When Wade listened again, all he could hear was the evening wind rustling the leaves.
He didn't know if she had taken his words to heart, but since this was just a casual precaution, he didn't really mind either.
A moment later, he picked up his suitcase again and slipped into a nearby alley.
The next second, a dark shadow shot into the sky, so fast it looked like a night owl just taking flight…
…
Riddle Manor.
For the first time, Old Tom's room was opened...
Or rather, opened for the first time in front of Tom.
What surprised Tom was that the room wasn't dirty or messy at all. On the contrary, it was very tidy.
And… what left the deepest impression on Tom was that the room was filled with books!
In Tom's imagination, his father had been a wreck for so many years.
Even if the room wasn't filthy and chaotic, it should at least have been littered with bottles.
But now… everywhere he looked, there were only books, nothing but books…
Tom even noticed that under the bed, the space was crammed full of books as well!
It could be described as a sort of crowded neatness.
Old Tom sat on a chair by the bed, half his eye peeking out from behind a pile of books, looking rather uneasy.
Because between him and his son… they really weren't very familiar.
"You… like reading this much?" Tom had to take the initiative to ask.
"I didn't like it before… When I was young, I liked wine, fine food, and beautiful women… Of course, what I liked most was hunting…" Old Tom said softly. "But then…"
Tom already knew what came after that, so he didn't press further. He simply picked up a book from the desk and flipped through it.
It was a Muggle philosophy book… After just glancing at it twice, Tom put it down.
For him, this kind of book was even more headache-inducing than a History of Magic textbook…
"After the accident, I just stayed in my room and didn't go out… When my father saw me like that, he brought me a lot of books… I knew he did it to stop me from overthinking. But… it really did make my time alone less lonely, and… it really did help me forget some painful memories for a while…"
At that moment, Tom began to understand why Old Tom wasn't as arrogant and conceited as others had described.
Books… really could change a person's character and temperament.
All the more so when Old Tom had shut himself away in his room, reading for over ten years.
After a while, Tom pulled over a chair, sat down, and took a book on Healing out of his pocket to read.
When Old Tom saw him start reading, he tacitly fell silent as well, opening the book he hadn't yet finished and continuing to read…
The strange yet harmonious atmosphere lasted for several hours, until it was broken by an uninvited guest.
It was a large, fiery-red bird, standing on the windowsill with a paper package held in its beak.
"Fawkes?" Tom looked at the phoenix in surprise.
This phoenix often represented Dumbledore himself.
Which meant… this package was sent to him by Dumbledore?
At first, Tom thought it was a letter, but the paper package clearly had some thickness to it…
"What kind of bird is that?" Old Tom asked curiously.
He had seen plenty of owls that could deliver letters.
Tom's own owl—"Dawn"—was currently dozing in its cage in the corner of the room.
"That's a phoenix… Professor Dumbledore's… companion."
Tom carefully considered his wording.
He had originally wanted to say "pet," but Fawkes was staring straight at him, and he didn't dare speak carelessly.
Clearly, his instinct was correct—Fawkes seemed very satisfied with his answer.
After leaving the package, the phoenix turned into a burst of flames and disappeared.
Tom picked up the package and opened it right there in Old Tom's room.
Inside was a letter and a notebook with a black cover.
Tom set the notebook aside first, then opened the letter.
The looping, swirling handwriting was highly recognizable…
[Tom, I know that you and Wade have been secretly studying and using Dark Magic… Don't worry, I write this letter not to scold you, because I know you have never used it on the innocent.
I heard from someone that when it comes to Dark Magic, it is better to guide than to block…
Even if I forbade you from learning, you would still find a way to study it in secret. And indeed, that has proven true.
I have thought about this seriously. Rather than letting you learn in secret and risk the dangers that come with it, it is better to give you some professional guidance…]
[Although I dislike admitting it, on this point, I must say he does make sense…
So, from now on, I will no longer oppose you coming into contact with Dark Magic… Because of someone's reforms, you truly have no way to avoid it.
But you must promise me: when working with Dark Magic, you must strictly follow the rules! Take proper protective measures! Be careful not to harm the innocent!
Otherwise, it may bring you a lifetime of pain!
Enclosed with this letter are some of my notes on Dark Magic. Study them step by step, and do not be reckless! These are especially for you. As for Wade… perhaps he no longer needs them.
Tom, I remind you again: whether it is Dark Magic or anything else, as long as it is power, it is a double-edged sword… When you draw that sword, you must exercise the utmost caution!
Albus Dumbledore]
After reading the letter, Tom was completely dumbfounded.
For a moment, he thought he had misread it—Dumbledore had actually sent him notes on using Dark Magic?
Was this… Dumbledore teaching him Dark Magic? How could he be having such a dream?
But after checking again and again, Tom realized it was no dream. And with Fawkes as proof, no one else could have forged it!
So Dumbledore really did already know that he had used Dark Magic that night… perhaps he even knew Tom had cast the Killing Curse…
For a moment, Tom didn't know whether he should be happy or afraid…
Wait… Tom glanced again at the last few lines of the letter.
Perhaps… he wasn't the one who should be most afraid…
"As for Wade… perhaps he no longer needs these." Tom read that sentence three times over.
Ha! The one who should be afraid isn't me—it's you, Wade!
Your disguise has slipped!
_______
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