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Past Dumbledore and Tom Riddle are sitting side by side on a simple train seat.

PRESENT DUMBLEDORE: The lightning had sparked a sudden grass fire, which swept through in minutes...

A short narrative frame coming from the parchment Dumbledore has received shows a bright fire overwhelming the orphanage building and everything around it. The rain and lightning continue in the background.

PRESENT DUMBLEDORE: The entire orphanage was destroyed...

The narrative frame of the orphanage burning closes.

PRESENT DUMBLEDORE: How would I break the news to Tom? How long could I delay telling him the awful truth? But he interrupted my wondering...

Tom still has a flat expression and is speaking in the Voldemort style.

TOM: Don't worry about that. I already know.

Tom reaches up to pull off zir hat.

TOM: And, Professor, if I'm going to be a wizard, I won't be wearing this anymore... Will I.

Tom pulls off the hat, and we see zir whole face for the first time. Ze has the same black hair as Harry, as well as the same skin color; zir eyes are green, but a much more bluish green than Harry's. Ze is staring directly forwards with eyes wide, but still has a completely flat expression.

The hat lies alone on the seat where Tom leaves it.

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If I learned that the adult next to me was planning to hide major information about my life from me like that, I'd be pretty angry about it. The Tom Riddle from the books would be, too...

Approximate readability: 6.15 (144 characters, 37 words, 2 sentences, 3.89 characters per word, 18.50 words per sentence)