Harry Potter and the Secret Treasures

“And he was a Parselmouth,” interjected Harry.

“Yes, indeed; a rare ability, and one supposedly connected with the Dark Arts, although as we know, there are Parselmouths among the great and the good too. In fact, his ability to speak to serpents did not make me nearly as uneasy as his obvious instincts for cruelty, secrecy, and domination.”

Bringing harm to others, simply because he could. ‘I can make them hurt if I want to.’ Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on NoveIꜰire.net

No emotional burden, no basic sense of right and wrong. A terrifying mindset. Riddle seemed devoid of emotions.

Unlike the absolute wisdom of Lady Ravenclaw, Riddle did not understand what love was, nor did he believe in it.

The only thing he believed in was himself, and when the good in his heart was separated along with the first Horcrux, he had already become a monster.

In Dumbledore’s words, his obvious instincts for cruelty, secrecy, and domination completely ruled his personality until they became his entire being.

This nature was more fitting to describe a dangerous beast, like a snake, rather than a person.

“He is not human!” Evan blurted out his thoughts, a little nonsensically.

“In a certain sense, he truly is no longer human,” said Dumbledore calmly, as if he understood exactly what Evan was getting at. “What worries me is that he is straying further and further down this path.”

“Is it about the magic left by Slytherin?” Evan asked. Voldemort wanted to use this magic to become an evil god.

That Dark magic recorded a method of becoming an immortal being, a being far superior to a Horcrux.

Given Voldemort’s character and fear of death, there was no reason for him to reject this magic.

Immortal, extraordinary, unique, he could not resist such temptation, even if he had to pay a terrible price for it.

Everything that had happened recently proved that Voldemort was preparing for this magic, gathering the necessary materials.

Evan wanted to know what Dumbledore was thinking and what the Order of the Phoenix was planning.

Dumbledore had refused to say anything before, unwilling to reveal his plans to Evan. But now seemed like a good opportunity to steer the conversation in that direction.

“Voldemort’s ambitions are far beyond our imagination. You will understand in time,” said Dumbledore ambiguously, his gaze shifting from Evan to the dark sky beyond the windows. “Time is making fools of us again. But before we part, I want to draw your attention to certain features of the scene we have just witnessed.”

Evan sighed. Dumbledore still refused to say anything.

What did he mean by ‘Voldemort’s ambitions were far beyond imagination’? Was Voldemort not satisfied with becoming an evil god?

What information had Dumbledore obtained? What was his plan? How was he going to deal with a far more powerful Voldemort? How would he deal with the fifteen-year-old Riddle in the ring? And what about the densely packed runes covering his hand?

Unknown, unknown, unknown.

Working with the Headmaster was truly exhausting…

“First of all, I hope you both noticed Riddle’s reaction when I mentioned that another shared his first name, ‘Tom’?” Dumbledore continued.

“He hated it. He didn’t like sharing his name with anyone else.”

“Exactly. There he showed his contempt for anything that tied him to other people, anything that made him ordinary. Even then, he wished to be different, separate, notorious. He shed his name, as you know, within a few short years of that conversation and created the mask of ‘Lord Voldemort’ behind which he has been hidden for so long. I trust that you also noticed that Tom Riddle was already highly self-sufficient, secretive, and, apparently, friendless? He did not want help or companionship on his trip to Diagon Alley. He preferred to operate alone.”

“Sir, when Riddle arrived at Hogwarts on September the first, did he buy everything he needed?” Evan suddenly interrupted, his mind racing. “I mean, did he buy any magical items that weren’t listed on the school’s supply list?”

The gold Galleons Dumbledore had given him would have been far from enough. Many things had to be bought second-hand.

Just like Ron when he started school, second-hand robes, second-hand spellbooks, a second-hand wand, a second-hand cauldron, even a second-hand pet rat.

It seemed like the only thing that wasn’t second-hand was the person himself…

Evan wondered if Riddle had felt the same way.

“On the surface, he was no different from any other student receiving school sponsorship. That alone was something that easily earned others’ sympathy. Riddle never refused a disguise that worked to his advantage. But in reality, he managed to acquire many magical items that were far more valuable than the Galleons I gave him,” said Dumbledore, watching Evan closely. “Riddle was very clever. Like you, he knew how to get money to carry out magical research. Exactly how he did it remains unknown, but that is precisely what I want to tell you. He was willing to do everything by himself instead of cooperating with others or accepting help. The adult Voldemort is the same. You will hear many of his Death Eaters claiming that they are in his confidence, that they alone are close to him, even understand him. They are deluded. Lord Voldemort has never had a friend, nor do I believe that he has ever wanted one.

“And lastly — I hope you are not too sleepy to pay attention to this — the young Tom Riddle liked to collect trophies. You saw the box of stolen articles he had hidden in his room. These were taken from victims of his bullying behavior, souvenirs, if you will, of particularly unpleasant bits of magic. He had this magpie-like tendency.”

“Ravenclaw’s diadem, Slytherin’s locket, Gaunt family ring, the statue of the evil god…” said Evan.

“Yes, Voldemort’s hobby of collecting trophies is very important to help us understand and defeat him. Bear this in mind,” said Dumbledore. “And now, it really is time for bed!”

They both got to their feet. Harry seemed to have something to say, but Dumbledore just smiled and looked at them.

With a wave of his hand, they were dismissed. Harry talked a lot with Evan as they walked towards the common room.

Tonight, they had seen many things, yet this was only the tip of a vast and terrifying iceberg.

The more they learned, the more they realized how little they truly knew.

It wasn’t just Harry — Evan, too, had countless questions and many doubts.

He needed to think things through carefully…

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