Chapter 1,179

"Your memory." Verlin paused. He didn't expect that Dumbledore would share his memory.

Without any explanation, Fanlin and Harry followed Dumbledore into the swaying silver substance and came to the office he just left.

The headmaster's office at Hogwarts?

In fact, this was not much different from now. The silverware presented by Nicoléme was placed on the desk. Fawkes was taking a nap peacefully on his perch, and Dumbledore was sitting behind the table. He looked very similar to the Dumbledore standing behind them, except that Dumbledore looked healthier at this time. His face There also seem to be fewer wrinkles.

The only difference between this office and the current one is that in the scene in my memory, it was snowing outside. In the night sky outside the window, snowflakes glowing with blue light were falling, and they were thickly piled on the window sill and edge.

When they arrived, the younger Dumbledore seemed to be waiting for something. After a while, this was confirmed when there was a knock on the door.

Dumbledore said calmly: "Please come in."

Then Harry gasped.

Voldemort entered the room. He doesn't look like what Fan Lin and the others saw from the stone cauldron two years ago: the current Voldemort does not have the characteristics of a snake, his eyes are not bright red, and his face does not look like a mask.

But Voldemort at this time is no longer the handsome Tom Riddle in the last memory.

It was as if Tom's face had been burned, his features were blurred, and the white wax was strangely distorted. The whites of his eyes were already solidly bloody. Although the pupils were not long and narrow, Fanlin knew they would become that shape.

This is the change that the Snake Whisperer brought to Voldemort. Since he fully mastered this ability, the essence of the snake in his blood has been developed to a great extent.

Voldemort was wearing a robe, and his face was as white as the snow on his shoulders. Dumbledore, behind the desk, showed no surprise. Apparently this visit was by appointment.

"Good evening, Tom," Dumbledore said lightly. "Aren't you going to sit down?"

"Thank you." Voldemort said flatly, the feeling of respect in his words had completely disappeared. He naturally sat on the chair indicated by Dumbledore. It looked like the two of them had left just now. of that position.

"I heard that you have become Headmaster," Voldemort said calmly, his voice higher than before and very cold. "Commendable."

"I'm glad you're satisfied," Dumbledore smiled. "Want something to drink?"

"I am very grateful," said Voldemort. "I have come a long way."

Dumbledore stood up and walked over to the cupboard where he now kept the Pensieve, which was now filled with bottles. He handed Voldemort a glass of wine, then poured a glass into his own goblet, and returned to sit behind the table.

"Well, Tom... I wonder where I get this honor?"

Voldemort didn't answer immediately, just sipped his wine.

"They stopped calling me 'Tom' a long time ago," he said. "Now, I'm..."

"I know what you are called now," Dumbledore smiled happily, not caring about the dissatisfaction in Tom's words. "But to me, I'm afraid you will always be Tom Riddle. In fact, this is one of the annoying things about old teachers. I'm afraid they will never give up 'Once a teacher, always a teacher' ';The ancient saying.

Dumbledore raised his glass and saluted Voldemort, but the other party remained expressionless.

However, Fanlin felt that the atmosphere in the room was very delicate: Dumbledore's refusal to call Voldemort the name he chose meant that he refused to let Voldemort lead this meeting.

It can be said that Dumbledore is trying to take the initiative in this conversation. This is probably Dumbledore's way. Just like when they talk to each other, Dumbledore tries to take control of everything, and so does Fan Lin.

Fortunately, the two have the same purpose, and under enough threats, Fanlin can trust Dumbledore.

"I'm surprised you stayed here so long." Voldemort said after a short pause. "In fact, I've never understood why a wizard like you would want to stay in a school like this, Hogwarts?"

"Well," Dumbledore was still smiling, "This is not an incomprehensible question, Tom. If you know me well, for a wizard like me, there is nothing more important than teaching and cultivating talents. . If I remember correctly, you also expressed your desire to coach."

Suddenly, both Harry and Fanlin had the illusion that Dumbledore was no better than Voldemort?

Fanlin understands this idea more thoroughly.

Know Dumbledore?

Only those who really understand Dumbledore would not say such nonsense that Dumbledore's dream is to teach and educate people.

If Dumbledore hadn't been so disheartened by the death of his sister, there would have been nothing like Verrin Elle, Harry Potter or Tom Riddle in the wizarding world.

"I still do." Regardless of what Harry and Fanlin thought, Voldemort said to himself.

This gave Fan Lin a new understanding of Voldemort or Dumbledore in his youth.

Voldemort has such an ability, but if it really comes into play, Fan Lin has nothing to say except sorry.

Voldemort would become a powerful teacher, as you can see from his diary, but in reality...

"I'm just curious why you don't... you've always advised the Ministry of Magic, and twice, I guess, been recruited to serve in the Ministry of Magic." Voldemort said, in fact, in the eyes of many people, the Minister of Magic, It's just another way for Dumbledore to exercise his authority over the Ministry of Magic.

"Three times, plus last time, to be exact," said Dumbledore. "But the Ministry of Magic is not my career ambition. Again, we have something in common, I guess."

Voldemort lowered his head and took another sip of his wine without smiling.

Dumbledore did not break the tense silence between them, but waited, with an amused expression, for Voldemort to speak first.

"I'm back," Voldemort said after a while, "perhaps, a little later than Professor Dippet expected... but I'm still back, applying again for the position he originally refused because I was too young. I'm here I am asking you to allow me to return to this castle and teach. I think you must know that after so many years away from here, I have rich experience and knowledge, and I can teach your students things that they cannot learn from other wizards. "

Harry looked very surprised. This was completely different from what he thought. Did Voldemort really want to come back to teach, and had applied for the position more than once?

