In a small room, young Dumbledore, wearing an exquisite purple velvet suit, sat on the only stool.

Opposite him was a handsome boy, taller than his peers, with black hair and a pale face.

At this time, the boy was holding an envelope with a lion, a snake, an eagle and a badger printed on it.

Seeing this, Harry couldn't help but wonder if all those things would have happened later if Dumbledore hadn't given the Hogwarts admission letter to the boy that day.

He subconsciously tried to take the envelope, but his hand went straight through it.

Of course, Harry couldn't touch anything here, because they were just in one of Dumbledore's memories, watching everything as bystanders.

The young boy in front of him was Voldemort before he entered school...but he was still called Tom Riddle now.

…

Riddle did not rush to open the envelope to see what was inside, but looked directly into Dumbledore's eyes.

"I can talk to snakes. When we go hiking in the countryside, snakes find me and whisper to me. Is this normal for a wizard?"

Hearing the boy's words, Harry next to him subconsciously turned his head to look at the young Dumbledore, hoping to get an answer.

Coincidentally, he can also speak to snakes, or Parseltongue in wizarding terms.

Parseltongue is not a common talent. In Harry's impression, there are not many people who have this ability. The most famous one is Salazar Slytherin, one of the four founders of Hogwarts, and later Voldemort.

In his second year, many people thought he was the heir who could open Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets for this reason.

"It's rare." Dumbledore hesitated, then said, "But it's not unheard of."

"If you ask me, I would give the same answer." The white-haired Dumbledore beside Harry said, "Talent never determines whether a person is good or evil. It is more like a special birthday gift.

"Just like Nymphadora Tonks you know, to be honest, Metamorphmagus is more suitable to be a dark wizard than Parseltongue, but she chose to be an Auror.

"Although she may not be that reliable at times...it is undeniable that she is an upright and kind wizard."

"Yeah." Harry smiled.

He thought again of what Fred and George had said to him before they left Hogwarts.

Tonks was obviously an experienced Auror, but she was the last one to discover that there was something wrong with Katie. The Weasley brothers complained about this for more than half an hour.

"So, Professor..." Harry hesitated for a moment before asking, "Have you ever been worried about his Parseltongue ability?"

"No." Dumbledore shook his head. "What I care about is the cruel, treacherous and domineering nature he showed, as well as his awareness of his own abilities. For a young wizard who has not yet entered school, his abilities are surprisingly complete and mature.

"He has discovered that he has some control over his magic and has begun to use it consciously.

"It can be said that even if he didn't go to Hogwarts, he would have become an outstanding wizard in the future."

Harry fell silent.

As Dumbledore said, Tom Riddle realized that he was different from others when he was eleven years old and began to try to use magic.

When he was eleven years old... wait, it seems he also used magic to lock Dudley in a cage in the zoo, but he didn't realize it was his own doing at the time.

"Kyle..." Harry couldn't help but ask, "Did you know you could use magic before you were eleven?"

"Do you want to listen to what you are saying?" Kyle blinked and looked at Harry in disbelief.

"Forehead……"

Harry was stunned for a moment, then slapped his forehead hard.

He had just forgotten that Kyle's parents were wizards, and his neighbors were the Weasleys. In such an environment, it would be strange if Kyle didn't know magic.

"It's about time for us to go out." Dumbledore interrupted the two with a smile, which helped Harry out and saved him from being so embarrassed.

A few seconds later, the room and the boy disappeared, and they reappeared in the principal's office in reality.

"Sit down," said Dumbledore. "Harry, what is your impression of Tom Riddle?"

"Very clever," Harry said automatically.

Judging from the performance in memory alone, the eleven-year-old Tom Riddle showed a maturity that was completely beyond his age.

Even when he finally revealed his ability to speak Parseltongue, he was trying to intimidate Dumbledore and take the initiative again.

So even if he didn't want to, he had to admit that the young Riddle was really outstanding and was the kind of child that other people's families loved.

…

Kyle knew that this was Dumbledore's attempt to get Harry to know as much as possible about Voldemort in order to find his weaknesses, so he just listened from the side without any intention of influencing them.

But just sitting there was a bit boring, so he waved to Fox, and the phoenix immediately flew over and landed on his lap.

Kyle took out a handful of herbs and fed them to Fawkes, gently stroking his feathers while listening to Dumbledore's comments on Voldemort.

