“Of so kinds of magic,” Dumbledore corrected him quietly. “Of so, Tom. Of others, you remain … forgive … woefully ignorant.”
For the first ti, Voldemort smiled. It was a taut leer, an evil thing, more threatening than a look of rage.
“The sa old argunt,” he said softly. “You are still the sa as before, Dumbledore, but nothing I have seen in the world has supported your famous pronouncents that love is more powerful than my kind of magic. No, it seems to that your so-called love is fragile and vulnerable in the face of powerful magic.”
“Oh, is that so? Perhaps you have been looking in the wrong places,” suggested Dumbledore.
“Well, then, what better place to start my fresh researches than here, at Hogwarts?” said Voldemort. “Will you let return? Will you let share my knowledge with your students? I place myself and my talents at your disposal. I am yours to command. And, might you help find love here.”
Evan’s lips curved slightly downward. Now that was an interesting topic — helping Voldemort find love at Hogwarts.
Did he need love?
Was the love he sought even present at Hogwarts?
And, love, could Voldemort even understand such a complex emotion?
Hogwarts was not a school of love, teaching students how to get love. Those who understood love could find it no matter where. Those who didn’t, never would — no matter how close it was, even if it was right under their nose.
Sure enough, Dumbledore, seated behind his desk, raised his eyebrows slightly.
“You want to return to Hogwarts? And what will beco of those whom you command? What will happen to those who call themselves — or so rumor has it — the Death Eaters?”
Voldemort’s eyes flashed red again, and his slit-like nostrils flared. Obviously, he had not expected Dumbledore to know this na.
“My friends,” he said, after a mont’s pause, “will carry on without , I am sure.”
“I am glad to hear that you consider them friends,” said Dumbledore. “I was under the impression that they are more in the order of servants.”
“You are mistaken,” said Voldemort.
“Then if I were to go to the Hog’s Head tonight, I would not find a group of them — Nott, Rosier, Mulciber, Dolohov — awaiting your return? Devoted friends indeed, to travel this far with you on a snowy night, rely to wish you luck as you attempted to secure a teaching post.”
There could be no doubt that Dumbledore’s detailed knowledge of those with whom he was traveling was even less welco to Voldemort; however, he rallied almost at once.
“You are omniscient as ever, Dumbledore.”
“Oh no, rely friendly with the local barn,” said Dumbledore lightly. “Now, Tom …”
Dumbledore set down his empty glass and drew himself up in his seat, the tips of his fingers together in a very characteristic gesture.
“Let us speak openly. Why have you co here tonight, surrounded by henchn, to request a job we both know you do not want?”
Voldemort looked coldly surprised. “A job I do not want? On the contrary, Dumbledore, I want it very much. Whether in the past, present, or future, I am extrely eager to stay at Hogwarts to teach. This is my ho and I want to go ho.”
“I’m not entirely surprised that you see Hogwarts as your ho,” said Dumbledore. “And Hogwarts is always open to any student who returns with good intentions. But let’s be honest, Tom — you never really wanted to teach. Not when you were eighteen, and not now. What is it you’re after, Tom? Why not try an open request for once?”
Voldemort sneered, “Dumbledore, if you do not want to give a job —”
“Of course I don’t,” said Dumbledore. “And I don’t think for a mont you expected to. Nevertheless, you ca here, you asked, you must have had a purpose.”
Voldemort stood up. He looked less like Tom Riddle than ever, his features thick with rage. “This is your final word?”
“It is,” said Dumbledore, also standing.
“Then we have nothing more to say to each other.”
“No, nothing,” said Dumbledore, and a great sadness filled his face. “The ti is long gone when I could frighten you with a burning wardrobe and force you to make repaynt for your cris. But I wish I could, Tom. … I wish I could. …”
Voldemort sneered. Dumbledore’s tone hadn’t moved him in the slightest — if anything, it only made him angrier. For a brief mont, he reached toward his pocket and his wand…
But the mont had passed, Voldemort had turned away, the door was closing, and he was gone.
“Alright, let’s go back,” said Dumbledore, bringing Evan and Harry back into the real-world office.
“Sir, why did he co back?” said Harry at once. “Did you ever find out?”
“I have ideas, and Evan helped confirm so of them,” said Dumbledore. “For example, when he ca back that ti, he hid a Horcrux in the Room of Requirent.”
“Room of Requirent?!” Harry muttered, a spark lighting in his mind.
He suddenly realized — that room wouldn’t appear on the Marauder’s Map.
Malfoy had been disappearing inexplicably recently. Could he have been going there?!
The more he thought about it, the more he felt that was possible. Although Dumbledore and Evan had told him not to worry about it, Harry decided to continue tracking.
“Yes, the Room of Requirent, Voldemort hid Ravenclaw’s diadem there, and I tracked it for a long ti before I found it,” Evan explained, and added, “Lady Ravenclaw herself had left clues about the diadem…”
The gem on the diadem was now in Evan’s hands. It was both the key to the secret treasure left by Ravenclaw and the proof of wisdom, which could allow the wearer to gain absolute wisdom.
“Voldemort is very interested in objects that carry the history of Hogwarts,” said Dumbledore. “And the treasure keys left behind by the Four Founders fall into that category. So, we’ve been rather fortunate. By solving the riddles they left behind, we’ve managed to locate most of the Horcruxes as well.”
Thinking about it that way, they really had been quite lucky!
“So, sir, did you notice anything else from that eting?” Evan asked.
“Yes, I must admit that his appearance made alert,” said Dumbledore. “It was also at that ti that I began to guess he made Horcruxes, but to be honest, I never thought he would fall as far as he did. Anyway, that’s all for tonight’s lesson. I hope the two of you can obtain that mory from Professor Slughorn as soon as possible, before I retrieve that particular item…”
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