Magical Studies at Hogwarts...

Chapter 318: What Happened Before (Part 4)

Mrs. Cole was a very serious person and would not agree to something just because of a few words from Dumbledore. But after Dumbledore used a little magic trick, this obstacle naturally disappeared.

After Dumbledore conjured a bottle of wine and two glasses, and he shared a drink with Mrs. Cole, the atmosphere became very harmonious.

"Could you tell me about Tom Riddle's background? He seems to have been born in this orphanage," Dumbledore pressed, seizing the opportunity.

"Yes." Mrs. Cole poured herself another glass. "I remember it very clearly. I had just started working here. It was a terrible night, and a young woman knocked on our door."

"To be honest, this happens far too often. We helped her in, she gave birth shortly after, and then died shortly after that," Mrs. Cole said.

"Did she say anything before she died?" Dumbledore then asked.

"Not much. Her mental state was very poor at the time, but she still managed to name the child," Mrs. Cole said, taking a sip of her drink. "His first name is Tom, like his father; his middle name is Marvolo, like his father; and his last name is Riddle..."

After that, Dumbledore and Mrs. Cole talked a lot more, mostly about Tom Riddle. But it was mainly Mrs. Cole who did the talking, with Dumbledore only occasionally interjecting.

Harry stood quietly to the side and listened, and learned that Tom Riddle, also known as Voldemort, was a wicked person when he was in the orphanage. He would bully other children, and no one in the orphanage liked him.

Afterwards, Mrs. Cole took them to see Tom Riddle so that Dumbledore could speak with him. Dumbledore told him a lot about wizards and Hogwarts, but Tom displayed a guarded, violent, and self-centered nature. Their conversation was more of an argument than a chat.

Throughout the entire process, young Tom Riddle tried to take control of the conversation, but he was no match for Dumbledore and was instead frightened by Dumbledore's magic that set the wardrobe on fire.

"I think that's about it," the older Dumbledore said suddenly after the slightly younger version of Dumbledore and the younger version of Tom Riddle said goodbye. He took Harry's arm, and a few seconds later they were back in the headmaster's office.

"He picked it up much faster than I did. I didn't believe Hagrid when he first told me." Harry gently rubbed his head, still processing everything he had just seen.

"Yes, just like he said, he desperately wanted to be 'different'," Dumbledore replied.

"You knew he was..." Harry's words were interrupted by Dumbledore.

"The most dangerous dark wizard in history? No, I had no idea he would become the person he is now," Dumbledore said. "I was planning to keep a close eye on him after I returned to Hogwarts, because some of the qualities he displayed at the time worried me."

"You heard it too. Unlike other wizards his age, he can already control those abilities to some extent and use them consciously."

"He was very purposeful. Using magic to deal with others, intimidate, punish, and even control them shows that he had already come to regard magic as a pure tool to satisfy his own desires."

Dumbledore paused, then continued, "Tom is a very self-centered man. He only trusts himself and clearly has no friends. He goes to Diagon Alley all by himself, without any help from anyone, and is willing to do everything himself, even now."

"You could say that the Tom I know now is not much different from the Tom I first met, except that he now possesses immense power and no longer hides his desires as much as he did back then. Now, he is clearly lawless," Dumbledore sighed. "Many Death Eaters claim to have Voldemort's trust, but such people are extremely stingy with their trust. In my opinion, the vast majority of Death Eaters have been fooled."

"Perhaps he does trust one or two people, but that's a very limited number. A person like him doesn't need friends."

With a gentle stir of his wand, Dumbledore took the memories from the basin and placed them in an empty bottle, saying, "Finally, I hope you will notice this: from that time on, he developed the habit of collecting trophies."

"You saw that box of stolen goods he hid in the closet, didn't you? Those were things he considered meaningful. That's important, Harry. Later, my interactions with him also revealed that he's very passionate about collecting items with unique significance."

"It's just that the harmonica and silver thimble have been replaced with magical items..."

"Like Marvolo Gaunt's ring?" Harry suddenly interjected, and Dumbledore immediately gave an approving smile.

He said, "I'm glad you thought of that, Harry. It shows you really listened to my lessons and thought about them carefully."

"So, Voldemort put a spell on the ring, and that's why your hand turned like that before you got it? Like Kitty?"

"Yes, you can absolutely understand it that way." Dumbledore nodded.

"What kind of magic did he put on it?" Harry asked again. "And why are you looking for that ring?"

Dumbledore didn't answer the question. He picked up the last bottle, waved it in front of Harry, and said, "I'll tell you about that later when I have the chance... It's late now, and we still have one last memory to look at." With that, he poured the memory from the bottle into the Pensieve.

"Is this still your memory?" Harry asked.

"No." Dumbledore shook his head, his wand slowly stirring the Pensieve, and said, "Some people don't approve of me doing this, but I think it's important to be prepared... Besides, we're facing more than just Voldemort now, there's also..."

"Ike!" Harry answered quickly, and Dumbledore smiled and nodded.

“Yes, Ike, perhaps the most outstanding student Hogwarts has ever had, and also the most dangerous…” Dumbledore looked at Harry calmly, his tone becoming much more serious. “And unlike Tom, our understanding of him is actually limited to his time at Hogwarts. Even after studying and living with us for four years, we still don’t know what his true purpose is…”

"So, I found this." Dumbledore shook the empty bottle in his hand and sighed. "This wasn't easy to obtain. Like Tom, they both possess a unique quality that makes people believe them. The difference is that Mr. Strand is much better at hiding his past than Tom. When I found the owner of the memories, guess what I discovered?"

"What?" Harry asked sensibly.

"The Forgetting Curse," Dumbledore said. "His modified version of the Forgetting Curse seals away almost all of the memory owner's memories of him."

"How could he do that!" Harry's face was filled with anger, which reminded him of Gilderoy Lockhart, the thief who stole other people's memories.

"No, you misunderstand, Harry. In fact, the Oblivion Charm cast on the user of a memory is more like a protection, and it will backfire on anyone who tries to uncover its secrets..."

"Are you hurt?" Harry asked in surprise.

"Though I hate to admit it, yes... I lost some crucial memories because of this, and I still haven't figured out exactly what I lost," Dumbledore said. "However, because of this, I also gained this..."

"Take a look, all I can say is that these are all crucial..."

(End of this chapter)