"Did he gather all these people right under your nose, Professor?"
"Yes, it was right under my nose!"
Elwyn sighed again. Tom Riddle during his student days was really scary. It was not easy for them to form a D.A., but look at what he did during his student days. He formed a dark force right under Dumbledore's nose and gathered Death Eaters to form a real army.
From this point of view, even Elwyn could not compare to him.
In fact, strictly speaking, if not for Riddle's diary, Elwyn would not have the strength he had now.
Most of the magic knowledge he had at the beginning was passed on to him by Lord Voldemort during his student days.
Many of them, Elwyn was still using now...
It could be said that without Lord Voldemort, there would not be Elwyn today.
If he had relied on himself to learn and master those esoteric knowledge, he would probably still be struggling with those magic books.
Whether he would be able to comprehend and summarize them was another matter.
Of course, if there was no Lord Voldemort, Elwyn would be happy to relax and spend his years in the Hogwarts peacefully like Corin, Ron, and Neville, dealing with homework in class, learning some simple magic, and dating Hermione every day...
Thinking about it this way, this world without Lord Voldemort was actually not bad, was it not?
"As I said earlier, he was very wise to guard against me. He did not try to confuse me like he did so many of my colleagues. He once told me that he was determined to turn over a new leaf, and I chose to give him this opportunity." Dumbledore said, as if he could read Elwyn's mind. "I have to admit, there was a period of time when I was indeed deceived by him. Riddle gathered many followers in the school, but he controlled them very strictly. These people were never found to have done anything bad in public. Although there were many malicious incidents in the Hogwarts during their seven years in school, they were never conclusively linked to them. The most serious incident was of course the opening of the secret chamber, which caused the death of a girl. You know, Hagrid was wronged because of this case. "
"So, unfortunately, although he was once my student, I didn't find many memories of Riddle in Hogwarts. There wasn't much useful information," Dumbledore said. "Not many people who knew him back then were willing to talk about him. They were too afraid. What I know now is that after he left the Hogwarts, he spent a lot of effort to find those who could be drawn out, looked up old records, and asked Muggle and the Wizard. "
The scary thing about Lord Voldemort was not his power, but his ability to bewitch people and his intelligence to deceive Dumbledore.
When he gave up on all these and turned to pursue pure power, he was no longer that terrifying!
At the very least, he now had the possibility of being defeated. Even though he was powerful and undying, he now had a fatal weakness.
"Those who remember me tell me that Riddle was fascinated by his origins. Of course, this is understandable. He grew up in an orphanage and naturally wanted to know how he got there. It seems that he searched for traces of old Tom Riddle in the prize room, in the old school records, and even in the history of magic, but to no avail. In the end, he was forced to admit that his father had never been to Hogwarts. It was then, I believe, that he abandoned the name and changed it to Voldemort, and began to investigate the family history of his mother, whom he had previously despised. Of that memory, we will not look at it for the moment, but I can tell you plainly that he believed that the woman could not have been a wizard, having succumbed to the shameful human weakness of death. "
"His only clue was the name Marvolo, which he learned from the orphanage management that it was his grandfather's name. After a hard search in old books and wizard families, he finally found a remnant of the Slytherin family. In the summer when he was fifteen, he left the orphanage that he returned to every year to look for his Gaunt relatives. As I said, that place had a special meaning to him. It was the place where his dreams came true, and it was also the place where his dreams were shattered. "
"So, he hid the ring in that house?" Elwyn asked again.
"Yes, at least I think so!" Dumbledore replied with certainty. "That is also my destination."
He waved his wand, and the meditation basin and the two crystal bottles containing memories on the table disappeared.
"It's almost time. We have to leave after dark. I think that since the Ministry of Magic is after us, we'd better act like we are wanted." Dumbledore said, and paused. "Oh, yes, since the ring is now a soul vessel, I think we'd better bring a weapon."
As soon as he finished, there was a flash of golden light, and the phoenix Fawkes appeared above the living room, wearing the tattered Sorting Hat.
It hovered and threw the Sorting Hat into Elwyn's arms.
"Oh, Fawkes brought it here!" Dumbledore said. "Please take it, Elwyn. We are leaving now."
The real Gryffindor could take Gryffindor's sword from the Sorting Hat. That was their weapon.
Elwyn hurriedly stuffed the Sorting Hat into his arms, and his right hand grasped Dumbledore's left hand.
Dumbledore's right hand grabbed Fawkes, and with another flash of golden light, they disappeared from the living room!
A few seconds later, the two of them appeared out of thin air on a country road.
Fawkes let out a low chirp and flew into the distance, sprinkling bits of golden light, and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
The night wind blew slowly, and the thick clouds in the sky covered the stars. In front of them was little Hangleton.
It was similar to the scene in Ogden's memory, but many of the houses in the village had been renovated, and the layout had changed.
Only the Riddle Manor stood quietly on the hillside in the distance, as it had in the past.
It was now in ruins, as if no one had lived there for a long time. A few of the windows of the house were sealed, and the tiles on the roof were incomplete. Creepers crawled all over the house, baring their fangs and brandishing their claws. It was damp and desolate, just like the vanished Riddle Family, like a horrible haunted house.
"No one in the village dares to go near it. The murder case half a century ago left a deep impression on them," Dumbledore said. "Alright, let's go to the old house of the Gunter Family to take a look. Be alert, Elwyn. I don't think the Lord Voldemort would just leave the ring there without any magic. "
"Yes!" Elwyn nodded, and added, "You be careful too, Professor!"
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