"Albus!"
"Professor Dumbledore!"
Dumbledore's sudden appearance caused a stir.
Professor McGonagall looked at Dumbledore with a headache. "Albus, students using the Killing Curse on such a large scale—nothing like this has ever happened at Hogwarts. How do you plan to handle it?"
"Minerva, the students had a reason this time; it was a last resort. Besides, don't you think it's an incredible achievement for first-year Wizards to collectively defeat a Troll? For this, I'm prepared to award Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin 10 points each."
"Albus, how can this be!" Professor McGonagall was clearly displeased with Dumbledore's decision.
The previously dispirited students suddenly perked up. They had expected punishment, but instead, they were getting points. Their gazes of admiration were so fervent they almost burned through Dumbledore.
Unfortunately, Dumbledore didn't seem to notice. He changed the subject and continued, "However, it is indeed a hidden danger for immature students to abuse the Killing Curse. I don't want my students to be locked up in Azkaban. How about this: until the Christmas holiday, each house will organize students to mandatorily study the dangers of Dark Arts for half an hour every day. Minerva, I'll trouble you to take charge of this. Oh, and don't forget to have them submit their study reflections."
In summary, it was one sentence: 'I appreciate what you did, but I don't like your methods.'
Professor McGonagall's displeasure faded, and she nodded in agreement, drawing groans of lament from the students present.
Tom watched from the side, amazed: 'Look at Dumbledore, his attitude, his demeanor, his art of speaking—no wonder he's the Principal of Hogwarts.'
"Alright, the students are tired now, let them rest first..." Seeing that the matter was largely resolved, Dumbledore dismissed the students.
Tom prepared to sneak away amidst the crowd, but as expected, Dumbledore called out his little action: "Tom, stay. Come with me to the Headmaster's Office."
Hogwarts Castle, eighth floor, Headmaster's Office.
Tom, entering for the first time, curiously surveyed his surroundings. Fawkes was napping, the Sorting Hat was humming an off-key tune on a shelf, and the portraits of past Principals hanging on the walls were clearly doing their own things, yet he could feel their subtle gazes.
In reality, hearing about something and seeing it with your own eyes are quite different. When Phineas Black saw Tom's true face, he immediately jumped up.
"Dumbledore, Dark Lord, send him to Azkaban!"
Tom's face darkened, and he silently gave him a mental middle finger, secretly observing Dumbledore's reaction.
Dumbledore ignored Phineas Black, smiling warmly and gently inviting Tom to sit in a chair, showing no sign of wanting to hold him accountable.
"Tom, would you like something to drink...?"
Before Dumbledore could finish his pleasantries, Tom suddenly grabbed his right hand, wiping his face with the wide sleeve of his Wizard robe, and cried with snot and tears: "Professor Dumbledore, I've been wronged! The Killing Curse really is normal teaching content. I truly, truly had no ulterior motives; you must believe me!"
"Speak properly!" Dumbledore looked disgusted, trying to subtly withdraw his right hand, but Tom held onto it tightly, unmoving.
"Professor, you must understand that I simply wanted to teach the students life-saving skills."
Dumbledore was so angry he laughed: "Heh heh, so you teach the Killing Curse?"
"Isn't that upholding tradition? Back in the day at Hogwarts, wasn't everyone proficient in the Killing Curse? I'm just trying to restore Hogwarts' glory. Besides, there are quite a few upper-year Slytherin students who know the Killing Curse; I'm just moving the timeline forward."
Tom's shameless demeanor made Armando Dippet unable to bear it and he retorted, "Is private the same as public? And when did Hogwarts ever have such a tradition? Why don't I know about it? You, Dark Lord, my biggest regret in life is ever teaching you, you..."
"Wait..." Tom quickly interrupted him, "Mr. Principal, I just started Hogwarts this year. When did you ever teach me? Are you on the wrong channel?"
That one sentence choked Armando Dippet. He didn't want to bother with Tom's nonsensical rambling, but then Phineas Black jumped out and backstabbed him: "Wait, no, it seems he has a point. For some reason, I have a vague memory, though not very clear, that during my tenure, there was a period when everyone at Hogwarts knew the Killing Curse."
"!"
"!!"
"!!!"
Now, not only Dumbledore and the portraits looked at Phineas Black, never having dreamed that Hogwarts had such a history. Even Tom was surprised; he had just been spouting nonsense, but it turned out there really was a 'Hogwarts Legacy' element to it.
Seeing Dumbledore and the portraits' gazes shift from Phineas Black to himself, Tom quickly defended, "I was talking nonsense, do you believe me?"
Dumbledore finally pulled his hand free and tiredly rubbed his brow, deciding not to argue with Tom any longer: "This incident was too serious, Tom. I have no choice but to suspend your work as the Defense Against the Dark Arts assistant. Severus will take over your duties."
Heaven knew how exhausted he was. Tom's teaching methods were worse than Quirrell's; they were too much of a challenge for an old man over a hundred.
Tom, however, didn't feel much. If he didn't teach, he didn't teach. He just silently lit a candle for the younger Wizards.
Although he felt nothing about being fired, some accounts still needed to be settled: "So, regarding the teaching salary for this period and the severance pay, how do you plan to calculate it? According to calculations..."
"Stop!" Dumbledore immediately cut Tom off. "You can discuss those matters with Minerva."
"Alright, Professor. Do you need anything else? If not, I'll be going."
Dumbledore hesitated for a long time before speaking: "Could you help look after Harry?"
Tom tentatively asked: "Quirrell?"
"You know?" Dumbledore looked at Tom in surprise.
Tom found Dumbledore's reaction strange: "Come on, Professor Dumbledore, Quirrell has exposed himself to this extent. Anyone would think he's problematic. Everyone now believes you're not dealing with him because you have some deeper meaning, which is why no one has said much."
"This is to help Harry grow up faster!"
"What if Quirrell regrets it? Are you not going to save him?" Tom was very interested in this question.
Dumbledore hesitated for a moment, then firmly said, "Everyone should pay the price for their wrong choices."
It was rare for Tom to hear Dumbledore speak so directly, and he couldn't help but respond, "For the greater good!"
Suddenly, their eyes met, and they were speechless.
The silence lasted for a moment. Seeing that Dumbledore had nothing else to say, Tom got up to leave.
"STARGAZER!"
As Tom turned, Dumbledore's gentle voice came from behind him.
'Damn old busybody, he can't even finish a sentence at once.' Tom cursed inwardly, preparing to turn around and give him a performance of Sichuan opera face-changing, playing the innocent victim.
Dumbledore anticipated Tom's move and pushed him away in disgust the moment he turned: "Don't try that with me; I'm too old to handle it."
But Tom continued his performance: "Professor Dumbledore, my life is so bitter! This was just a study group, and all of this was led by Cassandra and Hermione. I'm just the scapegoat, boo hoo hoo~"
Dumbledore looked at Tom as if he were an idiot. When he had finished his act, Dumbledore calmly said, "I just wanted you to submit a club application form to Minerva."
Upon hearing this, Tom's tear-squeezing action instantly froze.
In that moment, he felt like a clown.