Hogwarts: This Dark Lord is so evil

"That's right. Regardless of the past, you are still Tom's child. You certainly have the right to meet him," Mr. Riddle said helplessly.

Dumbledore said, "Actually, you don't need to be so afraid of us. We don't have any malicious intentions."

"Well... I can see that," Mr. Riddle said. "Otherwise, according to what Tom used to say about you... I might already be dead at the door..."

"About what happened back then... I've heard some things from others, but I don't know the specifics..." Dumbledore suddenly asked.

Although Tom seemed uninterested on the surface, he straightened up immediately when he heard Dumbledore ask about it.

He didn't want to just guess about what happened back then from other people's gossip; he needed to hear it from the people involved!

Back then... was it really his mother's fault?

What was the real reason his father abandoned him and his mother?

Mr. Riddle pondered for a moment, then said, "Before we talk about that, can you let me see... that kind of... witchcraft! Yes, at first, I thought all those things Tom said were just the words of someone who was mentally unstable... that they might not be true..."

Mr. Riddle's fear of wizards mostly came from his son's exaggerated stories.

However, he had always had some doubts about his son's claims.

Was he really taken away by a witch? Or was he just mentally unstable?

It was only after his son gradually returned to normal that Mr. Riddle gradually began to believe his son's words.

That's why he maintained such reverence when he first met Dumbledore and the others.

Who could maintain this family business to this day if they were a fool?

Giving courtesy when you don't know the other party's background is the most correct approach.

"Of course," Dumbledore said, gently moving his finger.

Then the pipe in Mr. Riddle's hand floated lightly into the air and turned into a rose.

Mr. Riddle looked at the rose in the air in shock, then tremblingly reached out and caught it.

"This..." He checked it over and over again, but it was undoubtedly just an ordinary rose!

"How did you do that?" Mr. Riddle asked in surprise.

"This is magic, Mr. Riddle," Dumbledore said gently.

The next second, the rose in Mr. Riddle's hand turned back into a pipe.

Even the tobacco in the pipe hadn't gone out...

If it were in the past, Mr. Riddle would have praised it as a good trick!

But now... with his son's experience in mind, he completely believed that this was a power that he needed to revere—magic.

"Alright... this is how it is..." Mr. Riddle began to talk about what happened back then.

"My son, Tom Riddle, was engaged to Miss Livy from Little Hangleton when he was young. After the engagement, he often rode his horse to Little Hangleton to see his fiancée..."

"He told me that when he passed a dilapidated cottage, he would always see a girl smiling at him. Out of politeness, he would smile back..."

"One day... when he passed that cottage again, he suddenly felt a little thirsty, and the girl invited him to drink a glass of water."

"According to him, after drinking that glass of water... he suddenly fell in love with the girl in the cottage... regardless of everything... even ignoring his fiancée!"

"He and she pledged their love in that cottage and spent a whole year like that... until one day..."

"He told me that it was like waking up from a long dream... He realized that all the love he had for that girl was like a flower in a mirror or the moon's reflection in water... He felt incredible about his experience over the past year!"

"Just as he was confused, the girl told him that she was a witch and had used some means to keep him by her side. But now, she was pregnant, so she didn't want to deceive him anymore, so... she released the magic on him, hoping that Tom would sincerely stay."

"But Tom was terrified... He ran back... afraid that the witch would come after him again."

Mr. Riddle sighed. "Even though he came back, he was no longer the Tom he used to be. The old Tom, although a bit arrogant and rude, was still a cheerful person. But after this incident, he never dared to go out easily again. He was afraid that the witch would come to his door..."

"So, when he heard that a child who looked like him had appeared, he was immediately frightened and locked himself in his room, never coming out again..."

As Mr. Riddle finished speaking, Dumbledore and Levid looked at Tom.

At this time, Tom's expression was also very complicated, his hands clenched tightly into fists, without saying a word.

For a time, the carriage fell silent.

However, this silence did not last long, because the carriage stopped.

The old butler's voice came from outside the carriage.

"Sir, we have arrived."

Mr. Riddle nodded to Dumbledore and the others. "Please get out... I'm sorry, in order to understand your situation... I specifically instructed the butler to drive around the manor twice on the way back."

