Albus Dumbledore

Dumbledore strode into the orphanage building. He was tall and distinguished; amid an orphanage where everyone was malnourished and sallow-faced, he stood head and shoulders above the rest. Yet compared to the children playing happily around the bonfire downstairs, he seemed better suited to the orphanage's bare yard and its gloomy, staid building.

He entered the orphanage foyer and saw Mrs. Cole, her face full of anxiety and as thin as everyone else. She was using a handkerchief to clean charcoal smudges from a little girl's face while threatening her, "You've got chickenpox and you've made your face such a mess. If you don't wash it properly, you'll be left with scars!" She turned around and saw Dumbledore entering through the door. Startled, she looked up again and finally saw his face.

"Good afternoon." Dumbledore extended his right hand to Mrs. Cole. "I am Albus Dumbledore, the one who wrote to you earlier. You invited me to come here today."

Mrs. Cole froze. She seemed to have forgotten inviting this guest. Hastily, she extended her hand, then pulled it back to wipe it on her apron before offering it to Dumbledore again and shaking his hand. "Please come to my office. We can sit down and talk." With that, she led Dumbledore into a room as shabby as the foyer, the yard, and the building itself.

"You are a most respectable lady!" Dumbledore looked around the room and spoke to Mrs. Cole with deep sincerity. Mrs. Cole gave him an embarrassed, forced smile, invited him to sit on a wobbly chair, and took a seat across the desk from him.

"Mrs. Cole, I have come here mainly because of Tom Riddle and Nelson Williams." Dumbledore got straight to the point.

"Their affairs?" Mrs. Cole was still somewhat confused. She glanced again at the purple suit the man opposite her was wearing and nervously asked Dumbledore, "Are you planning to adopt them?"

"No, I am a teacher," Dumbledore explained. "I wish to invite them to attend our school."

"Your school? What kind of school is it?"

"It is called Hogwarts," Dumbledore replied.

"Why would you be interested in the two of them?"

"We believe they possess certain qualities we value."

Mrs. Cole became even more suspicious of the man claiming to be a teacher. She pressed on, "You mean they have won a scholarship? But as far as I know, they have never submitted an application to any school."

"That is correct. Their names have been in our records since birth."

"Mr. Williams has living relatives. Perhaps they registered him for it. But what about Riddle? Did his parents register him?" Mrs. Cole continued questioning him.

Dumbledore found it hard to fend off Mrs. Cole's barrage of questions. This shrewd woman was putting him under considerable pressure, so he decided to solve the problem with magic. He drew his wand from his pocket, waved it over a sheet of white paper on the desk, and handed it to Mrs. Cole. "Take a look at this, and everything will become clear."

Mrs. Cole accepted the paper in a daze and stared at it for a while. She returned it to Dumbledore. "There are no procedural issues." She nodded to him. "Do you like gin?"

"If I could have a glass, that would be wonderful." Dumbledore smiled pleasantly in agreement.

Mrs. Cole filled two glasses, clinked hers against Dumbledore's, raised it, and drained it in one gulp. Smacking her lips, she took the initiative to speak. "Dumbleton... sorry, Mr. Dumbledore, it is truly good of you to give Tom a future. We have always been worried about him."

Dumbledore raised his glass, signaling for her to continue.

"Tom... Tom has had a hard life, but then, which child in an orphanage has had an easy one? I arrived here at almost the same time as Tom. I remember it clearly. It was the first New Year I spent here. On the night before New Year's Day, it was snowing heavily, and a young woman with a swollen belly came here... Well, we had seen this sort of thing plenty of times, but..." She took out the handkerchief she had used earlier to wipe the little girl's face and dabbed at the corners of her eyes.

"I understand," Dumbledore said solemnly and with feeling. "I have experienced such things as well."

"You are such a sensitive man." Mrs. Cole continued, "She collapsed on the steps. We helped her inside, and less than an hour later, she gave birth to Tom. Less than another hour after that, she died."

"Did she leave any last words?" Dumbledore became interested. "For instance, about the child's father?"

"She said she hoped the child would resemble his father. To be fair, I think she was right. She herself was not particularly well-featured, but Tom must have taken after his father. You will know when you see him later; he is quite handsome." She poured herself another half glass and downed it in one swallow. "Then she named the child Tom Marvolo Riddle. Tom was the father's name, Marvolo came from her own father, and Riddle was the child's surname. Tom is quite an ordinary name, but Marvolo is rather odd." She gave her assessment.

