Chapter 10: Tom's Collection

Tom's scream stopped, and he stared fixedly at the wardrobe, his black eyes once again gleaming with excitement.

Clearly, Dumbledore's display of magic had truly stunned him.

Wade also turned his gaze to the wardrobe.

He knew that if there was no special reason, Dumbledore would never have used such an intense method to demonstrate his magic.

And, as it turned out, he was right.

Dumbledore calmly said, "I think something is about to come out of your wardrobe."

Sure enough, a creaking sound soon came from inside the wardrobe, and Tom suddenly seemed a bit frightened.

"Open the door," Dumbledore said, with an authoritative tone.

Tom hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he walked over and opened the wardrobe door.

On the top shelf of the wardrobe, there was a stack of old clothes with a cardboard box placed on top.

"Take it out," Dumbledore said.

Tom became somewhat flustered at Dumbledore's words, and his hands even trembled slightly as he took the box out.

"Is there anything in the box that you shouldn't have?" Dumbledore asked.

Tom lowered his head, his lips tightly pressed together, his hands hesitating as they hovered over the box's lid.

Dumbledore noticed that Tom's gaze flicked over to Wade, who had remained silent the whole time, and it seemed that Tom was reluctant to open the box in front of him.

"Tom?" Dumbledore reminded him once again.

"Yes, I think so, sir," Tom said finally, in a stiff manner, slowly opening the box before collapsing onto the bed.

Inside was a mess of ordinary little things, including a yo-yo, a silver thimble, and a harmonica that had lost its shine.

Once the box was emptied, the items stopped shaking and quietly lay on the thin bedsheet.

"Return them to their rightful owners and apologize," Dumbledore said calmly as he put his wand back into his jacket pocket.

"I will know if you do not. Also, I must warn you, Hogwarts does not tolerate theft."

Tom glanced at Wade, who had a faint smile on his face, his hands tightly gripping the lid of the box, his face full of embarrassment.

He would rather be locked in the dark room for a month than give Wade, that bastard, another chance to mock him!

But now...

Finally, he responded in a voice that Dumbledore could barely hear, "Yes, sir..."

"At Hogwarts," Dumbledore continued, "we not only teach you how to use magic, but also how to control it."

"You've always... I'm sure that the way you've used magic has never been in the way our school teaches, nor would it be tolerated by us."

"You're not the first, and you won't be the last person whose magic gets out of control. But you should know that Hogwarts can expel students, and the Ministry of Magic... Yes, there is such a department."

"It punishes those who break the law more severely. All new witches and wizards entering our world must accept this and obey our laws."

"Yes, sir," Tom responded, then suddenly asked, "But why are you only talking about me? I'm not the only one using magic here."

As he spoke, his gaze shifted to Wade, who had been watching the situation unfold.

"That's because Wade has never used magic on innocent people..."

Dumbledore's gaze on Tom became sharper. "I am very well aware of your past actions, Tom. Especially what you did to Amy and Dennis in that cave..."

Tom's face turned pale, his lips trembling, and he didn't speak any further. After all, Dumbledore was stating the truth.

Wade had indeed never used magic on the other ordinary people in the orphanage, unlike Tom... Because he felt such behavior was childish, boring...

'Hmm, now he must think I'm childish! Boring!'

Thinking of Wade's mocking gaze, a sense of humiliation welled up inside Tom again.

He had already decided not to give that bastard another chance to mock him...

Dumbledore looked at Wade and gently asked, "Wade, would you be willing to help me supervise Tom?"

"Of course, Professor. In fact, he has already started changing. These things might just be something he hasn't had the chance to return yet."

Wade took the box from Tom's hands and placed the items back inside.

"I will make sure he returns these to their rightful owners."

Tom looked up in surprise at Wade, his expression unreadable.

"With you watching over him, I feel reassured, Wade..." Dumbledore said before looking at Tom. "Tom, I'm very pleased that you've truly changed a lot recently. I hope you continue on this path and don't make the same mistakes again. Magic is wonderful, but it's also extremely easy to lose control... I don't want it to get out of control in your hands again."

Tom nodded expressionlessly. "I understand, sir."

Wade put the box aside and then asked, "Do we need tuition to go to Hogwarts? As you can see, Tom and I are both penniless..."

Hearing Wade ask the crucial question, Tom couldn't care less about his discomfort at the moment and also looked at Dumbledore with concern.

"Oh, that's easily solved..." Dumbledore pulled out two leather pouches from his pocket. "Hogwarts has a fund to help students who need assistance with purchasing books and robes. You'll need to buy some second-hand spellbooks, but..."

"Where do we buy spellbooks?" Riddle interrupted him, taking one of the heavy pouches without thanking Dumbledore, and pulled out a large gold Galleon, carefully inspecting it.

Right now, Tom was more eager than ever to become stronger! Buying spellbooks and learning magic was the simplest way!

"In Diagon Alley, I can take you to buy everything you need—" 

"Are you going to come with us?" Tom asked.

"Of course, if you're willing," Dumbledore replied.

"No, I..." Tom saw that Wade didn't stop him, so he continued, "We don't need you, we can manage on our own. Just tell us the address of that... Diagon Alley."

Tom was practically desperate for Dumbledore to leave. He certainly didn't want Dumbledore to come along and shop with him!

Dumbledore didn't insist. Instead, he handed the two envelopes containing the admission letters and shopping lists to Wade and Tom.

After giving them detailed instructions on how to get to the Leaky Cauldron and other important information, Dumbledore stood up and left.

After Dumbledore had been gone for a while, Tom weighed the leather pouch in his hand and couldn't help but ask, "When do you plan to go to that... Diagon Alley to buy things?"

Wade picked up the box that was on the bed, a faint smile appearing on his face. "Well, of course, that would be after I return these little things of yours to their owners."

Upon hearing this, Tom's pale face turned bright red again...