Chapter 136: The Past of Tom Riddle

Saying goodbye to his three roommates, Shiven walked alone toward the Head of Transfiguration’s office on the second floor of the Main Tower.

He crossed the stone bridge leading from the eastern teaching area to the entrance courtyard, then headed upstairs via the marble staircase near the Great Hall entrance. Just past the corner of the stairs, Shiven bumped straight into Riddle coming down from above.

"What a coincidence, Riddle," Shiven greeted him, then asked with some puzzlement, "Did your class end this late?"

Shiven had walked all the way to the Main Tower from the greenhouses at the northeast side of the castle, a journey that took close to ten minutes.

Riddle, on the other hand, should have just finished his class in the teaching area, which meant he would have crossed the connecting bridge between the third-floor Main Tower and the teaching area, then walked down from the upper levels of the Main Tower. That journey clearly wouldn't take ten minutes.

Therefore, Shiven was somewhat confused to run into Riddle here.

Riddle was startled for a moment when he saw Shiven, but an elegant smile immediately blossomed on his face.

"Not at all, Professor McGonagall dismisses her class right on time," Riddle explained politely to Shiven. "I stayed behind after class to ask the professor a few questions."

"Asking a professor questions right after class on the very first day, you're quite the diligent student!" Shiven said with a smile. "How does Hogwarts feel to you today?"

Hearing Shiven's question, Riddle's expression lost its formulaic elegance.

A youthful vitality that belonged to a teenager naturally added itself to his gaze, and a confident radiance alongside a profound yearning overflowed across his face.

"Magic is truly a wondrous thing!" Riddle said with a smile. "Today is probably the best day of my entire life."

"Rest assured, the wonderful life will continue!" Seeing Riddle's joyful expression, Shiven laughed out loud as well.

However, Riddle's next sentence wiped the smile right off Shiven's face.

"The only minor flaw is that the magic we learned today was indeed far too simple for me," Riddle complained. "It's clearly something you learn just by watching the professor demonstrate it once. I truly don't understand how those fools managed to be completely clueless the entire period!"

The corners of Shiven's twitched, recalling the scene from his own first day of school when he had been utterly baffled by simple Transfiguration...

"Ahem, that's a very good mindset, keep it up!" Having finished this slightly awkward sentence, Shiven hurriedly bade farewell to Riddle and walked toward Dumbledore's office.

He was terrified that Riddle would continue dropping jaw-dropping remarks and shatter the tiny bit of self-confidence he had managed to accumulate during his previous school year!

Arriving at the door of the Head of Transfiguration’s office, Shiven saw Dumbledore—whose beard had grown a bit longer—talking with a very young and pretty witch.

Shiven knew that witch was also a Transfiguration professor, under the supervision of Dumbledore, the Head of Transfiguration.

At that moment, Dumbledore seemed to be asking the female professor a question, his right hand cupping his chin as he wore a thoughtful expression.

"Good afternoon, Professor Dumbledore, and... this lovely professor." Shiven walked up and greeted them both.

"McGonagall," the witch pressed her lips together and said indifferently.

"Right, Professor McGonagall," Shiven corrected himself.

"Oh, it's Shiven, I was just about to look for you!" Dumbledore seemed to snap out of his reverie and said cheerfully to Shiven.

Then, he looked at Professor McGonagall, waved his hand at her, and said, "Let's chat another time then, Minerva. Remember to keep a closer eye on Tom Riddle for me."

Professor McGonagall nodded, then departed from the entrance of the Head of Transfiguration’s office.

Hearing Riddle's name unexpectedly, Shiven looked at Dumbledore with some confusion and asked, "Professor, why do you want Professor McGonagall to keep an eye on Riddle?"

"Actually, I wanted to see you precisely because of this matter," Dumbledore said.

At the same time, he pushed open the office door, gesturing for Shiven to take a seat on the sofa inside.

Seeing that Shiven was already seated on the sofa, Dumbledore waved his wand to close the door. He then sat down behind his desk and casually retrieved a handful of Cockroach Clusters from a drawer, popping them into his mouth.

"Would you like tea, coffee, or orange juice?" Dumbledore asked, his voice muffled as he chewed the Cockroach Clusters.

"Er, tea is fine," Shiven said, casting a bizarre look at Dumbledore as the latter relished the notoriously unpalatable little snack.

After Shiven's voice trailed off, Dumbledore tapped a teapot lightly with his wand, and immediately, boiling steam puffed from the spout.

The water inside the teapot boiled and automatically tilted, pouring a cup of fragrant tea into a teacup.

The cup of tea floated smoothly over to Shiven, already having quietly reached the ideal drinking temperature mid-flight.

Shiven took a gentle sip of the tea, then looked at Dumbledore and asked with some puzzlement, "Professor, so why keep an eye on Riddle?"

Dumbledore didn't answer Shiven's question directly; instead, he looked at him and countered, "Shiven, what kind of person do you think Tom Riddle is?"

"I've only known him for a day, so I don't understand him very well," Shiven frowned and said softly. "However, based on my current perception, I can tell he is talented, has strong learning capabilities, is polite, and his interpersonal skills are probably quite good. But sometimes he can be a bit impulsive and lacks restraint when dealing with classmates."

"It seems you have a pretty good impression of him?" Dumbledore asked with a soft smile.

"Yes, judging by his daily behavior, I think it would be difficult for people not to develop a favorable impression of him," Shiven nodded and said.

"Talented, strong learning ability, and good interpersonal skills. None of your evaluations are wrong." Dumbledore smiled slightly, shook his head, and said to Shiven, "Riddle is indeed a young wizard with great potential, which is all the more reason why we must guide him onto the right path!"

"The right path? You mean..." Shiven faintly sensed the implication hidden in Dumbledore's words and asked hesitantly.

"Right during this summer, I was the one who delivered Tom Riddle's acceptance letter," Dumbledore waved his hand and continued speaking to Shiven. "You should know that he comes from an orphanage, right?"

Shiven nodded.

"Well, at the time, I spoke with Mrs. Cole, the matron of Wool's Orphanage, about some matters concerning Tom Riddle. Mrs. Cole said that Tom is an unusual child and that he exerts a special influence over the other children."

"When I met Tom, I learned from his own mouth that he had long been able to crudely utilize his magical abilities. That special influence Tom exerted over the other children was likely achieved using his magical powers."

"In addition, Tom would steal things from the other orphans and keep them like trophies in his wardrobe. I warned him about this, but it probably didn't have much effect."

Shiven listened in a daze as Dumbledore introduced Riddle's past, feeling his perceptions receive a massive shock.

Riddle, who appeared polite, gentle, and elegant on the surface, was actually someone who bullied others and habitually stole behind their backs?

Shiven slowly raised his head to look at Dumbledore, frowning as he asked, "So, what do you need me to do?"

"I need you to guide him well, Shiven," Dumbledore said solemnly.