The Shopkeeper of All Worlds in the British Wizarding World

Chapter 549: Memory and the Past (Part )

Ryan, who was thought to be resting on a small island in the North Sea by Rose Crystal, was actually not as idle as she thought. He was sitting in the common room checking the next issue of "Look, This Is Muggles". Hermione, sitting opposite him, was flipping through the book of Transfiguration that she got from the world of "Beauty and the Beast". After mastering the power of rules, she found many new things worth studying from this book from the Nymphs.

On the sofa in the distance, Ron was rushing to finish his homework. He had fallen behind in his studies during the time he was in the hospital, and he had to catch up now. Otherwise, after the final exam, he would definitely be punished by Mrs. Weasley for the whole summer.

"Why hasn't Harry come back yet?" Ron looked up and asked after copying the notes Ryan had lent him. It was already late at night, and there were only three of them in the common room.

Before Ryan could answer, the door to the common room opened, and Harry walked in with a frustrated look on his face.

"What happened?" Seeing his friend's unhappy face, Ron stepped forward and asked with concern.

"Nothing. It's just that I didn't complete the task Professor Dumbledore assigned to me before, so now the class can't continue." Harry sat down on the sofa tiredly, and then began to tell Ryan and the others the details of what happened in the class with Headmaster Dumbledore today.

At 8 o'clock in the evening, when the puppets decided on the time to attack, Harry also stepped into the headmaster's office, and happened to see Professor Trelawney arguing with Headmaster Dumbledore because Trelawney wanted to drive away the centaur Firenze, and Headmaster Dumbledore rejected her unreasonable request.

After Professor Trelawney angrily pushed Harry away and disappeared on the spiral staircase, Dumbledore asked Harry to close the door and sit in his old seat at Dumbledore's desk.

Harry tried to ask about Professor Trelawney, but Professor Dumbledore only briefly introduced him and then brought the subject back. "Harry, don't worry about my teacher now. We have more important things to talk about. First of all - did you do the homework I assigned last class?"

"Ah," Harry suddenly remembered. Because of the Apparition class, the Quidditch match, Ron's poisoning, his own skull fracture, and his previous attempt to find out what Malfoy was doing, he almost forgot Dumbledore's memory of asking him to get Slughorn... "Well, I really didn't find a way to make him talk, because Ryan reminded me that if I asked him directly, he would definitely not be willing to answer me about this matter. Instead, it would make him more vigilant and completely mess up the matter. So during this time I have been thinking of a way to ensure that he tells the truth, because I know I won't have a second chance."

"Oh, your friend is right." Dumbledore stared at Harry from above his half-moon glasses. Harry felt as if he had been seen through from beginning to end. "You think you have done your best, don't you? Have you fully utilized your intelligence? Have you thought of every possible idea?"

"Uh." Harry was speechless. He had indeed thought of many ways, but he had not implemented them for various reasons. The main reason was that he did not put this matter in the most important position. Now that Dumbledore asked him, he felt ashamed.

"I know that you've had a lot of things happen to you recently, like your friend being poisoned and you getting injured. I also understand how excited a young man like you is when you become captain of the Quidditch team for the first time. But I think I've told you how important that memory is. In fact, it's the most crucial memory. Without it, we'll just be wasting our time."

Dumbledore said these words in a very normal tone, just like he was talking about the weather today, but Harry felt a strong sense of shame coming over him. He would rather Professor Dumbledore scolded him than express his disappointment in such a cold way.

Harry tried desperately to make some excuse, but Dumbledore held out his hand to stop him. "I know you'll say you were busy. But I still hope you can bring this up earlier from now on? Without that memory, there will be no point in us having lessons in the future."

"I will, sir, I will get it." Harry said eagerly as if he had grabbed a life-saving straw. Dumbledore finally got past this topic and entered the main topic of today. They first reviewed the content of the last class: Voldemort killed his father and grandparents, making people think that his uncle did it. Then he returned to Hogwarts to ask Professor Slughorn about Horcruxes.

"In today's class, we will look at the last memory I collected. What you need to know is that after Tom became Voldemort, he consciously erased all traces of his experiences. It has become almost impossible to find someone who can remember the adult Voldemort. In fact, I doubt whether there is a living person other than himself who can tell us in detail about his life after leaving Hogwarts. However, with my efforts, I still found these two memories."

Dumbledore pointed to the two small crystal bottles gleaming next to the Pensieve on the table and said, "I told you when I first started teaching you that we would enter the realm of speculation and conjecture. Fortunately, with the help of your friend Ryan, I can now basically figure out what some of the things in these memories are about. This makes some speculations no longer speculations, and brings us one step closer to the truth."

"Ryan?" Harry said in disbelief.

"Yes." Dumbledore glanced at Harry who was sitting in front of him. "Although he was also very busy this year, his wisdom and strength helped me a lot. After you finish reading these memories, I will tell you exactly what happened."

Harry felt even more ashamed at this time, but Dumbledore didn't seem to notice this. He told Harry that after Voldemort graduated from school with excellent grades, everyone was optimistic about his future. Several teachers suggested that he join the Ministry of Magic and offered to introduce him to them, but he refused all of them. Later, the teachers learned that Voldemort went to work at Borgin and Burke's.

"Borgin and Burkes?" said Harry, surprised.

"Bogin-Burke." Dumbledore said calmly, "I didn't quite understand why, but with Ryan's help I figured out the reason. But in fact, his first goal was not to work there. Voldemort first found my former headmaster and asked if he could stay at Hogwarts to teach."

He wants to stay here?" Harry was shocked. In his impression, an ambitious man like Voldemort would not be willing to stay in this ancient castle all day.

"I can understand that," Dumbledore said. "First of all, this castle is the first and only place that makes him feel at home. Secondly, this castle has a long history, and Voldemort believes that he can find the buried treasure here. And finally, he is not the kind of person who can stay in school for a lifetime. I think he sees this as a good place to recruit troops and build a team for himself."

"It's a good thing he didn't get the job." Harry said with relief in his tone.

Yes. The headmaster at the time, Professor Dippet, said that he was only eighteen years old, too young, but he was welcome to apply again in two years if he still wanted to teach by then. And I also wrote a letter to the headmaster at the time, suggesting that Armando should not hire him. After that, Voldemort went to Borgin and Burke, and all the teachers who admired him said it was a pity. But he did unexpectedly well in that shop. You know, Harry, this shop specializes in selling all kinds of magical items. Voldemort was sent to persuade others to hand over their treasures to the store for sale, and it is said that he is particularly good at this. "

"I believe it," Harry could not help saying.

"Yes," Dumbledore said with a smile, "Now we should get down to business and look at the memories of the house-elf Hokey."

(End of this chapter)