My Hogwarts has a serious problem.

Chapter 307, Section 304: Fame and Fortune

The second person to know that Lynn had woken up was Dumbledore.

Lynn didn't let Hermione announce that she had woken up, but instead had her call Dumbledore over.

"So why, Professor?"

Lynn asked, puzzled.

Dumbledore was also peeling an apple while sitting on the edge of the bed. His technique was far superior to Hermione's. With a gentle turn of the knife, the thin peel fell into the trash can in a single line.

"Because I feel that doing it this way is the most correct thing to do."

Dumbledore placed the peeled apple in the fruit bowl by his bedside, then looked at Lynn with his blue eyes.

"Have you ever thought about what would happen if I helped you hide your identity?"

"Lockhart gained all the prestige, but he became an idiot, so he couldn't use it for anything. As for me, I just continued attending school diligently, and none of what happened at Hogwarts this year had anything to do with me."

Lynn stated the result he had already considered, and Dumbledore continued to ask him questions.

"And what about your plans for reforming Hogwarts?"

Lynn raised an eyebrow.

"Of course we'll continue."

"But if you do this, it's like you haven't done anything all semester, and the plan that was supposed to be implemented this year will have to be postponed."

Lynn didn't seem to care much about this.

"It's fine to postpone it for another year, since I'll only be in fourth grade when the next semester starts anyway."

Dumbledore shook his head.

"Why postpone something that could be done this year to next year? If you really want to change this school, you need to have a reputation that is higher than that of a normal professor, and what you have done this year is more than worthy of the students' respect."

Lynn rubbed his forehead, feeling a bit of a headache after hearing Dumbledore's words.

"Professor, what you said is not wrong, but do you know what the consequences would be if it were revealed that I am Professor Lockhart?"

Dumbledore shrugged.

"You don't need to worry about that. I'll keep quiet about what the Ministry of Magic is saying, and the students in the castle won't have any bad opinions about you either."

"I wasn't talking about this professor."

Lynn thought of the things he had done when he was playing Lockhart: beating up Snape, bullying Weasley, and teaching Malfoy a lesson.

Using Lockhart's identity is not too much, but if he were to switch back to his original identity, Lynn doesn't know how he would shamelessly go to Snape's office to fleece people anymore.

"Alright, Professor, you're right. Having my identity exposed has indeed been very beneficial to me. Besides, the outcome can't be changed now. And you were the one who asked me to conceal my identity and become the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Since you have no problem with it, I certainly won't have any objections either. Let's leave that aside for now. What's the result from the Magical Congress of the United States?"

When Lynn asked this question, Dumbledore's eyes became deep.

"You don't need to worry about that too much. I'll handle things outside. What you need to think about now is the school. You are now the true master of this castle. Besides, there's still more than a month left in the semester, and the students are waiting for you to come back and teach them."

"What about Fontana?"

"According to procedure, she is probably waiting for the Ministry of Magic's trial now. I will be there when the trial begins. Given the charges against her, she will most likely be sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban."

Lynn raised an eyebrow.

"Have the Ministry of Magic already been to Hogwarts?"

"An Auror came over at noon on the day you fell into a coma. I'll handle that. It's unlikely your identity will remain hidden, but the Ministry of Magic won't make any negative claims about you. In fact, the Daily Prophet is reporting on your deeds extensively."

As he spoke, Dumbledore pulled a newspaper from yesterday into his robe and handed it to Lynn.

The headline on the front page read it prominently.

"The Chamber of Secrets at Hogwarts: Shocking! The professor who single-handedly saved the magic school is only 14 years old!"

The main content is roughly the same: it tells the story of Lynn going into hiding to become a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts, then encountering the Slytherin successor who opened the Chamber of Secrets, and finally finding the successor hidden in the shadows and killing the Basilisk as the ending.

The entire piece was a positive report about Lynn, but it didn't mention who the successor of Slytherin was, nor did it mention anything about the Magical Congress of the United States. The person who opened the Basilisk seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

Although Lynn scoffed at the cowardice of the British Ministry of Magic, he couldn't help but understand it.

After all, this was just a small trick secretly pulled by the American Magic Society. As long as the truth hasn't been revealed, everyone can pretend to be blind, since no one has suffered any loss.

As for this report, given the Daily Prophet's track record, Lynn is 90% certain it was written at the behest of the Ministry of Magic, which can be seen as a show of force against the United States.

Lynn had little interest in these messy political matters. Old John hadn't finished integrating the old magical families in Britain yet, so it wasn't the right time for him to interfere with the Ministry of Magic.

Old Deng still enjoys a very high reputation in the British magical community, and he's more than capable of handling anything.

"Oh, right." As if he had just remembered something, Dumbledore looked at Lynn with a smile, "Someone from the Merlin Order has suggested awarding you a medal, but they are still discussing whether it should be a second class or a third class, but it will be decided soon."

I have even less interest in Lynn.

The medals of the Order of Merlin are all talk and no action; in the end, they are just meaningless honors. Even a fraudster like Lockhart could get them, which shows how worthless they are.

Compared to these, Lynn was more interested in what he had gained after his battle with the basilisk.

"Professor, why do I gain Slytherin's approval when I stick the scepter on the basilisk's head? Isn't that something he created?"

Dumbledore shrugged.

"I don't know either, since I've never used this thing before. Nobody knows what kind of conditions the four founders set for its launch."

Lynn raised his left arm, revealing a black diamond-shaped mark on his wrist below his palm. After the battle with the basilisk, the scepter had transformed into this.

"You'll only gradually realize how interesting Hogwarts really is after you become the master of this castle."

"Like those statues that can come to life?"

"That's only a small part of its powers; you'll have to discover the rest yourself."

After saying this, Dumbledore rose from his chair to take his leave.

"You'd better get ready, you'll be hosting quite a few people soon."

The next chapter will probably be around 11 PM. I just got back from outside and am currently writing.

(End of this chapter)