When Levid got out of the car, he clearly saw many figures moving in a house not far away, and the sharp-eyed Levid also saw that those who were retreating were holding weapons...

Obviously, if Mr. Riddle felt any malice from them during their conversation...

Then they might have to face a hail of bullets.

However, Levid thought it was normal. In this era, how could wealthy people not have some armed forces in their hands? Even if they were hidden.

"Please come in." Mr. Riddle led Dumbledore and the others to a large house and invited them in.

The house was decorated luxuriously.

In the living room, a richly dressed old woman was standing quietly by the sofa, waiting.

When her gaze fell on Tom, she couldn't help but clench the cross in her hand and mutter something.

"Caroline, don't worry. They have no malicious intentions. And this child... yes, he is indeed Tom's child," Mr. Riddle said.

"This is my wife, Caroline. Please forgive her, she, like Tom, is frightened..."

Mrs. Riddle heard this and looked at Dumbledore and the other two again. Seeing that they really didn't seem to have any malicious intentions, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, Mr. Riddle asked the old butler to serve tea to Dumbledore and the others, and then took the opportunity to tell his wife about Dumbledore's intentions.

"That... woman, is she really dead?" Mrs. Riddle asked hesitantly. "I'm sorry for asking this, but... she really brought many years of nightmares to our family, especially to Tom..."

Because he knew the truth of what happened that year, Tom felt much less resentment in his heart this time.

What his mother did was indeed... a bit difficult to judge...

Moreover, even if he wanted to get angry now, Dumbledore and Levid would not support him.

"Yes, she died... right in front of the orphanage." Tom paused, then continued: "She gave birth to me in the snow, and then... after handing me over to Mrs. Cole at the orphanage, she died."

Mrs. Riddle was silent for a while before asking again: "Child... can you tell me your name?"

"Tom Marvolo Riddle. Marvolo is my grandfather's name... It was also the name she gave me before she died," Tom replied.

Mrs. Riddle sighed, as if she understood something.

"Let Tom come out and see his child..." Mrs. Riddle said to the old butler beside her. "Oh, right, remember to tell him that the person who gave him nightmares... is gone."

"Yes..." The old butler strode upstairs.

Lord Riddle suddenly asked, "Child, since you grew up in an orphanage... then, this gentleman, what is your relationship with him?"

He was asking about the relationship between Tom and Dumbledore.

Dumbledore explained, "I am this child's professor. Yes... wizards also have schools. We enroll all children with magical talent and teach them how to use this power correctly, so they don't accidentally hurt others."

"Is that so..." Lord Riddle was clearly very interested in the idea of wizards having schools.

Without a single mistake, first release first, internal capacity in one look!

So, the two old men started chatting, and Lord Riddle learned a lot about wizards from Dumbledore.

Because of this, he realized that not all wizards are evil.

They hide in the shadows, mostly to prevent being harmed by Muggles...

Moreover, wizards also have their own "government," the Ministry of Magic, to manage them, so they don't need to be too afraid of wizards.

Lived looked at Tom, who was still silent and didn't know what he was thinking, suddenly patted him on the shoulder and said softly, "Hey, Tom, it seems like this time is much smoother than going to the Gaunt family, isn't it?"

Tom snorted softly, "Because they are afraid of us, so naturally they are willing to talk slowly. As for the Gaunt family... although my uncle is a useless person, he is also a wizard..."

"Isn't this a good thing, Tom? At least they won't secretly hit you with an Avada Kedavra curse," Lived smiled.

"But they might give me a bullet..."

"Oh? You noticed too?"

"Hmph..." Tom snorted coldly and stopped talking.

Right now, his mood was complicated and hard to explain, and he really didn't have the heart to continue talking to Lived.

At this time, the butler quickly walked down, leaned to Lord Riddle's ear, and whispered something.

Lord Riddle's face instantly darkened.

"What nonsense is he talking about! I'll call him down!" Lord Riddle stood up and said to Dumbledore and the others with a slightly apologetic expression: "I'm sorry, my son is indeed a little... um, too scared right now. I'll talk to him myself."

