Hogwarts: I, Tom, am not the Dark Lord

As soon as the class started, Tom, like many of his classmates, lay down on the table, actually entering the study space to learn new spells with Andros.

When the bell rang, Professor Binns assigned the homework with an expressionless face, then walked through the wall and returned to his office.

Students don’t have such convenience as him, they have to walk to the auditorium.

As soon as he arrived in the hall, Tom was stopped by Hermione who had been waiting there.

"It's not convenient here, let's go to the courtyard garden to talk." Hermione looked at the people coming and going around and said in a low voice.

Tom didn't refuse, and Daphne wanted to follow him, but was rejected by Hermione.

Just as the little witch was about to explode, Tom spoke first, "Daphne, I don't mind taking you with me, but what I'm going to talk about will involve other people's secrets. How about you go to the auditorium and wait for me for a while?"

Daphne nodded reluctantly, secretly glared at Hermione, and walked into the hall door.

When Hermione and Tom arrived at the courtyard garden, Harry and Ron had already occupied a stone table with some snacks on it.

Once Hermione and Tom were seated, Harry spoke.

"Riddle, last night was truly thanks to you. I don't know how to thank you, so I just brought some snacks."

"You're quite polite, but I'm trying to save myself. I can't just wait for him to bite me, right?"

Tom nodded, picked up a chocolate frog without hesitation, and bit the frog's head in one bite. The frog's limbs kicked weakly.

Harry laughed dryly. "Anyway, if you weren't there by then, we'd be in big trouble."

"There's no point in thanking me all the time. Let's just forget about it." Tom waved his hand indifferently. Harry nodded without any objection.

Ron waited until Tom finished a piece of chocolate before asking, "What did you do on your night out last night?"

"Reading." Tom answered naturally, "I suddenly wanted to look up some information, but it wasn't in the book I had, so I went to the library. Is there any problem?"

Harry and Ron looked at each other in bewilderment. Poor students like them could never imagine going out for a night outing and risking being caught by Filch just to read a book.

Haha, I lied to you.

In fact, he came here specifically to ambush Harry and the others so that he could go to the corridor on the fourth floor openly.

Tom dared to poison a Galleon. There was a trap magic set by Dumbledore on the door. If he went there alone, he would most likely be targeted. But as long as Harry 'accidentally' entered, the risk would definitely be much smaller.

The rewards are also gratifying. Not only can you find a living target to test your magic level, but you can also get 20 achievement points.

"What about you guys? What are you doing out so late at night?"

Tom pretended to know nothing and asked back.

Just as Harry and Ron were still hesitating whether to tell them that they had challenged Malfoy to a duel, Hermione had already told them everything.

"How shameless." Tom exclaimed after hearing this.

This one sentence brought them closer together, and Harry and Ron showed expressions of shared hatred for the enemy.

"You have no idea how shocked Malfoy was to see we were safe and sound this morning. He could have easily stuffed two and a half eggs into his face."

"I'll definitely give him a good beating if I get a chance."

"Hitting people is against school rules," Tom reminded.

Ron muttered in dissatisfaction, "You just side with Slytherin."

"Weasley, if Tom had sided with Malfoy, he would have locked you up yesterday."

Before Tom could say anything, Hermione spoke up for him. The little witch hated Ron's reckless character. Recklessness was not a problem. The problem was that he had no ability to solve problems and would only cause trouble.

Ron didn't want to argue with her, so he just turned his head away and stopped talking. The atmosphere became a little awkward for a moment.

"Of course I support our house, just like you defend Gryffindor."

Tom opened another bag of Beebe's Every Flavour Beans and ate one. It tasted like celery, neither good nor bad. "But I just can't stand these schemes and schemes. I'm not going to blame the person, but the matter. What Malfoy did this time was really dishonest."

"If you want to take revenge on him, I support you and will even give you some advice."

"But hitting someone is the lowest form of behavior. I believe that the one who will be happy then will not be you, but Professor Snape. He will finally seize the opportunity to deal with you, Potter."

Harry's expression changed immediately.

Now Aunt Peggy's family is no longer the people he hates the most. The people Harry hates the most are Snape first, Malfoy second, and Dudley third.

"How do you think I should get back at Malfoy?" Harry asked tentatively, but he remained wary.

Tom was a Slytherin, after all.

Tom said casually, "It's simple. Just spread the word."

"Do you think we're idiots?" Ron's eyes widened. "If we tell anyone about this, we'll be dead. Professor McGonagall will turn into a cat and scratch us to death!"

"Nonsense!" Hermione glared at him. "Professor McGonagall would never do such a thing."

Harry also looked at Tom suspiciously, "You're not saying this just to make us lose points, are you?"

"How can you doubt a good man?"