"Riddle hated his name. You should have noticed how annoyed he was when I mentioned that the owner of the Leaky Cauldron was named 'Tom' like him... It showed his contempt for anything that made him seem ordinary.

"Also, he is extremely confident and likes to do everything by himself. He even refused my permission to accompany him to Diagon Alley. The same is true for Voldemort when he becomes an adult. He doesn't have a single friend."

"Wait a minute, Professor," Harry interrupted, "but those Death Eaters ..."

"They're not really friends, Harry."

Dumbledore said, "In Voldemort's eyes, the Death Eaters were just a tool that could help him save some time, like a shorthand quill that could be replaced at any time.

Voldemort fooled them into thinking they had his trust, when in reality Voldemort never had a friend, and I don't think he needed one."

…

Dumbledore talked a lot until half an hour later, when curfew was about to begin. He ended the topic with Harry's confused look.

Although Harry didn't understand why Dumbledore said this to him, at his request, he tried to remember every word.

"Okay, Harry, it really is time for bed."

Harry stood up and walked towards the door, but stopped halfway.

"What's the matter, Harry?" asked Dumbledore.

"Professor," Harry asked hesitantly, "are there really Aurors who can speak Parseltongue?"

"I understand what you mean. Seeing is believing, right? But I need to correct you. Not all kindhearted wizards are Aurors."

Dumbledore thought for a moment. "I know a man who can understand the language of all magical animals, including snakes, and can chat with them like a friend."

"All the magical creatures?" Harry's mouth dropped open in amazement.

"Yes, all." Dumbledore glanced at Kyle intentionally or unintentionally.

Kyle just sat there calmly, as if he didn't hear anything...

In fact, Kyle really didn't hear it, because he fell asleep, as if he was really in a History of Magic class, with Fawkes lying on his legs, with his neck and wings drooping, also sleeping soundly.

The corner of Dumbledore's eye twitched. He had been a professor for so many years, but this was the first time a student had been so arrogant in front of him.

"That's impressive." Harry smacked his lips. "I bet he's doing really well in Care of Magical Creatures."

At this time, Harry also noticed Kyle's strangeness...

What a sound sleep he's having, Harry couldn't help but think, and poked Kyle's back with his hand despite Dumbledore's increasingly strange gaze.

"Well, good night, professor." After doing all this, Harry turned and walked towards the door.

After he left, Kyle woke up.

"Ah? Finished?" Kyle rubbed his eyes and looked at Dumbledore.

In response to Kyle's question, Dumbledore simply asked, "Why are you still here?"

The tone was like facing an unwelcome guest.

"Huh?" Kyle blinked, trying to wake himself up.

This is really strange. Didn't Dumbledore insist that I stay? Why is he asking me about it now?

If Dumbledore hadn't asked him to do so, he would have gone back to the warm common room long ago. Why would he stay here and listen to him talk about Tom Riddle? After all, he had already heard these words once... no, more than once.

He always brought it up every time he talked to Dumbledore about Voldemort, and Kyle was getting tired of hearing it.

Kyle stood up and prepared to leave, but because he had just woken up, he forgot that Fox was still on his lap...

Caught off guard, the Phoenix fell to the ground, and angrily began to peck at Kyle's calves.

"Oh, sorry Fawkes," Kyle apologized hastily, blurting out, "Dumbledore told me to get up. You know, I fell asleep just now, too."

Hearing this, the phoenix changed its target without hesitation, flew over and began to peck at Dumbledore's beard.

The principal's office immediately became lively with the sound of clanging. Even the portraits on the wall could no longer pretend to be asleep and opened their eyes one after another.

Phoenix Black looked at Dumbledore who was being pecked by the phoenix and ran away. He then looked at Kyle who pushed the door and walked out as if nothing had happened. He couldn't help but open his mouth and said, "Ha, is this the kind-hearted wizard that Dumbledore was talking about?"

"Um..." Someone next to him hesitated. "Maybe the man Albus was talking about is his father. I think his name is Chris, the Director of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures of the Ministry of Magic.

"I've seen him a few times in my Ministry portrait. A typical Hufflepuff."

…

On the other side, Kyle left the principal's office and had no idea that the portraits were talking about him behind his back. He stretched and rubbed his calf which was pecked by Fox.

"Kyle, how are you?" Harry's voice came from the side. He had been waiting here.

