"Why are you still keeping me in suspense?" Tom took the Resurrection Stone and examined it in his hand. "How do I use it?"
"Put it in your hand and turn it three times," Robert instructed.
Tom held the Resurrection Stone in his palm, but before he could start spinning it, his eyes widened.
A dense fog began to form around him.
"Huh? It's starting?" Robert asked in surprise, noticing Tom's reaction.
"Yes... it's starting..." Tom said, his voice uneasy.
But recalling that Robert had been unharmed earlier, he forced himself to stay calm.
Robert, however, was puzzled. According to The Tales of Beedle the Bard, the Resurrection Stone needed to be turned three times before taking effect.
Otherwise, in the original timeline, Tom would not have possessed the ring for years without realizing its true power.
But now, he had only just touched it, and it was already activating?
Tom stared at the swirling fog, his body tense.
Suddenly, a voice called out behind him.
"Tom? Is that you?"
Every muscle in Tom's body tensed.
It wasn't Robert speaking. The voice was female.
Tom turned his head slowly, then froze.
A woman stood before him. Her clothes were tattered, her appearance plain. But the voice that had called his name belonged to her.
"You... You were the one who spoke just now? Who are you?" Tom demanded.
He turned to Robert in disbelief. "Do you see that? There's a woman here!"
"Tom... I'm your mother," the woman said softly.
Tom's eyes widened.
"You... but... how is this possible? You're supposed to be dead! Are you a ghost?"
"I am dead, but you summoned me back," Merope said, looking at him with a strange expression. "Tom... My wish has come true. You... You look so much like him..."
Bang!
Tom threw the Resurrection Stone onto the table.
As soon as it left his hand, Merope's figure vanished.
"What the hell is going on?!" Tom gasped. He turned to Robert, his voice demanding. "Tell me—what is this?"
Robert's expression was complicated. "This is the magic of the stone, Tom. It allows you to see the dead." He hesitated. "So... did you want to see your mother?"
"No! I didn't!" Tom snapped.
He glanced at Robert. "Did you see anyone?"
"Me?" Robert smiled faintly. "Unfortunately, there's no one I want to bring back."
Tom didn't believe him. If Robert hadn't seen anyone, how could he know what the stone did?
Robert's gaze drifted back to the Resurrection Stone. "What did your mother say to you? Why did you throw the stone away?"
Tom was silent for a long time before he muttered, "Robert… the first thing she said to me… She called that coward. She didn't even ask how I've been all these years! She—she only had him in her eyes!"
Tom clenched his fists. "And don't you think she was selfish? I never wanted to grow up in an orphanage. If she was so determined to die, why did she give birth to me in the first place?"
Robert picked up the Resurrection Stone and placed it back in Tom's hand. "If you want answers, why not ask her yourself?"
Tom hesitated, then turned toward the corner.
Sure enough, Merope reappeared.
Her face was full of sorrow.
"Child, don't you want to see me anymore?" she asked sadly.
Tom looked at her in silence before turning to Robert. "Is she real?"
Robert shook his head. "I don't know. Only the person holding the stone can see them."
Tom turned back to Merope. "Whether you're real or not, you've disappointed me... Mother. How could you leave me in an orphanage and just… die? Did you ever think about me?"
Merope's lips trembled. "I… I had no choice… I was in despair... I couldn't... I couldn't live anymore. I was dying, Tom... I had no will left to live..."
Tom's anger flared. "Then why couldn't you find even a little will to live for me? Was I just a burden to you? Did you feel relieved once you got rid of me? Was that your great escape?!"
"No... No..." Merope's voice broke. "My love for you never faded... I just... I was already so weak. I used the last of my strength to bring you into the world, and with what little I had left, I found a place for you... I only wanted to make sure you had somewhere to go..."
Merope reached out to touch his cheek.
But Tom turned away.
"A place for me?" His voice shook with bitterness. "You mean abandoning me in an orphanage? Eleven years! Eleven years I spent there! Do you know what those years were like? If I hadn't awakened my magic, do you know how my life would have turned out?"
He took a deep breath. "I hate that place, Mother! If I had a choice, I would rather never have been born!"
Deep in his heart, he had always resented his mother.
And after visiting the Riddle family, his resentment had only grown.
He had wondered—what if his mother had lived? What if she had raised him herself?
If he had learned about magic earlier…
With his abilities, he could have ensured they lived well. Food, clothes—those wouldn't have been a problem. Even if they had to avoid using magic to commit crimes, he could have provided for them.
At the very least, he wouldn't have been left in that orphanage, ignorant of who he was, forced to crawl his way up from nothing.
Merope's eyes filled with sorrow. "I'm sorry... child... I don't expect you to forgive me, but… at least, let me look at you a little longer."
Tom exhaled sharply. "Enough. That's enough."
He cast one last glance at his mother before setting the Resurrection Stone on the table.
Merope's figure vanished.
He turned to Robert, who had remained silent through it all. "Take it. I don't want it anymore."
Robert looked at him, surprised. "Why? Tom, if you can see her, it means you wanted to bring her back. You still care—"
"Do I?" Tom's expression was unreadable. "I don't know. But I don't want to see her again."
Without another glance at the stone, he turned and walked upstairs.
"Tom, even if you don't want to see your mother… don't you want the Gaunt family ring? Isn't it your heirloom?" Robert asked, holding the Resurrection Stone.
"No," Tom said without turning around. "That belongs to the Gaunt family. In the future, I will have my own legacy to pass down. My own bloodline. It starts with me!"
He disappeared upstairs without looking back.
Robert sighed. "Tsk, tsk… Young people. So impulsive."
He turned his attention to the Resurrection Stone in his hand.
What had happened just now?
And why had Tom seen his mother without even turning the stone three times?
There was no doubt—the Resurrection Stone was powerful.
Robert's mind wandered.
Grindelwald had once sought the Deathly Hallows. He had hoped to use the Resurrection Stone to create an army of Inferi.
Could the stone truly summon the dead as Inferi?
Robert was skeptical. There was nothing about that in The Tales of Beedle the Bard.
He retrieved a copy of the book from his shelf, flipping to The Tale of the Three Brothers.
Then he picked up a piece of parchment and began writing a letter.
Once he was done, he called for Toby, the house-elf.
"Deliver this to Professor Dumbledore. You know where to find him."
…
At Hogwarts, Dumbledore was working in his office.
Then a house-elf arrived with a letter.
At first, Dumbledore assumed it was something trivial.
But after reading it, his expression changed.
The Resurrection Stone!
One of the Deathly Hallows.
If Grindelwald had desired the Elder Wand most, then the Hallows Dumbledore had longed for was the Resurrection Stone.
A chance to see his sister again.
To see his parents.
To tell them, at last—
"I'm sorry."
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