My Hogwarts has a serious problem.

Chapter 205, Section 202: A Moral Exemplar—Tom Riddle! (Happy New Year!)

"Why did you follow me again, Hermione?"

Standing in front of Lynn's door, Umaru asked smugly, hands on her hips.

This little girl is nothing like her usual honest and simple self; she's surprisingly acting like a clever little devil.

"I... I just came up here to keep an eye on you. It's not right to just wander into someone else's room."

Hermione used the excuses she used to fool herself, but they couldn't fool the clever Umaru now.

"Lying will get you struck by lightning, you know," Umaru said with a grin. "I know you also want to see what Lynn's room looks like, so don't lie to the child anymore."

Hermione glared at her and tapped her head with her finger.

"Why didn't you have this kind of intelligence when you were studying? Besides, why didn't Lynn lock his room when he went out?"

As Hermione spoke, she reached out and grasped the doorknob. Before she could even pull it down, she simply placed it gently on the door, and it opened a crack.

Hermione: "..."

She really didn't expect Lynn to leave the door ajar, leaving it slightly ajar.

Umaru didn't care about any of that. When she saw Hermione had opened the door, she rushed inside.

Hermione struggled on her face, but ultimately found a way to save face.

"The door's already open, it would be a waste not to go in and take a look."

Having a reason made her feel much more at ease, and she followed Xiaomai inside.

Lynn's room wasn't big, and the decorations were simple. Besides a bed, a desk, a wardrobe, and a stool, there was nothing else.

After Xiaomai came in, she lay down on the floor and looked under Lynn's bed, but she didn't find a single hair.

"What? I thought Lynn would hide all the good food under the bed like I do."

Hermione ignored Umaru's complaints; she hadn't come in looking for Lynn's snacks.

Looking around, Lynn's room was very clean and tidy, with nothing scattered around.

The clothes were neatly folded and placed in the wardrobe, the quilt was laid flat on the bed, and the magic book and parchment on the desk were arranged in an orderly manner.

This is nothing like the boys' rooms Hermione imagined.

She approached Lynn's desk, where a sheet of parchment lay flat, as if something was written on it but not finished.

Hermione had just leaned her head in when suddenly a third voice rang out in the room.

"What you're doing is immoral."

Hermione was startled and looked around nervously, while Umaru recognized the voice and shouted with her hands on her hips.

"Tom!"

"Entering someone's room without permission is very wrong. Even if Lynn won't blame you when he comes back, you should still feel ashamed for it."

Tom's voice and tone now remind one of Tang Sanzang from Journey to the West.

Unfortunately, neither Umaru nor Hermione watched it; they just felt that Tom was very talkative.

Little Umaru arrived quickly and was placed on top of the wardrobe by Lynn, looking down at them from above.

They moved the stool from Lynn's desk to the wardrobe, and then Little Umaru stepped on it and tiptoed to take Tom off the wardrobe.

Holding Tom in her hand, she kneaded him like Lynn, as if he were clay.

"Lynn didn't bring you with him? Or did you slip out of his pocket by yourself?"

Tom's voice is still very "Zen-like".

"First, Lynn can't take me with him all the time. He also has his own privacy, and as a moral person, I should respect his privacy. So when he went out on business, I asked to stay behind instead of what you guys did. Second, let's not even talk about whether I have the ability to run away from Lynn's pocket. Even if I did, I wouldn't run away because I found that what he said made a lot of sense. I can learn a lot from being around him, and it will make me more moral."

This was the first time Umaru had been reprimanded by Tom. In the past, Tom would always mock and ridicule her in this situation!

"What's wrong, Tom? Why have you become so fussy?"

Hermione stared blankly at the small ball in Umaru's hand.

Lynn was spying on Voldemort the night she captured his soul, so she knew that the sphere sealed away the Dark Lord, who had terrified the entire wizarding world for countless years.

Because of the psychological pressure, even though Lynn had sealed him away and Hermione's mind had become that of a child, she always kept her distance from Tom.

But now, what's wrong with Voldemort?

Was he condemning their sneaking into Lynn's room as immoral?

"I feel great now, I've never felt this good. Before, my heart was filled with resentment towards the world, but after Lynn's patient guidance, I realized how ridiculous and dangerous my previous thoughts were. Lynn taught me a lot, he was very good to me, he never gave up on me when I was so pathetic. Sometimes I even feel that even my own parents couldn't have been better. He also said that I'm a normal person now, and soon he will give me a chance to start over."

Hermione is speechless now.

If what Tom just said wasn't an act, then based on his behavior, he could definitely become a moral paragon in Britain.

But Umaru wasn't happy; she started kneading Tom.

"You can't become an obedient child like Tom! What am I supposed to do if you do that? If you become a good boy, Lynn's focus will be entirely on me, and I'll be overwhelmed by all that homework!"

"Turn back before it's too late, Umaru. It's not too late to be an honest person. Study hard and improve every day. Listen to Lynn and don't become an ordinary person in the future."

"I won't listen! I won't listen! I won't listen!"

Umaru covered her ears and screamed.

Suddenly, a very familiar voice rang out behind them.

"What aren't you going to listen to?"

Umaru was so frightened that she trembled all over, tossed Tom aside, and "whoosh," buried her head under Lynn's blanket.

Lynn stared speechlessly at her noisy room, wondering what those two girls were up to.

Hermione looked at Lynn awkwardly.

"I just came in... I just came in..." In the end, she couldn't think of any reason, so she simply lowered her head and admitted her mistake.

"I was wrong. We shouldn't have sneaked into your room when you weren't there."

"What's wrong with coming into my room? This isn't just my house, it's Umaru's house too. I can come into her room whenever I want, so naturally I can too."

Lynn was telling the truth; his room was unremarkable with nothing to hide. The real shady stuff was hidden in his study.

First a short chapter, then another short chapter in the afternoon, and finally a long chapter in the evening.

Happy New Year everyone! Haichuan sends you New Year's greetings!

(End of this chapter)