Harry seemed to want to say something, but Dumbledore gestured for him to be quiet. If he had anything to say, they could talk upstairs.
They followed Mrs. Cole out of the office and up the stone stairs, loudly ordering and criticizing her helpers and children as they went.
The orphans were all wearing grey tunic robes. They seemed to have received reasonable and meticulous care, but there was no doubt that growing up in this place, the atmosphere was very gloomy and depressing. The orphanage was a very old building, and the layout and decorations inside gave off a gloomy feeling.
There was not enough light. Even though it was almost noon, the place was still cold and dark.
The orphans poked their heads out from every room to look at them, and their lifeless eyes …
"We're here," Mrs. Cole said.
They turned a corner on the landing on the third floor and stopped at the door of the first room in a long corridor.
She knocked twice on the door and walked in.
"Tom? Someone's here to see you. This is Mr. Dumbledore. I'm sorry, Mr. Dumbledore. He's here to tell you … Well, I'll let him tell you himself. "
Elwyn, Harry, and the two Dumbledore's walked into the room together, and Mrs. Cole closed the door behind them.
It was an empty, undecorated little room, with only an old wardrobe and an iron bed.
A boy sat on a gray blanket, his long legs stretched out in front of him, reading a book in his hands.
Tom Riddle enjoyed a single room, but it looked more like a prison room.
Elwyn observed Tom Riddle carefully. There was not a trace of the Gunter family on his face. Merlop's last words had come true: he was a miniature version of his handsome father. He was tall for an eleven-year-old child, with black hair and a pale face.
He was a very handsome and likable child. That was the first impression he gave people just by looking at his appearance.
He narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Dumbledore's strange appearance and attire.
No one spoke for a moment, and the atmosphere in the room was silent and strange.
"What a terrible memory." A low voice rang in Elwyn's ear.
He turned his head and saw the blurry figure of the fifteen-year-old Riddle floating beside him. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared!
Elwyn hadn't seen this guy since the incident at the Ministry of Magic last semester.
However, he definitely existed. He could only reside on that ring, and Dumbledore had always been wearing that ring.
In that instant, Elwyn felt that this fellow seemed to have become a little different!
He couldn't tell what was different. He seemed to flash past Elwyn's eyes.
Elwyn then looked at Dumbledore, but there was no response. Just like when he used the Confusion Spell and the Soul Capture, the headmaster did not think there was anything wrong with it. He did not seem to notice that the fifteen-year-old Riddle's soul had left the room. Elwyn's gaze finally landed on the ring on Riddle's hand. The runes on it were particularly eye-catching.
Harry also turned his head to look at Elwyn suspiciously, and then turned his head to listen to the conversation between Dumbledore and Riddle.
"Hello, Tom," Dumbledore said as he walked forward and extended his hand.
The boy hesitated for a moment, and then extended his hand to shake.
Dumbledore pulled a hard wooden chair to Riddle's side. This way, the two of them looked like a patient and a visitor.
"I'm Professor Dumbledore."
"Professor?" Riddle repeated. He looked very alert. He pointed to the door that Mrs. Cole had just left from. "Is it like a doctor? What are you doing here? Did she ask you to examine me? "
"No, it's not that," Dumbledore said with a smile.
"I don't believe you," Riddle said. "She wanted someone to examine me, didn't she? Tell me the truth! "
He said the last three words fiercely and loudly, and his aura was terrifying.
It was an order, and it seemed that he had given such orders many times before.
He suddenly widened his eyes and stared fiercely at Dumbledore. Dumbledore did not answer, but continued to smile kindly. After a few seconds, Riddle's gaze relaxed, but he seemed to be more alert.
"Who are you? Tell me the truth, and don't try to lie to me. I can tell. "It was still the same commanding tone.
"I've already told you. I'm Professor Dumbledore. I work at a school called Hogwarts. I'm here to invite you to my school, your new school, if you're willing. "
Hearing this, Riddle's reaction was very surprising.
He jumped up from the bed and backed away from Dumbledore, looking extremely angry.
"You can't lie to me! You're from a madhouse, aren't you? Professor, hmph, that's right. Let me tell you, I won't go, understand? That damned old witch should go to a madhouse. I didn't do anything to little Amy Benson and Dennis Bishop. Even if they're crazy, it has nothing to do with me. You can ask them yourself, they'll tell you! "
"I'm not from a madhouse." Dumbledore said patiently, "I'm a teacher. If you can sit down calmly, I'll tell you about Hogwarts. Of course, if you don't want to go to that school, no one will force you! "
"Hmph, I'd like to see who dares!" Riddle said contemptuously.
"Hogwarts." Dumbledore continued, as if he did not hear Riddle's last sentence, "It's a school for people with special talents."
"I'm not crazy!"
"I know you're not. Hogwarts is not a school for lunatics, it's a school of magic."
Silence, silence, silence.
Riddle seemed to be stunned, his face expressionless.
His eyes quickly scanned between Dumbledore's eyes, as if trying to see if he was lying.
Was this the reaction of a normal eleven-year-old boy? Absolutely not!
But was young Riddle a normal boy? Absolutely not!
If history could be changed, Elwyn hoped that young Dumbledore would turn around and leave now.
No matter how he looked at it, this guy in front of him was extremely abnormal, even from a wizard's point of view.
"Magic?" Riddle repeated in a soft voice, "You mean magic?"
"That's right," Dumbledore said.
"My innate abilities are, um, magic?"
"What abilities do you have?" Dumbledore asked.
"All kinds, all kinds," Riddle said in a low voice. Riddle lowered his voice and the flush of excitement quickly spread from his neck to his sunken cheeks. He seemed very excited. "Beyond your imagination, I can make things move without touching them. I can make animals listen to my commands without training. Whoever makes me angry, I can make them suffer. I can easily hurt them if I want to. "
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