That figure, very unfamiliar, and by the outline of the shadow, is an adult male.
Hogwarts, the permanent draw, adult male characters.
It looks like only...
"Snape from The Spinner is here by appointment. I won't be joining you for a chat, but if it's the mysteries of potions you want to study, I'm a bit interested."
Severus Snape!!!
Not Quirrell this time, and it wasn't the great astrologer Trelawney. Tom thought it was amazing.
It felt like the sun was rising in the west.
[Potions Talent + 1]
Indeed, Snape had added the Potions talent.
Tom's Potions talent was now 6 points, which was still within the Superior Talent range, and the 50 draws he had just made had brought his magic stone count to 27,000.
Tom was conflicted: should he use Lockhart's draw? I don't think Lockhart gives any talent bonus, only the spell (Obliviate), which would be a loss. It was easy to research how to learn the (Obliviate) spell, knowing that he now had Lockhart in his hands.
Tom had also decided that when Lockhart taught him the (Obliviate) spell and erased the memories he had taken from other people, he would free him, but first he would use Lockhart to test the (Obliviate) spell, of course.
Tom was still conflicted.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the office door and Tom opened it in Lockhart's form, only to find Dumbledore standing outside.
Seeing Tom, Dumbledore flashed a sympathetic smile that Tom couldn't see, "Professor Lockhart, I wasn't expecting you here today, I thought you were going to have a few more days to recover."
Tom sketched a standard Lockhart smile, "If I take any more time off, they might have to dock my pay."
Dumbledore sketched a mischievous grin, "Consider this week your paid leave, when can you start teaching?"
The only answer would have been to start as soon as possible, but Tom hesitated and asked Dumbledore for one more week's leave. The reason was simple: he needed to find "teaching materials."
Despite being summoned by the Ministry of Magic on the first day and taking two weeks of paid leave, Dumbledore was very lenient with Tom's transformation into Lockhart: not only did he grant him the leave, he even offered to help him catch dangerous magical creatures if necessary.
But he also gently hinted to him that Tom couldn't take any more time off-after all, the young wizards at Hogwarts had had two weeks of Defense Against the Dark Arts to study on their own.
After a brief chat, Dumbledore pulled out a roll of parchment.
"Come, let's sign a contract for you to be a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts." Dumbledore smiled, apparently in a good mood.
Tom took the contract and read it carefully.
The title of the contract was: Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts, with a small line underneath: Academic year 1992 - 1993.
Tom looked at Dumbledore: never fix anything in a contract! Is this a tacit acknowledgement that the new professor will only last one year? Or is it a consideration for subsequent breach of contract?
Dumbledore coughed twice: "It's only a trial period, if you want to continue teaching after a year, I'd appreciate it..."
Tom: "..."
Then he read on.
The contract imposed very few limitations on the teacher and there was no restriction on what could be taught; even black magic could be introduced in class. The teacher himself had the right to add and subtract points, but there was a limit on the number of points that could be added and subtracted from each lesson, and Tom, as a novice teacher, could add up to ten points and subtract ten points from each lesson.
Without outside interference, this would be the limit for a new teacher.
Tom could also punish a student, but he would have to write a written report to Dumbledore and the student's house dean, who in theory would not refuse Tom's request for punishment.
Hogwarts provides dormitories for professors, as well as free medical care at the school hospital, and reimbursement for visits to St. Mungo's Hospital if they are injured in the line of duty during their tenure.
It is worth noting that professors are paid 80 gold galleons a month; Dumbledore pays Dobby ten galleons a week, which is even more generous for professors. A dean and vice principal like McGonagall was said to be paid triple digits a month, almost the ceiling for salaries in the magical world.
Tom read the contract carefully and felt there was no problem, so he cut off his finger and put a bloody fingerprint on Part B.
The moment the contract was signed, Tom felt as if he had a subtle connection to Hogwarts.
And a message appeared in Tom's system.
[Mission: Wander the world]
[Objective: Explore the Magic World]
[Goal: Explore the Magic World]
[Stage 4]
[Progress: 8/8]
[Unlock his own office at Hogwarts]
[Mission Reward: Hint to learn a five-star skill, Legeremancy].
Tom thought this reward was interesting. He had previously completed the Forbidden Forest, Hagrid's Hut, and The Spinner's Alley, and this time his office was the eighth anchor point.
Tom collected his reward and set out on the fifth stage of the mission: Wandering the World.
By this time, Dumbledore had collected his contract and was on his way to the office door. Before he left, however, he said something to Tom that made him sweat, "Nice ring."
Tom waited for him to leave and immediately looked at his ring, which he hadn't noticed until Dumbledore said it: this ring could become his default.
So he pulled out his wand and tried to transform the ring, only to discover that the transfiguration spell was ineffective. Tom pondered for a moment, and simply found a small piece of gold, which he crushed and wrapped around the ring. The six-sided soul ring was then transformed into a ring of raw gold.
With these chores out of the way, Tom had time to look at the so-called telekinesis track.
Tom clicked on the clue, which said that there were three ways to obtain the five-star ability.
[1. Learn it from Snape.]
[2. Learn it from Dumbledore]
[3. Chamber of Secrets]
Tom dismissed the first two options, are you kidding?!! How was he going to learn it from a professor? Find Snape or Dumbledore and say, "Professor, I want to learn how to read minds...".
Come on. They'll probably use it on you first. Learning this magic is as dubious as an engineer wanting to learn how to make a 2nm lithography machine.
It is not one of the three Unforgivable Curses, but it is no less oppressive than the Unforgivable Curses: The Curse (Avada Kedavra) is to kill a person, The Curse (Cruciatus) is to torture a person, The Curse (Imperius) is to control a person, and Legeremancy is to invade people's privacy. For some people, there are certain memories that they would rather die than let others intrude on them.