Chapter 13: The Secret Riddle

The day after Katie Bell’s curse, Harry visits Dumbledore, who confirms Snape contained the curse and that Katie will recover. Dumbledore sidesteps Harry’s questions about his absence and Draco, then turns to their lesson, producing memories linked to Voldemort’s past.

Through Caractacus Burke’s memory, Harry learns Merope Gaunt, desperate and pregnant, sold Slytherin’s locket for ten Galleons shortly before giving birth. Dumbledore suggests Merope abandoned magic and, weakened by suffering, chose death soon after Tom’s birth.

Dumbledore then immerses Harry in his own memory of a London orphanage. After gently coercing the wary matron, Mrs. Cole, with subtle magic, Dumbledore hears reports of Tom Riddle’s disturbing incidents: a hanged rabbit and a cave episode that traumatized two children.

Meeting eleven-year-old Tom Riddle, Dumbledore reveals Hogwarts and magic. Riddle, already domineering, demands proof; Dumbledore obliges, then exposes Riddle’s box of stolen “trophies” and warns him about laws and control. Riddle accepts Hogwarts, reveals Parseltongue, and shows disdain for sharing the name “Tom,” while insisting on handling Diagon Alley alone.

Back in the office, Dumbledore explains the warning signs: Riddle’s early control, cruelty, secrecy, and desire to be extraordinary, later expressed by adopting “Lord Voldemort.” He stresses Riddle’s isolation and trophy-collecting as thematically crucial. Harry notes Marvolo’s ring is gone; Dumbledore ends the lesson on that enigmatic detail.