Hogwarts: A little lion in the skin of the Eagle School

"At Hogwarts, there are many special children like you."

"Hogwarts?"

Tom looked very confused by the term Dumbledore used, and his brows furrowed even more.

"It's a school that... teaches magic."

"You have magic, right, Tom? You think you have that special ability that makes you different from other people?"

Upon hearing this, Tom's expression finally changed, shifting from wariness and aversion to hesitation.

"...Prove it to me."

Dumbledore didn't speak or even move. The next moment, a raging fire suddenly rose from the closet in Tom's room.

Tom sprang up from his chair, his pupils contracting sharply.

The flames licked at the cabinet door but didn't char an inch of wood, not even a speck of ash fell.

"Tom, I think something inside needs to come out."

Dumbledore nodded to Tom, gesturing for him to take the things out of the cupboard.

Tom looked at Dumbledore, and the disgust in his eyes finally turned into awe.

Whether the awe stems from Dumbledore's people or his power remains unknown.

Tom then hesitantly approached the wardrobe, the firelight casting flickering shadows on his pale face.

After opening the closet door, all the clothes inside were gone.

Only a box that he had deliberately hidden remained, lying quietly inside.

Tom took the box out, and the flames in the wardrobe disappeared, restoring everything to normal.

He slowly opened the box and took out three items inside.

A yo-yo, a silver thimble, and a faded harmonica.

"Stealing is absolutely forbidden at Hogwarts, Tom."

Dumbledore spoke slowly, as if he knew the origin of these things.

Tom lowered his head, his previous arrogant attitude gone.

Instead, he said it very sincerely and obediently.

"I understand, sir."

Seeing that he admitted his mistake, Dumbledore didn't say anything more.

Instead, he pulled out a money bag from somewhere.

"Before enrolling at Hogwarts, you need to go to Diagon Alley to purchase the necessities for enrollment; this is the enrollment allowance."

"I'll go shopping with you in Diagon Alley tomorrow."

Dumbledore spoke slowly, but Tom shook his head.

"Sir, I wish I could go by myself."

Upon hearing this, Dumbledore paused for a moment, looked at Tom's stubborn eyes, and finally nodded.

"Okay, then take care of yourself. Here's a shopping list, and also the address and directions to Diagon Alley."

Dumbledore didn't insist; he simply placed a few pieces of parchment, a train ticket, and a bag of Galleons gently in Tom's palm.

Tom took the money bag and other items without saying a word, not even a thank you.

After that, Dumbledore gave Tom a brief explanation of Diagon Alley and the Leaky Cauldron, as well as some things to note when school starts.

Tom listened quietly, trying to remember every word Dumbledore said.

Tom didn't react until all the instructions were finished, and Dumbledore didn't intend to stay any longer, so he got up to leave.

But at the very last moment before he left, Tom suddenly spoke up mysteriously.

"Sir, I can talk to snakes."

It's as if they're talking about something extraordinary.

However, Dumbledore remained indifferent.

"Oh, that's rare, but it's not uncommon."

Tom's smug expression froze instantly.

The memories ended there; the ink instantly soaked into the surrounding scenery, returning it to nothingness.

John also abruptly pulled himself out of the Pensieve.

He touched his face; there was no liquid left on it, not even his hair was wet.

It seems the water in the meditation basin isn't real water.

"Phew... Principal, next time could you please explain what this thing is for before I use it..."

John looked at Dumbledore speechlessly.

"Is that so? I'd rather you figure it out on your own."

Dumbledore nodded noncommittally and said...

Well, so you did it on purpose.

John shook his head and continued to ask.

"So, Tom was an orphan?"

"How did Sirius know that his birthplace was in Little Hangleton?"

He mentioned this place name when I was chatting with Sirius before.

"Naturally, it goes back to the story before he was born."

Dumbledore beckoned again, leading John back to his desk to sit down.

Then he took out a file that recorded a pure-blood family called the Gaunt.

Tom's birth was quite eventful; this is Tom's maternal family.

As Dumbledore spoke, he opened the file and let John look closer.

The first page is a tree diagram of family lineage, but this tree diagram has very few branches.

"Due to the Gaunt family's belief in pure blood, inbreeding was frequent, and the hidden diseases and violence in their bloodline were passed down from generation to generation, leading to their continuous decline."

"Until Tom's mother, Merop Gaunt, fell in love with a Muggle millionaire in young Hangleton—Old Tom Riddle."

"So she fled the Gaunt family, then stole old Tom's heart with a love potion, and conceived a child with him, who is now Tom."

She thought this would keep old Tom by her side, and that she would eventually break the effects of the love potion.

"But once old Tom regained consciousness, he immediately abandoned her and their unborn child."

"With nowhere else to go, Merope went to the orphanage she had just remembered, and died shortly after giving birth to Tom there."

If you turn the page further, you'll find the stories Dumbledore just told.

It also records that Meloop had an older brother and a father.

Because he heard that Merop had fallen for a Muggle, Old Tom, the older brother deliberately cast a curse on Old Tom.

This led to the Ministry of Magic coming to her door, and her father, overwhelmed by his daughter's love for a Muggle, attempted to strangle her and attacked the Ministry of Magic employee in the ensuing chaos.

So the Ministry of Magic imprisoned the father and son together in Azkaban.

It was during this time that Melop escaped from the Gaunt family.

Not long after Melop's father was released from prison, he died in the dilapidated Gaunt mansion.

Her brother was sentenced to three years in prison, but according to the records, he is currently dead.

"What about Del Prefecture there?"

After reading it, John roughly figured out the cause and effect of Voldemort's birth, which was quite outrageous.

However, he did not see the crucial Riddle House on it.

Dumbledore then took out a second file and slowly said.

"The Riddle family, too, was wiped out more than a decade later..."