Hogwarts: Lacus doesn't want to be a witch who destroys nations.

On March 12, 1938, Germany occupied Austria. The news spread throughout Europe, causing panic among many people, and the shadow of war began to loom over London.

Tom Marvolo Riddle, who would later become the infamous second Dark Lord, Voldemort, felt the shadow of war and the terror it brought.

This morning, he woke up to find himself inexplicably pinned to the ground and beaten by a crazy old woman who was shouting that she had finally entered the main storyline. Well, it wasn't entirely inexplicable. She was one of the few people he interacted with at the orphanage, a freak with talent just like himself—Laksana Crownguard, usually called Lux.

Lux arrived at the orphanage a few years after Tom, but she displayed remarkable intelligence from a young age, making her stand out from the other children and attracting the attention of Tom, another child in the same orphanage who was also out of place.

One night, Tom witnessed Lux ​​conjure a ball of light in her hand. He believed he had found a companion. Even the future Dark Lord, in his youth, craved friendship and acceptance. His extraordinary talent made him stand out from those around him. Lux also possessed this "talent," which is why Tom sought her out and demonstrated his own.

This will be the most regrettable decision Tom makes in the rest of his life.

Lux and Tom are both talented individuals, and they inevitably have some competitive thoughts, but neither of them has systematically studied magic.

At this point, Lux can only generate a light bulb and has no other abilities besides being a flashbang. Tom can only use his mind to manipulate objects and control animals. Therefore, the final showdown often turns into a brawl.

As is well known, girls develop earlier than boys, so Lux always manages to drag Tom, who is shorter than her, to the ground and beat him up.

Today is no exception.

"Call me Mom, quick, no cheating if you lose!" Lux straddled Tom, pressing him down with both hands. Tom tried his best to kick his legs to get up, but he couldn't budge Lux, the orphanage's big devil, even a little bit.

"Don't even think about it...you crazy...crazy woman!" Tom hissed through clenched teeth, like a young snake driven to the brink of despair.

"Not going to tell anyone?" Lux leaned down and whispered in Tom's ear, "Then I'll tell everyone about your bedwetting."

"Nonsense! You were the one who spilled the water on my bed, causing me to get scolded by Mrs. Cole!"

"Do you think they believe me or you?" Lux's smile sent a chill down Tom's spine. The girl in front of him always presented a cheerful, relaxed, and sweet image to the outside world, and was very respected in the orphanage. But in Tom's eyes, this was the greatest evil in the orphanage.

Although he didn't care much about how ordinary children perceived him, his inherent pride made it impossible for him to bear the stigma of bedwetting.

A barely audible, extremely faint sound seemed to burst from his throat, but was tightly choked before it could escape. Tom closed his eyes tightly, his long eyelashes trembling violently.

"Hmm?" Lux tilted her head and deliberately moved closer to him.

"Mom...Mom..." Tom's voice was dry and hoarse, as weak as a mosquito's buzz, but that was enough.

Because Miss Lux completed a special mission: [Junior Brother Tom].

[Tom, the junior student: Tom, who lacked maternal love since childhood, desperately needs to fill the void in his heart, and he may be capable of doing some insatiable things.]

[Completed special mission, Darkness value +1, reward 100 gold coins]

"Hahahaha!" Lux burst into a satisfied laugh, the dust on her face shaking with her laughter. She flipped over and nimbly jumped off Tom, landing lightly to the side.

"Alright! Don't be a sore loser!" Lux grinned, bent down, and grabbed Tom's cold arm with her equally dirty hand, pulling hard. "Get up, get up! Game over. Try harder next time, little Tom!"

"I'm not convinced, let's try again!" Tom stood there for a few seconds, then raised his mud-covered hand and rubbed his lips hard with his fingertips, as if trying to erase that sinful syllable.

"Garlic bird, garlic bird, you can't beat me." Lux waved her hand to refuse the duel, but Tom was obviously blinded by humiliation and was about to attack without saying a word. Lux, who had met her exercise target today, made a flashbang and ran away.

……

While the two were fooling around outside, Albus Dumbledore, who still had auburn hair and a beard, was talking with Mrs. Cole, the superintendent of the orphanage, in his office, dressed in an elegant magenta velvet suit.

After Mrs. Cole poured Dumbledore a cup of tea, the two began to chat.

"Are you related to Tom or Lux?" Mrs. Cole sat back down at her desk, her hands folded in front of her, her eyes filled with a routine inquiry.

