"Tom, in fact, Professor Mellas told me a long time ago that you have an extraordinary interest in the position of Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts."

The principal's office was filled with an unpleasant smell of smoke, which was left by the previous interviewer. Although the tainted witness who had returned from evil was superb in magic, his life in hiding from XZ all the year round caused his nerves to weaken abnormally, and he became a According to him, even when he was sleeping at night, he would sprinkle tobacco enough to burn all night in the incense burner bought at a high price from the East. With the help of them, he had A chance to sleep peacefully.

So far, this interviewer is the one Dumbledore is most satisfied with. He doesn't drop book bags or talk like the previous ones. He also performed very well in the actual combat test, tying or beating the For all the professors, his philosophy is more practical. Based on his personal experience, he promises that students will master how to protect themselves and escape from the dark wizard's pursuit. At present, this ability is indispensable, and several professors including Flitwick have also expressed their approval.

Dumbledore sat on the office chair, rubbed his sore waist, frowned and pressed his temples. This was not because of the long-term work, nor because of the smell in the office, but because he always felt that the interviewer was less It has nothing to do with his experience or his blemishes, but something he values ​​more in education.

He raised his head, looked at Tom who came in through the door, motioned him to sit on the chair opposite him, squeezed out a far-fetched smile and even if he had said hello, he was finally able to relax when facing his students.

"When I received your cover letter, I wasn't surprised at all, but I thought that for you now, Hogwarts would be difficult to be the first choice," Dumbledore waved, and a glass of steaming Hot tea appeared in Tom's hand, and he drank half of the already soaked tea and replaced it with new ones, "Some school managers think you are a little too young, in fact, even if I am your teacher, it is difficult I list you as the first candidate, I hope you can understand that I am not questioning your ability."

"Actually, professor," Tom unbuttoned, straightened his waist, and nodded, "I think the professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts is the most suitable position for me, and I am also the most suitable for this position people."

"Really?" Dumbledore rubbed his temples, and lightly brushed the crystal ball on the table with his right hand, and the crystal ball lit up, illuminating the conversation between the two, "Being on guard against cheating, Huo Gwartz records the interview process when he hires, and I'm no exception."

"I understand and know the rule, Professor."

"Then now, you can try and start convincing me, the professors and the trustees."

"Professor Dumbledore," Tom was wearing an extremely formal suit, sitting right across from Dumbledore. The radiant crystal ball on the desk reflected his earnest and eager face, as well as his pair of black eyes full of curiosity "You know, I come from a place that is not very wealthy. In that environment, no one knows if they will die on the street one day after they grow up, maybe in a gang fight, maybe Falling under the stray bullets of war...Fortunately, in my life, I met many good people who taught me carefully."

"I still remember Mrs. Cole," Dumbledore pushed his glasses, crossed his hands on the table, and said in a low voice, "that is a responsible, kind and warm lady, I still remember the Duchess she bought me. Pine wine, it was almost the best thing in the Xicheng Orphanage back then, and it was also the most delicious food I drank in those years."

"She was the first teacher in my life. She raised me from a baby to a person who can eat, walk, and think alone. I used to be a person with high self-esteem. You should understand that when a person suddenly has What kind of person can he become in an older and bloodier age?" Tom raised his head and glanced at the hanging picture behind Dumbledore. The living room in the book becomes clean and bright, as if a diligent person has been living in the house. "He will become a warlord, a powerful person, and even an emperor. If the time goes forward, he may become a god."

"God?" Dumbledore looked at the crystal ball in front of him playfully, and asked softly, "What about now? This is not the bloody age."

"No, it's the same, professor, unadorned power at any time and any place will turn the strong into a tyrant who relies on plunder for a living, and I almost became that kind of person."

"Dangerous?"

"Yes, professor," Tom nodded, "because of education, education gives people of different backgrounds and qualifications an equal, or at least approximately fair, opportunity to choose."

"You might be able to expand on that."

"Like the gentleman who just went out, I have made mistakes," said Tom sincerely, "but isn't that what education is all about, to make mistakes recognized and corrected?"

"The meaning of education..." Dumbledore repeated Tom's key words.

"I should have been an unfortunate person, Professor. I was abandoned by my biological father, and my mother died of dystocia. On a rainy and snowy night, I was born in an...orphanage full of people who had the same fate as me, I've got nothing but the quaint name of Tom Marvolo Riddle, and the magic that belongs to a wizard at birth."

Tom didn't give Dumbledore a chance to interrupt, he spoke very fast about his experience, as if he was telling a story about someone else.

"But I'm also a lucky person. Mrs. Cole brought me up. Even if the children in the Westside Orphanage don't have a family, we don't lack anything that should belong to childhood. Seeking help from those gentlemen who think they are noble, she taught me to read and write, taught me to rely on myself to grow up when I have nothing to rely on, she taught me not to be knocked down by a miserable life, we cannot change our origin, But we can change our future."

"I was lucky enough to meet my lifelong friend in the orphanage, Nelson Williams, who had family but was still like us, who was magically blessed like me but not out of the group like me," he told Everyone in my world is the same, and everyone has the power and opportunity to choose. Tell me that all people are created equal, so that I will not become a slave to power when I am very young. Help me when I'm in a deadlock, and reach out to me when I'm in crisis."

"I was lucky enough to meet people who light up my life, Jonas, Bella...they saved me from a dark fate, made me realize that there are other colors in the world, and made me no longer experience injustice. There is only a means of catharsis called rage."

