In April, the weather warms up and spring flowers bloom.
Hogwarts Castle returned to its usual tranquility and peace. No student would pay special attention to the attack a while ago, as if nothing had ever happened.
Albert decided to take some time to find Hagrid and ask him about Tom Riddle's news, so as to fill in the last piece of the puzzle for the truth he was about to tell Dumbledore.
Honestly speaking, it is extremely difficult to hide the truth from a master of telepathy like Dumbledore. Even though Albert's level of Occlumency is not low, Dumbledore's IQ is not low either.
In fact, the best way is to avoid contact with Dumbledore.
Unfortunately, the rewards for the panel mission were too rich for Albert to give up easily. When he had to contact Dumbledore, he could only take another approach, which was to tell the truth with traces. In simple terms, it was to make Dumbledore think that he was a genius who could piece together the truth from fragmented information. Anyway, everyone thought he was a genius, so there was nothing to doubt about it.
Leaving the castle and walking through the grass path, Albert walked towards Hagrid's hunting lodge. Before he could raise his hand to knock on the wooden door, the sound of scratching was heard from inside.
The next moment, the wooden door was opened from the inside, and the hound Yaya pounced on them with its tail wagging. Albert dodged to the side, then squatted down and subdued the excited Yaya with a pat on the head.
Hagrid looked at Albert who was half squatting in front of the door and stroking Fang's fur, and asked with a smile, "Why are you here? Did you find something again..."
"Let's talk inside first." Albert interrupted.
"Oh, I almost forgot, come in!"
Hagrid thought Albert might have discovered some amazing secret to share with him, so he quickly made way for the door and invited Albert into the house.
Hagrid closed the window of the room, hung the copper kettle on the fireplace and boiled it, then asked, "What clues have you found?"
"Hagrid, do you remember Tom Riddle?" Albert asked mysteriously.
Hagrid obviously didn't expect Albert to ask about Tom Riddle. He was stunned for a moment. After a long time, he said faintly: "Of course I remember, it was that guy who caused me to be expelled from school. I remember I seemed to have told you about it!"
"I remember Tom Riddle was a Slytherin, right?"
"Yes, I remember it was Slytherin House... Why are you asking that?" Hagrid put a plate of rock cakes on the table and looked at Albert in confusion.
"Haven't you ever thought that the person who opened the Chamber of Secrets might be Tom Riddle?" Albert directly revealed the explosive information and began to guide Hagrid's thoughts in the direction he wanted.
"Although he caused me to be expelled from school, you can't just... Wait, did you find any evidence?" Hagrid paused while biting the rock pie and turned to look at Albert in shock. He knew Albert would never speak nonsense, and there must be some reason for suspecting Tom Riddle was the heir of Slytherin.
"There is no direct evidence, but some things happened recently." Albert told Hagrid what happened a while ago.
"That Riddle diary that suddenly appeared is very suspicious." Facing Hagrid who was full of doubts, Albert continued to explain, "You probably don't know that, apart from the Sorting Hat, I have never seen a magical item that can think for itself, and that diary disappeared inexplicably. The culprit who stole it was a student from Gryffindor College."
"Why do you think it's a Gryffindor student?" Hagrid was even more confused. He could understand every word Albert said and the meaning of every sentence, but he just didn't understand why he said that.
"Someone broke into Potter's dormitory, rummaged through his locker, and stole Riddle's diary." Albert glanced at the rock cake that fell on the table and continued, "Don't you think this is suspicious?"
Hagrid seemed to want to say something, but was interrupted by Albert.
"You are also a Gryffindor student. You should know that it is impossible for students from other colleges to know the Fat Lady's password, let alone break into the Gryffindor common room. Therefore, the person who stole the diary can only be a Gryffindor student.
"You're quite right!" Hagrid agreed absentmindedly, as if considering the possibility that Tom Riddle was the culprit who opened the Chamber of Secrets.
"I just know that you may not believe it, but Riddle is indeed suspicious. Come and see this, and you will know why I said so."
