Hogwarts: Hermione and I switched identities!

I have a feeling something must have happened to Tom. You know, Tom often likes to cause trouble outside. Although we sometimes envy and are jealous of Tom, he's still our friend!

Dumbledore: "...You two, calm down. So you didn't write to Tom because you thought something had happened to him, right?"

“We sent the envelope to the school, but no one signed for it, so something must have happened to Tom!”

Dumbledore coughed, patted the two boys on the shoulder, and led them toward the road, trying to keep Snape from hearing his conversation with the two boys: "Little ones, remember what I said, Tom won't be coming back for a long time to come—until the next term."

He's done learning at Hogwarts, so I've sent him out. If you want to visit him, you can write to the Malfoys' house, or ask Mr. Draco if he can take you home.

"Is Tom living at the Malfoys' house now?" Terry asked.

"Yes, gentlemen."

"How will his final score be calculated?" Li Su asked.

"All O's, I believe Tom deserves this score."

Their eyes lit up at the same time.

All O's!

An O rating is the highest rating in Hogwarts, and Tom managed to get that rating without even attending classes!

Despite their envy, Terry and Li Su had absolutely no desire to become Tom.

They didn't want to get up early on a snowy winter morning just to get to the Potions Lab to practice magic. They couldn't bring themselves to curry favor with Professor Snape!

"We understand, Professor."

"By the way, my two little gentlemen, please remember that Tom got all O's, but you two haven't yet. So, I hope you can work hard now that you're back from your holiday."

"Yes, sir!"

……

The first class began on the second day after the holiday ended.

Terry and Lee Sue were a little unaccustomed to not having Tom in their dorm room, so much so that they woke up later than usual and almost missed their class.

"Run faster, Terry!"

"I ran as fast as I could!"

Five minutes later, the two walked in through the main entrance.

"Safety...wait?"

The two stopped and, under the smiling gaze of the teacher on the podium, walked to their seats and sat down.

"Who is this? Isn't today Professor Snape's class?"

"Not long ago, this was Professor Quirrell's class. Don't forget that Professor Snape was just filling in for Defense Against the Dark Arts. Don't you know him?"

Li Su and Terry shook their heads simultaneously, leaning back to listen to the explanation from the students behind them.

"His name is Lockhart, he's that guy..."

Lockhart!

"You mean... that legendary adventurer, Lockhart?"

"Yes, it's him. Professor Dumbledore is really amazing. He actually managed to find someone like him at Hogwarts to teach us magic."

Lockhart saw that it was time and clapped his hands twice.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please be quiet. The lesson is about to begin. First, let me introduce myself. My name is Gilderoy Lockhart. You can call me the valiant Mr. Lockhart, or the legendary Mr. Lockhart. I believe you have all heard of my name, right?"

Lockhart saw the eyes of the many students below the stage light up.

Among them were many girls' adoring gazes.

Lockhart nodded in satisfaction.

Coming to Hogwarts... or rather, since writing my first book, wasn't this the moment I was all waiting for?

"Today is my first class, and I brought some test papers. These are some questions about me, which I will use to test you. I hope you can answer them. Students in front, please pass the test papers down... Wait, let me count the number of people, is one person missing?"

Lockhart placed his finger on each student's head while muttering incantations.

"Is there one Ravenclaw student who is missing?"

Terry raised his hand: "Professor, it's Tom..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lockhart glared at him and said, "Please tell me your name."

"My name is Terry."

“Okay, Terry, may I ask you what you were doing while I was speaking? Didn’t you hear what I said? I told you, please call me the valiant Mr. Lockhart, or the legendary Mr. Lockhart!”

Terry heard the snickering beside him and his face flushed red.

He also thought Lockhart was joking.

Is this guy... serious?

How could he allow others to address him like that in front of so many people?

Even Tom couldn't do that!

Lockhart's image gradually crumbled in Terry's heart.

"Alright, just kidding." Seemingly noticing someone's disapproving look, Lockhart withdrew his serious expression and smiled. "What about that Tom guy you just mentioned?"

"He won't be back until next semester; he has other commitments."

