Chapter 163
Old Friend
Chapter 163 Old Friend
"main hall."
A woman's voice in the elevator said coldly, the golden bars opened, and Dumbledore and Wade walked out together.
Not long after they walked, they saw a large fountain in the middle of a hall, with a group of pure gold statues in the center of the fountain. The handsome and noble wizard held up his wand, the beautiful witch looked at him admiringly, and the surrounding centaurs, goblins and house-elves looked up at them with infinite admiration.
There were many shiny coins at the bottom of the fountain, and a small sign next to it read:
[All proceeds from the Magical Brotherhood Fountain go to St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries].
The two of them stopped by the fountain at the same time and looked up at the group of statues.
"A beautiful work of art, isn't it?"
Dumbledore threw a handful of coins into the fountain and said with a smile, "But probably only wizards and house-elves will appreciate this work. Centaurs and goblins may not find it pleasing to the eye."
"The goblins would love the gold on it," Vader retorted.
Dumbledore smiled and said, "Yes."
"Will the money here really be used for patients?" Wade asked. "Muggle wishing wells are basically props for collecting money."
"You can rest assured about this. Magic will make wizards more credible," said Dumbledore.
So Wade also took out a handful of coins from his pocket and threw them in. The glittering golden Galleons stood out among the pile of silver Sickles and copper Knuts.
A stream of water spurted out of the ears of the house-elf statue and fell, hitting the water surface in front of Vader, and the splashing water seemed to be reflected in gold.
After a moment of silence, Dumbledore sighed and said, "Wizards, centaurs, goblins, house-elves, we are actually equal in intelligence and magic... just like wizards, Squibs, and Muggles are all human beings."
"All races make up our world and are an integral part of society. However, the prejudice and arrogance of wizards always cause suffering to other races, and wizards always suffer the consequences."
"Isn't it the same even among wizards?"
Wade said: "Pure-bloods despise half-bloods and Muggle-borns, nobles despise commoners, the rich despise the poor, the smart despise the stupid... Even if there is no distinction between races, the chain of contempt is everywhere."
"But some contempt provides us with motivation to make progress; while others, simply because of their birth, suffer for it."
Vader said nothing.
Dumbledore might be alluding to house-elves, or he might be referring to Squibs or Muggles.
He was talking about issues that little kids wouldn't think about, but Wade had no desire to share his inner thoughts with others.
After a moment of silence, Dumbledore said in a relaxed tone: "Let's go."
"Professor, where are we going?" Vader asked, following him.
"You don't know our destination, and you're following me?" Dumbledore asked deliberately.
"You are Dumbledore," Vader said briefly.
Dumbledore smiled again.
His smile looked much more genuine this time, his blue eyes narrowed beneath his half-moon glasses, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes smoothed out.
"I want to take you to meet someone." He said, "An old friend I haven't seen for a long time."
……
As they walked out of the Ministry, Dumbledore asked, "Have you tried Apparating your followers, Vader?"
"No, Professor," Vader shook his head.
"Then I can take you to try it. You need to hold on to my arm tightly." Dumbledore stretched out his arm and said, "This feeling is not very comfortable, but don't worry, I will ensure your safety." Wade grabbed Dumbledore's arm.
Dumbledore was very tall, which he thought made him look even more like a child.
"Very good, let's go!"
As soon as Dumbledore finished speaking, Wade felt a strong squeeze, as if the air from all directions was pressing towards him, as if to press his body into a ping-pong ball...
With a "puff", Wade felt as if he was squeezed out of a narrow tube. His body recovered instantly and his hands and feet seemed to have grown out again.
He paused for a moment, then looked up to see Dumbledore waiting patiently for him to recover.
"Are you okay?" Dumbledore asked with concern, "It takes time to get used to this feeling."
"I'm fine." Wade exhaled and said, "I heard that during the war, underage children must learn to follow the appearance."
"Yes, that was true in the past," said Dumbledore.
Wade looked around. They were in an unfamiliar valley. A dark, winding path led into a dense woods.
On a nearby hillside, there is an exquisite but dilapidated old house, and not far away is a cemetery overgrown with weeds.
It doesn't look like anyone lives around here.
Wade had a vague sense of something, but he did not ask any questions and followed Dumbledore silently along the winding path.
Dumbledore did not let him guess the riddle. He waved his wand and a mist came. Then Wade saw two vague figures appearing in front of him.
He couldn't see their faces clearly, but he could tell they were a man and a woman. The man was riding a horse, and looked well-dressed; the woman was hunched over, with a bent back, and wearing ragged clothes.
They looked so mismatched, but the man carried the woman onto his horse and they rode away along the striped path.
"Many years ago, there was a young couple here - Tom Riddle, the handsome son of a Muggle family, eloped with Merope Gaunt, the daughter of a wizard family. This was a shocking scandal at the time."
"In people's eyes, Riddle was the local squire, while the Gaunts were a group of crazy vagabonds. They were two completely mismatched people. So a few months later, when Tom Riddle returned to the village alone, the villagers were not surprised at all."
In the fog, a man stumbled back, and the girl was no longer with him.
Dumbledore held out his arm. "Come, I will take you to see Merope's next fate."
Vader grabbed his arm again.
With a "bang", two people appeared from a narrow alley.
Dumbledore cast an Disillusionment Charm, and they emerged from an alley that Vader recognized as a neighborhood in London.
There were some Muggles on the road, but they couldn't see Vader or Dumbledore at all.
The fog came back again, and a blurry woman with a big belly was walking with difficulty on the street. White snowflakes could be vaguely seen falling on her shoulders.
Wade followed her and heard Dumbledore say, "Merope, who had lost her husband, was pregnant, but lived in poverty. On a snowy night, she gave birth to a child in the orphanage in front."
The blurry figure of the woman fell down. People in the yard next door heard the noise, ran out of the big iron gate, shouted to each other, and then helped the woman into the house together.
The picture flashes and a baby is born.
A woman in an apron holding the baby leaned over to let his mother see him. The woman struggled to say something, then became motionless, her arms drooping limply.
"After giving birth to this child, Merope died. Before she died, she named the child after his father - Tom Marvolo Riddle."
(End of this chapter)