Hogwarts: Hermione and I switched identities!

Although Professor Dumbledore was thinking, he didn't show it on his face; he looked conflicted.

After thinking for a moment, Professor Dumbledore said to Ranier, "Go back now, son. I will give you an answer to this matter."

“Professor Dumbledore, I think I deserve an answer now. It’s quite clear that Tom did it. I trust my eyes, and you can ask my friend!”

Lanier didn't say that it was her boyfriend.

“Laniel, you should go back and get some sleep now, and get some rest. I’m sure you had a bad night’s sleep, and you didn’t get a proper rest today, judging by your dark circles.” Dumbledore ignored Laniel’s words. “I’ll give you an answer within at least a week.”

You should know, Ranier, the people who broke into your hotel weren't necessarily Tom; they could very well be some evil wizards who used some kind of potion, like Polyjuice Potion.

If it uses those magic potions or some kind of transformation spell, it can also disguise itself as Tom.

Lanier suddenly fell silent: "Professor Dumbledore, that earring is really important to me."

"Perhaps you should tell me beforehand what kind of magical item that earring is."

“I don’t know, Professor, I really don’t know.” Lanier shook his head vigorously. “All I know is that it was passed down from my ancestors. They say it was a treasure they obtained from a powerful wizard, and it was their most precious possession.”

Professor Dumbledore nodded: "I will handle it as soon as possible, but for now I need to wait for Tom to return before I can give an answer, don't I?"

After seeing Lanier off, Terry and Li Su wanted to leave as well, but Professor Dumbledore patted them on the shoulder.

The two immediately stopped and turned to look at Dumbledore in surprise.

"What else did Tom say to you?"

"Professor, Tom said he doesn't expect to be back for the next few days, at least not for three days. He has his own things to do."

Professor Dumbledore nodded, not questioning the two men further, because he knew that even if he asked them, they certainly wouldn't know what Tom had done, much less where Tom was.

Professor Dumbledore felt that Tom was becoming increasingly mysterious, to the point that he didn't even know Tom's past or future.

Dumbledore felt he should find someone to show him Tom's "future".

There is a mysterious lady at Hogwarts.

This woman was born into a mixed-race family. Her mother was a Muggle, and her father graduated from Ravenclaw House at Hogwarts. She also attended Ravenclaw House and later became a Divination professor at Hogwarts.

It was this woman who foresaw Voldemort's existence and that Harry would meet him.

The legendary statement that Harry will be the savior of the wizarding world and will defeat the evil Dark Lord Voldemort originated from this professor's mouth.

After seeing Terry and Li Su off, Dumbledore went to find Professor Trelawney.

"Abus, it's been a long time since I've seen you. What brings you here this time? Have you run into another problem that even you can't solve?"

Professor Trelawney was a middle-aged woman whose blonde hair clashed drastically with her face.

She wasn't actually that old, but her golden hair had an unhealthy yellow tinge, and her cheeks were so thin they looked like just bones and skin, devoid of any flesh or rosy glow.

This is because Professor Trelawney is busy with divination and his work every day and doesn't have enough time to rest.

As time went on, Professor Trelawney transformed into her current form.

"Professor Sybil, do you remember a special genius at our school?"

Professor Trelawney pondered for a moment, then looked up into Dumbledore's eyes and asked, "Mr. Albus, is the person you're referring to Tom?"

Dumbledore nodded.

"So what do you want to ask about Tom? His past, his present, or his future? I can't guarantee my predictions will be accurate, but I will do my best."

Professor Dumbledore softly uttered two words: "The Future."

To be honest, he didn't care much about Tom's past and present, after all, a person's past cannot be changed.

As for his present situation, Tom is busy with his own things, which even Dumbledore can't stop.

He could only observe Tom's future as much as possible, and at this moment, Dumbledore hoped that Tom would not follow the same path as that man.

Despite sharing the same name and displaying extraordinary talent at a young age, Dumbledore still did not want Tom to follow in Voldemort's footsteps.

Even if Tom can't stop Voldemort in the future or confront Voldemort head-on, at least he shouldn't become another Dark Lord.

“I will do my best, sir, please give me some time.” Professor Trelawney agreed, his eyes closed, holding a crystal ball in his hands.

In the eyes of many, Professor Trelawney is a fraud.

At the very least, they thought Professor Trelawney was a fraud, and only a fool like Professor Dumbledore would agree to admit him to Hogwarts.

The talents and prophecies he uttered were nothing more than figments of his imagination to others.

After all, if someone could truly predict another person's future, why bother trying?

Professor Trelawney's eyes suddenly snapped open, and he began to convulse involuntarily, muttering to himself.

Professor Dumbledore leaned closer, but couldn't understand what Professor Trelawney was saying.

The words seemed to be pieced together from random things, and their complexity was no less than that of a dragon script I had once seen by chance.

That is an existence that mortals cannot reach. No matter how high your talent is, if you are born without it, you will never be able to do it in this lifetime, just like the snake voice.

After waiting for a while, Professor Dumbledore noticed that Professor Trelawney's convulsions were getting worse and worse, and in the end he even vomited white foam. He quickly went up to interrupt Professor Trelawney.

