Dumbledore

A week later.

Albus Dumbledore stood in front of the orphanage, surrounded by a mysterious aura.

He walked into the orphanage and knocked on the front door.

Creak!

"How can I assist you?" Mrs. Cole opened the door, and looked around when she noticed a stranger, she asked with confusion.

"Good afternoon." Mrs. Cole was greeted by Dumbledore, who extended his right hand. "My name is Albus Dumbledore, and I wrote to you the other day about Tom Riddle and Jack Frost."

"Yes, I recall." Mrs. Cole immediately returned his greetings and opened the door to let him in.

"Did they really get accepted to a special boarding school?" Mrs. Cole was curious.

"Yes, they have qualities that we value." Dumbledore responded in an indirect manner.

"What is the name of the school?" She asked him another question as she offered him a seat.

"It's Hogwarts." Dumbledore was patient enough to answer her questions.

"However, they are orphans. So, they don't have a single penny to pay for school." Mrs. Cole brought up the most important point.

"We will provide orphans with the assistance they require. You don't have to be concerned about them." Dumbledore calmed her worries with a single sentence.

"However, how did they become registered and accepted. They haven't applied, and from what you've said, Hogwarts sounds like a prestigious school." Mrs. Cole asked various questions because she didn't want the children to suffer in a forsaken place because of her negligence.

Dumbledore sighed at this sharp and shrewd woman's never-ending questions. So he simply waved his wand at the blank paper and handed it to the woman, "You will understand everything, as it all clearly stated in it."

Mrs. Cole examined the paper with a puzzled and dazed expression. Her expression soon returned to normal. "I understand now."

"Do you want to meet them, Mr. Dumbledore?" she asked, not noticing anything out of the ordinary.

"Can you tell me anything about them?" Dumbledore first inquired, as he was very interested in these children.

"Yes." Mrs. Cole gave a nod. "Tom has a strange and gloomy character. He dislikes getting along with others. He is different from the other children. In the orphanage, he was the subject of numerous nasty rumours. However, he tried to communicate with others a long time ago, but no one liked him, so he was isolated. It all started when some people tried to bully him. He changed into who he is today as a result of that incident."

"I thought he'd always be like this, but that quickly changed."

"He unexpectedly become friends with Frost. When I found out, it took me by surprise."

"Why did it surprised you?" Dumbledore interrupted her with an inquiry.

"It was because of how different they were." Mrs. Cole responded. "Jack Frost was the polar opposite of Tom. He was upbeat and friendly to everyone. In times of need, he stepped in to assist others. He was always at the top of the class, and a bit of a nerd to be exact, because he loved reading books and could go on for hours. Just when you think he's an introvert, he flipped our guesses. He frequently leaves the orphanage in his spare time because he enjoys roaming in the surrounding area and is quite outgoing."

"To put it succinctly. He enjoys and values freedom above all else, and he has a rather contradictory personality."

"You can understand why it was so surprising when I found out they had become friends," Mrs. Cole said about Jack. "Despite the fact that this made Jack somewhat unpopular as a result of Tom's influence, he seemed unconcerned and remained the same. After that, Tom's attitude toward others didn't change much. But he became less gloomy and spent lot of his free time talking to Jack."

"Blimey! I even saw Tom laugh once when Jack told a joke." When Mrs. Cole mentioned this, she smiled. "Even though Jack appeared to be perfect, he, like any other human, has his own problems and difficulties. He places too much emphasis on his goals, and he can be quite stubborn about them."

"What are his goals?" Dumbledore was quite curious about Jack. He was intrigued by this, as it could reveal more about a person's true character than simple observation.

"He desires to travel to the sea of stars and witness the splendour of the cosmos with his own eyes. While mentioning this, he also said a lot of unfamiliar terms." Mrs. Cole had a nostalgic expression on her face. "Yes, he once joked, that he wanted to drink the water from Mimir's well in Yggdrasil to gain supreme wisdom, just like Odin in mythology."

"Despite the fact that he said it with seriousness."

"That is a truly extraordinary goal." Dumbledore took his time processing the information he had gathered. This was his first time hearing such a goal.

He thought the child, Jack, was an enigma.

"Can you take me to meet them now?" Dumbledore finally concluded, having grasped the situation and personalities of Tom and Jack. On the surface, he needs to meet with them to confirm.

Yes, he may be overly-suspicious, but this was for the greater good, as he didn't want any of his students to fall into the darkness like his former friend.

"Oh, yes," Mrs. Cole agreed and led the way to the staircase; the surroundings were rather gloomy and dark, with rain falling outside.

They made their way to the second floor via a spiral staircase.

Mrs. Cole eventually came to a halt in front of a black door and told Dumbledore. "This is Jack's Room; he'll be mostly likely be present now, having finished his lunch and studying."

Mrs. Cole knocked on the black door after Dumbledore nodded.

Creak!

The door soon opened, and a boy appeared in front of both of them.

"Do you need any assistance, Mrs. Cole?" Jack inquired, perplexed, and then noticed the person standing next to her. "Who is he?" He inquired a little curiously.

His actions and expression were flawless, as if he really didn't know Dumbledore, even an experienced wizard like Dumbledore couldn't find any abnormalities with him.

'Bring me the Oscars!' Jack thought with amusement, this actually wasn't an easy thing, for he was facing no ordinary wizard, but Dumbledore himself.

He may have some self protection even when facing Dumbledore, but, this doesn't mean that he excels at everything.

Magic was truly a mystery with limitless possibilities.

Even more so when it's a marvel world, with actual gods of magic present.

He had to be cautious and well-prepared. Even now, he is adequately prepared to face Dumbledore, the master legilimens.

"I'll take over from here." Dumbledore broke the silence by speaking.

"All right, Tom's room is right next to his." Mrs. Cole informed him and gave Jack, a thumbs up with a smile before leaving.

"You should have guessed who I am by now, Jack." Dumbledore finally turned to face him and spoke with a gentle tone.

"Yes." Jack nodded and moved to the side to let him in.