Hogwarts: Hermione and I switched identities!

He firmly believed it!

"Wait a minute!" Snape called to Tom. "What did you leave in the Potions Lab?"

"It's pizza, Professor."

"Take your things and get out of here! This potion is useless—useless because of your stupidity and ignorance! Throw it outside!" Snape threw the bottled sleeping potion at Tom.

"Tell me, what is the effect of the sleeping potion?"

Tom: "Taking it before bed can improve sleep quality. Long-term use will increase your total magic power. You can take it with milk and jasmine to improve the taste without affecting the quality of the potion."

“Very well, Tom! You’re so smart! Get lost!” Snape practically spat out the words through clenched teeth.

"Professor Snape, should I answer incorrectly and ask you to correct me?"

Snape was about to unleash a torrent of abuse, but seeing Tom's innocent and romantic eyes, he waved him away from the lab.

Tom had only taken two steps when he suddenly turned back.

"Tom!"

"Professor Snape, you're late. You've passed curfew, and I'll be put in solitary confinement."

Snape took a deep breath: "So, what do you want to say to me? That you're late because of me? Ha, how lucky to see you in solitary confinement tomorrow. Goodnight, Tom."

"Professor, you can't just stand by and watch someone die!" Tom almost cried.

“I am the Head of Slytherin, not your Ravenclaw Head. You should talk to Felius about this. If you bother me again, don’t blame me for being impolite!”

"Severus-Tom?" The voice that suddenly appeared was somewhat surprised.

Minerva McGonagall walked in and saw an angry Snape and a bewildered Tom.

"Tom, what are you doing here at this hour... kid, curfew is over."

Oh no, McGonagall!

She is the strictest professor in all of Hogwarts, yet she is also the professor who respects the school rules the most!

They've gone too far!

Tom's heart tightened.

Chapter 19 "Genius" (3.5k long chapter, please read and recommend with monthly votes)

When it comes to respecting school rules, Professor McGonagall is the highest peak.

She had heard of Tom—a child who entered school early, was excellent, well-mannered, and extremely talented.

But that's not a reason for him to break school rules.

“Child, perhaps you should go to the solitary confinement room to reflect on your actions. Hogwarts has many gifted children, but without the constraints of rules, their future—you know, you can see those people on the streets of England.

Tom knew he couldn't explain at this point.

In Professor McGonagall's eyes, your explanation will be seen as an excuse, which will only make her dislike you more.

"Yes, Professor McGonagall, I'm sorry."

“Child, you should rest well today and go back to your dormitory.” Professor McGonagall saw that Tom was not so unruly, and her slightly unpleasant expression softened. She patted Tom on the shoulder. “Every child makes mistakes, dear. I hope Hogwarts has not left a bad impression on you.”

Tom shook his head: "I have the best friends and the best teachers at Hogwarts, they won't leave a bad impression on me."

"Ahem—" Snape coughed twice, covering his mouth. "Professor Minerva, I asked Tom to come and help me with something. Tom, come with me to the dormitory to get your things."

Snape didn't even glance at Tom, and continued explaining to Professor McGonagall, "Minerva, this guy lived with me before he started school. You know, kids this age always fall behind on a lot of things—like his textbooks."

“Oh, son, you should have said so sooner.” McGonagall patted Tom on the shoulder. “Severus, it’s getting late, you should go home soon too.”

Tom finally breathed a long sigh of relief after Professor McGonagall left.

"Aren't you leaving yet?" Snape glanced coldly at Tom. "Don't think I'm speaking up for you. Starting tomorrow, come to the Potions Lab every afternoon after school!"

“Professor Snape, I… could I continue living in my old dormitory?” Tom winked at him, taking advantage of his jade-colored eyes. “I can see my classmates anytime, but with you…”

"Now! Right now! Get out of here!" Snape shoved Tom out of the laboratory without another word.

Pshaw, you like me.

Tom shrugged and walked back to his dormitory, seemingly unconcerned.

Oh no, I forgot to bring Terry a drink!

Tom has two roommates—their dorm rooms in Ravenclaw are almost all for two or three people, and it's rare to see four-person rooms.

Tom's two roommates are Terry Booth and Sue Lee.

After drinking the sleeping potion given to him by the haughty Snape, Tom returned to his dormitory.

"Tom!" Terry exclaimed in panic. "Oh my god, how could you break the rules on the very first day? Will I even see you tomorrow?"

