Hogwarts: I, Tom, am not the Dark Lord

As he spoke, Tom opened the study space, and Grindelwald stared at Dumbledore.

"Wool socks." Dumbledore smiled easily. "Many people think that my favorite thing is books, so every winter I receive a lot of books. Mr. Riddle, your gift is the one that makes me most happy. I was still wearing it until last month."

Tom looked strange, because what he gave was...a sweater.

The temperature in Hogwarts in May is basically over 20 degrees Celsius. Wearing a sweater at this temperature, isn't Dumbledore really afraid of getting prickly heat?

"He's lying," Grindelwald said confidently. "When Dumbledore lies, he subconsciously blinks faster, puts his hands behind his back, and puffs out his chest to bolster his confidence."

Andros looked at Grindelwald in horror, not Gomen. Is it my problem or yours? Why do you know so much about your mortal enemy?

"Okay, we still have a lot to talk about, but Harry's condition isn't very good right now. Let's send him to the school infirmary first."

Tom nodded, flicked his wand, and the unconscious Harry floated up again.

Normally, if Dumbledore was in a hurry, he should have asked Fawkes to take them directly to the school infirmary, but he chose not to do so and walked into the potion trial room first.

Tom had no choice but to follow. The two of them passed through the potion room, the troll room, and came to the chess and card room and the flying room. Seeing the messy scene, Dumbledore's eyelids twitched.

The effect of the rage potion has worn off, and Tom also realized that what he had just done seemed a bit too much.

"It's a good thing Minerva isn't here, or she would be very sad. She spent the entire summer making this chessboard."

Dumbledore sighed, but Tom was very thick-skinned and did not show any embarrassment at all. He also controlled the unconscious Ron and placed him side by side with Harry.

Arriving at the Devil's Snare room, a blue flame lit up on Tom's wand. He looked at Dumbledore and then at the open trapdoor on the roof.

Can Dumbledore fly? Perhaps we'll soon find out.

However, Dumbledore disappointed Tom. As the king of props in the wizarding world, under his control, the ruins of the two previous rooms flew along the stone corridor and assembled into a staircase, extending from the trapdoor to the feet of the two men.

Tom: “…”

"Mr. Riddle?" Dumbledore looked at Tom who was standing there motionless with some confusion.

"Oh, nothing, I was just wondering how you got here, Professor."

"Fox walked me to the door."

"How long have you been here?"

"Well, just a little later than you."

"What a brilliant invisibility spell! I was completely unaware of it. Professor, could you teach me?"

"my pleasure."

The two men didn't pay any attention to Lu Wei who was shivering in the corner. They pushed the door open and walked out.

After seeing them leave, Lu Wei returned to normal, but at the same time his heart was filled with grievances.

This is no job for a dog. He doesn't want to be a watchdog anymore!

.....

When Dumbledore and Tom went down to the third floor, Neville and Professor McGonagall appeared like belated police.

"Dumbledore? Oh my God, Potter, Weasley, what on earth is going on!"

Seeing the unconscious and pale Harry, Professor McGonagall almost fainted.

"Minerva, please calm down. Harry is fine, but the exact condition still requires testing by Madam Pomfrey."

"That's good, that's good." Professor McGonagall looked at him in shock. "What about the Philosopher's Stone? Longbottom said Snape wanted to take the Philosopher's Stone away. That's ridiculous!"

Dumbledore nodded, "Yes, the whole thing has nothing to do with Severus, it's Quirrell."

"Qirro?"

Professor McGonagall was shocked and angry: "Didn't he resign and leave?"

Neville, who was following behind him, was also shocked. Who would have thought that the one who coveted the Philosopher's Stone was not Snape, who looked like a villain, but Professor Quirrell, who was harmless and was considered to be incompetent?

"This is clearly a plot, Minerva. Please go and seal off the corridor on the fourth floor. I will discuss the details with you tomorrow..."

After receiving Dumbledore's order, Professor McGonagall nodded and then said to Neville, "Longbottom, your voice is hoarse. Follow the headmaster to the school infirmary. You have worked hard today."

Neville nodded and opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

The reason why it took so long to find Professor McGonagall was because Neville's voice was hoarse and he couldn't understand after gesturing for a long time. Professor McGonagall couldn't stand it anymore and asked Neville to write it down on parchment before he understood what had happened.

.....

With Neville's arrival, Tom and Dumbledore didn't speak again until they arrived at the school infirmary.

Madam Pomfrey scolded Dumbledore and said that there should be no strange things in the school that would cause trouble to the students.

There were only two people in the entire school who dared to do this to Dumbledore: Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey. When it came to the safety of the students, she dared to point at Dumbledore and scold him.

Even so, Dumbledore didn't dare to refute and could only smile along.

After examining the two, Madam Pomfrey said unhappily, "Potter is fine. He just consumed too much magic power in a short period of time. Weasley's injuries are purely external."

what about me?

