The Source of Dumbledore's Power

"And did you find that answer?" Yvonne asked curiously.

"Yes… but it was very difficult! I tried to talk to Dumbledore about it, and he told me that the accumulation of knowledge and the power of belief is especially important… both of which are necessary!" Tom could not help but laugh as he continued.

"That sounds like child's play, doesn't it?"

"But I was young, and I believed in him! It was only when I followed in the footsteps of the great Seer Salazar Slytherin and unraveled the many clues left behind by our ancestors that I found this!"

Tom snapped his fingers, and a black mist swirled in the air and gathered into the shape of a book.

Ivan suppressed his excitement and forced himself to calm down. The cover and name of the book were extremely familiar to him. It was The Bloodline Origin!

"This book reveals everything that Albus Dumbledore is hiding! It also shows me the truth about the wizarding world!" Tom exclaimed, not noticing Ivan's expression.

"What does the book say? Why is it called Bloodline Origin…" Yvonne asks, knowing full well that she is trying to get more information out of him.

Tom glanced at him, then began introducing Ivan to the book, beginning with the history of the pre-War period.

The emphasis is on this ancient history, in which a number of wizards and witches used various means to steal the innate powers of powerful creatures, including the Dumbledore family, which fused phoenix blood!

"You've seen Dumbledore's Phoenix, haven't you?" Tom turned to Ivan.

"Yes, it looks beautiful and powerful…" Ivan nodded.

"That's proof!" Tom said, raising his eyebrows and looking ferocious.

"My Slytherin blood was powerful, but my father was an inferior Muggle, and he defiled the blood of my ancestors, preventing me from gaining full blood power!"

Tom clenched his fists, and the black mist around him stirred.

However, this only lasted for a short while before Tom became calm again… frighteningly calm as he continued to speak.

"Anyway, I found a way to restore the bloodline to its original form in The Origin of Blood, but the book was incomplete, and the most crucial parts were deliberately torn out, causing me a lot of trouble…"

"I have always suspected that it was your current Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, who did this! Because, according to the book, the blood inheritance is in a decreasing form.

However, after more than a thousand years, his phoenix blood showed no signs of diminishing, and Dumbledore was still strong enough to summon his own phoenix, even infecting the Priesthood with it!"

"So the kind Headmaster in your eyes may not be what you think he is.

Dumbledore is most likely fearful of gifted young wizards and witches, fearing that someone will become more powerful than he is, which I think is why he is so wary of me."

Tom looked at Ivan earnestly. "You and I are very alike, Hales. We are both extremely gifted young wizards, and sooner or later Dumbledore will come after you too!"

Ivan gave a non-committal nod but did not reply.

Tom didn't care.

"I've put that book in the Restricted Section. You can go there at midnight tonight and look for it."

"I set up some interesting little enchantments there to prevent the book from falling into the hands of the mediocre. I'm sure that won't be a problem for you…" Tom's voice grew weaker, as if he were exhausted.

Ivan had a strange look on his face, as he had already got his hands on The Origin of Blood, but he was not stupid enough to say so.

Most of what Tom Riddle said was within Ivan's expectations, as he had suspected that Tom might have hidden the book in the Restricted Section, and that it was related to Salazar Slytherin…

The only thing that surprised Ivan was Tom's claim that his copy of The Origin of the Bloodline was missing in the first place, and speculation that Dumbledore might have torn it up.

If so, why should Tom claim to have found a way to complete the bloodline, when Ivan had read the book and found no mention of it?

The bloodline-fusing potion he made was completely the recipe given by the system…

Other than that, Ivan had many questions.

For example, why would Tom leave such a book in the Restricted Section, setting up obstacles instead of just taking it away…

Ivan opened his mouth to ask for more details, but Tom's solid form suddenly dispersed.

Immediately after, the entire space shook violently and finally shattered into endless black fog, gathering towards the center and being sucked into a vortex.

When it was all over, Ivan found himself back in his room, with the bed and table still in place, as if he had been in a dream…

Only a black-covered diary sat quietly on the table. The pages seemed to have lost their shine, and the pages were slightly yellowed. Written on the pages of the diary was the story that had been told.

It took Ivan a while to regain his composure, and after a moment's thought, he wrote in his diary with a quill. "Tom, are you all right?"

Yvonne's inquiry was quickly answered, and the diary's dark ink appeared.

[It's not good. I've used up too much energy trying to tell you these things. I'm afraid I won't be able to talk to you for a while. Anyway, let's talk after you get the book…]

'That bad? Surely not?'

Ivan pursed his lips. In his opinion, Tom's attempt to create a Black Fog Space to talk to him had consumed a lot of energy, but not to the point of harming his foundation.

Tom said this in the hope that he could capture some creatures to absorb their life force and restore his strength.

The bait that was thrown out was Bloodline Origin…

Any other young wizard might have taken pity on Tom after hearing of his tragic childhood, taken his advice and gone to the Restricted Section to get his hands on The Origin of Blood, confirmed Tom's claims, and eventually believed him…

As she digested Tom Riddle's vast amount of information, Ivan closed the diary. He slipped it into the pocket of his wizarding robe and carried it with him.

Ivan had to admit that Tom Riddle's forceful use of the Black Fog Space frightened him.

If Tom managed to fool Harry, Ron, and Neville while he was away, where would he go to cry?

(PS: Thank you Piggy + 100,000 Point Coins for being the third League Master of this book!)