My Hogwarts has a serious problem.

Chapter 176, Section 173: The Brainwashing Education of Tom

Lynn went to the Ruslan family's backyard and began his first attempt at the modified Animagus.

Ultimately, it was unsuccessful.

He only grew some black feathers on his two arms; nothing else changed.

Lynn also knew that such things couldn't be rushed. The wizards recorded in the magic notebook who had become half-human and half-beast and could never turn back were living examples.

After spending the entire afternoon working on the improved Animagus, Lynn returned to Ruslan's house.

Yelena woke up at this moment, and Ruslan was taking pictures of her after drinking the compound potion and transforming into another person, using an old-fashioned SLR camera.

After she finished taking her picture, Lynn also took one, and then Ruslan arranged rooms for them to sleep in that night.

Yelena still slept in the guest room.

Ruslan wanted Lynn to squeeze in with him, but Lynn decisively refused.

"I think this sofa is nice; I'll sleep on it tonight."

Since Lynn was willing, Ruslan didn't stand on ceremony. After having a quick dinner, Ruslan watched TV with his daughter, while Yelena stayed in her room, doing something unknown.

From their conversation at the beginning of the day, Lynn could tell that they were plotting something, but he wasn't interested in it.

The state of the magic world in the Soviet Union is beyond saving; there are only a few things they can do.

Lynn carried the chair to the backyard again.

The moonlight is quite nice tonight, accompanied by a gentle breeze that feels very comfortable.

He opened the system and installed the title that had been gathering dust in a corner for two years.

Title: Despicable Kidnapper

[Effect: 1. There is a 50% chance that children under the age of 16 will absolutely believe what you say.]

2. Parents with children under 16 years old will have their favorability towards you halved.

3. When a lie is exposed, you will almost certainly get beaten up!

[Note 1: The title's effects only apply while it is equipped.]

[Note 2: Once effect 1 is successfully activated, effect 3 will still take effect even if the title has been removed.]

[Note: You ask me what the consequences are for abducting minors? Heh, just three high-risk deaths.]

This was a title he tricked Hermione into giving him before he even went to Hogwarts.

Of course, Lynn scoffed at the name of the title, feeling it was a complete insult to his personality from the system, and vowed never to wear it again.

But now it seems he can only admit he likes it.

The title of "despicable kidnapper" is the best way to reform Tom.

Although the probability of achieving effect 1 is only fifty percent, there isn't necessarily only one way to express a principle. If it doesn't work the first time, you can always try another one.

As for that flaw—that lying would almost certainly get you beaten up if exposed…

Lynn also wanted to know how to expose the lie behind the life philosophy of being a good person.

He took Tom out of his pocket.

"Let's have a chat, Tom," Lynn said with a smile.

Tom immediately became wary. He followed Lynn every day and knew that Lynn was a wicked maggot who could fool people so easily that they would be crippled. He knew that Lynn's smile was definitely not a good sign.

"What do you want to do?"

"Why are you so wary? It's just that the weather is nice today, so I wanted to let you come out for some fresh air."

Tom scoffed dismissively.

"If you really want me to get some fresh air, then let me out of this ball."

Lynn didn't respond; he was stroking his chin, thinking about what to say first to test the waters.

"Tom, do you know why that old white-bearded man treated you that night?"

Why?

"Because you are actually his illegitimate child."

"..."

Tom seemed stunned by Lynn's words and didn't speak for a moment, but the system in Lynn's mind actually gave a judgment result.

[The abduction attempt failed!]

"Do you think I'm blind?! He's so old, and I'm only eight. How could he be my father? I'd think he's too old to be my grandfather."

Tom shouted and yelled from inside the ball.

The judgment failed, but Lynn was not disappointed at all; on the contrary, she felt a surge of energy.

This was the first time he had used the title after successfully fooling Hermione. He was surprised that the title indicated success or failure after the deception, which undoubtedly made Lynn feel more at ease.

He never let his guard down around Tom just because he was young. History proves that Voldemort was a master actor when he was young, including during his time at Hogwarts, when many professors and young wizards were deceived by his feigned innocence.

He even tricked Horace Slughorn, the then-head of Slytherin, into revealing the method for making Horcruxes by pretending to be a sensible and excellent student.

Moreover, not only people, but even ghosts were deceived by Tom.

One of his many Horcruxes, the Ravenclaw tiara, was obtained by tricking the Ravenclaw ghost, Lady Grey, who was also Rowena Ravenclaw's daughter, into revealing its location.

Therefore, Lynn was unsure whether Tom would realize something was amiss after he talked too much about his principles, and thus pretend to be someone else to deceive him.

Now that the system has given a notification, Tom no longer has that chance.

Lynn was actually somewhat relieved that his attempt to induce her had failed.

If Tom actually believed it, he wouldn't know how to explain it to Dumbledore when he returned to England.

"Just kidding. I saw you were so nervous, so I was just making a joke to lighten the mood." Lynn casually made up an excuse to brush off his obvious lie.

Tom seemed very angry: "That joke isn't funny at all!"

"It's not funny, so let's change the subject. What do you think of the title 'Dark Lord'?"

"That sounds cool," Tom said.

Lynn shook his head: "It's not cool at all. The title of Dark Lord is built on the suffering of countless people. It's an ugly name given to the heinous henchmen of those who whitewash their masters. So Tom, you must never become the Dark Lord."

[Abduction successful!]

Although Tom did not reply to him immediately, the system had already given him a success notification.

Tom had always been wary of Lynn. Ever since he started following Lynn, he had been telling himself not to easily believe anything Lynn said, lest he be fooled by him.

However, right after Lynn said that seemingly random thing, he suddenly felt that what he said made a lot of sense.

The Dark Lord is certainly not a good name; it sounds evil!

"Hmm...that's true. I find this title really offensive now, it makes me feel nauseous," Tom said hesitantly.

Seeing that the title really worked, Lynn immediately smiled.

"Also, Tom, don't you think the nose is the most important part of a person's body? People without noses must be psychologically twisted perverts."

(End of this chapter)