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HP/LOTM: Visionary - 354
🕑 Added 2025-10-22 12:51:19 +0000 UTCChapter 354: The Mastermind and Encounter in the Room of Requirement
"Who were those people?" Harry asked, taking his seat. Dumbledore served him a cup of black tea.
"What did you notice?" Dumbledore asked, looking at Aiden, who was slightly distracted.
"I searched through the sea of consciousness just now. Basically everyone who knew about this has already passed away, right? Some records still remain at the bottom of the Mirror of Erised."
Aiden's eyes changed from silver-white back to his original heterochromatic pupils.
Dumbledore raised his hand, indicating he should continue.
"Those three people just now were the last members of the Gaunt family. That woman named Merope should be Tom's mother, right?"
Aiden's words startled Harry. He knew who Aiden meant by Tom.
"Yes, the Gaunt family adhered to pure-blood ideology. For centuries they maintained the bad habit of intermarriage within the family. And this magnified the cruelty in their human nature, making the entire family famous for being violent and unstable."
Dumbledore filled in the missing intelligence for Harry, then continued looking at Aiden, hoping to squeeze more information from the Discerner.
"I somewhat regret revealing my abilities to you fifty years ago," Aiden said, letting out a breath.
"But didn't we cooperate very well then?" Dumbledore said, winking at him.
"You win. I'll supplement what you've been overlooking in the memory. You focus too much on the magical world and ignore ordinary people. No one paid attention to Tom's father."
Aiden shook his sleeve. His wand slid from inside onto his palm.
Tapping lightly in the air with his wand a few times, a handsome young man appeared before them.
"Seems like nothing special except being handsome," Harry commented.
"Look at his eyes." Aiden's free hand rotated. Old Tom Riddle's eyes were magnified.
The youthful face should have had vibrant eyes, but they revealed a strange sense of weariness.
The pupils reflected Marvolo strangling Merope, but what showed wasn't sympathy, but... pleasure.
"This isn't normal. A normal person seeing this scene shouldn't have that reaction," Harry said, his gaze shifting from the portrait to Dumbledore.
"What's your thought?" Dumbledore's expression was grave, wanting to hear Aiden's analysis.
"I suspect he's also a Chaos believer. Tom's entire life was probably a designed... script."
Aiden's eyes slightly closed. Both Discerner and Visionary instincts reminded him of an invisible mastermind behind the scenes.
"Focus on the enemy at hand. Tom is already a huge problem. We need to strengthen Harry's abilities as much as possible before that day comes."
Dumbledore waved his hand, sweeping this dark cloud aside.
"Also, based on what we saw of the Gaunt family members from Mr. Ogden's memory, combined with my abilities, I did a small profile of them."
Aiden lightly interlocked his ten fingers, blocking them before his eyes so people couldn't see his expression.
"What's the result?" Dumbledore asked, voicing Harry's curiosity.
"Marvolo Gaunt may have violated his daughter," Aiden said, dropping a bombshell.
"What..." Harry was so shocked he couldn't control his voice.
Aiden ignored Harry and continued his analysis.
"Based on Marvolo's demeanor and the physical contact between father and daughter, brother and sister—when he discovered his daughter admired the Muggle outside, his reaction was explosive. They viewed Merope as their possession, so when she showed independent will, they sought to crush it."
Aiden flicked his finger. The image of young Tom in the air changed to the angry faces of the Gaunt father and son.
"Look at those angry faces. The underlying emotion is possession and control..." Aiden was about to explain in detail to Harry but was interrupted by Dumbledore's cough.
"Ahem..." Dumbledore raised his hand and waved. "That's enough for today's lesson. Harry, off you go."
Harry was enjoying the discussion and was disappointed to be interrupted. "Professor, can I tell Ron and Hermione about this?"
"Of course."
Getting Dumbledore's permission, Harry left the headmaster's office satisfied.
"Why? Do you think Harry's too young to hear this?"
Aiden felt somewhat puzzled. After all, discussing this topic seemed perfectly appropriate given the context.
"No, I don't want him to... before defeating Voldemort..." Dumbledore hesitated.
"Why?" Now it was Aiden's turn to be curious.
"Because I'm not sure if the dark magic Tom left in Harry will be inherited, potentially affecting his future children."
Dumbledore frowned, looking at the image of the Gaunt father and son in the air.
Leaving the headmaster's office, Aiden suddenly wanted to confirm Tom's current state.
So he headed to the Room of Requirement, but it had already been occupied by someone.
However, this wasn't a big problem. This couldn't stump Aiden, who possessed partial control of the castle.
He pulled out his wand and waved. The Room of Requirement began changing. The entrance to the room someone had entered was opened.
Aiden pushed open the door. Inside were piled various miscellaneous items. This should be the room students used to hide discarded items.
Hiding in the blind spot of consciousness, the Discerner already knew who was using this room.
So Aiden passed through the maze of discarded items and came to a relatively flat area.
The young, anxious Draco was staring vacantly at a black cabinet.
"Having trouble repairing it, aren't you?" Aiden suddenly spoke.
Draco jumped.
"You, Prewett!" Draco said, recognizing Aiden's face. His face instantly paled.
"Petrificus Totalus!" he shouted, immediately casting a spell.
Aiden closed the distance in an instant, crossing the ten meters between them to appear before him, catching his Petrification Spell with his bare hand and seizing his wand.
Realizing he was caught, Draco inexplicably felt a wave of relief.
"You win. Hand me over to the Ministry and send me to Azkaban," Draco said, resigned to his fate.
"Why would I send you to Azkaban? Have you done something wrong, Draco?"
The tone was somewhat soft, but the teasing undertone made Draco shiver.
"You're not going to report me? Aren't you and Dumbledore on the same side?" Draco asked, confused.
"Dumbledore and I are on the same side, but you and Tom aren't necessarily on the same side."
"Don't say that name," Draco said, his voice trembling.
Aiden gestured with his hand. Two plush armchairs appeared on the ground. He sat down and motioned for Draco to join him.
Draco sat down trembling, waiting for Aiden's judgment.
