Chapter 163 Old Friends

"Main Hall."

A woman's voice in the elevator said coldly, and the golden fences opened, and Dumbledore and Wade walked out together.

Not long after they walked, they saw a large fountain in the middle of a hall, and in the center of the fountain was a group of pure gold statues. The handsome and noble wizard raised his wand, the beautiful witch looked at him admiringly, and the centaurs, goblins and house-elves around him looked up at them with infinite admiration.

There were many shiny coins at the bottom of the fountain, and there was a small sign next to it that read:

[All proceeds from the Magic Brotherhood Fountain are donated to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Injuries and Diseases].

The two stopped by the fountain at the same time and looked up at the group of statues.

"Exquisite works of art, aren't they?"

Dumbledore threw a handful of coins into the fountain and said with a smile: "But probably only wizards and house-elves will appreciate this work, and centaurs and goblins may not find it pleasing to the eye."

"Goblins will like the gold on it." Wade retorted.

Dumbledore smiled and said, "Yes."

"Will the money here really be used on patients?" Wade asked, "Muggle wishing wells are basically props for making money."

"You can rest assured about this. Magic will make wizards more credible." Dumbledore said.

So Wade also took out a handful of coins from his pocket and threw them in. The glittering Galleons were very conspicuous among a pile of silver Sickles and copper Knuts.

A stream of water sprayed from the ears of the house-elf statue fell down and hit the water in front of Wade. The splashing water seemed to be reflected in gold.

After a moment of silence, Dumbledore sighed and said, "Wizards, centaurs, goblins, house-elves, we are actually equal in intelligence and magic... just like wizards, squibs, and Muggles are all human beings."

"Various races make up our world and are an integral part of society. But the prejudice and arrogance of wizards always make other races suffer, and wizards always suffer the consequences."

"Isn't it the same even among wizards?"

Wade said, "Pure-bloods despise half-bloods and Muggles, nobles despise commoners, rich people despise poor people, smart people despise stupid people... Even if there is no racial distinction, the contempt chain is everywhere."

"But some contempt provides us with motivation to make progress;" Dumbledore said, "and others, just because of their birth, suffer for this."

Wade didn't speak.

Dumbledore may be hinting at house-elves, or he may be referring to squibs or Muggles.

He was talking about some issues that children would not think about, but Wade had no desire to share his inner thoughts with others.

After a moment of silence, Dumbledore said in a relaxed tone: "Let's go."

"Professor, where are we going?" Wade followed him and asked.

"You don't know our destination, so you follow me?" Dumbledore asked deliberately.

"You are Dumbledore." Wade said briefly.

Dumbledore smiled again.

His smile looked much more sincere this time, and his blue eyes under the half-moon glasses narrowed, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes also stretched.

"I want to take you to meet someone." He said: "An old friend who I haven't seen for a long time."

...

After walking out of the Ministry of Magic, Dumbledore asked: "Have you tried the follower's appearance, Wade?"

"No, professor." Wade shook his head and said.

"Then I can take you to try it, you need to hold my arm tightly." Dumbledore stretched out his arm and said: "This feeling is not very comfortable, but don't worry, I will ensure your safety."

Wade grabbed Dumbledore's arm.

Dumbledore was very tall, and he thought that made him look more like a child.

"Very good, let's go!"

As soon as Dumbledore finished speaking, Wade felt a strong squeeze, as if the air from all directions was pressing towards him, as if to press his body into a ping-pong ball...

"Puff", Wade felt as if he was squeezed out of a narrow tube, and his body instantly recovered, and his hands and feet seemed to grow out again.

He took a break, looked up and saw Dumbledore waiting patiently for him to recover.

"Are you okay?" Dumbledore said with concern: "You need to get used to this feeling slowly."

"I'm fine." Wade exhaled and said: "I heard that during the war, underage children had to learn to follow the appearance."

"Yes, it was true before." Dumbledore said.

Wade looked around, they were in an unfamiliar valley, and a dark, winding path led to the dense woods.

On the nearby hillside, there was an exquisite and dilapidated old house. Not far away was a cemetery covered with weeds.

It didn't look like anyone lived around.

Wade had a vague sense of something, but he didn't ask any questions. He followed Dumbledore silently, walking along the winding path.

Dumbledore didn't let him guess the riddle. He waved his wand, and a mist came. Then Wade saw two vague figures appearing in front of him.

He couldn't see their faces clearly, but he could tell that they were probably a man and a woman. The man was riding a horse, and he looked well-dressed; the woman was hunched over, with a slightly bent back, and wearing tattered clothes.

They looked so mismatched, but the man carried the woman to the horse, and the two rode along the alternating path.

"Many years ago, there was a young couple here - Tom Riddle, the handsome son of a Muggle family, eloped with Merope Gaunt, the daughter of a wizard family. This was an astonishing scandal at the time."

"In people's eyes, Riddle was a local squire, and the Gaunt family was a group of crazy tramps. They were two completely mismatched people. So a few months later, when Tom Riddle returned to the village alone, the villagers were not surprised at all."

In the mist, a man stumbled back, without the girl by his side.

Dumbledore stretched out his arm: "Come on, I'll take you to see Merope's next fate."

Wade grabbed his arm again.

With a "bang", the two appeared from a narrow alley.

Dumbledore cast the Disillusionment Charm, and they walked out of the alley. Wade recognized that this was a neighborhood in London.

There were some Muggles on the road, but they couldn't see Wade and Dumbledore at all.

The fog reappeared, and a blurry woman with a big belly walked with difficulty on the street. White snowflakes could be vaguely seen falling on her shoulders.

Wade followed her and heard Dumbledore say: "Merope, who lost her husband, became pregnant, but lived in poverty. On a snowy night, she gave birth to a child in the orphanage in front."

The blurry figure of the woman fell down, and the people in the yard next to her heard the noise. They ran out of the big iron gate, calling each other, and then helped the woman into the house together.

The picture flashed, and a baby was born.

A woman in an apron held the baby and leaned over to let his mother see him. The woman struggled to say something, then lost her movement, and her arms fell weakly.

"After giving birth to this child, Merope died. Before she died, she gave the child the same name as his father-Tom Marvolo Riddle."