Hogwarts: Hermione and I switched identities!

"What happened to them? You two don't panic, tell me first."

Harry and Ron told Dumbledore what had happened.

After listening to Harry's explanation, Dumbledore fell silent.

He gently tapped his chin with his finger.

"Professor, we must save Hermione, or she will die."

"No, before that... wait for me here."

After saying that, Harry and Ron saw Dumbledore use the Displacement Charm and disappear from the spot.

Neither of them knew where Dumbledore had gone.

……

When Dumbledore reappeared, he was already on Garo's back.

"Professor Dumbledore?"

Hermione saw Dumbledore and couldn't help but exclaim, "Professor, what are you doing here?"

"Tom, Hermione has been petrified by the Basilisk."

Hermione: "..."

Before Hermione could respond, Tom in her mind had already told her how to answer Dumbledore.

"Professor Dumbledore, she's alright, she'll be fine. But hopefully Harry and Ron won't open the Chamber of Secrets again anytime soon."

You have to keep a close eye on those two kids. You know, Harry and Ron rarely listen to others, and I'm worried they'll end up opening the Chamber of Secrets themselves anyway.

"Hmm... I'll talk to them."

“No, that’s not what I meant.” Hermione paused after saying this, mentally asking Tom if he really wanted to continue.

"Um... Professor Dumbledore, if possible, could you find those two, nitpick at them, and then... shut them up for a while?"

Dumbledore: "?"

Do you know what you're saying, Tom?

As the headmaster of Hogwarts, I cannot, at this time, at least not without reason, lock two students in confinement!

"They secretly opened the door to the secret room, that reason is enough."

Dumbledore: "That won't do either. What will people think of me as the headmaster of Hogwarts if they find out!"

The two remained silent for a long while.

Hermione remained silent because Tom made her so.

Tom said that was enough, there was no need to continue talking to Dumbledore, and they only needed to count down ten seconds.

At first, Hermione didn't know what Tom meant.

But she still subconsciously started counting down in her mind.

Seven seconds later.

Is a week enough?

"Two weeks."

"Tom, this is going too far! Their parents might take me to the Ministry of Magic... Are you sure you only need two weeks? Will the basilisk be gone in two weeks?"

"If nothing unexpected happens, there shouldn't be any problem."

Then Hermione saw Professor Dumbledore leave.

He appeared using teleportation and then disappeared using teleportation again, without making a sound.

After Dumbledore left, Hermione nervously asked Tom, "Are you really confident you can get rid of the Basilisk?"

"It's just a basilisk. I could have done that back then, but... I can't rush it. That guy still has some value. I'll deal with the basilisk after I've used his last bit of value."

Hermione had no idea who Tom was after this time, but...

Tom's tone didn't sound like he was about to meet anyone.

Whoever Tom sets his sights on is truly unlucky.

"Why does Professor Dumbledore listen to you so much? That's a basilisk, a basilisk! The basilisk has already appeared in the school. If I were Dumbledore, I would definitely take action, at least to ensure the safety of the students."

Tom shrugged. "You see, Professor Dumbledore trusts me a lot. He knows I'm right. Since I can guarantee that Hogwarts is safe, it means the Basilisk won't cause trouble for the time being."

That hurts, Hermione. How could you not trust me at all?

"No, I didn't..."

"You just didn't believe me."

"I...I really didn't. I just felt that such a terrible thing should be eliminated as soon as possible, instead of being left to do something...And I wouldn't do such a terrible experiment. What if your soul just died like that?"

Tom smiled. "Hermione."

"hold head high?"

"If one day you really think I'm going to die, don't come to save me. You must believe that right now, in this world, no one can kill me."

No one can stop me. Even if the Ministry of Magic wanted to harm me, they couldn't kill me.

Tom is confident.

He has absolute confidence in himself.

The sword in the stone that Arthur gave himself, the magic mirror that could be called the most powerful brain, plus the earring from the World Tree.

Tom is also very confident in his own abilities.

More importantly... what's behind Tom.

He wasn't alone; Tom had a teacher behind him.

With the witch standing behind him, Tom was confident that there wouldn't be any problems!

Chapter 142 Leisure and Tension

Harry and Ron finally waited for Professor Dumbledore to return to his office.

However, the professor doesn't seem to be in a good mood right now.

Harry remembered that Dumbledore rarely got angry.

He rarely shows such a helpless expression, let alone being angry.

Harry silently turned his head and whispered in Ron's ear, "Ron, don't you think... Professor Dumbledore isn't in a good mood?"

"He must have just gone to see Tom, right? Did he... have some kind of conflict with Tom?"

"None of that matters now! What matters now is Hermione's situation. We can't keep Hermione stuck in the Chamber of Secrets forever."

Harry and Ron exchanged a glance, then looked at Dumbledore together.

Harry stepped forward: "Professor Dumbledore, may we go and rescue Hermione now?"

Dumbledore snapped out of his reverie upon hearing their voices.

He hesitated for a moment: "Hermione... well... to be honest, Hermione doesn't need us to rescue her right now. She and Tom have their own plans."

Tom, Tom, still Tom!

Harry was a little angry. He didn't know what kind of magic Tom had, or why everyone believed in Tom so much.

Tom isn't even at school right now!

Why did Professor Dumbledore make a special trip to find Tom and go see him?

You are the headmaster of Hogwarts. Shouldn't it be up to you to decide what Hogwarts should do at this time?

Are you going to go to Tom for everything that happens at Hogwarts in the future?

"Professor Dumbledore! We shouldn't listen to Tom, at least not now!"

Hermione went into the Chamber of Secrets to save us, we should…

Dumbledore raised his hand, interrupting their conversation: "Harry, Ron, before that, you should understand what mistakes you have made."

"If you hadn't recklessly released the Basilisk in the first place, would Hermione have entered the Chamber of Secrets?"

Harry and Ron lowered their heads.

Although... Dumbledore was right.

If it weren't for them, Hermione wouldn't have had to come out to rescue them, and she wouldn't be in danger now.

"Professor Dumbledore, we...we know we were wrong, and we won't do it again next time."

“Children, it’s good to admit your mistakes, but not everything can be solved by admitting mistakes. Do you understand what I mean?” Dumbledore said, glancing casually to the side.

He comforted himself.

Tom told him to do it, Tom ordered it!

These two little guys aren't capable of dealing with the basilisk, but Tom is, so letting Tom handle it is the safest option.

“You should go to the detention room for two weeks. I hope you will really realize your mistakes in two weeks.”

"Two weeks?" Harry exclaimed. "Professor Dumbledore, that won't do!"

Two weeks have passed... Hermione is already...

Harry couldn't even imagine what would happen if Hermione and a basilisk were left in the Chamber of Secrets for two whole weeks.

Even if Hermione is incredibly capable, after two weeks she should...

"You should go to the solitary confinement room."

"Professor Dumbledore!"

Dumbledore didn't look at the two of them. With his hands behind his back, he still answered coldly, "Do you need me to take you to the solitary confinement room myself?"

"Filch! It's time to take these two kids to the detention room. Please keep a close eye on them and don't let them out, understand?"

Filch suddenly appeared out of nowhere. He nodded, looked at Harry and Ron, and couldn't help but smile.