Tom's voice echoed in the principal's room. The portraits on the wall had different expressions. Salazar Slytherin sighed, as if he was empathizing with his descendants. Pulling on Phineas's sleeve to wipe away his tears, Phineas, who usually has a bad attitude, also showed a heavy expression, as if he was recalling his mistakes and omissions in coaching...

"I can't imagine, Professor, what would I be like if I hadn't met these people?"

Tom spread his hands, with a smile on his face.

"When I was eleven years old, I was lucky enough to board the Hogwarts Express and take the bus to the New World. In this magical castle, I learned how to use my own magic power. I realized that A force can not only be used to set fire or knock people into the air, it can also make life better, Professor Slughorn, Professor Mellors... and you, Professor Dumbledore, I am lucky enough to have Your teachings have kept me from slipping into the abyss, I know you have always thought that I am ruthless and mercenary, but today, I want to say that you are wrong."

Tom took a deep breath and looked straight into Dumbledore's eyes hidden behind half-moon lenses.

"So I am willing to share this luck with more people."

Dumbledore stared at Tom blankly. He never thought that such words would come from Tom's mouth, even though he thought he knew this proud student very well.

From the first time they met, from the first meeting of their eyes, he knew that Tom was a man without love.

Tom's thoughts are always hidden in those bottomless black eyes. He lacks a loving family, a loving childhood, and even true love between his parents. According to the name of Marvolo, the story about Merope was found.

Children born under the Love Potion or the Imperius Curse are born loveless—this has been the stereotyped consensus among wizards for years.

After entering Hogwarts, Tom's performance also met Dumbledore's expectations - he longed for wealth, power, knowledge, strength... He longed for everything he never had, but he never longed for friends. In Bullido's view, the most important treasure of his student days, he never asked for love from others, and ruthlessly rejected those ignorant loves.

He is indeed a person who lacks love, Dumbledore once thought so, which also made Tom the object of vigilance in Dumbledore's heart, and this vigilance even surpassed that of Melissa Sykes with ulterior motives , and the child who entered school with Tom and was as deep-minded as himself-Nelson.

Dumbledore firmly believes that love is the greatest and most important thing in this world. Even if a person with love is depraved, he will only become extreme, at least there are weaknesses, but what about people without love? There is only one ending for him, to become a disseminator of despair.

He never looked past it.

But the meaning of stereotypes is to break them. When Dumbledore felt the love in Tom's heart for the first time, his heart was so shocked and blinded that he froze in the tavern for a while. As a student who had just entered school, Legilimency was actually stopped.

He had seen Tom's love, his pain over Jonas' death, and his determination to stand by the side of his best friend, young and frail as he was, enough to blind Dumbledore.

And he also paid the price for his arrogance. An extremely talented student left Nurmengard, causing Grindelwald's power to expand rapidly in a way he had never imagined, and another student he thought had the devil The student of fate sprouted hatred in his heart.

He once tried to repair his mistakes, but what happened could not be repaired after all. He began to worry that a person more radical, stronger and more terrifying than Grindelwald would appear in this world. Just like Kamander against Grindelwald, cultivate a hero who can fight against Nelson who may bring trouble to the world in the future.

He saw Tom, and this was the first time he moved his gaze down from the clouds, the first time he saw the love in Tom's heart, the love that should not have been born, but was born, it's not that he doesn't have love, it's just this kind of love. Love is too proud, too absolute, too harsh, too stingy - Dumbledore imparted almost all knowledge without reservation, Tom greedily absorbs water like a dry sponge, and seeing all this Dumbledore regrets it to this day.

"I am willing to share this luck with more people, so that people like me have the right to choose."

Tom's voice brought Dumbledore back from memory to reality, and Dumbledore's eyes were a little moist. As a person who had devoted half his life to education, his desire for these words was more than anything else.

He blinked, spread his hands, and smiled, but didn't speak, he was afraid that if he opened his mouth, Tom would hear the choking in his throat, Dumbledore tilted his head, turned around, and looked at the painting behind him Frame, a figure flashed behind the door in the corner of the living room, and there seemed to be some cooking smoke.

When Dumbledore turned his head, he was already smiling like usual.

After seeing his smile, Tom smiled too, picked up the teacup on the table and took a big sip to moisten his dry throat.

"This cup is actually Veritaserum."

"Drinking so much, I should be poisoned and dying."

After experiencing this little joke, the two laughed, and the atmosphere in the principal's room softened a lot.

"I have another question," Dumbledore adjusted his glasses and said seriously, "If you have the chance to get this position, what do you think about Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

"The meaning of Defense Against the Dark Arts is to avoid being violated by the dark arts," Tom said seriously, "I will teach Hogwarts students the means to survive under the dark arts and all kinds of dangers from magic or magical animals, and to protect them." yourself against the enemy."

"Fight against the enemy?"

"Professor," Tom said, "on my way home from vacation, the Hogwarts Express was attacked. I thought that in the face of malicious passivity, it is connivance with it. We must have the ability to protect ourselves, and Have a heart to protect others."

Salazar Slytherin hanging on the wall showed a retching expression. Phineas just wanted to say something when Dalice held him down. Dumbledore looked at Tom and remained silent for a long time.

Until the light of the crystal ball in front of him dimmed, he nodded, stood up and said, "You can go home and wait for the notice, but Tom, the owl for the professor will be long before the admission notice."

Although I think I have written very clearly, I have to reiterate that the author is not a male ketone.

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