"Afterward, we named the child according to her last wishes, but no one named Tom or Marvolo, nor anyone with the surname Riddle, ever came looking for him. It was as though he had been alone from the moment he was born, with no choice but to grow up in the orphanage." Mrs. Cole seemed to be feeling the effects of the alcohol, and a flush rose to her face. "We were all worried. Generally speaking, children like that are prone to psychological problems. And he was rather withdrawn, strange ever since he was a baby... These days, as an educator, you should know that orphanages like ours do not have the budget to hire psychologists."

"That is true." Dumbledore nodded, then asked curiously, "You said generally speaking?"

"Yes, generally speaking. Tom made a friend at the orphanage, which brightened him up considerably. Yes, he made a friend. The other child you are taking to school, Mr. Williams, is his best friend. They are inseparable. But then, who could resist being friends with Nelson? He is outstanding, sensible, modest, and gentle. He hardly seems like a child his age." Mrs. Cole's eyes lost focus again, as though she were recalling something. "But after the two of them got together, strange things often happened too."

"Strange things? What sort of strange things?" Dumbledore asked gently.

"Er... I do not know whether the staff have simply gotten into the habit of blaming their own oversights on them, but there have been many things. For example, Martha was injured. We bandaged her up, but the next day, when the bandages came off, I found there was no wound at all on Martha's leg. It was like some kind of prank. Oh, right, Martha lives next door to Nelson. Once, the two of them were playing chess in Tom's room, and then the window exploded. Do you understand? Exploded! Tom had no choice but to move into the hall afterward." Mrs. Cole spoke animatedly. "And once, I saw a cat fly out of the water onto the shore in front of Nelson, like a water bird!"

"After all that, you have hardly said anything about Mr. Williams." Dumbledore had become curious. "Could you tell me about him?"

Mrs. Cole looked Dumbledore directly in the eye. "Nelson was originally going to be adopted by his aunt, but you know how it is. Our government has special policies for war orphans. His uncle is a journalist who often travels for work, and his aunt has no steady job, so the adoption papers could never be completed. He himself also said he wanted to live with his friends. Sometimes, he goes to stay at his aunt's home. Today is Sunday. Usually, after attending church on Sundays, he comes to the orphanage to help out. All our caregivers like him. No one could dislike him."

"A war orphan?" Dumbledore murmured softly. "Tom Marvolo and Nelson Wiltning."

"You are certain you will take them to your school, aren't you?"

"I am certain."

"Tom truly ought to have a new environment and make some new friends. The other children are afraid to deal with him."

"He will like his new school."

"I hope so. You must want to meet them in person." Mrs. Cole stood up.

"That would be wonderful." Dumbledore rose with her.

Mrs. Cole led him to the office door. Dumbledore stepped ahead to pull it open and let Mrs. Cole go first, only to see someone already standing outside.

It was one of the people he had come for—Tom Marvolo Riddle.

Dumbledore carefully examined the boy blocking the doorway. Tom was short compared to Dumbledore, but tall for an eleven-year-old human child. His hair was black, and his black eyes met Dumbledore's.

Mrs. Cole was somewhat surprised to see Tom, then said, "Tom, Mr. Dumbledore has come to see you. Take him to your room and talk with him. I will go find Nelson."

"There is no need, ma'am. Nelson is on the roof. I will go call him later." He spoke to Mrs. Cole, but his eyes never left Dumbledore.

Mrs. Cole nodded, indicating that the two of them should talk first. She then returned to the office and shut the door.

"Hello, Tom." Dumbledore extended his hand to Tom. Tom hesitated, then reached out and shook Dumbledore's hand. He turned and led Dumbledore to his room without saying a word along the way.

"I am Professor Dumbledore." After Tom brought out a chair and invited Dumbledore to sit, Dumbledore spoke first.

"Professor?" Tom wore a strange expression. "Why would a professor be looking for me? I am not old enough for university yet." He was wary.

"I work at a school called Hogwarts. I have come to invite you to study at my school—your new school."

Tom looked at him without speaking. Dumbledore continued, "Hogwarts is a school specially established for people with unusual talents."

Tom looked suspiciously at Dumbledore's purplish-red suit. He increasingly felt that this man was a swindler, but he still said nothing.

"Hogwarts is a school of magic."

At the words "school of magic," Tom was stunned. He raised his head and looked into Dumbledore's eyes once more.