Welcome to Harry Potter Theory. The first encounter between Albus Dumbledore and Tom Riddle was in 1938, when Dumbledore visits Wool's Orphanage to offer Tom a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. During their meeting, Dumbledore informs Tom about the existence of the wizarding world and his magical heritage, and Tom, who had already sensed his own powers, is intrigued by the prospect of attending Hogwarts.-

At the time, Tom was an 11-year-old orphan who had exhibited signs of magical abilities, but he was also known for his manipulative and cruel behavior towards the other chi*ldren at the orphanage. On the outside, Tom looked fairly innocuous, but underneath was a brooding dark force that would stop at nothing to cause pain and suffering to others.

This encounter between Dumbledore and Tom Riddle is significant, because it marks the beginning of their complex relationship throughout the series. It also highlights Dumbledore's role in the early life of one of the most dangerous dark wizards in history.

Right from the very beginning, from their very first encounter, Dumbledore was cautious and wary of the young boy- sensing Tom's dark nature and potential for evil. Despite all of the warning signs, however, Dumbledore proceeds to offer Tom a place at Hogwarts- hoping that the school and new environment would help shift Tom's life in a more positive direction.

All of this is shown to Harry via the pensieve, the purpose of which was to give Harry a sense of context for the task that he would later give him, and the memories that he would later show him. He wanted to give Harry an idea of the troubled boy that lord Voldemort once was, show him that Tom Riddle was once a student much like him, and show him how his path of darkness began.-

But my question is: how did Dumbledore, who we are led to believe is particularly intelligent and strategic, suffer such a massive oversight in assessing Tom Riddle's nature?

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