[HP] Being a problem student at Hogwarts

Without further ado, he immediately stuffed the book into his arms and ran to find Professor McGonagall.

"Tom Locke!" Professor McGonagall raised her hand and pressed her temples with a headache, "I just sent you back to the dormitory! For Merlin's sake, can't you give me some peace of mind at this time? "

"Big discovery," Tom said.

Professor McGonagall glared at him and took a deep breath.

"Say." She squeezed out the last bit of patience through her teeth.

"The monster in the chamber of secrets is the basilisk." Tom raised the book towards her and opened it to the basilisk side. "All creatures that directly meet the basilisk's gaze will be killed immediately. But except for Sir Nicholas, who is in a ghost state, the three known victims should have seen the basilisk through water or mirror reflection, so they were just Petrified.”

Professor McGonagall's face became serious, and she took the book and read it carefully: "Keep talking."

"The basilisk only obeys the control of the Parseltongue, so Hagrid is innocent." Tom said. "We can prepare in a targeted manner - spiders will run away as soon as they see a basilisk, because basilisk is their natural enemy. We can look for traces of basilisk by observing the movements of spiders. It is said that the only thing that can make basilisk hate it and run away It’s the crowing of a rooster, and since that’s fatal to the basilisk, we can record some rooster crows in advance and play them over the campus radio if necessary.”

"In addition, since the basilisk will not cause death as long as it does not directly meet its eyes, then everyone can be required to wear glasses - those who are not short-sighted should wear plain glasses. Do you think it will be effective?"

"Very well," Professor McGonagall said after a moment of silence, "Don't tell anyone about your discovery yet."

"What? Why?" Tom was a little shocked.

"Mr. Locke." Professor McGonagall lowered her head and looked at him, "The basilisk only obeys the control of Parseltongue - do you understand what this means?"

An idea flashed through Tom's mind.

"Meaning..." he murmured, "Harry?"

"Yes, Harry Potter is the only Parseltongue currently known in the school, so if this discovery is made public, he will be placed at a very disadvantageous position." Professor McGonagall said frankly.

“But we will take steps,” she continued, “such as observing spider movements, recording rooster crows, etc. – we just won’t announce it to the student level for the time being.”

"At the same time, we will also look for the person behind the hiding. But these have little to do with you - Mr. Locke, you really should go back to the Gryffindor common room."

Professor McGonagall looked at him sternly.

"Ah..." Tom nodded obediently, "Okay, Professor. You are busy, I will stroll back by myself."

In fact, he still wanted to take advantage of the invisibility cloak in hand to sneak away and observe the two suspects in his mind: Lockhart and little Malfoy.

"Ha." Professor McGonagall sneered and said unceremoniously: "I'll take you back - besides, the invisibility cloak is confiscated, so you can't even think about running around in the school again."

"No," Tom protested, "I borrowed the invisibility cloak! I have to give it back."

"I'm afraid that's what you have to think about, Mr. Locke." Professor McGonagall raised the corners of her mouth and said politely.

Frustrated, Tom crawled into the lounge under the watchful eye of Professor McGonagall, who also heard Professor McGonagall standing at the door criticizing the Fat Lady for not watching the door carefully. He glanced at the Fat Lady apologetically, and then at Ron and Harry, who were still waiting for him in the lounge.

"Explain the invisibility cloak to your friends." Professor McGonagall stood outside the door and stared at him. "I wish you good luck, Mr. Locke."

The fat lady glanced at him angrily and closed the door.

"What happened?" Harry asked, "Have you been caught by Professor McGonagall?"

"Uh... Strictly speaking, this is because I threw myself into a trap." Tom lowered his head and admitted his mistake, "I'm sorry, Harry, your invisibility cloak was confiscated by Professor McGonagall. This is all my fault, and I will get it back as soon as possible. Got it back."

"It's not a bad thing," Harry comforted him tolerantly. "After all, as long as the Invisibility Cloak is in hand, we can't help but take risks, but it's too dangerous to go out for a walk during this time. Let Professor McGonagall keep it." It’s good for a while.”

"Speaking of which," Harry quickly changed the subject even thoughtfully, "you must have made some important discoveries when you went to see Professor McGonagall, right?"

Harry is such a gentle boy... Tom thought.

"It's Hermione's fault."

Although there was no one else in the lounge at this time, Tom still lowered his voice and told the story again.

"If you choose not to disclose it because you are worried about me, I think it is unnecessary." Harry said without hesitation, "Revealing the identity of the monster in the Chamber of Secrets can prepare everyone and make everyone safer—— So why worry about a little bit of gossip about me? Even if the truth cannot be revealed in a short time, I know that I am innocent, and my friends also believe that I am innocent. That is enough. Principal Dumbledore also As I said, no one can please everyone.”

"Harry, you are a real Gryffindor." Tom stared at him and said, "But you must consider that Principal Dumbledore is not in the school now, and the Ministry of Magic may also treat you as a Parseltongue. You take away—"

"What?" Harry asked, "Did you actually think that I would keep silent because I care about this person?"

"No, never," said Tom. "What are your plans?"

"Tell every one of my friends," Harry said, "and ask them to tell every one of their friends. Nothing travels faster than the grapevine."

Harry even laughed, and the thin body of the young man who started to draw looked a little more manly.

He said: "I didn't plan to hold any press conference and announce anything in public - they would just think I was crazy for wanting to be in the limelight, and they might not take my words seriously. Instead, it was gossip and rumors spread by word of mouth. It’s easier for people to believe it.”

Tom silently patted Harry on the shoulder.

Ron also patted Harry on the shoulder and said, "Good brother, don't worry, we will always be with you."

Harry smiled at them.

"Then the question now is, who is directing all this behind the scenes?" Ron asked, "And for what purpose?"

Tom can't answer this question yet.

Moreover, due to the promulgation of new school rules and the confiscation of the invisibility cloak, Tom really couldn't spare the time to keep an eye on the suspects in his mind. Besides, he had to perform well and get back Harry's invisibility cloak as soon as possible.

But fortunately, the two people he suspected were also limited in their abilities - Malfoy was also restricted in the scope of his activities, and his every move was under the eyes of his classmates or teachers; while Lockhart, as a professor, had to fulfill his duties, not every day. He rushed to class to catch fish, and spent his spare time guarding the students assigned to him like an amateur and tired sheepdog. Within a week, he had heavy dark circles under his eyes.

Under such strict institutional management, the attacks did seem to have subsided.

"I don't think there will be any more trouble." Tom heard Lockhart say to Professor McGonagall one day as they were lining up to leave the Great Hall for class.

"I think the secret room will never be opened this time." He touched his nose, a happy look appeared on his thinner face, "Those criminals must have known it, and I will catch them sooner or later. This It's just a matter of time. It would be wise to stop now before I start to deal with them." 7

Professor McGonagall twitched her lips - purely out of professional politeness.

them? More than one criminal? Tom wasn't sure if Lockhart was just saying it casually or if he was deliberately revealing it.

"You know, what the school needs now is to boost morale! I can't say more now, but I think I am confident..."

"Of course." Professor Snape smiled coldly, "Who doesn't know that Professor Lockhart is the best at this?"

Lockhart burst out laughing, waving his arms to the students like herding sheep, and said: "Let's go, kids, go to class. Wait for me to give you a big surprise!"

Almost everyone silently rolled their eyes.