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Wade left the cat and Nagini behind at No. 81, Godric's Hollow.
Only then did he and Tom follow Dumbledore through the fireplace.
The Floo Network exit was located in a wizarding tavern.
The wizards inside looked like a mixed and shady crowd.
Wade and Tom both noticed several unfriendly gazes directed at them.
However, with Dumbledore—a fully grown wizard—present, those unfriendly stares quickly disappeared.
By the time they exited the tavern, they had arrived in Little Hangleton.
It had to be said, fireplaces were indeed the most convenient mode of travel for wizards.
Dumbledore oriented himself briefly, then led Wade and Tom down the road ahead.
It was clear that Dumbledore had already scouted out the route in advance.
"This time I chose the tavern's fireplace to save time… but if you ever travel on your own, it's better to choose fireplaces that aren't so filled with... unfriendly people," Dumbledore reminded them while leading the way.
Wade nodded to show he understood, and Tom quickly nodded as well when he saw that.
He had already made up his mind to start imitating Wade's behavior.
After all, there had to be a reason why Wade could so easily gain the favor of most people!
Tom followed closely behind Dumbledore, but his heart grew increasingly uneasy.
After all, he was about to meet his relatives…
Even if those relatives might not be as welcoming as he had imagined…
Tom walked with Dumbledore for quite a while before suddenly frowning.
He noticed that the farther they walked, the more remote the surroundings became…
The Gaunt family was supposed to be a fairly prominent pure-blood family—shouldn't their manor be located in town?
Tom was full of confusion.
Wade, walking beside him, noticed the expression on his face.
"Tom, you look a little confused?" Wade asked proactively.
"No… it's nothing…" Tom replied, his gaze shifting evasively.
Wade suddenly smiled and said, "In fact, many once-glorious pure-blood families have already fallen into decline, so… not all pure-blood families are as glamorous as they seem."
"You… how did you know what I was thinking?" Tom asked in surprise.
"That was easy to guess, Tom. Your thoughts are written all over your face," Wade replied with a smile.
Tom quickly lowered his head, feeling like Wade's dark eyes could completely see through his mind.
Damn it! Has his Legilimency improved again?! I'll have to be more careful in the future!
Dumbledore also heard the conversation behind him.
He spoke in a rather regretful tone, "Tom, the Gaunt family has indeed declined… Like many other pure-blood families, they've clung to ideals that are increasingly incompatible with the times… Even as their wealth dwindled, they refused to give up their lavish appearances… and they've never been good at managing their estates, so naturally, things turned out poorly."
...
Another ten minutes passed.
When Tom finally saw the small wooden shack in front of them—calling it a shack made of planks would've been more accurate than calling it a house—
He fell into complete silence.
A descendant of Slytherin, from the once-glorious Gaunt family… and they were living in a place like this?
To think that someone living in a place like this would dare claim to be a descendant of Slytherin?
An inexplicable fury rose in Tom's heart!
Wade was also examining the dilapidated shack in front of them.
Aside from the dead snake nailed to the door in the shape of an S—barely suggesting that the resident might be a descendant of Salazar Slytherin—there was nothing else that reflected any connection to Slytherin…
At least, not from the outside.
At this point, Tom's face had gone completely dark, his expression filled with unmistakable disappointment and anger.
Even though he had anticipated the Gaunt family's decline, the reality still struck him as a deep humiliation.
A disgrace to the descendants of Slytherin!
Dumbledore and Wade stood patiently off to the side, waiting.
They both understood Tom's personality well, and they knew just how heavy a blow this scene was to someone as proud as Tom.
After a long pause, Tom finally took a deep breath and said, "Let's knock."
But saying those words seemed to drain all the strength from him.
Dumbledore nodded. "Hold on a moment…"
As he spoke, he took out his wand and gently waved it through the air.
Wade immediately sensed that something in front of them had been dispelled.
"A few minor jinxes… once undone, it's fine. Let's go in."
After casually removing the malicious curses the Gaunt family had placed around the area, Dumbledore strode forward confidently.
Tom's expression grew even darker as he looked at the spots where the curses had been lifted.
Many of them had been placed right along the nearby path!
If someone unfamiliar had passed through—wizard or not—they would've suffered for it…
This clearly proved that the rumors about the Gaunt family's bad reputation and their tendency to curse Muggles weren't baseless at all!
Knock knock knock! Dumbledore rapped on the old Gaunt house door.
"Who is it?!" a rough voice shouted from inside.
Heavy footsteps followed, along with grumbling and swearing.
Clack!
The wooden door was yanked open roughly from the inside.
A thin, ragged man with tangled hair and filthy clothes stepped out, a snake coiled around his hand.
His face was ugly and misshapen, and his gloomy eyes swept quickly over the three people in front of him.