Albert pulled a piece of parchment from his pocket and spread it out on the table so that Hagrid could read what was written on it.
Hagrid took the parchment and read the linked names on it:
Harry, Basilisk, Parseltongue, a Gryffindor student, Riddle's diary, Hagrid, Tom Riddle, Chamber of Secrets.
They are connected by countless lines.
"What does this mean?" Hagrid put down the parchment, walked to the fireplace, picked up the boiling copper kettle, and made a pot of hot tea for Albert.
"Don't you think Tom Riddle has something to do with a lot of things?"
Albert picked up the teacup, blew lightly, took a sip of hot tea, and continued to guide Hagrid: "Recall it carefully, think about what Tom Riddle did, and think about whether there were rumors of Parseltongue in the school at that time."
"What if Riddle is a Parseltongue?" Hagrid asked tentatively.
"If Tom Riddle is a Parseltongue, then he is undoubtedly the culprit who opened the Chamber of Secrets fifty years ago." Albert said affirmatively: "Although there is no evidence to prove this, I have no doubt that you need to master Parseltongue to open the Chamber of Secrets. Don't forget, Salazar Slytherin is also a Parseltongue, and his symbol is a snake. I think there is nothing more suitable than using Parseltongue as a symbol of Slytherin's heir."
Hagrid didn't know why Albert thought so, but when he thought about it carefully, it was true. Although there were other wizards who could speak Parseltongue besides those of Slytherin blood, many things in Slytherin House were related to snakes, especially the method of controlling basilisks.
"This is just your suspicion, we have no evidence." Hagrid pointed out the problem clearly.
"You should know that we only need suspicion, not evidence." Albert ignored Hagrid and continued, "Although Tom Riddle lives in the Muggle world, it does not mean that both his parents are Muggles. There are even wizards or Squibs among his ancestors."
"Tom Riddle is a Muggle wizard?"
"The diary that Potter found was bought in the Muggle world, so he must have spent his childhood in the Muggle world. Otherwise, who would go to the Muggle world to buy a diary?"
Hagrid knew that what Albert said made sense. Wizards and Muggles didn't have much contact, let alone buying notes.
"If, let's be bolder, Riddle is a Parseltongue, is it possible that he is a descendant of Slytherin?" Albert once again proposed a hypothesis, "I know many famous wizards, but rarely hear of the descendants of the Big Four. Maybe their descendants' surnames have changed. After all, if the descendants have no sons, the continuation of the bloodline is inherited by the daughters."
At this moment, Hagrid was completely confused. His IQ could not keep up with Albert's changes in thinking, so he could only listen to Albert talk in a daze.
"I have never heard of such an excellent wizard as Tom Riddle. I even asked some old friends, but they have never heard of his name." Albert picked up a piece of rock cake from the plate, soaked it in tea, and asked with a smile, "Do you know what this means?"
"Does that mean he's dead?"
"Or..." Albert reminded.
"Or?" Hagrid thought hard. "Become a very mediocre wizard and thus disappear into obscurity?"
"Do you think I'll spend the rest of my life in obscurity?" Albert asked.
"No." Hagrid shook his head. He knew Albert's abilities and talents. Unless he died early, there was no way he would remain unknown.
"That's right!" Albert took a bite of the wet rock cake and said slowly, "Tom was the student council president of Hogwarts in his seventh year, and according to the magic in that diary, Tom Riddle is a genius who is no less talented than me. I'm not bragging here, but I'm quite confident in my talent."
"You mean..."
"He probably changed his name."
"Why do you think so?" Hagrid asked puzzled.
"The name Tom is so common that my cat is named Tom."
"Why would he do this?" Hagrid was even more confused. According to Albert's analysis, Tom Riddle was indeed suspicious.
"He probably reported you because he didn't want the school to be closed." Albert threw out his final killer weapon, "Don't be too quick to deny it. After you were caught, the attacks on Hogwarts completely stopped. Are you the heir of Slytherin?"