"I'm fine, I just got pecked by Fox a few times." Kyle lifted up his robe, revealing his calves covered in bruises. "I have to say, it hurts when a phoenix pecks you."

"What, Professor Dumbledore let the phoenix peck you?" Harry asked in surprise. He had thought that Kyle would at most be deducted some points, but he didn't expect the headmaster to punish the student in this way.

He would feel pain for a long time if Hedwig pecked him, let alone the Phoenix... Isn't this a bit too much?

"Ah? No!" Kyle shook his head, "I accidentally dropped Fox."

Kyle waved his hand, not really wanting to continue the topic, and asked, "Why are you still here?"

"I'm waiting for you." Harry wanted to ask Kyle what Dumbledore meant by saying so much to him just now, but when he thought of Kyle's sleeping appearance just now, he closed his mouth again.

Forget it, I'll just wait and ask Hermione and the others when I get back.

"I'm fine, don't worry." Kyle waved his hand and said.

The two separated in the next corridor, Harry returned to the Gryffindor common room and Kyle headed downstairs.

…

Ten minutes later, curfew arrived.

A figure walked through the quiet corridor on the eighth floor and quickly came to the gargoyle stone head.

It seemed as if it had known that someone would come. He didn't even say a command, and the stone statue jumped to the side, revealing the passage behind it. The light spreading from the principal's office also shone on the face of the visitor.

It was Snape. He walked in and pushed open the oak door at the back.

"Dumbledore, I have...what's wrong with you?"

Snape had just said half of his words when he suddenly realized that something was wrong in the room.

Dumbledore's hair was disheveled, as if he had just been attacked, and there were silver-white things everywhere around him.

Snape picked one up and looked at it carefully. It seemed to be... a beard? "What happened here?" He couldn't help but ask, "Did the Dark Lord sneak attack you just now?"

"It's worse than that..." Dumbledore looked at his scattered beard with heartache, and sighed, "How are you doing over there?"

Snape didn't ask any more questions and said, "I've already talked to Draco, and he seems a little unconvinced."

"Yes, that's understandable." Dumbledore waved his wand, and the headmaster's office became clean and tidy again.

"After all, it was his first time being entrusted with an important task, so he would naturally want to perform well."

"Entrusted with an important task?" Snape sneered, "The Dark Lord didn't want him to live at all. This is his punishment for Lucius Malfoy! "Let Draco kill you. What a ridiculous task. Even he can't do it."

"It's not impossible..." Dumbledore said with a smile, "Just because Tom can't do it doesn't mean that everyone can't do it. You know, I never stay on guard in front of my students."

Having said that, Dumbledore suddenly thought of something and couldn't help but touch his remaining beard again.

He found that this was not a good habit and it would be better to change it if there was a chance... At least he had to be vigilant when facing a certain student.

"So how did your conversation go?" Dumbledore continued, "Did he agree with your suggestion?"

"I don't think he'll act rashly again," said Snape.

"That's good," Dumbledore said. "The child's soul has not been completely corrupted by darkness. There is still a chance for him to turn back."

"You mean he gave up at the last minute and knocked Katie over?" Snape asked.

"This is just part of it, and it's also the most intuitive manifestation." Dumbledore said, "Severus, who do you think planned this, young Mr. Malfoy?"

"Draco did buy the opal necklace." Snape was silent for a moment, "But this morning, Narcissa left Malfoy Manor, and no one knows where she went."

"Really?" Dumbledore glanced out the window. "It seems that Minerva is right. I really shouldn't have agreed to let the students go to Hogsmeade at this time."

"Severus, could you please pay more attention to Mr. Malfoy in the future?"

"I'm sure it's fine," Snape said, "but on the other hand, he was attacked for no reason. Do you think he will let it go?"

"Don't worry about that. I will find another chance to talk to Kyle." Dumbledore took off his glasses and wiped them.

He kept Kyle here this time just because of this incident, and it was definitely impossible for him to not pursue the matter at all, but Dumbledore felt that if he hinted at it, he would be able to restrain himself a little.

After all, the difference between the two sides is too great. If Kyle really wants to deal with Malfoy, he won't even have the room to resist... Umbridge of St. Mungo's is the best example.

But no one expected that a small incident happened in the middle, and he was interrupted before he could mention it.

Dumbledore stroked his beard again. For a moment, he even suspected that Kyle didn't want him to talk about this topic on purpose. But after thinking about it carefully, he felt that it was too far-fetched.

(End of this chapter)