But when he saw Tom, his gaze turned slightly suspicious.
Wade noticed that the man was wearing a black obsidian ring that didn't match the rest of his shabby appearance at all...
"I don't know you! Who are you people?"
Seeing the crude man behind Dumbledore, Tom felt even more disappointed.
As a descendant of Slytherin, Tom had imagined that no matter how far the family had fallen, the man would still be refined, well-mannered, perhaps even handsome… or if not handsome, at the very least, someone who carried the grace and poise of a pure-blood lineage.
Like Abraxas Malfoy—though weak, once he stopped bullying others, his behavior had always been proper and measured.
But now, this man before him—who seemed to be his uncle—was as coarse as the Muggle laborers Tom had often seen…
At this moment, the final trace of Tom's idealized image of the noble Slytherin bloodline completely shattered.
"I'm Albus Dumbledore, a professor at Hogwarts. You must be Mr. Morfin Gaunt?" Dumbledore remained humble and courteous, even in the face of such a rude man.
Watching this scene, Tom felt even more bitter inside…
Wade looked at Tom: So, was the descendant of Slytherin he had imagined actually someone more like Dumbledore?
"Albus Dumbledore?" Morfin Gaunt, though he had spent most of his life at home, found the name vaguely familiar.
He stared at Dumbledore warily. "What are you doing here? I don't know you! I don't owe you money!"
Dumbledore turned to look at Tom. "Tom, come here."
Tom's hand clenched tightly beneath his robes. Gritting his teeth, he walked to Dumbledore's side.
"This child is Tom Marvolo Riddle. His mother was Merope Gaunt, which means you should be his—"
Before Dumbledore could finish his sentence, Morfin's face turned from pale to a flushed, purplish-red.
"Aha! I knew this little bastard looked familiar! So you're the half-breed born from that filthy woman and that dirty Muggle! A disgrace! A disgrace to the family!"
Shouting furiously, Morfin lunged forward, looking as if he was about to strangle Tom!
Bang!
Just as quickly as he charged, Morfin was blasted backward in an instant!
Tom gripped his wand tightly, his eyes practically spitting fire.
"You filthy… disgraceful bastard—how dare you insult my mother like that!" Tom pressed his lips together, clearly ready to strike again.
But then he suddenly felt a hand gently press down on his shoulder.
Turning, he saw Wade lightly shaking his head.
If Dumbledore hadn't been there, Wade naturally wouldn't have stopped him.
But right now… if he didn't stop Tom, there was a real chance Tom would use Sectumsempra or something equally dangerous right in front of Dumbledore.
Dumbledore watched the scene unfold, his lips twitching slightly, but he said nothing further.
He could fully understand how Tom must be feeling at this moment.
He quickly stepped through the broken wooden doorway and approached Morfin, who had been knocked to the ground.
Morfin was still shouting loudly, "You filthy Mudblood! How dare you lay a hand on me?!"
He had just drawn his wand when, somehow, it ended up in Dumbledore's hand instead…
"It wasn't he who attacked you, Mr. Gaunt—it was me," Dumbledore said sternly. "And you owe Mr. Tom Riddle an apology."
Tom was stunned to see Dumbledore take the blame for his impulsive act—and even demand an apology from the other party on his behalf.
His gaze flickered uncertainly...
"I… I have to apologize to that little Mudblood?! I—"
"If you say one more word that isn't an apology… you may not need to apologize at all," Dumbledore said calmly.
Though Dumbledore's tone and expression remained composed, the pressure in the air was overwhelming—even Wade and Tom, standing outside the door, could feel it from a distance.
This Dumbledore was not the gentle grandpa-like figure he would become in the future...
Morfin instantly fell silent, clearly intimidated by Dumbledore.
"Now, can we have a proper conversation?" Dumbledore asked.
Morfin nodded involuntarily.
At that moment, the suffocating pressure pressing down on him vanished completely.
"You can come in now," Dumbledore said, turning to Wade and Tom.
Morfin took the chance to clumsily scramble up from the ground.
Although the hatred and disgust in Morfin's eyes toward Tom hadn't faded, this time he didn't dare insult him to his face.
"Mr. Gaunt, we agreed on this, didn't we?" Dumbledore asked calmly.
"F-fine… s-sorry…" Morfin gritted his teeth as he forced out the apology to Tom.
Tom looked at his groveling posture, and a flash of disgust crossed his eyes again.
Wade had been right—if he had come here alone, he really might have been in danger…
Just now, Morfin had genuinely tried to strangle him!
And with the things Morfin had said, Tom realized he might not have been able to hold back—he probably would've killed him on the spot.
And if that had happened, he would've gotten himself into serious trouble...
Right now, Tom still didn't have the means to completely cover up a crime.
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