What Marvolio said was, in truth, a little unreasonable. After all, although Dumbledore was a professor at Hogwarts, he could hardly have the time and energy to pay attention to every single student.
By the time Tom had already gone astray, it was too late for Dumbledore to save him.
But to Tom Riddle, Dumbledore held a very special place in his life. He was, in a sense, the beginning of Tom's magical life.
That kind of formative influence was far more important to Tom than the parents he had never even met.
In Tom's mind, Dumbledore had in fact been his mentor in life.
So after Tom asked for help several times and got nowhere, he came to believe, selfishly and sorrowfully, that Dumbledore had betrayed him.
That, like his parents, Dumbledore had abandoned him.
Dumbledore opened his mouth again, but when he saw the grief on Marvolio's face, he found himself with nothing to say.
He had originally thought that when he came here today, the person he would be facing was Tver.
He had imagined that after questioning him, Tver would provide a string of reasonable explanations, then persuade him that this piece of Voldemort's soul was beneficial to their side.
And in the end, after some thought, even if he made certain arrangements in his heart because of it, he would still agree to Tver's plan.
Just as he had every time before.
But he had never expected that the one being questioned would be himself.
And even less had he expected that he would be unable to offer any explanation at all, not even words of comfort.
In the end, I have committed another unforgivable mistake...
"I... I'm sorry, Tom," he said, his own emotions stirred, sorrow in his voice. "I didn't know that back then you were actually in a period of confusion. I thought you..."
"Thought I was born an evil child?"
Marvolio curled his lips into a bitter, self-mocking smile, and it made Dumbledore's heart ache to look at it.
"I know no amount of apologies can make up for my mistakes, but I still want to tell you this..."
Dumbledore's expression suddenly turned solemn. It was as though he were trying to make up for the past, and for the first time, he truly looked at Marvolio like a mentor.
"Tom, you are a good child. Don't punish yourself because of my mistakes, or anyone else's."
"You deserve a better future."
"Hah." Marvolio let out a disdainful laugh. "If you're worried I'm secretly waiting to sabotage the Order of the Phoenix, then you can rest easy."
"I have no intention of ruling Muggles or starting a wizarding war like Voldemort did. On the contrary, I'll help solve the problems he's caused."
"No!" Dumbledore said firmly.
"I stopped believing long ago that you would become another Voldemort. And now, I see you as Tom Riddle. That helpless child in the orphanage, that child whose heart leapt for joy when he learned he was a wizard."
"I don't even want you to feel that just because Voldemort and you share a similar soul, you must help us destroy him."
"I only hope that you can truly possess your own freedom, your own soul and will, and then make each choice for yourself..."
"As long as you have no regrets, then this time, I am willing to accept every decision you make."
"You are you, Tom. You are simply yourself." Dumbledore solemnly placed both hands on Marvolio's shoulders, as though he wanted to make him feel just how firm that conviction was.
"I..."
Marvolio had not expected that just a few words from Dumbledore would leave him lost.
When he heard that he was free to make his own choices in life, he suddenly found he had no idea what he wanted to do.
It was as if he had gone back to the days of Tom Riddle, once again standing at a fork in the road of life...
He had joined Tver's camp entirely because, at the very beginning, his soul had been tightly held in Tver's grip, forcing him to carry out Tver's orders.
Later on, Tver had actually stopped threatening him, but by then he had grown used to obeying Tver, and no longer knew what he ought to do himself.
So he had simply drifted along until now.
But Dumbledore, as though trying to make up for the mistake he had failed to notice in the past, had suddenly pierced straight through the confusion buried deep inside him.
Yet Dumbledore was astonishingly patient now. Instead, he patted Marvolio's shoulder reassuringly.
"Don't rush to answer. You don't even need to tell me, Tom. Tell your own heart."
"If you need guidance, you may come to me at any time. I would be very glad to make up for what was lacking back then, and very glad to answer any student's doubts."
Dumbledore's patient, earnest voice let Marvolio feel a warmth he had not felt in a long time. Although Dumbledore had not simply handed him an answer as he had once wanted, Marvolio had still received the guidance he had once longed for.
Marvolio looked at Dumbledore with a complicated expression. The resentment, wariness, and dissatisfaction he had once felt all tangled together, yet somehow seemed to be dispelled by Dumbledore's words, leaving him unable to summon even a trace of bitterness.
"I need some time to think..."
Marvolio said it softly. He did not dare meet Dumbledore's eyes, and with his head lowered, he walked out of the office.
Bang.
The office door shut again, and with it cut off Tver's speechless stare...
At first, Marvolio's behavior really had taken Tver by surprise, but that surprise had felt more like a pleasant one.
By handling it this way, Marvolio had stirred Dumbledore's guilt toward him, which would undoubtedly make it easier for Dumbledore to accept him.
The problem was that afterward, Marvolio had exposed the confusion in his own heart instead, and Dumbledore had even told him to decide for himself.
It was not as if Marvolio would become as tyrannical as Voldemort again, but even if he simply became disheartened and decided to stop involving himself in the affairs of the wizarding world, that would be utterly unacceptable to Tver, who had worked so hard to arrange all of this.
"You really aren't worried that Marvolio might become the next Dark Lord? His strength is recovering at a tremendous pace. Before long, he may catch up to the two of us." Tver asked, feigning anger.
Of course, he was genuinely a little annoyed as well.
How could this old man see so clearly into other people's hearts?
"I was worried before. Very worried. But what he showed just now tells me that he is not Voldemort, and never will be."
Dumbledore paused. As he spoke, his gaze became firmer and firmer, as though he had made up his mind.
"I was the one who watched that child fall into the abyss, and took the hand he reached out as provocation. But now, since he wants to climb back out, even if I have to jump down and hold him up myself, I will not hesitate again."
Now I really am speechless...
Tver looked at Dumbledore helplessly.
Both Marvolio and Dumbledore were absolutely crucial pieces in his plan, essentially the wizarding world's version of nuclear weapons, meant to deter Muggle governments.
If both were lost, then he might as well surrender and go spend the rest of his life tucked away in some remote corner.
"But you can't just let him go off and think on his own. His thinking went to extremes before. We've only just managed to set it straight. If Voldemort takes advantage of that, it'll be a disaster."
"After all, isn't Voldemort supposed to be our main target right now?"
Having gathered himself again, Dumbledore looked at Tver with approval.
"You're right. But I trust that you will guide Marvolio well. That is the name, yes?"
"..."