"Looks like this is the place."
Glancing at the gray and white fog of war behind and then at the solitary building standing in the wind and snow ahead, William tightened the coat around him.
In a dream, you have to role-play. It's a guilty pleasure and a rule.
William was very interested in the fact that Voldemort, despite having his heart pierced, showed no signs of severe injury and could even cast magic normally. After all, even he himself couldn't stay so... vigorous after being run through by Gryffindor's Sword.
So, since he had the time, he decided to look into it, especially since the ceremony to award him the Order of Merlin for capturing Peter Pettigrew was postponed due to an attack on Pettigrew.
He had nothing major planned for the weekend, and he could skip Monday's classes. Even his plan to have a "heart-to-heart" with Bloody Baron could be postponed.
After all, the ghost of Slytherin wouldn't wander around, but if he didn't capture the rare Pokémon "Voldemort," it might really get away.
First, he needed to understand the situation. In dreams, anything could happen. If Voldemort's imagination ran wild, he might even render himself as the "Seer" of the Magic Realm...
He just didn't know what time period Voldemort was in this dream. Perhaps he might have to fight in the dream.
Once, when Harry was dragged into the dream by Little Tom in the diary, everything was created by Little Tom based on Harry's obsession.
William was no exception this time, and he happened to want to see what Voldemort's heart's knot was...
With this thought, William knocked on the door of Wu's Orphanage. A sturdy nun, with muscles larger than her head, asked William a few questions before letting him in. In the 1930s, during the aftermath of World War I, people were in the period of recuperation. Although the war hadn't reached mainland Great Britain, many had become bankrupt or displaced due to the war, so offering temporary shelter wasn't uncommon, letting people in was...
Moreover, he was paying.
Of course, the crucial point was that the young man was very handsome when he smiled.
The nun quickly arranged a separate bed for William. Seeing the somewhat moldy brown sheets, William didn't lie down but waited until the nun reluctantly left before taking out a special version of the Marauder's Map for dreams from the inner pocket of his coat—
Heh, what's wrong with a little peeking as a GM?
A little peek doesn't count as peeking.
Moving his gaze from Sister Kelly, who was on night watch at the orphanage door, William began searching for his target. The orphanage was crowded, with many having lost their families due to the war. It was already deep into the night, and most people were in bed—
How old would Voldemort be now?
William, who wasn't familiar with Voldemort's age and only knew he was around the same age as Hagrid, soon found his target in a very obscure room, where two small black dots squeezed together and, from them, floated two long strings of names—
—Tom Marvolo Riddle.
—Merope Gaunt.
Who's this? A member of the Gaunt Clan? Ominis' relative?
William frowned. The name Gaunt was rare but not extinct. However, seeing them with Voldemort, plus the "secrets" he learned from the headmaster, William quickly deduced this Gaunt's identity after a brief thought.
Voldemort's mother.
He remembered Dumbledore saying Voldemort's father was a Muggle...
Carelessly putting away the Marauder's Map, William picked up his lantern again. Avoiding the nun who was dozing off on a chair, he leisurely walked down the dark corridor, holding a magic wand in his other hand—since everything was revealed, using his privileges to get some equipment wouldn't hurt.
Wu's Orphanage wasn't large. After a few minutes of wandering, William reached his destination. Seeing the faint light seeping through the door crack, William raised his hand.
"Knock, knock, knock—"
His fingers tapped the wooden door, making a crisp sound. William could even hear the people inside holding their breath through the poorly soundproofed door.
"...Who's there?"
The door was opened from inside, and a wary gaze appeared from behind the door, scanning William's face.
William didn't speak. Instead, he lightly pulled the corners of his mouth into a smile.
The wary gaze disappeared.
William's "Seduction" was highly effective!
Merope Gaunt reopened the door a bit, but she immediately seemed to realize something and hid behind the door, leaving only half her head visible. Her dark eyes contained three parts curiosity, three parts expectation, and four parts confusion, "Who are you looking for?"
She opened her mouth, subconsciously asking.
"Are you... Ms. Riddle?"
The blue light in his eyes dimmed, as William refrained from calling out Gaunt. The result of Legilimency told him that although this woman had been abandoned by Tom Riddle Senior, she still considered herself as Mrs. Riddle, so the name she used to lodge at this orphanage naturally had nothing to do with Gaunt.