“Poor child, we will visit you in solitary confinement tomorrow.” Li Su silently made the sign of the cross on her chest. “May the Lord bless you, child.”

"Did they get caught?"

Tom: "I met Professor Sprout, Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall."

"Oh no, oh no, you're really going to be in solitary confinement tomorrow. If it were just Professor Sprout, that would be fine, Professor Sprout is the kindest and gentlest professor, but Professor McGonagall is very strict, you can't escape it."

Professor Snape… Tom, how many points did you lose?

Li Su looked at Terry, who was talking animatedly beside her, with a puzzled expression: "Hey, how do you know so much? Aren't we both first-year students?"

“My brother is also at Hogwarts, currently a third-year student in Gryffindor. Every holiday he tells me how strict their Headmistress, Professor McGonagall, is, and that she doesn’t even spare the students from her own house.”

"Su, you have no idea how nervous I've been these past few days, terrified of going to Slytherin or Gryffindor."

Tom really wanted to say that you can't get into Slytherin. Only rich people are qualified to go there. Poor guys like us can only be trampled under their feet—like Malfoy in his first year.

"Tom, what would you like to eat?"

"Tom, what kind of flower do you like?"

Tom: "?"

"I just broke the rules, I didn't die, please! Friends, this world is very forgiving. The sky won't fall just because you broke the rules once or twice. Life is infinite. Okay, let's go to sleep."

The effects of the sleeping potion kicked in, and Tom felt his eyelids getting heavy.

After the lights were turned off, the three of them hurriedly went to bed, and soon the sound of even breathing could be heard—Tom's breathing.

Li Su and Terry were feeling homesick, and they lay in bed for a long time without being able to fall asleep.

……

the next day.

Terry and Lee didn't see Tom. They were almost late when they got up, so they had to hurry to the classroom.

Meanwhile, Tom had finished his morning exercise and went to Professor Snape's place to make an appearance—Professor Snape seemed to be waiting for him in the potions lab, letting Tom smell the aroma of potions early on.

What's the first class this morning?

"Spellcasting! We need to speed things up!"

When they arrived at the classroom, they found that Tom was already sitting in his seat.

Li Su and Tom sat down side by side, one on each side.

"Tom, why didn't you wake us up this morning?"

Tom shrugged. "If you'd like to see the Hogwarts sun at four in the morning, I can do it next time, but you'll have to endure a whole day of exhaustion."

"Four o'clock?"

Four o'clock.

Li Su gave a thumbs up and didn't say anything more.

The professor of Charms was Philius Flitwick—a half-elf wizard, most notably for his large patch of gray hair and his height of less than 1.1 meters.

In the children's eyes, this kind little old man was on the same level as them.

“I’m so glad that none of our children were late for the first class.” Flitwick rubbed his hands together and looked at everyone with a smile. “Now, please put your textbooks on the table—oh, I’m even happier that no child forgot their textbooks. Come on, turn to the first lesson.”

Levitation Spell.

After a detailed ten-minute speech, Professor Flitwick raised his hand: "Raise your wands, children."

"Please use your levitation spells freely and try to make the feathers in front of you float. Please—"

Three minutes later.

“Wingardium Leviosa”.

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

“Wingardium Leviosa!!!” Li Su became increasingly agitated.

Terry can already make a feather float an inch, and Tom is even better... well, Tom has started making feathers glide, spin, and dive through the air.

But I still haven't made any progress.

"Tom, how did you do that?"

"Hmm?" Tom snapped out of his reverie about the "feather fighter jet".

He reached out and pressed down on Li Su's right hand, which was holding the magic wand: "Relax, Su. First, you need to calm yourself down and let your emotions control the feathers."

Magic is wondrous and unrestrained. You should use your intelligence to imagine, to act, to simulate—imagine how a feather flies.

These are Professor McGonagall's words of wisdom.

"Thank you, Tom, I'll give it a try—it worked!"

The three did not notice that the short Flitwick was already standing beside them.

Flitwick remembers Tom Riddle, the boy who made the Sorting Hat hesitate for more than 10 minutes during the Sorting Ceremony.

"Tom? Kid, demonstrate it again. Children, stop what you're doing and let's see how Tom does it."

Tom didn't throw a tantrum and demonstrated it properly.

"Child, speed up your chanting. In combat, the faster you chant spells, the greater your advantage. Once you're proficient, you can even skip some spell chanting."

Tom immediately waved his wand, without uttering a single word.