My Hogwarts has a serious problem.

Chapter 220, Section 217: Aunt Lin and Aunt Deng

There was no roaring, no shouting, not even a sound.

The only sounds in the principal's office were the crackling and popping of the flames in the fireplace and the rustling of Fox on a branch as he preened his feathers with his sharp beak.

It was so quiet, but Lynn could see Tom's venting anger in the messy handwriting and the startling exclamation marks in the diary.

He had clearly decided to give up in the face of an unsolvable situation, and the resentment he had kept hidden for many years erupted, leading him to deliver a direct and scathing rebuke of Dumbledore.

However, Dumbledore's expression did not change at all. There was regret in his eyes, but it did not turn into guilt because of Tom's words. He quietly looked at Tom's diary, watching the chaotic accusations on it linger for a long time, and slowly opened his mouth.

"I've actually been reflecting on this. I've thought about whether if I could have been more tolerant and more encouraging towards you, you wouldn't have turned out the way you did later."

You might become even more unscrupulous, using all of this to serve your own interests, or you might turn over a new leaf and embark on a different path from before. But the past cannot be changed. I will only regret that I was too harsh on your upbringing, but I will not live with guilt and self-blame, thinking that all the blame lies with me, Tom.

I've made many mistakes, and I've never shied away from them, because I believe I must correct them myself. The Tom Riddle of the past is dead; a new soul lives on. I may be a failed educator, but someone else will teach him well.

"That wasn't teaching at all! This wasn't my own will at all! You're all a bunch of liars! A bunch of liars!"

Lynn looked at Tom's words in the diary, raised his eyebrows, took Little Tom out of his pocket, and asked Little Tom, in front of the diary, with a cruel twist of fate.

"Who do you think is more of a conman, Tom, me or him?"

"Of course it's him." Little Tom is now outspoken and ruthlessly stabbing his own alter ego in the back.

The diary fell completely silent. He was now isolated and helpless. He had been arguing with his brainwashed self in Lynn's pocket for a month without winning a single argument. Now, with Lynn and Dumbledore, those two old schemers, on top of him, even if he said the sun rose in the east today, he would be proven wrong.

Being betrayed by himself left Diary Tom feeling extremely frustrated. After Lynn got his hands on it, he was initially excited to come into contact with his current self. However, he was then completely bewildered by a series of moral persuasive attacks from his own main soul. After trying his best to seduce him, he received a betrayal in the name of "justice," and was eventually publicly denounced by himself and two other bastards.

If he could, Tom the Diary would just want to write a big "miserable" on his cover right now.

He was disheartened and made no comment, resigned to his fate and left Dumbledore to do whatever he wanted with him.

Lynn closed the diary and pushed it toward Dumbledore.

"I'll leave this to you, Professor. It's very difficult to destroy, but I think you should have a way."

Dumbledore nodded without refusing, his gaze falling on little Tom on the table.

"It seems you've taught him well?"

Lynn smiled, looking like two neighboring aunties boasting about their sons. One had failed in her parenting, her child was a petty thief from a young age, and ended up in jail as a social outcast. The other had succeeded in her parenting, her child was a model student, a model of civility, and a moral exemplar, and grew up to be a Tsinghua or Peking University graduate, a sure-fire social elite.

It is obvious which one is Dumbledore and which one is Lynn.

"Tom, say hello to Professor Dumbledore, the one you've met before."

Lynn spoke as if the neighbor lady was telling her son, who had just returned from studying abroad, to call the girl across the street "Aunt Deng."

"Professor Dumbledore, hello. Let me introduce myself again. My name is Tom Riddle. I learned from Lynn how awful I used to be. If I have caused you any harm in the past, I apologize."

Listening to Tom's polite self-introduction and sincere apology, Lynn's smile widened even more.

The satisfaction of educators is that simple. All Dumbledore has to do is praise Lynn with a simple "Your son, no, your student is great!" and Lynn will be happy all day.

Unfortunately, Tom then spotted the box of cockroaches next to Dumbledore.

"Although as a junior I shouldn't be telling my elders what to do, I have to say something for your health. Excessive sugar intake is not good for your health at all. Even if you like it, you should do it in moderation. Lynn has this problem; he has an unusual love for sweets. I've reminded him many times, but he doesn't seem to want to change. However, he's still relatively young, and health problems are far from his reach. But you're different, Professor Dumbledore. I don't think you're more than seventy years old, right? At this age, you should already be paying attention to a balanced diet."

Lynn's smile, which had been as bright as a flower, gradually froze. The good kid who used to flaunt his assets had now turned into a nagging chatterbox, which naturally diminished his sense of satisfaction.

"And I really don't understand why you guys like cockroach-shaped candies. Aren't you afraid that one day a real cockroach will crawl into the candy box and you'll accidentally eat it? Wait! I haven't finished speaking yet!"

Lynn expressionlessly picked Tom up from the table and put him back in her pocket.

"You've said enough today. Save the rest for tomorrow."

Dumbledore always wore a gentle smile, and he never showed the slightest impatience, even when Tom was lecturing him.

"Lynn, you've taught him very well."

Lynn rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming on: "It's just that the correction was a bit overdone."

"I don't think this is an overcorrection. It's actually better for him this way, not only for himself but also for the people around him."

Lynn's lips twitched.

"I remember some of Voldemort's die-hard followers are still imprisoned in Azkaban. If they saw the Dark Lord they once revered turned out like this, I wonder what kind of expressions they would have."

"They were sentenced to life imprisonment by the Ministry of Magic, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, they will never have the chance to leave Azkaban and see their master again." Dumbledore put the diary Lynn had pushed to him into the drawer and brought the topic back to the main point.

"So, the reason you came to me today for the time converter is to go back in time and find out who opened the secret chamber and took the basilisk away?"

"Yes, Professor, with your vast knowledge, you should know the danger of basilisks. If we don't figure out whether it still poses a threat to Hogwarts, who knows if another Myrtle might appear in the castle?"

Lynn gave Dumbledore a good reason, and of course he wouldn't refuse Lynn's request.

"I can submit an explanation to the Ministry of Magic regarding your application for the Time-Turner. You are indeed exceptionally talented. They will also require you to sign a guarantee promising that you will not use the Time-Turner for anything other than your studies."

"Approximately how long will it take me to get that thing?"

"The process will take some time, but if I handle it personally, the Ministry of Magic shouldn't delay it. How about the day after tomorrow? You can get it the day after tomorrow."

Lynn had accomplished his mission and was about to get up from his chair to say goodbye to Dumbledore when the person sitting across the table had not yet finished speaking to Lynn.

Do you know anything about a time converter?

Lynn sat back down in her chair and earnestly tried to recall the vague memories of the time converter in her mind.

"It can turn back time, allowing people to go back in time to see what happened in the past. Well, there is very little information about this thing, not even much in the library, so that's all I know."

Dumbledore shook his head.

"You don't just know very little about it, you know practically nothing. If you knew that not every outstanding student could get a time converter from professors, and what the evaluation criteria were for obtaining one, you would probably understand what kind of thing it is. I will teach you how to use it correctly once I get it."

There's another chapter before midnight. I participated in last month's monthly ticket lottery, and as expected... I've never won anything in any lottery!!! (crying)

(End of this chapter)