Hogwarts: I, Tom, am really not Voldemort!

“That whole performance just now, was that your doing again?”

Cassandra looked at the ongoing Sorting Ceremony and quietly asked Tom, her tone full of certainty.

Tom felt a sharp pang in his heart. Why would she suspect him, and so matter-of-factly at that?

“Of course not.”

Faced with Tom's resolute denial, Cassandra's beautiful green eyes were filled with disbelief.

“Alright, I admit I played a small role in it, but I only started it. The specific operations weren't my doing.”

Tom ultimately succumbed to Cassandra's gaze, raising his hands in surrender, but not forgetting to defend himself a little.

“I knew it.”

Cassandra looked away, acting as if it were only to be expected.

......

“Slytherin!”

......

“Luna Lovegood!”

“Ravenclaw!”

......

“Rolf Scamander!”

“Hufflepuff!”

......

Without Tom causing trouble, the Sorting Ceremony proceeded extremely smoothly, and the Sorting Hat placed people in the correct houses, a rare occurrence without any hiccups.

After Professor McGonagall collected the parchment with the students' names and the Sorting Hat, this year's 'ordinary' Sorting Ceremony came to an end, and everyone awaited Dumbledore's famous words: “Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!”

“What does that even mean? Dumbledore said it last year, and he's saying the same thing again this year.” Draco asked Tom with some annoyance, his heart itching with curiosity.

“Ah, it probably doesn't mean anything. He just wants to express his unique sense of humor. Oh right, maybe it's because I praised Dumbledore's words as beautiful last year, so he said them again this year.” Tom cut a small piece of steak and put it in his mouth, answering vaguely.

Hearing Tom say this, Draco stopped dwelling on the words and turned to talk to Tom about their new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher: “Tom, look at Professor Snape's face. Is he looking so awful because of Gilderoy Lockhart?”

“Of course, that's obvious. But Dumbledore can't not hire a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. After all, Snape was so busy filling in last semester, it's not a long-term solution. I just can't figure out why Dumbledore would choose Gilderoy Lockhart?” Tom answered Draco while enjoying his meal.

Hearing Tom say this, Draco frowned slightly: “Is Gilderoy Lockhart very bad?”

Tom glanced at the group of fans enthusiastically discussing Gilderoy Lockhart, especially the female fans, leaned closer to Draco, and said to him in a low voice: “He's likely even worse than Quirrell. I always feel there's something wrong with the books he wrote. Let's wait and see for now, but be ready to launch Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher Removal Plan 2.0 at any time.”

Draco nodded emphatically to indicate he understood.

After a satisfying meal, Dumbledore formally introduced this year's new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher to the students—Gilderoy Lockhart.

Watching Lockhart, dressed exquisitely and appropriately, rise to acknowledge the applause, Tom didn't know if it was his imagination, but he felt that Lockhart's gaze seemed to glance intentionally or unintentionally towards the Slytherin table, or more accurately, towards him.

But looking at Lockhart, whose gaze remained fixed on Dumbledore after sitting down, Tom thought he must have been mistaken just now, and put the matter behind him.

When Dumbledore finished talking about this year's important matters and mentioned the House Cup, Tom looked towards the Gryffindor table with a meaningful expression, a mischievous grin unconsciously appearing on his face.

“What's wrong with Gryffindor again? Or are you planning to do something again?” Cassandra noticed Tom's gaze and the smile on his face, and couldn't help but ask him.

“Nothing, I'm not planning to do anything.” Tom shook his head, denying Cassandra's guess. “It's just that we have a big advantage in the House Cup this year. Gryffindor is probably starting with a negative score.”

Cassandra was puzzled and wanted to ask further, but saw that Tom refused to say any more like a soothsayer, and Cassandra was almost driven crazy by curiosity.

Fortunately, Cassandra wasn't tormented by curiosity for too long. The next day, she got the answer in the Transfiguration class that the second-year students had together with Gryffindor.

“Mr. Ron Weasley, what did you say? Your summer homework was half-eaten by a dog?”

“Do you have a dog at home? I'll write to Molly after class. If she can't bring your dog here today, then you just wait and see. Gryffindor loses 10 points.”

“Mr. Seamus Finnigan, what did you say? Your summer homework exploded by itself?”

“The test paper can explode by itself? I think you did it, right? Gryffindor loses 10 points. Also, you hold this stack of test papers and sit in the first row. I want to see how the test papers explode by themselves.”

“Mr. Dean Thomas, what's your excuse?”

“What, you said you wanted to do your homework while traveling, but the test paper was left in Paris and not brought back? Do you think I'll believe your lies? Gryffindor loses 10 points, and you have to finish your homework properly, don't even think about escaping.”

......

These troublesome little lions of Gryffindor had all kinds of problems during the homework submission session at the beginning of the school year. The reasons they gave were bizarre, and each one was more outrageous than the last.

And our poor Professor McGonagall once again transformed into a grumpy cat lady on the first day of school, unleashing a torrent of words at those troublesome little lions.

Tom felt that if this happened a few more times, Professor McGonagall's ability to scold people would definitely catch up with Professor Snape's, and silently felt sorry for Professor McGonagall for a second.

“You foresaw this situation?”

Cassandra appreciated the farce in front of her and couldn't help but ask Tom, leaning closer to him.

Tom took it for granted and said, “Isn't this obvious? Do you think these Gryffindor students can complete their summer homework properly?”

Cassandra thought for a moment and shook her head: “No, I thought about it, and the number of Gryffindors who can complete all the homework properly can probably be counted on two hands. Tom, you're right.”

“That's the end of it. This bunch of Gryffindors can't do anything right, but they're number one at making excuses. You say, how come the excellent spirit of those outstanding old Gryffindors like Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall hasn't been passed on to this generation of little lions? As old rivals, we Slytherins would lose face.”

Tom's words resonated with the Slytherin snakes around him.

Ah, another day of despising Gryffindor.