Dumbledore set down his teacup, the surface of the tea swirling gently. "No, I'm just a regular teacher at a school. You can call me Dumbledore." After taking a sip of tea, Dumbledore decided to add a sugar cube, then looked sincerely at Mrs. Cole. "I'm here to take them to school."

"What school?" Mrs. Cole leaned forward slightly, pursing her lips, which were painted with cheap lipstick. The children in the orphanage were already lucky to be able to attend the local free public school; no "school" had ever proactively come to them to specifically accept their children.

"Hogwarts, a school steeped in history, where we believe Tom and Lux ​​can receive the education best suited to them," Dumbledore said calmly, as if it were a well-known holy place.

"Hogwarts?" Mrs. Cole frowned, searching her memory for the name, but clearly to no avail. "Never heard of it. How did you get here? Did they fill out your application form?"

Dumbledore showed no sign of offense, but rather a knowing smile: "No, they possess some special talents, and we found them."

"Excuse my bluntness, but this sounds like some kind of... scam."

"It's alright, madam. This questioning is a sign of your responsibility. You'll understand once you see this piece of paper," Dumbledore gently interrupted her, pulling a blank sheet of paper from his pocket and handing it to her while waving his wand.

Mrs. Cole paused for a moment, then smiled again. She looked at the blank sheet of paper carefully for a while. "It seems your paperwork is complete. Of course I agree to their admission. It is their honor to join a school like Hogwarts."

After taking a sip of tea, Dumbledore said, "I would also like to ask about Tom and Lux's background, as I am not very familiar with them yet."

"His father, old Tom Riddle, lived in the countryside not far from London, in a rather wealthy gentry family. His mother, Merope Gaunt, was a poor woman who, heavily pregnant, came here alone on New Year's Eve in 1926. It was so cold that it could freeze a person to the bone. She practically climbed up the steps of our orphanage. We helped her into the yard to give birth. Mrs. Merope named the little guy Tom, and then she died in childbirth."

"This child is very strange. He hardly interacts with any other children except Lux. Strange things always happen where he goes. Some children are afraid of him. Sometimes I see him talking to snakes, and then Miss Lux will pull him away. He is a brave and kind child."

"And what about Miss Lux?"

"Miss Lux is simply a ray of light for the orphanage." Mrs. Cole's face beamed with an almost proud smile as she leaned back in her chair, as if she had finally gotten the chance to sing her praises.

"Miss Lux was brought here by the police when she was about six years old, around the summer of 1932. On a rainy midnight, she was found by a kind patrolman sitting alone on a bench on a secluded path along the Thames, completely soaked."

"She had no identification with her, and the police searched all the records but couldn't find her family, so they had no choice but to send her to us."

"It's strange," Mrs. Cole's eyes were unfocused for a moment, then filled with relief, "Although we don't know who her parents are, Miss Laksana has been exceptionally bright and quick-witted since she was little. She learns things very quickly, and she's lively, cheerful, and always smiling. She's the brightest ray of sunshine in this gloomy house. After she came, the atmosphere of the whole Woods Orphanage changed."

"She can sing, tell jokes, and comfort crying children. Don't let her playful banter with little Tom fool you; honestly, without her help, Tom would probably be even more gloomy and frightening. She has that magical power to brighten up the lives of those around her, and..."

Mrs. Cole lowered her voice and leaned closer to Dumbledore, "Although she's not as scary as Tom, sometimes... she shines!"

"Glowing?" Dumbledore showed just the right amount of surprise, raising his eyebrows slightly.

"Yes!" Mrs. Cole nodded lovingly, her fingers unconsciously mimicking the gesture. "It's like... tiny, shiny dots. Sometimes when she's playing happily by herself, or when she's particularly focused on something, her fingertips or palms will suddenly light up for a moment, like a tiny star or... um, a little light bulb? It's so magical! But she can always make it disappear quickly, as if it were just our imagination. At first, a caregiver saw it and said I thought it was just my eyes playing tricks on me, but then one time I saw it myself! The light was so warm, not scary at all."

Dumbledore's lips curled into a meaningful smile. He looked at the beaming Mrs. Cole, picked up his teacup, and nodded slightly. "Yes, Mrs. Cole. Without a doubt, Miss Lacus possesses the same precious and unique talent. And from your description, her use of that talent... is truly heartwarming. Hogwarts will be the perfect stage for her to showcase her abilities." He finished the remaining tea in his cup.

"Take me to meet them."