She had come to the orphanage while pregnant. One look told you she was a fool abandoned by a man. She had only a little money on her, nowhere near enough to cover a sickly person's medical expenses. The Old Headmaster had taken her in out of pity, yet not long after the child was born, she left behind only a name and drew her last breath.
Was it really worth it? Mrs. Cole's expression went blank for a moment. She had seen many people obsessed with love over the course of her life, but few of them had reached a perfect ending. That was why she despised those fools who threw everything away for love.
Especially the kind who gave birth to a child and then simply croaked! Did they really think an orphanage was such a wonderful place?
Early the next morning, Tom went to the kitchen without the slightest hope. He was somewhat surprised to see his own portion of food. His gaze swept over the two terrified brats. Fine. It seemed yesterday's events had robbed them of even the courage to inform on him.
That was for the best, though. It saved him from going hungry again. If he kept being locked in solitary, his stomach would develop problems sooner or later. No, they would only get worse. Hah... Tom sighed inwardly, unsure whether he would have money to go to a hospital in the future.
His body really was precious. Going hungry often had already left him with a stomach ailment. A pitiful little thing nobody wanted had no right to get sick.
Perhaps another rumor had spread, but Tom felt that life was quite good now. At the very least, those people no longer provoked him whenever they pleased. Completely immersed in studying and exploring his own abilities, Tom lived exceptionally comfortably.
He was no longer the little shrimp he had once been. Though eleven-year-old Tom was somewhat thin, he stood tall and straight. The baby fat had vanished from his face, and his features were gradually becoming more defined. His jet-black hair was neatly groomed, and his handsome appearance was highly deceptive, making it very easy for him to win others' favor.
That year, Wool's Orphanage received a particularly unusual visitor. Mrs. Cole hesitantly invited the middle-aged man before her to sit down. She was not sure whether his claim of being a professor was real. After all, Riddle had certain abnormal problems.
This brown-haired, crooked-nosed man... looked like a good person. But weren't there plenty of well-dressed beasts who looked that way?
"Mr. Dumbledore, are you truly certain that your school intends to admit Tom? Tom Riddle, rather than another child?"
Smiling amiably, Dumbledore removed his top hat and pulled a blank sheet of paper from his robe. Under Mrs. Cole's gaze, which looked at him as though he were insane, he waved his wand. "I think... you'll understand once you take a look at this~"
Mrs. Cole picked up the blank paper with a wandering gaze, her expression gradually turning serious. After a while, as though she had finished reading it, she handed the paper back. Seeing the gin and glass on the table, she felt somewhat puzzled. She would swear to God that those things had absolutely not been there just moments ago!
"Perhaps... I could offer you a glass of gin?" Mrs. Cole lowered her voice and poured Dumbledore a drink. Lowering her eyes to stare at the glass in her hand, she said, "Um... how should I put this? Tom is a very strange child. He hardly cried even as a baby, and as he grew older, he became even stranger... Are you sure you haven't got the wrong person?"
Dumbledore maintained his smile and blinked. Was she taking him for a bad man? Amused by his own thought, Dumbledore chuckled. "Such a child is quite easy to raise, isn't he? Just as you saw earlier, Hogwarts never makes mistakes... I am very certain who my student is~"
Before you continue