"That whole scene just now, you were behind it again, weren't you?" Cassandra quietly asked Tom, her tone full of certainty, as she watched the ongoing Sorting Ceremony.
Tom felt a sharp stab in his heart. Why would she suspect him, and so naturally at that?
"Of course not."
Facing Tom's firm denial, Cassandra's beautiful green eyes were filled with disbelief.
"Alright, I admit I played a small part in it, but I only started it; the actual operation wasn't done by me." Tom finally retreated under Cassandra's gaze, raising his hands in surrender, though he didn't forget to offer a small defense for himself.
"I knew it." Cassandra withdrew her gaze, looking as if it was exactly as she expected.
...
"Colin Creevey!"
"Gryffindor!"
...
"Astoria Greengrass!"
"Slytherin!"
...
"Luna Lovegood!"
"Ravenclaw!"
...
"Rolf Scamander!"
"Hufflepuff!"
...
Without Tom causing trouble, the Sorting Ceremony proceeded extremely smoothly, and the Sorting Hat placed everyone into the correct houses, a rare instance of no unexpected twists.
When Professor McGonagall collected the parchment scrolls with student names and the Sorting Hat, this year's 'uneventful' Sorting Ceremony concluded, and everyone awaited Dumbledore's famous words: "Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"
"What does that sentence even mean? Dumbledore said it last year, and it's the same exact phrase this year." Draco asked Tom, somewhat annoyed, his curiosity gnawing at him like a cat.
"Ah, it probably doesn't mean anything. He just wants to express his unique sense of humor, I suppose. Oh, by the way, it might be because I complimented Dumbledore on how beautifully he said it last year, so he said it again this year." Tom cut a small piece of steak and popped it into his mouth, answering vaguely.
Hearing Tom say that, Draco no longer dwelled on the sentence. He turned to Tom and started talking about their new Defense Against the Dark Arts Class teacher: "Tom, look at Professor Snape's face. Is he looking so bad because of Gilderoy Lockhart?"
"Of course, that's obvious. But Dumbledore couldn't possibly not hire a new Defense Against the Dark Arts Class teacher. After all, Professor Snape was so busy substitute teaching in the second half of last year, and that's not a long-term solution. I just can't figure out why Dumbledore would choose Gilderoy Lockhart?" Tom replied to Draco while enjoying his meal.
Upon hearing Tom's words, Draco couldn't help but frown slightly: "Is Gilderoy Lockhart that bad?"
Tom glanced at the group of enthusiastic fans discussing Gilderoy Lockhart, especially the female fans, then leaned closer to Draco and whispered, "He's very likely even worse than Quirrell. I always feel there's something wrong with the books he writes. For now, let's wait and see, but we need to be ready to activate the Defense Against the Dark Arts Class Teacher Expulsion Plan 2.0 at any time."
Draco nodded heavily in understanding upon hearing this.
After a satisfying meal, Dumbledore formally introduced this year's new Defense Against the Dark Arts Class teacher—Gilderoy Lockhart.
As Lockhart, impeccably dressed, stood up to greet everyone, Tom wondered if it was his imagination, but he felt that Lockhart's gaze seemed to subtly glance towards the Slytherin table, more precisely, towards him.
However, seeing Lockhart's gaze remain fixed on Dumbledore after sitting down, Tom thought he must have been mistaken earlier and dismissed the matter from his mind.
And when Dumbledore finished discussing this year's important matters and brought up the House Cup, Tom gave a meaningful glance towards the Gryffindor table, a mischievous grin appearing on his face, as if anticipating a good show.
"What's wrong with Gryffindor again? Or what are you planning to do again?" Cassandra noticed Tom's gaze and the smile on his face, and couldn't help but ask him.
"Nothing, I'm not planning to do anything." Tom shook his head, denying Cassandra's guess. "It's just that our House Cup advantage is huge this year. Gryffindor is probably starting with negative points."
Cassandra was puzzled and wanted to press further, but saw Tom, like a fortune-teller, refusing to say more. Cassandra was almost driven crazy by curiosity.
Fortunately, Cassandra wasn't tormented by curiosity for too long. The very next day, during the Transfiguration Class shared by second-years and Gryffindor, she got her answer.
"Mr. Ron Weasley, what did you say? Half of your summer homework was eaten by a dog?"
"Do you have a dog at home? I'll write to Molly after class. If she can't bring your dog today, then you'll see. Gryffindor, 10 points from Gryffindor."
"Mr. Seamus Finnigan, what did you say? Your summer homework exploded on its own?"
"Exam papers can explode on their own? I think you did it. 10 points from Gryffindor, and you, take this stack of papers and sit in the front row. I want to see exactly how exam papers explode on their own."
"Mr. Dean Thomas, what's your excuse this time?"
"What? You said you wanted to do your homework while traveling, but you left your papers in Paris and didn't bring them back? Do you think I'll believe your nonsense? 10 points from Gryffindor, and you better complete your homework properly; don't think you can escape."
...
These troublesome little lions of Gryffindor were full of problems during the homework submission part of the start of term, with excuses that were bizarre and each more outlandish than the last.
And our poor Professor McGonagall, on the very first day of term, once again transformed into an irritable cat-mom, unleashing a barrage of scolding on those unruly little lions.
Tom felt that if this happened a few more times, Professor McGonagall's scolding skills would definitely catch up to Professor Snape's. He silently sympathized with Professor McGonagall for a second in his heart.
"You already anticipated this situation?" Cassandra, enjoying the farce before them, couldn't help but lean closer to Tom and ask.
Tom, with an air of obviousness, replied, "Isn't this obvious? Do you think these Gryffindor students could properly complete their summer homework?"
Cassandra thought for a moment, then shook her head: "No, I thought about it, and the number of Gryffindors who could properly complete all their homework could probably be counted on two hands. Tom, you're right."
"There you have it. These Gryffindors are useless at everything except making excuses. Why haven't the excellent qualities of Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall, those excellent former Gryffindors, been passed down to this generation of little lions? As old rivals, it makes us Slytherins look bad."
Tom's words resonated with the surrounding little Slytherin snakes.
Ah, another day of looking down on Gryffindor.