Young Tom Riddle

"All the details are written on the second piece of parchment in the envelope. You will depart from King's Cross Station on September first. There is also a ticket inside."

In a small room, the young Dumbledore sat on the only stool, dressed in an impeccably tailored burgundy velvet suit.

Opposite him stood a handsome boy, taller than most children his age, with black hair and a pale face.

The boy was holding an envelope bearing the images of a lion, snake, eagle, and badger.

Seeing this, Harry could not help thinking that if Dumbledore had not delivered Hogwarts's admission letter to this boy that day, perhaps none of what followed would have happened.

He instinctively tried to take the envelope away, but his hand passed right through it.

Of course, Harry could not touch anything here. They were merely inside one of Dumbledore's memories, watching everything as observers.

And the young boy before them was Voldemort before he entered school... though at the time, he was still called Tom Riddle.

Riddle did not immediately open the envelope to inspect its contents. Instead, he stared directly into Dumbledore's eyes.

"I can talk to snakes. When we went hiking in the countryside, snakes found me and whispered to me. Is that normal for a wizard?"

Hearing the boy's question, Harry instinctively turned to look at the young Dumbledore, hoping for an answer.

Coincidentally, he could speak to snakes too. In the wizarding world, it was called Parseltongue.

Parseltongue was not a common gift. As Harry remembered it, few people possessed this ability. The most famous were Salazar Slytherin, one of Hogwarts's four founders, and Voldemort later on.

During his second year, many people had thought he was the Heir who had opened the Chamber of Secrets because of it.

"It