Neville pointed at himself hastily.

"Go away, don't make trouble. Just don't talk for the next two days. Drink more water and you'll be fine."

"Then I'll leave them to you with confidence, Poppy." Dumbledore smiled, and then took Tom to the principal's office.

"It's been a busy day."

Sitting in his seat, the first thing Dumbledore said was an exclamation.

"First I was transferred to London, then rushed back. I felt like my old bones were falling apart."

"Mr. Riddle, you don't seem surprised at all that Voldemort appeared in Quirrell's body, and you don't seem to be afraid of Voldemort at all. You should know that I was shocked for a long time after I confirmed this news."

"I'm Muggle-born," Tom emphasized.

Dumbledore became even more confused. What does this have to do with birth?

"For people like us who have never known about the wizarding world before, Voldemort is actually just an abstract concept. We don't feel anything at all. He is not even as evil as the villains in some storybooks."

"As for him being in Quirrell's body? Even magic exists, so what is impossible?"

"So this isn't surprising to me. I just think Professor Quirrell has really bad taste. He didn't even bother choosing a powerful master, but instead chose a half-dead cripple."

After listening to Tom's theory, Dumbledore nodded in agreement.

"It's really just a name, but sometimes people add too much definition to it."

"But I still want to thank you, Mr. Riddle, for protecting the Philosopher's Stone and thwarting Voldemort's conspiracy."

"Professor, you got one thing wrong," Tom corrected.

"what?"

"I'm not protecting school property."

Tom took out the Philosopher's Stone from his pocket. "Since you arrived at the scene almost at the same time as me, you should have heard the conversation between me and Voldemort."

"I want this stone."

For a moment, Dumbledore's gaze became as sharp as a knife, as if it penetrated Tom's body and reached his heart.

But soon this sharpness was hidden, and the old man's voice remained calm: "Can you tell me why, Mr. Riddle?"

"Immortality? It's a little too early for you to worry about death at your age."

"Wealth? That's not necessary. It's just some material possessions. Even without the Philosopher's Stone, you can easily obtain them with your abilities."

Those portraits from past dynasties who had been pretending to be dead also quietly opened their eyes, wanting to see where the little wizard got the courage to snatch things from Dumbledore.

"professor."

Tom looked up and looked Dumbledore in the eye without hesitation.

"Do you know about the Greengrass family curse?"

Suddenly, Dumbledore's eyes became soft and kind.

Chapter 105: Every Generation of Greengrasses Are Sisters, The Fourth Trial

"I think I understand what you're thinking, Mr. Riddle."

The smile reappeared on the old man's face, and even his tone became relaxed.

Tom had many guesses about the reasons why he wanted to get the Philosopher's Stone, but this one was the one he overlooked, and it was also the one that surprised and satisfied him the most.

"Using the life force of the Philosopher's Stone to solve the Greengrass family curse? It's indeed a very creative plan, but I don't know if it can be realized."

"You haven't answered my question yet," Tom urged.

"Ah, this is a very tricky question, really. All I can say is... this is an extremely vicious blood curse. Yes, it is very vicious."

"Blood Curse?" Tom frowned, recalling the records about blood curses. "Isn't the blood curse a curse that completely transforms a person into some kind of beast?"

The most famous blood-cursed orc is probably Nagini, who has fought against two generations of Dark Lords.

Dumbledore looked at the boy in surprise: "I didn't expect you to know so much about blood curses."

"But this is just one type of blood curse," Dumbledore explained patiently. "There are many types of blood curses. Some damage the soul, some torture the body. Turning into an orc is just one of them."

"Generally speaking, any curse that is inherited through blood can be called a blood curse."

"The Greengrass family's blood curse... you should be aware of it, which is why you thought of using the Philosopher's Stone's elixir to treat it."

Tom nodded. "I made a medicine that can work on Astoria, but its main function is not to replenish vitality, and its effectiveness will gradually decline."

"That's quite remarkable," Dumbledore exclaimed. "Back then, Daphne Greengrass's grandmother asked me to break her sister's blood curse, but I ultimately failed. Mr. Riddle, you are much better than I am."

What is excellent is not him, but the strengthening potion, this formula that came from the ancient secret realm.

Tom protested silently in his mind, but did not interrupt Dumbledore, waiting for him to tell him more about the blood curse.

"The Greengrass family's blood curse is very peculiar. First of all, this family only has female members."

"No exceptions?" Tom raised his eyebrows.

Dumbledore thought for a moment. "Well, if changing one's surname counts, then there are many exceptions. Let me put it another way. As long as one keeps the Greengrass surname and identifies oneself as a member of the Greengrass family, then the offspring must be female."

"It's like the curse of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Many people think that changing the name of the subject will successfully break it, but in reality, the teaching content remains unchanged and will still be affected. Otherwise, I wouldn't have the headache of finding a teacher every year."