Tom covered his chest with a hurt look on his face. "I just don't like Malfoy either. You can't imagine what life is like for a little Muggle-born wizard like me in Slytherin. These pure-bloods...ah."

Harry and Ron then remembered that although Tom was a Slytherin student, he was a pure Muggle-born wizard and even an orphan.

Entering Slytherin with such an identity, just thinking about it makes me feel sorry for him.

For a moment, the two men's eyes softened a lot, but they still felt that Tom's plan was a scam.

Tom was not in a hurry. Instead, he looked at Ron and said patiently, "Weasley, put yourself in his shoes. Let's set a scene."

"If it were you, challenging another pure-blood family to a duel in the name of the Weasley family, and when the duel came, you were too cowardly to show up."

"If your parents knew about this, how do you think they would react?"

Chapter 41: Don’t care too much about scores, they will alienate people’s efforts!

Ron obediently put himself into the scene set by Tom.

Just two seconds later, his expression changed, and he said tremblingly, "If I really did that... Mom would definitely send me a yelling letter, and then Percy would accuse me. George and Fred, those two bastards, would definitely prank me for the whole semester, and maybe even change my last name..."

The more Ron thought about it, the more frightened he became.

A down-and-out pureblood is still a pureblood.

What's more, Weasley was in distress, not destitute.

They are only financially strapped, but they are very clear about other aspects. Everyone attaches great importance to the family's honor.

If you flinch after challenging someone to a duel, and Mrs. Weasley finds out... you could really be expelled from the family tree... a disguised way of leaving the family.

Snapped--!

Tom clapped his hands vigorously. "You see, that's the truth."

"Although the duel last night was a conspiracy by Malfoy to get you caught by Filch and punished, it was indeed he who challenged Potter, and he did not show up. This is a fact that cannot be changed no matter what reason or excuse you have."

"If this gets out, you'll lose points, but he'll lose... the face of the Malfoy family!"

"If Malfoy's parents find out, they might even have to eat a meal of stir-fried pork with bamboo shoots when they get home. Anyway, you won't lose anything, right?"

Harry and Ron nodded in unison.

Makes sense.

It makes so much fucking sense!

Ron could even imagine the scene of old Malfoy whipping Malfoy with his platinum cane.

But Harry's face fell again, "But if this gets out and we get points deducted, what will other students think of us, like..."

Harry didn't dare finish his words, but he glanced at Hermione secretly, and his meaning was obvious.

Hermione didn't say anything. She always felt something was wrong. Was Tom using Harry and Ron as pawns?

But once the matter is exposed, Slytherin will be punished and its leading advantage may be lost. Why should he do this?

Hermione, who didn't understand what was going on, was lost in thought and had no intention of paying any attention to Harry.

"Shallow, Potter, you are shallow."

"Don't pay too much attention to the score; it will negate your efforts!"

Tom shook his head like a charlatan. "What do you think Gryffindor cares about most?"

"Glory, the House Cup." Harry said without hesitation.

"Wrong!" Tom slammed the table, startling several people. He raised his voice slightly, "Gryffindor cares most about face!"

"You can deduct points, but it has to be for something earth-shattering. If you're caught violating school rules, you'll certainly be looked down upon."

"But if you were deducted points for defending the honor of the Potter family, they would only be envious, because it's so cool that they would want to take your place and steal the show."

"Plus, Malfoy is afraid of fighting, which means that Slytherin is afraid of Gryffindor. This is no longer envy, everyone will only admire you."

"Because you defeated Slytherin!"

call!call!

After just a few words, Ron's face flushed and he was breathing heavily.

This kind of opportunity to show off would never have come to him, the sixth child and the unknown person in the Weasley family, before.

"Harry..." Ron looked at his best friend, his eyes full of desire.

Harry's heart was also beating wildly. He was also persuaded, but he barely retained some rationality and did not fall as completely as Ron. He said reluctantly, "I will seriously consider it, Riddle... By the way, from now on, you can just call me Harry, not Potter."

"Me too, call me Ron. There are too many Weasleys in school." Ron followed immediately. In his eyes, Tom was not some inherently evil Slytherin, but his half-brother.

"Okay, Harry, Ron, you can just call me Tom."

Tom smiled slightly. "This matter does involve risks, and it's right to consider it carefully. But I promise that what happened last night won't be leaked from me."

Both of them nodded gratefully.

"But let me remind you one last time." Tom seemed to have thought of something and added, "Everything has a time limit. If you delay too long and then expose this matter, it will be ineffective. So if you decide, you must implement it as soon as possible."

"Okay, I'm going to eat now, bye."

Tom stood up and waved goodbye.

Only the hesitant two and Hermione who was still in deep thought were left.