Dumbledore studied Voldemort for a moment over his goblet and then spoke. "I do know you've seen a lot since you left here," he said quietly. "Rumors about what you have been doing have reached your alma mater, Tom. I am saddened to have to believe that they are half true."

Voldemort still had an indifferent expression and said: "Greatness breeds jealousy, jealousy breeds hostility, hostility breeds lies. You must know this, Dumbledore."

"So you call what you do 'great'?" Dumbledore asked elegantly.

"Of course," Voldemort's eyes suddenly turned red, "I have worked hard, and I have pushed the boundaries of magic to an unprecedented breadth."

"Or rather, Tom, some magic!" Dumbledore corrected him calmly. "Some, that's all. For others, you're still...sorry...pathetically ignorant."

For the first time, Voldemort smiled. It was a vicious look, something very evil, more threatening than rage.

"Same old thing," he said softly. "But I have never found anything in the world that proves your famous statement about love; it is more powerful than my kind of magic, Dumbledore."

"Maybe you're not looking in the right place," Dumbledore suggested.

"Okay, then, where better to start my new research than Hogwarts?" Voldemort said. "Will you let me come back? Will you let me share my knowledge with your students? I leave myself and my talents at your disposal and at your command."

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. "What about those who follow your orders? What will happen to them - those who call themselves - or are rumored to be - 'Death Eaters'?"

Fanlin could tell that Voldemort didn't expect Dumbledore to know this name. He saw a red light flash in Voldemort's eyes and his slit-like nostrils flared.

Obviously, Voldemort still underestimated the sensitivity of Dumbledore's information.

"To be precise, my friends," Voldemort said after a moment of silence, "and they will do what they have to do even without me, I am sure of that. As far as I am concerned, I am just speeding up This process, and help my friends."

"I'm glad to hear you call them friends," Dumbledore said quietly. "I thought they were servants following your orders."

"You are wrong," said Voldemort.

"So if I go to the Hog's Head tonight, won't I see a bunch of them, Bellatrix, Malfoy or anyone else? Are they waiting for you to come back? Your friends are indeed loyal to you. , Walking such a long way in heavy snow, just to congratulate you on getting this teaching position. "

"You have always known everything, Dumbledore." Voldemort said softly.

"Oh no, I'm just friendly to the local bartender," Dumbledore said softly. "Now, Tom..." Dumbledore put down his empty glass, sat up, and made a characteristic gesture with his fingers. "Let's talk frankly. Why are you here tonight, with all these followers, to apply for a job that you and I both know you don't want?"

Voldemort looked a little surprised.

"A job I don't want? On the contrary, Dumbledore, I want it very much."

"Oh, you want to go back to Hogwarts, but you don't want to teach any more than you did when you were eight years old. What are you after, Tom? Why can't you just be honest for once?"

Voldemort smiled coldly. "Are you unwilling to give me this job?"

"Of course, I don't want to. In fact, you don't have enough reasons to convince me, and..." Dumbledore said. "I don't think you expected me to give it to you. But you must have something in mind when you come here to ask for this position."

Voldemort stood up. He looked less like Tom Riddle than ever, and he was furious. "Is this the last thing you have to say?"

"Yes." Dumbledore also stood up.

"Then we have nothing to talk about."

"Yes, no more," said Dumbledore, his face full of sadness. "It's too long ago that I could scare you with a burning wardrobe and force you to make amends for your crimes. But I wish I could, Tom... I wish I could..."

For a few seconds, Harry was on the verge of shouting a meaningless warning: he was sure that Voldemort's hand had jerked the wand in his pocket. But after a while, Voldemort turned and walked out, closed the door, and disappeared.

Harry felt Dumbledore take his arm again, and after a while they were almost still standing in the same position, but there was no snow on the window sill, and they returned to the later time.

"Why?" Harry asked immediately, looking at Dumbledore's face, "Why did he come back? Have you found the reason?"

"I have an idea," said Dumbledore, "and that's pretty much the truth."

"What do you think, sir?"

"I will tell you, Harry, when you retrieve Professor Slugho's memory," said Dumbledore. "When you get that last memory, everything, I hope, will come to light...for you and me."

Dumbledore walked to the door and opened it for Harry, but Harry was still very curious about it and did not go out immediately.

"Did he later apply for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position, sir? He didn't say..."

"Well, of course he aspires to get a job in Defense Against the Dark Arts," said Dumbledore. "Our brief meeting proved it. You see, no Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher has stayed long since I turned down Voldemort's application."

"The curse is real," Harry confirmed. "He enchanted the location, as well as the name."

"Oh, you are very smart, Harry." Dumbledore smiled kindly, "But I need to reiterate one point..."

"Professor Slughorn's memory, yes, I know." Harry stood at the door, Dumbledore was on the inside of the door, and Fanlin was still thinking about something next to the pensieve.

"So, Harry, this is very important to us. To be precise, it's about you, me, and everyone's lives."

"I understand." Harry nodded, "I will get that complete memory back as soon as possible, all Professor Dumbledore..."

"Oh, of course, I believe you." Dumbledore said firmly, interrupting Harry's question.

"Goodnight, then, Harry."

"But Fanlin..."

"Maybe he still needs some time, Harry." Dumbledore looked at Fanlin who was still immersed in the pensieve. "Maybe he will find something. I think you can go back first. Anyway, you all have to discuss it in the end. Right, including Miss Hermione Granger and Mr. Weasley."

"Uh..." Harry was a little embarrassed. Strictly speaking, these things shouldn't involve other people, but hiding it from Hermione and Ron, even Fanlin couldn't do it all, let alone him.

Many of Harry's things require Fanlin and Hermione to make decisions.

"So, trust your friends, Harry. Remember, they are friends."

"Of course." Harry opened his mouth, and then looked at Fanlin, "Then, good night, Professor." (To be continued)