"Since he doesn't want to see me, then forget it... This matter is indeed my mother's fault," Tom stood up.

After thoroughly understanding his background, a knot in Tom's heart was completely untied today, especially after taking back the title of Slytherin's heir from the Gaunt family.

If his father didn't want to see him, then so be it. In fact, he didn't really want to see him either.

In Tom's opinion, no matter who was right or wrong, it was all the grudges of the previous generation, and it didn't really have much to do with him.

In fact, this was also caused by a change in his state of mind.

If he still hated Muggles and yearned for pure-blood families as before, then of course he would have wanted to kill off the Riddle family!

Only in this way would no one know that he was a shameful half-blood! How could the heir of Slytherin be a half-blood?

But now, his understanding has changed. What about half-blood and pure-blood?

As long as I am strong enough, even the purest pure-blood will have to kneel in front of me and lick my soles! Wasn't his uncle defeated by him?

On the contrary, this makes it even more challenging!

Yes! The purest pure-blood I'm talking about is you, Lived!

"Why are you looking at me?" Lived felt inexplicable at Tom's gaze.

"It's nothing... Mr. Riddle, since he doesn't want to see me, then I'll leave. Don't worry, I won't come back to cause you trouble. I'm not that bored, so you don't need to live in fear all day long in the future," Tom said with a cold expression, turned around, and wanted to leave.

But Lord Riddle quickly walked over and stopped in front of Tom, as agile as someone who didn't resemble an old man.

"Please wait a moment... Tom... if I may call you that," Lord Riddle said thoughtfully: "Let's put aside the grudges of the past. If you are willing... this place, Riddle Manor, is still your home."

Tom looked at Lord Riddle in surprise. He didn't quite understand why Lord Riddle would say this.

Shouldn't they be very afraid of wizards? Shouldn't they hope to see him leave quickly and never come back?

"I don't want to say any high-sounding, beautiful words... Let me tell you the truth. You've also seen that my family business is very large. And my son is in that state now... I really can't rest assured to let him inherit my family business. If one day, I die, then this family business... I'm afraid it will decline sooner or later in his hands. Tom, from the first moment I saw you, I knew that you were much more outstanding than your father. So, I think..."

"Sorry, I'm not interested," Tom said with a straight face.

Just now, for a moment, he thought... but the truth is the truth. How could anyone have any family affection for a suddenly appearing grandson?

Lord Riddle had lived to this point and was already very shrewd, so as soon as he saw Tom's expression, he knew what he was probably thinking.

"Perhaps you will feel uncomfortable hearing these words of mine... but, I just don't want to deceive you, I'm just telling the truth. You can't expect us to have so-called family affection as soon as we meet you. Emotions can be cultivated, I just hope you can give us a chance to cultivate them."

Lived actually understood Lord Riddle's approach very well now. It was nothing more than the main account having been ruined, and only with great difficulty discovering that he still had an excellent small account, so naturally he had to seize it.

So what if he was a wizard? After learning a lot about wizards from Dumbledore, Lord Riddle was no longer so afraid. Otherwise, this vast fortune would be ruined in Old Tom's hands sooner or later. That's much scarier than a wizard...

"Really?" Tom looked at Lord Riddle with a very sharp gaze, "Don't forget, your son is in this state now, all thanks to my mother!"

"What's done is done, and it can't be changed. People always have to look forward. It's the most foolish thing to only cling to the grudges of the past. And... what does the past have to do with you? Even if I were to blame, I wouldn't be able to blame you."

Lord Riddle's aged and turbid eyes shone with wisdom at this moment.

For the continuation and development of the family, as long as you are of the family's bloodline, so what if you're a wizard?

In fact, before Tom came, Lord Riddle had almost despaired.

Dumbledore and Lived didn't speak, just watched Tom silently.

And Tom was lost in thought.

At this time, what he was thinking was... if it were Lived, what would he do?

This was an assumption he would unconsciously make every time he encountered a difficult problem.

After a moment, he raised his head and said to Lord Riddle, "You just said that you are very rich, right?"

"It should be said that I am very, very rich!" Lord Riddle said proudly.

"The money isn't really important. I just want to experience what family affection is like," Tom said without changing his expression.