On the outskirts of Little Hangleton, atop a hill, stood two utterly different old houses.
To the north stood a place shrouded from sunlight year-round, buried beneath wild grass and draped in vines, so decayed it was on the verge of collapse. Few ever ventured there. It was the old home of the mysterious Gaunt family.
To the south stood a warm, pleasant two-story luxury villa bathed in sunlight. No one lived there now, but an arrogant and wealthy family had once resided within, hence its name: Riddle House.
"Oh?"
In one of Riddle House's sitting rooms, Headmaster Dumbledore grunted and opened his eyes, staring blankly at the unfamiliar ceiling.
He discovered that he was lying on a sofa in an old-fashioned sitting room, with no memory whatsoever of how he had arrived there.
As for his earlier memories...
As a master of Legilimency who had reached the same level as Voldemort, Headmaster Dumbledore effortlessly retrieved the memories of falling into the trap of obsession.
Horcruxes, the Resurrection Stone, obsession, falling for the trap, his battle with Li Wei...
The memories surfaced as easily as a short video scrolling across a screen, leaving Headmaster Dumbledore with an immensely complicated expression.
"Ariana, my sister..."
How could obsession possibly be so easily cast aside? The more open-minded and optimistic a person was, the harder the obsessions in his heart were to unravel.
Headmaster Dumbledore was exactly like that. Every time he looked into the Mirror of Erised, it was a revisit and deepening of his obsession.
"Sigh..." Headmaster Dumbledore sighed inwardly. As he barely suppressed the obsession in his heart, he could not help feeling immensely fortunate.
He was fortunate that he had persuaded Li Wei to come with him to find and destroy the Horcruxes.
Otherwise, if he had been alone,