"Of course not," cried Hagrid excitedly.
"Don't yell at me, of course I know you're not." Albert tried to calm Hagrid's excitement, "But after you were caught, the attacks stopped, and that's the point."
"The point?" Hagrid obviously didn't understand what Albert meant.
"After you're caught, the attacks stop and people think you're the culprit," Albert warned. "If you're caught and the attacks continue, they know they've got the wrong guy."
"Yes, that's right, that's it." Hagrid seemed to have figured it out and stood up excitedly.
"Since you are not the heir of Slytherin, why did the attacks stop after you were caught?" Albert continued, "Naturally, the attackers wanted to make you the scapegoat, and Tom Riddle, who received the Special Contribution Award, is the biggest suspect."
"Why?"
"Because he is the biggest beneficiary, he is naturally the most suspicious."
"As far as I can remember, Dumbledore was the only one who thought I was innocent," Hagrid said sadly. "He then persuaded Professor Dippet to let me stay on as gamekeeper."
"No, you are wrong. In fact, most professors with sound minds know that you are innocent." Albert said calmly, "Otherwise, why do you think you can stay in Hogwarts instead of living in Azkaban? Of course, Headmaster Dippet also knows this, so he agreed with Dumbledore's opinion."
"But why..." Hagrid opened his mouth in shock.
"They need a scapegoat, and the attacks stopped after you were caught, so you are the most suitable person to take the blame. Someone has to do this." Albert's face was full of sarcasm that was hard to conceal. "After all, a student died, and his family must be explained. And you were caught by Riddle on the spot, and you let the young Acromantula go. You can't prove your innocence. Even Dumbledore can't help you, so don't blame others."
Hagrid was silent for a long time. Although he was reluctant to admit it, Albert had explained it to him in detail, and what he said made sense.
"Why do you think I'm innocent?" Hagrid asked curiously, "Why do you think I'm not the culprit? Why do you say that others can see it at a glance?"
"Because you don't speak Parseltongue, and because you have the blood of a giant. Of course, others may not consider this, but the heir of Slytherin must be a cunning and smart guy, and most likely in Slytherin, not Gryffindor, and your brain... ahem, it's just average among so many students." Albert shrugged and said, "Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets was able to hide in the castle for a thousand years without being discovered by others. It is not easy for ordinary people to find the Chamber of Secrets, so you know why I said that."
"Hmph!" Hagrid snorted in dissatisfaction, feeling a little dissatisfied with Albert saying that he was not smart, even though it was true.
"If it was Tom Riddle who opened the Chamber of Secrets last time, who opened it this time? According to what you said, apart from Harry, there are no other students in the school who can speak Parseltongue. And according to what you said, Parseltongue is also needed to control the basilisk to attack students."
"If these assumptions are true, then Riddle's diary is very suspicious." Albert expressed his point of view. "Since he can automatically answer questions from people who write in it, why can't he speak? It's not that difficult to make a diary speak!"
Albert drew out his wand and pointed it lightly at the parchment, which then opened and closed, making a sound.
"If Riddle left some strange magic in the diary, it is certainly possible to use the diary to open the Chamber of Secrets and control the Basilisk. Don't forget that the diary has its own thoughts. The only question now is whether Tom Riddle can speak Parseltongue, and whether he is the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets fifty years ago. Did he change his name?"
"Tell me, what's your final answer?" Hagrid asked after taking a deep breath.
"The mysterious man." Albert clicked lightly, causing the name to appear on the parchment. After linking him to Tom Riddle, everything could be explained.
"Mysterious man!"
Hagrid's breathing became rapid when he saw the name, "Do you have any evidence?"
"No." Albert shook his head, "But I will find clues."
He naturally would not tell Hagrid the secret of Voldemort's name, otherwise it would be difficult to explain clearly.
Tom Marvolo Riddle is "Tom Marvolo Riddle" in English, and "I Am Lord Voldemort" is "I Am Lord Voldemort" in English. The letters are the same, just arranged differently.