Hogwarts: What are the four great masters doing?

He didn't mention what happened with the troll today, but talked about this first.

"Oh, you're welcome, Ryan."

Dumbledore's eyes were filled with a smile: "I am the headmaster of Hogwarts - don't forget your identity, Ryan... It is my duty to protect you!"

No one would think there was anything wrong with what he said. After all, it was the headmaster's duty to protect the students of Hogwarts.

But obviously, Ryan could hear the second meaning.

He is a disciple of the Big Four and the true heir of Hogwarts, so Dumbledore naturally has to protect him.

But he couldn't understand.

Why did Dumbledore, even though he knew his identity, still play dumb and not reveal the truth?

"Oh, Ryan."

But at this moment, Dumbledore seemed to see through his thoughts.

He said seriously, "There's always a reason for everything—just like when your elders left something for you without telling you."

"You'll know something eventually, but now's not the time."

Ryan frowned. He didn't like the Riddler's way of speaking.

But Dumbledore's words reminded him of his four teachers.

They did choose to hide some things even though they knew Ryan would come back.

Just like what Dumbledore was doing at this moment - as if there were some invisible but omnipresent eyes watching their every move.

"Even at Hogwarts?"

So, Ryan asked softly.

"Even at Hogwarts."

Dumbledore responded calmly.

"...All right."

So Ryan didn't ask any more questions: "Mr. Principal, when did you know about me?"

"Oh, it was a long time ago, Ryan."

Dumbledore touched Fawkes—Lion noticed that Fawkes's feathers seemed even darker than when he last came.

"I've always known of your existence, but I only really confirmed it was you... not long ago."

"Filius told me that you master many lost meditation methods."

There was a hint of emotion in Dumbledore's words.

"Pomona said you have some seeds of ancient magical plants, and there's also something Severus and Hagrid told me... This is obviously not difficult to guess, and I guess you didn't want to hide it too much - after all, your performance was so outstanding!"

He was generous with his praise.

"Experience is one of the few things I can be proud of, but in all my experiences so far, even..."

When he said this, he seemed to recall someone.

"Even the most amazing genius is not as good as you—far from it."

"At least even he couldn't single-handedly wipe out a group of Acromantulas and kill a Troll Lord at the age of 11."

Although he knew that the person he mentioned would definitely not be convinced, Dumbledore still made a pertinent evaluation.

"You are too modest."

Ryan said modestly.

But he understood what Dumbledore meant - the headmaster had indeed roughly known that he was special since he entered the school, but it was not until recently that he was completely sure of his identity.

So, Ryan simply spoke frankly: "As for my elders, perhaps you know their whereabouts?"

Even today, this is still his biggest concern.

But what disappointed him was.

After hearing his words, Dumbledore just shook his head.

"I don't know, Ryan."

After saying this, he seemed to see Ryan's somewhat disappointed expression.

He looked at the other person seriously: "You are the person closest to them, Ryan... If they didn't tell you the key things, then there is no reason for me to know."

So Ryan remained silent.

He admitted that Dumbledore was right - from the current situation, it seemed that the Big Four had not revealed their ending or what they left behind to anyone.

That was the puzzle they left behind, unique to Ryan!

"So... let's talk about something else, Headmaster Dumbledore."

So Ryan didn't ask any more questions.

"Professor Snape told me some things, but you know his temper—there are some things I'm not comfortable asking him."

He looked directly at the old wizard before him.

"So I was wondering, do you perhaps know... who Tom Riddle is?"

Then he saw that Dumbledore's usually gentle expression finally showed a look of surprise.

"Tom..."

Dumbledore repeated the name in a complicated tone, then he looked at Ryan seriously.

"I have to admit, this question surprised me a little, Ryan - I didn't expect you to already know his name."

"Can you tell me how you knew that?"

After hearing Dumbledore's question, Ryan had no intention of hiding anything.

He informed Dumbledore of the letter he had received.

"Oh... What an unexpected thing - a mysterious letter..."

Dumbledore seemed a little surprised too.

His eyes flickered, as if he was thinking and guessing: "There may be a few people who know Tom, but the one who would send the letter to you..."

He seemed to have thought of something and had a pensive expression on his face.

"Do you know who it is?"

Ryan couldn't help but ask.

Then he saw Dumbledore's smile.

"Oh, I'm not so sure, Ryan."

The old wizard smiled gently.

"If the sender doesn't want to tell you, then perhaps I shouldn't get involved—but I should tell you that they probably don't mean any harm."

"..."

Then again, Ryan really wanted the Riddler out of Hogwarts.

However, Dumbledore obviously had no intention of continuing to talk about this, so he took the initiative to change the subject.

"As for Tom, I think you must have heard of him, but not by this name. In fact, he has been very famous in the past few decades."

Dumbledore suggested, "I mean...very large, almost unknown, and feared."

"Have I heard of it?"

Ryan frowned when he heard this.

He realized that Tom Riddle's identity seemed to be more than just an outstanding graduate whose name had been left in the school's trophy cabinet.

Dumbledore's hint was very obvious, so he guessed the answer quickly.

"The Dark Lord?"

In recent decades, it has become very famous, almost universally known and feared - this combination of information leaves almost no second choice.

"First or second generation?"

Ryan couldn't help but ask.

But then he realized he had asked a stupid question.

Because he had heard some information about the Dark Lord, the first generation Dark Lord seemed to be called 'Gellert Grindelwald'.

So unless he had a nickname, he couldn't be Tom Riddle.

However, he soon noticed that Dumbledore's expression seemed to become a little strange after hearing his question.

"Oh, the second generation, of course."

The old wizard said hurriedly: "In fact, the first generation of Dark Lord is different from Tom..."

He seemed to want to explain something, but after thinking about it, he still didn't say anything.

"..."

His performance reminded Ryan of the records he had read about Dumbledore's life and achievements.

Among his many legendary deeds, the most important one was that he once thwarted the conspiracy of the first Dark Lord and finally defeated him in a duel.

So Ryan attributed Dumbledore's slightly inappropriate behavior to his nostalgia for his old rival.

And then, Ryan realized the huge amount of information contained in Dumbledore's words.

"The second Dark Lord is Tom Riddle... an outstanding graduate of Hogwarts?"

Ryan was a little incredulous.

He really hoped that Hogwarts would be full of hidden talents, but this fact still surprised him a little.

From what he knew, the second generation Dark Lord was a madman who claimed to uphold pure-blood supremacy, but whose actions were planned like a terrorist.

Even Ryan hadn't looked up his name—the wizarding world now referred to him as 'You-Know-Who' or 'Dark Lord'.

This made it hard for Ryan to believe that such a madman was actually an outstanding graduate of Hogwarts!