Chapter 234 – Reasons
For Tom Riddle, he may possess a softer personality than the entity known as Voldemort, but he is by no means a good person in the complete sense.
While Dumbledore lives, Tom may temporarily obey because of the metaphorical chain around his neck. But once Dumbledore's lifespan ends, his true self would inevitably surface.
He might not pursue blood purity to the extreme or massacre Muggles as Voldemort did.
But his philosophy of power above all would spread to the next generation of the wizarding world through his teaching.
---
Nicolas Flamel was Dumbledore's friend. Did Dumbledore intend to use the Elixir of Life to extend his own years, ensuring mastery over even the greatest threat—Voldemort?
"Dumbledore," Riddle said quietly, "perhaps even after your death, I would still serve as a teacher at Hogwarts. But do not think I would destroy my Horcruxes and weaken the foundation of my immortality. The most I will do is aid you in removing the common enemy you call my subject."
"Tom, you are still so naïve. Did you really think I would place my hopes of destroying Voldemort upon you?"
"It's not that I doubt you," Dumbledore continued, his eyes twinkling with quiet amusement. "I know well what kind of wizard you were as a boy. But I do not need your help in this regard."
Young Tom's power might seem vast, rivaling Voldemort's own in some respects, yet to Dumbledore he was like a harmless kitten. Empty boasts from a weaker soul sounded almost like childish pouting.
---
"I will now tell you the second reason why I allowed your independence," Dumbledore said.
"That reason… is Harry Potter's existence. He is your Horcrux."
"You're insane! How dare you tell me this?"
"The one who parades under your name wreaks havoc blindly. From your reaction, it is clear he has no idea. Too many Horcruxes have dulled his senses."
Riddle sneered, but the edge faltered.
"I sealed this truth with a ritual," Dumbledore explained. "Now that you've heard it, you cannot reveal it. You cannot pass it to your main body. The lonely fragment lurking in the Albanian forest under the name Voldemort has no power over you. That is why I dare tell you."
"If I did not let you be independent, Harry would eventually have to be sacrificed to defeat you completely."
"With your independence, I no longer need to sacrifice him."
"And because Harry exists as your Horcrux, even if the others are destroyed, you will not lose the immortality you covet."
"It is the best of both worlds."
"You, Tom, now hold the place of the true body. If Voldemort fails again, he will lose his claim as the subject. You can even turn him into a Horcrux yourself—and destroy him at last."
"And after I pass," Dumbledore added with a sigh, "Harry—wiser and stronger than I—will watch you for the rest of your near-infinite life."
Riddle's lips curled faintly. "Remarkable. The Horcruxes make Voldemort immortal, but they've cost him caution and wisdom. I begin to understand his failure. Even without Lily Potter's sacrifice, so long as you stood in his way, he was doomed."
He hesitated, then asked, "What is the third reason?"
---
"The third reason," Dumbledore said softly, "is the student I personally brought into the wizarding world. I hope you might find your way back onto the right path."
For the first time, Tom Riddle felt embarrassment. He wanted to sneer, but could not.
As Voldemort's conscience, he remained evil, yet in a strange way, purer.
If he had still been his seventeen-year-old self, untouched by dark rituals, he would have laughed at Dumbledore's foolishness. Now, he could not.
---
"Why Harry Potter?" Riddle pressed. "Dumbledore, you are Nicolas Flamel's friend, aren't you? Why not use the Philosopher's Stone to prolong your life and watch me personally? With your presence and our contract, I could not stray far from your expectations."
"Expectations?" Dumbledore chuckled. "The arrogance of adulthood is in always believing oneself right.
"Tom, when I was young, I too believed in the supremacy of wizardkind. I once thought power justified itself. But over the years, I began to doubt. Recent events have deepened those doubts. Perhaps Gettler was not wholly wrong—merely too reckless without my guidance."
"Now, I would leave the future to the young. You and Harry both grew up in the Muggle world. Let the next generation decide the course."
"There are many ways to prolong life, Tom. But I do not wish you as a rival in my twilight years. That would be dreadfully boring."
"You should consider the Philosopher's Stone," Riddle urged. "It's amusing—Voldemort begged his hated enemy not to die."
"The Stone is gone," Dumbledore said simply.
Riddle's eyes widened.
"I used it as bait," Dumbledore explained, "to lure your subject. But another came instead—a visitor claiming to be a magician from the moon."
"He took the Stone with means beyond imagination. We suspect he is American—the only nation of Muggles to have walked the moon, with wizards skilled enough to match."
Dumbledore conjured an image of the red stone—the Sorcerer's Stone—being taken.
---
"From the moon? Why believe his words?" Riddle scoffed. "Have American wizards truly gone so far? I know Voldemort himself once journeyed there."
"You forget, Tom," Dumbledore sighed, "the first Muggle moon landing was in 1969. You were in your fifties then and despised Muggles—you never noticed."
"Is the moon landing truly so impressive?" Riddle frowned. "I still find that magician more astonishing. If Muggles can reach the moon, why shouldn't wizards?"
---
(End of Chapter)
---