The moment Albus Dumbledore disappeared, the professors present were alarmed.
But when a familiar panel appeared in the air the next moment, their fear quickly subsided.
"Is this another quiz?" Minerva McGonagall hesitated before asking.
"It seems so." Severus Snape replied coldly as he walked back, radiating an unmistakable aura that warned others to keep their distance.
"Severus, do you have any ideas?"
"Seal off this place. While the students are sleeping, block all news and strictly forbid anyone from speaking about what happened here."
"Severus, that's not what I'm worried about. I'm worried that this scene isn't only visible to us."
Snape fell silent for a moment, then his gaze shifted to Myrtle, who remained frozen in terror.
"Then pray."
"What do you mean?"
"Pray that it isn't visible to others. Otherwise, we are helpless."
His cold tone, combined with his expressionless face, made the air feel heavy and suffocating.
Even Cedric subconsciously took a small step back.
Although the movement was slight, Snape immediately turned his head and fixed his gaze on Cedric Diggory.
The sudden, emotionless stare almost made Cedric freeze.
Fortunately, content began appearing on the blank screen.
Dumbledore was shown walking across a vast white expanse.
This instantly drew everyone's attention, including Snape's, allowing Cedric to quietly breathe a sigh of relief.
The death glare of the Slytherin Head of House was not something ordinary people could endure.
Those who had never experienced it could not understand how terrifying it was.
And Cedric, having just endured it, suddenly felt a strange admiration for Harry Potter.
He admired Harry for surviving Snape's death glare multiple times.
Everyone present, except Cedric whose thoughts had started drifting, focused on the screen.
As Dumbledore stopped walking, the scene changed.
A young man appeared before him.
He wore Slytherin robes, with the house crest clearly visible.
This handsome young man, charming enough to captivate anyone, smiled the moment he saw Dumbledore.
The instant he spoke, Snape narrowed his eyes.
Years ago, he had been a Slytherin student. Later, he became its Head of House.
Yet neither his memories as a student nor his years as Head of House contained any trace of this young man.
Someone this striking could not have gone unnoticed.
Unless…
Unless this was from a much earlier time.
Combined with the young man's tone and attitude toward Dumbledore, a bold thought formed in Snape's mind.
This young man might be Tom Riddle.
That bold guess was correct.
On the screen, Tom and Dumbledore sat facing each other. From the scene alone, there was no obvious hostility between them.
But when the question appeared, Tom's bright smile froze, while Dumbledore fell silent.
Time was like a blade, cutting the past into fragments.
This moment dragged them back decades.
Dumbledore remembered the day he visited an orphanage to bring a child to Hogwarts.
He had instinctively used Legilimency and glimpsed fragments of the child's inner world.
From the beginning, he had been strict with Tom.
He tried to guide him, or at least restrain him through authority and caution.
Perhaps it was the shadow of Gellert Grindelwald, or perhaps something else, but he never let his guard down around the boy.
Years later, Dumbledore often reflected on that choice.
If he had not been so strict, if he had not constantly warned and restrained Tom, would things have turned out differently?
For many years, he had thought about this.
As his student drifted further away and eventually lost himself completely, Dumbledore began to understand.
He later became the most benevolent headmaster of Hogwarts, loved and trusted by his students for his kindness and warmth.
But the past could not be changed.
Resentment, once formed, only deepened over time.
When did he see Tom again?
It was when Tom returned to Hogwarts and requested the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
Dumbledore refused him.
The once brilliant and composed Slytherin prodigy had changed.
His eyes carried a thirst for violence, his smile had grown cold, and his presence felt twisted and dangerous.
Was that his last chance to save him?
Dumbledore's thoughts drifted until Tom suddenly pressed his button and wrote down his answer.
Only then did Dumbledore return to the present.
Tom stood expressionless, looking at a Dumbledore filled with quiet regret.
Just as Dumbledore once looked at a smiling, masked Tom.
[Tom Riddle chose option A. Answer incorrect. Passed to Albus Dumbledore.]
"It seems some things are not as I thought, Professor."
"Always, Tom, your ideas are too extreme."
...
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