Great Hangleton lay only a few miles from Little Hangleton, yet the scenery could not have been more different. If Little Hangleton could still be said to possess a hint of everyday life, then Great Hangleton—farther removed from civilization—was nothing but desolation and decay.
It was said that decades ago, a family by the name of Gaunt had lived here, once among the wealthiest families in the surrounding area. Now, however, all that remained was a crumbling old house.
No—calling it an old house was already being generous. It was more accurate to describe it as ruins, or a historical site. The structure was almost entirely swallowed by a sprawling forest, only half-visible amid tangled roots and overgrown branches. The dense trees blocked out nearly all light, casting the area in perpetual gloom. Moss blanketed the walls; most of the roof tiles had fallen away, and tree branches were already pushing through from within. Tall, thick weeds surrounded the house, reaching all the way up to the windows, whose sills were coated in layers of long-settled grime…
To sum it up in one sentence—even a caveman would have had better living conditions than this.
Yet within this forest that had not changed in decades, a human figure had appeared out of nowhere. He held a flying broom in one hand, stuffing it into his pocket, while his entire body was wrapped in a transparent, bubble-like film.
"So how exactly did the Gaunt family live in a place like this back then?" Avada muttered. "Even without all these trees, neither the environment nor the structure looks remotely suitable for human habitation…"
"…Mm. Good thing I didn't cancel the Bubble-Head Charm."
Looking at the rotting planks, the thick dust that would rise several feet with the slightest breeze, and the unknown insects flitting everywhere, Avada couldn't help marveling at just how far the Gaunt family—descendants of Slytherin—had fallen. At the same time, he silently praised his own foresight.
Only then did he get down to business, carefully examining the structure of the house through his Magical Perception.
"Right. Of course Voldemort wouldn't leave this place undefended and only put a curse on the ring."
Avada shuddered at the dense web of magical structures before him. On the outermost layer was a modified Muggle-Repelling Charm, capable of affecting even weaker wizards. The door itself carried a lethal poison curse. Inside, the space had been expanded with an Undetectable Extension Charm into a labyrinth filled with magical traps and mechanisms—every single one designed to kill without leaving survivors.
"Any one of these traps alone would be enough to leave not even a corpse behind."
"But just like that cave, the anti-Apparition wards here only target humans. Phoenixes, house-elves, and other non-human beings aren't affected at all… which means I can still bypass everything with ease."
"Hm?"
Something about that thought struck Avada as odd—but he didn't have time to dwell on it. He swiftly cast the Near Yet Far Spell, slipping into the spatial interstice. Amid the tangled mass of magical structures, he soon spotted a tiny hollow where magic seemed conspicuously absent.
"That's it…"
He carefully maneuvered his broom toward it. After repeatedly confirming that the room containing the Resurrection Stone held no hidden mechanisms, he stowed the broom and returned to normal space, staring at the utterly unremarkable ring with a frown.
The magical structure surrounding the Resurrection Stone resembled that of the Invisibility Cloak—abstract, twisted, almost Thestral-like. Chaotic yet faintly patterned, it was impossible to tell at a glance what it was actually meant to do.
"Two of the Deathly Hallows share this same structure."
Avada stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I haven't closely examined the Elder Wand yet, but I know even its core is made from Thestral tail hair… just what are Thestrals, really?"
"It looks like I'll need to study Thestrals properly at some point… but that can wait."
He narrowed his eyes, pulled out a small vial of Wit-Sharpening Potion, and took a mouthful before painstakingly deciphering the ring's magical structure.
The outermost layer was, of course, that vicious touch-of-death curse. If Avada's reading was correct, anyone who triggered it would have both their life force and mental energy annihilated instantly—without even the chance to become a ghost.
The good news, however—
"It's a single-use curse."
"Wait… no, there's a trigger condition. It seems you need to possess a certain level of mental strength to even activate it? In other words, this curse was specifically designed to kill powerful opponents? Was it even meant for Dumbledore himself?!"
Avada shivered. For the first time, he gained a concrete sense of just how terrifying Voldemort had been at the height of both his power and intellect.
"Good thing he voluntarily chose to lower his own intelligence for the sake of a more 'secure' immortality…"
He continued his analysis. Beneath the curse lay the familiar, complex Horcrux magic, encasing a hollow of magic—the fragment of Voldemort's soul. And beneath that, finally, was the true magical structure of the Resurrection Stone itself.
"Lucky me. It seems Voldemort didn't have the habit of modifying magical artifacts when creating Horcruxes. He simply layered the Horcrux magic on top of the item's surface. The diadem was like that, and so is the Resurrection Stone."
"In that case, the locket and the cup should be spared as well? At least those precious magical relics won't be ruined…"
As he thought this, Avada drew his wand and cautiously cast a Levitation Charm on the ring. The next second, the ring obediently rose into the air, floating quietly.
"No spell resistance at all? That makes things easy."
He pulled out a box of unknown material from his pocket and opened it, guiding the ring gently inside. Once it was in, he snapped the lid shut and wrapped it tightly with several layers of tape.
This box had been purchased during a special trip to Diagon Alley, costing him over thirty Galleons. Its original purpose was to store cursed artifacts excavated during archaeological digs. According to the shopkeeper, it could even be used to contain a seed of Fiendfyre.
Whether it could truly contain Fiendfyre was debatable, but its internal protective structure was the second most complete Avada had ever seen—surpassed only by Professor Baker's black crystal ball.
Besides, his current mental strength was nowhere near enough to trigger the curse on the ring. Even wearing it directly would pose no danger. Still, he found the idea unpleasant—especially considering the possibility of Dumbledore shaking his hand someday…
"Resurrection Stone—secured."
With another Near Yet Far Spell, Avada left the deadly Gaunt House behind. He exhaled in relief as he looked at the tightly sealed box in his hands.
"That curse isn't incomprehensible. I can grind it down little by little. And if that fails… I can always take a trip to Azkaban and have a Death Eater try it on."
"As for the cup, I'll just grab it while shopping in Diagon Alley. I've been out for four or five days already—it's about time I went back to spend some time with those guys."
"I just don't remember the exact number of the Lestrange family vault. I only recall it being next to the dragon. I'll have to search them one by one…"
(End of Chapter)