Chapter 728 Young Tom Riddle (page 12)
"All the details are written on the second piece of parchment in the envelope. You leave from King's Cross Station on September 1st. There is also a ticket in it."
In a small room, young Dumbledore was wearing an elegant purple velvet suit and sitting on the only stool.
Opposite him was a handsome boy, taller than his peers, with black hair and a pale face.
At this time, the boy was holding an envelope with a lion, a snake, an eagle and a badger printed on it.
Seeing this, Harry couldn't help but wonder, if Dumbledore had not delivered the Hogwarts admission notice to the boy that day, those things would not have happened later.
He subconsciously wanted to take away the envelope, but his hand went directly through it.
Of course, it is impossible for Harry to touch anything here, because they are just in one of Dumbledore's memories, watching everything as casual bystanders.
The young boy in front of him was Voldemort before he entered school...but his name is still Tom Riddle now.
……
Riddle did not rush to open the envelope to see what was inside, but looked directly into Dumbledore's eyes.
"I can talk to snakes. When we were hiking in the countryside, the snake came to me and whispered to me. Is this normal for a wizard?"
Hearing the boy's words, Harry subconsciously turned to look at young Dumbledore, trying to get an answer.
Coincidentally, he can also talk to snakes, which in wizarding parlance is Parseltongue.
Parseltongue was not a common talent, and in Harry's impression, there were not many people with this ability. The most famous is Salazar Slytherin, one of the four founders of Hogwarts. And Voldemort at the back.
In the second year, many people regarded him as the heir who opened the Slytherin Chamber of Secrets for this reason.
"It's rare." Dumbledore hesitated for a moment, then said, "But it's not unheard of."
"If you ask me, I have the same answer." Next to Harry, white-haired Dumbledore said: "Talent never determines a person's good or evil conditions, it is more like a special birthday Gift.
"It's like the Nymphadora Tonks you know. To be honest, Disguisemagus is more of a dark wizard than Parseltongue, but she chose to be an Auror.
"Although she may not be so reliable sometimes...but it is undeniable that she is an upright and kind wizard."
"Yeah." Harry smiled.
He thought again of what Fred and George had said to him before leaving Hogwarts.
Tonks was obviously an experienced Auror, but she was the last one to discover that there was something wrong with Katie. The Weasley brothers complained about this for more than half an hour.
"So Professor..." Harry hesitated for a moment and asked, "Are you worried about his Parseltongue ability?"
"No." Dumbledore shook his head. "What I care about is his cruel, cunning and domineering nature, as well as his understanding of his abilities. For a young wizard who has not yet entered school, , his abilities are amazingly refined and mature.
"He has discovered that he has some control over magic and has begun to use them consciously.
"It can be said that even if he does not go to Hogwarts, he will become an outstanding wizard in the future."
Harry stopped talking.
As Dumbledore said, Tom Riddle had already realized that he was different when he was eleven years old and began to try to use magic.
When he was eleven years old...wait a minute, he seemed to have also used magic to put Dudley in a cage in the zoo, but he didn't realize that he had done it at the time.
"Kyle..." Harry couldn't help but ask, "Did you know you could use magic before you were eleven?"
"Do you want to listen to what you are saying?" Kyle blinked and looked at Harry in disbelief.
"Forehead……"
Harry was stunned for a moment, then suddenly slapped his forehead.
He just forgot that Kyle's parents are both wizards, and the neighbors are the Weasley family. In this environment, it would be strange if Kyle didn't know magic.
"It's almost time for us to go out." Dumbledore interrupted the two of them with a smile, saving Harry from being so embarrassed.
After a few seconds, the room and the boy in front of them disappeared, and they reappeared in the principal's office in reality.
"Sit down," said Dumbledore, "Harry, what is your impression of Tom Riddle?"
"Very smart." Harry said subconsciously.
Judging from the performance in his memory, eleven-year-old Tom Riddle showed a maturity that was completely different from his age.
Even when he finally revealed his Parselmouth ability, he wanted to calm Dumbledore and regain the initiative.
So even if he didn't think about it anymore, he had to admit that young Riddle was really good and one of those kids from other people's families.
……
Kyle knew that Dumbledore was letting Harry learn as much about Voldemort as possible to find his weaknesses, so he just listened and had no intention of affecting them.
But just sitting there was a bit boring, so he waved to Fox, and the phoenix immediately flew over and landed on his lap.
Kyle took out a handful of herbs and fed them to Fawkes, gently stroking the feathers on his body while listening to Dumbledore's comments about Voldemort.
"Riddle hates his name. You should have noticed how irritated he was when I mentioned that the owner of the Leaky Cauldron was also named "Tom" like him... It shows that he despises anything that makes him appear ordinary. s things.
"Also, he is extremely confident and likes to do everything by himself. He refused to accompany me to Diagon Alley. The same is true for Voldemort as an adult. He doesn't have a single friend."
"Wait, Professor." Harry interrupted, "But those Death Eaters..."
"They're not exactly friends, Harry."
Dumbledore said, "In Voldemort's view, Death Eaters were nothing more than a tool that could help him save some time, like a shorthand quill that could be replaced at any time.
Voldemort fooled them into thinking he was trusted, when in fact Voldemort never had a friend, and I don't think he needed one. "
……
Dumbledore talked a lot, and it wasn't until half an hour later, when curfew time was about to come, that he ended the topic with Harry's half-understanding look in his eyes.
Although Harry didn't understand why Dumbledore told him this, he still tried to remember every word at his request.
"Okay, Harry, it's really time for bed."
Harry stood up and walked toward the door, but stopped halfway.
"What's the matter, Harry?" Dumbledore asked.
"Professor." Harry asked hesitantly, "Are there really Aurors who can speak Parseltongue?"
"I understand what you mean. Seeing is believing, right? But I need to correct you. Not all wizards with good intentions are Aurors."
