up from his chair, bowed slightly, and turned to walk towards the door.

But when he reached the door, he stopped and turned back to look at Albus Dumbledore with a "sincere" expression.

"By the way, Professor, I greatly admire Principal Phineas. Could I borrow his portrait for a while? I have many questions I'd like to ask him."

Just then, Albus Dumbledore, thinking Tom was about to leave, drew back the curtain covering the portrait of Phineas.

Phineas happened to hear this and immediately exploded.

"Albus Dumbledore! You didn't expel him? Don't give him my picture frame! I don't want to be with this disrespectful brat!"

"Don't worry, Phineas," Albus Dumbledore reassured him helplessly, "This is your home, you're not going anywhere."

Tom pursed his lips, didn't press the matter further, and followed Snape out of the Headmaster's Office.

As soon as the heavy oak door closed, Snape spoke eagerly, his tone tinged with curiosity.

"You used the Levicorpus quite well. How did you make the spell work on the picture frame?"

"It incorporates some techniques from the Illusion Spell; the target isn't Phineas himself, but the scenery within the frame."

Tom said casually, "I don't think this thing should be called Levicorpus; ' Mirror Turns Heaven and Earth ' would be more appropriate."

Snape nodded thoughtfully; this gave him a new idea: what was hanging upside down wasn't necessarily a wizard, but could also be the surrounding environment.

Actually, he was quite pleased with himself today. After Lockhart arrived, he offended almost all the professors.

He gave Professor Sprout advice on how to cure the Whomping Willow and even dared to criticize his Potions recipe. He must be seriously ill to do something like that.

"Tom!"

The two had just walked down the stairs when they heard Daphne's voice.

It turns out that after Tom was taken away, Daphne, Astoria, and Hermione had been waiting outside the Headmaster's Office.

As soon as she saw Tom come out, Daphne rushed over and hugged his arm tightly.

"Albus Dumbledore didn't bully you, did he? If he dares to punish you, I'll go to my mother and have her hold a meeting of the Board of Governors put pressure on him!"

Snape stood to the side, completely and utterly ignored.

He gave Tom, who was surrounded by three little witches, a meaningful look, paused for a few seconds, and then quietly turned and left.

Out of sight, out of mind; I don't want to get internally hurt by this kid.

Tom chuckled and patted Daphne on the head.

"Don't worry, Albus Dumbledore didn't do anything to me, he just deducted 100 points from Slytherin."

"They also want me to be put in solitary confinement with Professor Snape for a month, but I have no intention of going."

"That's good!" Hermione breathed a sigh of relief, her face showing a look of relief after surviving a disaster.

"I just heard from Daphne that you hit Lockhart, and I was terrified!"

"He's a professor, after all! In the history of Hogwarts, no one has ever dared to hit a professor, at least not openly!"

"Soon, he won't be a professor anymore," Tom chuckled, his tone certain.

"I've spoken with Albus Dumbledore, Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts will be replaced in the next few days."

"It's only been two weeks since the start of the semester, and we're already changing professors?" Hermione was completely taken aback, not expecting things to happen so quickly.

Daphne's eyes lit up, eager to try. "Let's beat him up again before he leaves to get revenge! Who told him to dare to lay a finger on Little Wu!"

Astoria hesitated for a few seconds, then nodded secretly. Daring to steal Little U, they certainly deserved to be taught a lesson.

"Good idea," Tom praised Daphne first, then added, "But not now."

"He's still a professor. If we make a move now, we'll really be in the wrong. We can collect interest after everything settles down."

"I'll do whatever you say." Daphne nodded obediently and clung tightly to Tom's arm.

Tom patted her little head and then looked at Hermione.

"Hermione, if you want to fire Lockhart, you need to make some preparations."

"We're going back to the Slytherin Common Room. You should go back and rest too. We can talk again tonight if anything comes up."

Hermione nodded and cautioned, "Then you all must be careful. Lockhart might still try something funny."

She used to be a big fan of Lockhart, but after today's events, coupled with Lockhart's poor performance over the past two weeks, she changed her mind.

She finally saw through this old swindler's true colors and now felt only disgust for him.