Dumbledore Explains Merope's Desperation and Tom Riddle's Origins

PAGES: 260-262

Dumbledore discusses Lord Voldemort's origins, focusing on his mother, Merope Gaunt. He shares Caractacus Burke's memory of buying Slytherin's locket from Merope when she was poor and pregnant. Dumbledore explains that Merope's despair and unrequited love for Tom Riddle Sr. likely caused her to lose her will to live, which ultimately led to her death shortly after Lord Voldemort's birth.