The Brave Little Witch

These students specifically targeted Lockhart's female admirers, crowding around them and mocking them with laughter.

"I told you so! That guy always looks so slick and greasy, he doesn't seem like he has any real skills. Now you believe me?"

"No wonder he stammered and couldn't answer when I asked him about the details in the book last time; it turns out it was all copied!"

"He can't even handle Cornish Pixies, and yet people idolize him? It's laughable!"

Lockhart's female fans turned green with envy, but couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal.

The Ministry of Magic has arrested everyone; the evidence is irrefutable. They can only grit their teeth and endure the ridicule, hoping this storm will pass quickly.

Whether in Gryffindor or Slytherin, most people were happy that Lockhart had been captured.

These two academies, which have been at odds for years, have surprisingly joined forces on the same side.

To be fair, Lockhart is quite a "talented person".

In just one week, he accomplished what Phineas Black hadn't been able to do in all his years as principal.

He made Gryffindor and Slytherin reconcile (although it was for his own benefit).

"Headmaster Dumbledore!"

Daphne suddenly stood up, and the Great Hall fell silent instantly as all eyes turned to her.

Astoria stared wide-eyed, her ahoge (cowlick) trembling with fear. "Sister is so brave..."

In front of the entire school, Daphne directly confronted Albus Dumbledore.

"Now that Lockhart has been proven to be a fraudster and a criminal, shouldn't you rescind Tom's punishment?"

Tom was completely bewildered. He Albus Dumbledore, at least in the Headmaster's Office.

Compared to Daphne's entourage, Snape's actions as a Snape spectator were utterly pathetic.

Daphne didn't care about any of that; in her eyes, Lockhart was the one who provoked Tom first.

Even if Tom doesn't care about those points, he shouldn't be wronged for no reason.

"That's right!"

Huh? There's help? Tom looked in the direction of the voice and saw Hermione, who also stood up.

"Principal, even if Lockhart hadn't been exposed back then, he was still after Tom's pet."

"Everything Tom did was to protect his property, and he shouldn't be punished!"

Surprisingly, none of the Gryffindor students objected, nor were they angry that Hermione spoke up for Slytherin.

Firstly, the whole school knows about Hermione and Tom's relationship, and no matter how big the gap is between the schools, no one is willing to undermine the young couple.

Secondly, Tom beating Lockhart was indeed very satisfying; if it were them, they might not have been able to resist either.

Albus Dumbledore calm, his crescent-shaped eyes gleaming in the candlelight.

"Miss Greengrass, Miss Granger, I believe this punishment is fair."

"Mr. Riddle could have refused in a gentler way, or asked the professor to handle it."

"But he chose the one with the worst impact; if there were corresponding school rules, the punishment would only be more severe."

Daphne frowned, her temper about to flare up, but Albus Dumbledore changed the subject.

"But you've reminded me, there's still something I haven't announced."

"Thanks to Mr. Riddle's efforts, Lockhart's true colors were exposed in a short time, saving everyone from further trouble."

"Therefore, I have decided to add 150 points to Slytherin's score as a reward for his contribution."

Daphne instantly beamed with joy, all her anger vanishing.

The Slytherin table erupted in enthusiastic applause, which quickly spread throughout the Great Hall.

The two little witches sat back down contentedly, and even secretly gave Tom a "victory" sign.

After the dinner, the Slytherin Common Room erupted in revelry.

This deal with Lockhart has thoroughly demonstrated Slytherin's power, leading to a joint accountability effort by eight School Governor.

Albus Dumbledore publicly admitted his mistake, and they proved that Hogwarts was not ruled by Albus Dumbledore alone; they could still influence the situation by uniting together.

Of course, it's just an "impact," since all of them combined probably wouldn't be enough to defeat that white-bearded old man with one hand.

Tom had Parla prepare plenty of food and drinks, played with the snakes for a while, then returned to his dormitory and took out his "IChat" to contact Mrs. Greengrass.

The Ministry of Magic's efficiency far exceeded Tom's expectations.

His original plan was to wait for Lockhart to recover from his injuries, then force him to perform a few basic spells in public.

If he can't even do this, Albus Dumbledore will have to fire him whether he wants to or not, and Professor McGonagall won't allow such a useless person to be a colleague.

But then the Auror from the Ministry of Magic suddenly showed up to arrest him, saving him a lot of trouble.

Tom, curious about the specifics of the process, naturally wanted to gossip about it.

[Tom: Auntie, how come the Ministry of Magic has suddenly become so efficient?]

[Still Charming (Mrs. Greengrass): It seems you don't have a very good impression of the official departments.]

[Tom: Don't get me wrong, I'm not targeting the Ministry of Magic, but I have a deep understanding of the efficiency of all official departments (those who know, know).]

[Still Charming: You still don't understand. Given enough pressure, plus close supervision from the boss, they can instantly transform into the most efficient organization in the world.]

Tom: Brilliant! You've hit the nail on the head!

[Still Charming: Actually, the process is quite simple; the events in Lockhart's book are all traceable.]

We located several of the parties involved, recovered their memories, and the evidence naturally followed.

[Tom: Regaining memories? Albus Dumbledore praised Lockhart's Memory Charm, how did the Ministry of Magic manage to handle it?]

[Still Charming: This wouldn't work for an ordinary person, but we hired Unspeakable.]

[Tom: One of the Unspeakable of the Department of Mysteries?]

[Still Charming: You actually know that? Even many employees of the Ministry of Magic don't know they exist.]

[Still Charming: Yes, it's them. The Unspeakable aren't necessarily the strongest.]

But they specialize in studying mysterious things like the soul and death, so they can be considered experts in their field.

After the chat ended, Tom fell into deep thought.

He had indeed underestimated the wizards of this world, only regarding top figures like Albus Dumbledore, Nicolas Flamel, and Newt Scamander.

But they forgot that even the King of the Century cannot be the strongest in every field.

Just like Potions, Albus Dumbledore still needed Snape's Potions to stay alive.

Now, the Unspeakable's performance in regaining his memories has exceeded his expectations.

"The Department of Mysteries..."

This department was shrouded in mystery in the original work; the few Unspeakable who appeared were even controlled by Death Eater using the Imperius Curse.

Tom had previously thought this was just a gimmicky department, but now he's become interested and wondering when he can go and explore it.

However, he had asked Mrs. Greengrass, and she said that the Unspeakable rarely interacted with outsiders, and that they knew too many secrets.