Wizard, Isn’t It Amazing?

"…"

After Adam finished telling his story, a long silence settled over the corridor.

"Ominis…"

Sebastian looked at Ominis with some concern.

"Not an unexpected story, really."

Ominis shook his head, interrupting Sebastian while signaling that he was fine.

"The Gaunt Family had begun declining long ago. Many things in their home had been pawned off, while the family members considered themselves too noble to work outside."

Ominis’s words surprised Sebastian. After all, he had only heard the parts the Gaunt Family publicized, and Ominis had never spoken to him about such things.

"Still, it is strangely ironic that the Gaunt Family was ultimately destroyed by a half-blood descendant, whose Dark magic surpassed that of the family’s pure-blood descendants."

Ominis sighed.

By the standards of those deranged relatives, Tom Riddle’s actions might even have been seen as the glorious honor of the Gaunt Family.

Just as Ominis was still immersed in the aftertaste of the story, Adam spoke.

"How would you judge the Tom Riddle in this story?"

There were two Toms in the story, and Ominis knew Adam was undoubtedly referring to young Tom.

After thinking for a moment, Ominis spoke.

"Perhaps this is the Gaunt Family’s curse. Even a half-blood descendant raised elsewhere eventually walked the path of pursuing pure-blood status and Dark magic."

Adam was initially startled, then remembered that the story had ended abruptly and was incomplete.

So Ominis did not know that Voldemort’s situation actually had nothing to do with the Gaunt Family. From beginning to end, his goal had been nothing more than his own ambition to rule the Wizarding World.

Pure-bloods, the Gaunt Family, descendants of Slytherin—they were all merely banners he raised.

That was why, after meeting his uncle and learning that his heritage was known, he had acted so decisively, plotting to silence everyone who knew of his origins.

But explaining that would take a long time. Adam skipped over the point and continued.

"Then, if you had raised him, do you think he would still have turned out this way?"

Adam had his reasons for asking this question while allowing Ominis to retain such a misunderstanding.

Although Ominis was a Gaunt who opposed pure-blood ideology and rejected Dark magic, Adam still wanted to know whether Ominis believed a person’s bloodline determined his future.

In Ominis’s eyes, could later education possibly turn young Tom, whom he considered heavily imbued with Gaunt blood, into an outlier of the Gaunt Family like himself?

This question was unimportant to others, but it was important to a Hogwarts professor. Adam would test every Hogwarts professor through questions like this, in various forms.

If a professor did not believe that education could change people, then at best, he would remain an ordinary professor at Hogwarts, responsible only for teaching specialized knowledge. If his expertise was not especially outstanding and irreplaceable, Adam would find a way to dismiss him.

Hogwarts might be expanding enrollment, but it would not take just anyone.

Still, it was somewhat unexpected that the Malfoys were optimistic about the role of education…

About thirty percent of Adam’s thoughts drifted off again, but beneath Adam’s outwardly serious gaze, Ominis gave his answer.

"If I could have raised him from childhood, I do not think so."

"Excellent!"

Adam could not help smiling and applauding, then said,

"Then, after you graduate from Hogwarts, would you be willing to travel a hundred years into the future and raise young Tom’s child?"

Adam did not directly say that Tom was that Tom. Instead, he claimed the boy was Voldemort’s son.

After all, rescuing the teenage Dumbledore and teenage Grindelwald was one thing, but rescuing baby Voldemort would indeed be difficult to explain to those in the know. Besides, young Tom had none of his previous memories, so his identity was whatever Adam said it was.

As for young Tom being recognized by people familiar with him once he grew up…

That was not a problem either. There was already precedent for it. Perhaps the wish Merope made after giving birth to Voldemort had also been some sort of magic. She wished for Voldemort to have the same name as his father and resemble him as well, and so Voldemort truly ended up looking exactly like his father.

If Merope could do it, Bellatrix could do it too. It was perfectly reasonable; both women loved the fathers of their children to the point of obsession.

As for why this child would be at Hogwarts—

Before the great battle, to ensure nothing could go wrong, Voldemort set aside the Dark Lord’s pride and sought out the neutral Professor Gandalf, who cared only for the children, entrusting his own child to him…

Wow, what a moving tale!

At the same time, this would also shut down the possibility that Voldemort had a real descendant. With Professor Gandalf vouching for this Voldemort descendant’s identity, it had to be real!

And in the eyes of the few people who knew, just look at that face—it was practically molded from the same cast as Voldemort before he was disfigured!

Just as Adam’s smile widened at his brilliant idea, Ominis had also finished processing the enormous amount of information in Adam’s sudden statement.

"Just like the previous question, Ominis, there is no need to answer me immediately."

Adam cut Ominis off before he could speak. An answer now would be too hasty; it would be better to let Ominis think it over carefully.

"Neither soul magic nor traveling to the future is something that can be settled in a short time. You can think about it properly."

At that, Adam paused before continuing.

"Actually, judging by the timeline, Tom Riddle’s maternal grandfather, Marvolo Gaunt, was from your era. Perhaps you could verify it?"

Although the Gaunt Family had fallen into poverty, it was not limited to a single branch. At the very least, Ominis was not Voldemort’s direct ancestor, and the aunt and nephew who had fought and killed each other, mentioned earlier, were even as far away as Ireland.

As for why, only a few decades later, there were fewer than could be counted on one hand… that was something to ask J.K. Rowling.

Wizards were amazing, weren’t they?

After saying that, Adam simply left. His ability to Apparate freely within Hogwarts gave Ominis another small shock.

"Ominis, you can take your time considering the trip to the future, but hurry up with the soul magic! Anne is still asleep!"

Ominis was forced awake from his tangled thoughts. Though he could not see, his expression was still somewhat complicated as he turned toward Sebastian.

You sister-obsessed fool, is your sister really the only thing in your head?!

Still, thanks to Sebastian, when Ominis looked back on things after clearing his head, his thoughts remained complicated but were at least no longer so chaotic.

Ominis considered it. Compared to everything else, those soul magics truly were not as important. For Anne’s sake…

"I understand. I will go home this weekend."

After saying that, Ominis ignored Sebastian, who was losing his mind beside him, and tightened his grip on his wand.

Since childhood, his personality and beliefs had set him apart from his family, leaving him on the fringes. This time, when he returned, he should make some proper inquiries.