Lohatt nodded: "Oh, Tom... let me see, is this it, Tom Riddle? Humph, other tasks? What other tasks could he possibly have? As students, your primary task is to study!"

I will give him a major demerit. His highest grade this semester will only be an A (passing). I hope you will all strictly adhere to class schedules from now on!

As soon as Lockhart finished speaking, he noticed that the smell in the air had suddenly changed.

Those gazes that had initially held goodwill towards him suddenly turned thorny and pierced his heart; anger filled the faces of the students.

Li Su raised his hand: "Mr. Lockhart, Tom has something to say. Professor Dumbledore said it himself. He said that all the professors will give Tom a grade of O at the end of the semester. There's nothing left for him to learn at school!"

Lockhart curled his lip in disdain: "Professor Dumbledore never mentioned this to me. This is my class, my Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Here, I am the professor!"

"Very well, it seems you all like kids who break the rules, right? Ravenclaw, deduct 10 points. Also, tell Tom when you get back that if he doesn't attend the next class, I'll give him a T (Troll)!"

Lockhart scoffed, "What are you all doing now? Get your papers ready and start writing. I'll collect them after class!"

Terry and Li Su held their breath and sat down together.

After sitting down, the two looked at each other and saw the resentment in each other's eyes.

But as soon as they saw the exam paper, their thoughts became jumbled.

What kind of question is this?

1. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?

2. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition?

3. What do you consider to be Gilderoy Lockhart's greatest achievement to date?

……

54. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's birthday? What would be his ideal birthday present?

There were 54 questions in total, and not a single one of them was related to Defense Against the Dark Arts. How come they were all Lockhart himself?

Terry rubbed his eyes, wondering if he was seeing things.

Terry glanced at Li Su's exam paper beside him and confirmed...

He wasn't mistaken; that's exactly what was written on the exam papers, whether it was his own or Li Su's.

Does this guy really think his affairs are common knowledge? He even listed a total of 54 questions!

That despicable guy.

Terry bit the end of the quill pen, unable to write a single word—not because he didn't want to, but because he didn't know the answer to the question.

They had heard of Lockhart before, but who would like him to this extent?

He likes certain colors... How am I supposed to know what colors you like!

And secret ambitions... who cares!

Terry and Lisu gave up and ended up handing in a blank paper, thus concluding their first Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

After class, Terry and Li Su sighed and looked at each other: "Should we tell Tom?"

"Of course, we'll tell Tom about this now and see how he deals with him... Tom will definitely tell Professor Snape and Professor Dumbledore, hmph... We'll also expose his exam paper then!"

Li Su wiped her forehead: "Wasn't that a bit too much?"

"No! To deal with such a villain, we should let a villain like Tom torture him!"

The two were not speaking in hushed tones, and Hermione, who was passing by, overheard their conversation.

Hermione leaned closer: "What did you just say about telling Tom?"

"Hermione?" Li Su was so nervous when she saw Hermione that she couldn't speak. Terry, on the other hand, remained calm as always and told Hermione about what had happened in class that day.

Lockhart?

Hermione was stunned for a moment when she heard the name, then looked at him in disbelief: "Mr. Lockhart would do such a thing? You're really talking about that Lockhart?"

"Who else could it be?" Terry shrugged. "Now Lockhart has spoken, if Tom doesn't come to the next class... Hermione, how could Lockhart possibly do something like this?"

Hermione remained silent; she was still somewhat skeptical of what the two of them were saying.

Lockhart wasn't like that in her mind.

He should be righteous, brave, and great...

At least they wouldn't cause trouble for Tom without verifying the situation first.

"Isn't your next class Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Li Su suddenly remembered Gryffindor's schedule and asked Hermione.

"Okay, I'll go take a look first. You guys go write a letter to Tom, at least let him know about this. I still can't quite believe it..."

“Go ahead, you’ll be doing a test for the whole period, and all the questions are about Lockhart himself. I remember the first question was about what Lockhart’s favorite color was.” Terry shrugged. “We’re heading back to the dorms now. See you later.”

"Goodbye."

Hermione waved to them and walked into the classroom with her books in her arms.