"Wake up, Professor Sybil, wake up!" Professor Dumbledore pulled Professor Trelawney back to reality from her reverie.

Professor Dumbledore thoughtfully poured the other person a glass of water and waited patiently for the prophet to speak.

Trelawney's condition was more serious than Dumbledore had imagined. It took him more than 10 minutes to recover, and his eyes still held an expression of disbelief.

"Professor Sybil, what did you see?" Dumbledore couldn't help but ask Trelawney.

“I didn’t see anything! I didn’t see anything!” Trelawney screamed in a voice close to collapse, a loss of composure she had never shown before.

"Albus, that's impossible. No one's future is blank or shrouded in mystery. I've never encountered such a situation in anyone's prophecy."

Tom, he's the first! I see nothing of this child's future. When he started school, I could see some things, but now it's all turned to fog. And it's not just the future; I've also looked into his past.

Dumbledore frowned. "Go on."

"Tom's past has now become a hazy white mist, and I saw a person in that mist."

Dumbledore suddenly became interested and asked Trelawney, his lips trembling with excitement, his long, white beard prickling at the slightest provocation, "What kind of person did you see? Do we know that person?"

"No, I don't know him. I only saw a silhouette. I couldn't even tell if he was a man or a woman, and he spoke to me."

Trelawney crossed her arms, looked at Dumbledore, and said with her lips slightly parted, "He said not to look at anything of his students anymore."

"student?"

Professor Dumbledore fell silent. There should only be one teacher for Tom, and only that one can be called the true teacher of Tom, and that is Snape.

But it is clear that Professor Snape could not do such a thing, or at least he was not capable of doing it.

"Albus!" Suddenly someone opened the door, and it was Snape, whom Professor Dumbledore had just mentioned.

Professor Snape rushed up to Dumbledore in a great hurry: "Where has Tom gone again? Didn't he just come back a couple of days ago? Why is he absent again today? And why did he have the two children tell me!"

I told you long ago that I shouldn't have agreed to let Tom go out, so why did you still insist on letting him go to Hogsmeade?

"Just because I agree to him doesn't mean you can't refuse him! You're the headmaster, Dumbledore!"

Dumbledore rubbed his temples, trying to calm himself down. "Severus, let's not talk about that now. I have a question for you."

"You said."

"Do you know that Tom has other teachers? I'm not talking about you, but other teachers, not the professors at Hogwarts, but some deeper, more powerful wizards..."

Professor Snape suddenly stopped speaking, looked into Dumbledore's eyes and asked, "Do you know who he is?"

I only know that such a person exists, but I don't know who they are.

When I last met Tom, I already guessed that he had another teacher. I didn't even know when they met, let alone how Tom met him.

"How powerful is that teacher?" Dumbledore asked, leaning on his cane, his seat unsteady. "Could it be... the Mysterious Man?"

Snape shook his head firmly: "Absolutely impossible. Mysterio is not that skilled in potions."

Albus, you may not believe it, but I can tell you with absolute certainty that Tom's expertise in potions is now no less than mine.

This is not something that can be achieved through hard work alone; in other words, Tom must have a teacher behind him, a teacher who is a leader in potions. He is hundreds or even thousands of steps ahead of me, perhaps even beyond my reach.

Only a teacher like that could teach Tom now, but I've searched the entire magical world for potions and never found anyone whose talent in potions is so far ahead of mine!

This was the first time Snape had ever talked about these things with anyone.

“Severus, it’s rare to see you inferior to others in potions.”

“A human?” Professor Snape scoffed. “I even doubt that Tom’s new teacher is human. After all, humans have their limits!”

Chapter 137 Hermione's Confusion

"If not a human, then what could it be?" Dumbledore asked himself this question, and then fell silent.

Indeed, if it's not human, then what could it be? A dragon?

No, Garo beside Tom isn't that strong. Although Dumbledore felt he and Garo were evenly matched in strength, that dragon couldn't possibly be ahead of Snape in potions.

It is highly likely that he is the person behind that dragon, the person who once kept that dragon in captivity.

Dumbledore slowly spoke, uttering a name he himself dared not imagine: "Merlin?"

Snape fell silent.

To be honest, he didn't know that he had thought about this person before.

The news of Merlin's death was spread by others, but no one actually saw Merlin pass away, and no one has ever found his body.

It was as if Merlin had suddenly disappeared one day.

However, this does not prevent Tom from having more and more secrets, to the point that they are now unable to find out what kind of force is behind Tom.

The most terrifying thing is not even knowing a name.

"Albus, what are your plans for the future? I once suspected that Tom might be Merlin. I watched him grow from a genius to someone who stood before me step by step, and it didn't even take him more than half a year."

I only taught him Occlumency for a short time, and he mastered it completely in just two weeks. Even now, when Mysterio uses Legilimency on him, Tom doesn't even blink.

When he faced the mysterious man... even though it was his first time facing the mysterious man, there was no fear in his eyes, and afterwards there was no joy of survival, but rather a different kind of calm.

It seems he already knew the mysterious man couldn't possibly be stronger than him; you should know how terrifying that kind of being truly is.

Dumbledore remained silent and told Snape what had just happened.

The absurdity of fables is always hard to imagine, but Snape and Dumbledore firmly believed in the prophet's predictions.