"Who are you?"
Seeing him call out her name, Merope's already thin caution level went to zero. She subconsciously nodded and continued asking.
"Miss Kelly had me come," he replied. "She asked me to check if you had enough lamp oil—"
The Second Industrial Revolution had just ended. Although many places in London had electric lights, many were still using oil lamps, and this place was no exception. In his hand, William conveniently showed a small bucket, "Allow me to introduce myself, William Richard. You can call me William."
William's face displayed a warm smile.
William used "Seduction" once again, hitting the mark!
"..."
Merope was silent for a moment, turned back and looked at the nearly burned-out kerosene lamp on the table, and then directly stepped aside.
Great, having a high Charm Value really is useful.
William didn't hold back either, picked up the small bucket and walked into the room, his gaze quickly scanning around until he finally found the room's third occupant on the bed.
"..."
Looks like there's no need to fight.
Looking at the baby lying in the cradle, gazing at him innocently with big black eyes, William was silent.
No, buddy, Tom? You're dreaming, why would you give yourself such a big Debuff?
Harry dreams of having both his parents alive, a car and a house, while Voldemort dreams...
He ends up in an orphanage, not to mention he's dreaming himself as a baby.
Incredible.
So, will the consciousness in this body be Voldemort? Or Little Tom?
As William quietly faced Little Tom, Voldemort stared at the handsome man in front of him, who was as good-looking as his father.
Who is this man?
Did I know this person when I was young?
Voldemort searched through those memories long forgotten in the depths of his memory palace and found nothing, yet when he gazed into those deep blue eyes, he couldn't help but feel the look was somehow familiar, like he had seen it recently.
Because during the fight, William hadn't taken off the gray hood that could conceal half his face, so Voldemort naturally had no impression of his appearance.
"I don't think I've met you before?"
Merope interrupted the silent stare between the two, looking at the handsome man standing at the table refueling the kerosene lamp, and began chatting instinctively.
"I'm new here, hired as a teacher at this orphanage."
William smiled, adjusted the dim kerosene lamp brighter, then turned and left the room directly. Before closing the door, he smiled again, "Goodnight, Ms. Riddle."
William returned to his room, tidied up a bit, then lay on the bed still in his clothes. Though things were not yet entirely clear, he planned to start by altering Little Tom's survival experience, such as letting Ms. Gaunt, who should have died, continue to live—
After finalizing PlanABCD in his mind, William gently turned off the bedside oil lamp.
"Click..."
...
Time passed quickly, like a galloping horse.
Eight-year-old Tom Riddle suddenly realized a blasphemous problem—
His old mother wasn't dead yet.
This situation, completely at odds with his memory, filled the imprisoned Voldemort with dread—having endured nearly two years with almost no control over anything except blinking during his cradle life, the moment he learned to walk, our "beloved" Dark Lord finally regained control over his movements.
Yet, there was no magic power in his immature body.
Not to mention his most proficient Killing Curse, he couldn't even use Levitating Spells at all.
Thus, imprisoned Voldemort decided to continue to lie low for a while longer, only to discover that the mother who should have been sorrowful and died before he was a year old had lived on, and even... her body was getting healthier, her dry hair regained its shine, her emaciated frame became more plump...
And the apparent instigator of all this seemed to be this man who was now grading his homework.
"...not bad."
Putting down the carbon pen, William pushed up his glasses, looking at Little Tom standing in front of him with a calm yet dark face, he smiled—preserving a youthful mother isn't difficult, just bind her with the child and love, Merope lost the will to live because she was abandoned by Tom Senior—
A simple Confundus Charm, he directly replaced Tom Senior in the woman's heart.
Yet he wouldn't sacrifice his charm, just making the other party love him without obtaining him—watching the woman carrying a laundry bucket entering the room, William smiled at her, while nearby Voldemort stared dark-faced at his blushing mother, thinking he had no feelings for this woman, but...
He still felt very uncomfortable—
Imprisoned Voldemort glared dark-faced at the two chatting joyfully, his heart alarmed.
[Warning: Your enemy is attacking your birthplace]