Harry Potter and the Secret Treasures - H.P.S.T Chapter 1415: The Special Horcrux and Memories

The vicious events caused by the opening of the Chamber of Secrets completely changed the fate of three people.

The first one was Moaning Myrtle, who died in that incident. The second was Hagrid, who was wrongly accused and expelled from Hogwarts. He was sent to Azkaban, his wand was broken, and his father died of grief. His life changed drastically.

Finally, there was the mastermind of the incident, Tom Riddle.

Strictly speaking, Voldemort’s first Horcrux, “Riddle’s Diary”, was also created at that time.

However, in reality, Voldemort’s descent into darkness had begun long before that incident, on the night he went to find his uncle.

If what fifteen-year-old Riddle said last time was true, then Marvolo Gaunt’s Ring should have been Voldemort’s first Horcrux, a Horcrux that appeared by accident. After that, the good part of his soul was separated from the main soul, and Voldemort went further and further on the path of evil, and became more and more unscrupulous.

Therefore, the opening of the Chamber of Secrets more than fifty years ago was a landmark event. During that incident, Riddle deliberately created his first Horcrux, ‘Riddle’s Diary’, marking his decision to be remembered by the Wizarding World as Lord Voldemort.

“I later investigated many people and asked them about Riddle’s life at school. Those who were willing to talk told me that Riddle was obsessed with his parentage,” said Dumbledore. “This is understandable, of course; he had grown up in an orphanage and naturally wished to know how he came to be there. As I once told Evan, he searched in vain for some trace of Tom Riddle senior on the shields in the trophy room, on the lists of prefects in the old school records, even in the books of Wizarding history. Finally he was forced to accept that his father had never set foot in Hogwarts. I believe that it was then that he dropped the name forever, assumed the identity of Lord Voldemort, and began his investigations into his previously despised mother’s family — the woman whom, you will remember, he had thought could not be a witch if she had succumbed to the shameful human weakness of death.

“So, all he had to go upon was the single name ‘Marvolo,’ which he knew from those who ran the orphanage had been his mother’s father’s name. Finally, after painstaking research through old books of Wizarding families, he discovered the existence of Slytherin’s surviving line. In the summer of his fifteenth year, he left the orphanage to which he returned annually and set off to find his Gaunt relatives,” Dumbledore paused for a moment and continued, “What happened next is very clear. Riddle found his uncle and his father, and his grandparents that summer, but there was no joyful family reunion. He did something terrible to them and left behind a Horcrux, a Horcrux that he did not expect… Well, Harry, I think it will be more impressive for you to see these things with your own eyes than to listen to me.”

As he spoke, he produced a small crystal bottle filled with swirling, pearly memory.

Dumbledore poured the gleaming mass into the Pensieve and motioned for Evan and Harry to stand up.

They stepped up to the stone basin one by one and bowed obediently until their faces sank through the surface of the memory.

Within seconds, Evan felt the familiar sensation of falling through nothingness and then landed upon a dirty stone floor in almost total darkness.

This was the Gaunt family’s house, as it had been when Morfin returned from Azkaban.

The surroundings were indescribably filthy. The ceiling was thick with cobwebs, the floor coated in grime; moldy and rotting food lay upon the table amidst a mass of crusted pots. The only light came from a single guttering candle placed at Morfin’s feet. His hair and beard had grown so long that they covered his eyes and mouth, and he sat in the darkness, motionless.

But then there came a loud knock on the door and the man jerked awake. A tall, pale, dark-haired, handsome boy appeared on the threshold.

Evan had heard the conversation that followed once before.

Morfin, who was already mentally ill, still thought that Voldemort was old Tom Riddle. The brief communication made Voldemort know that his father had abandoned him and his mother and returned to Riddle House. Also, he saw the ring on Morfin’s hand, the heirloom of the Gaunt family, the ring left by Slytherin.

Of course, he didn’t recognize the Resurrection Stone on the ring…

Amidst a burst of cursing, everything returned to darkness and the three people returned to the present.

“Is that all?” said Harry at once. “Why did it go dark, what happened next?”

“Because Morfin could not remember anything from that point onward,” said Dumbledore, pulling out another crystal bottle of memories. “When he awoke next morning, he was lying on the floor, quite alone. Marvolo’s ring had gone. Meanwhile, in the village of Little Hangleton, a maid was running along the High Street, screaming that there were three bodies lying in the drawing room of the big house: Tom Riddle Senior and his mother and father.

“The Muggle authorities were perplexed. As far as I am aware, they do not know to this day how the Riddles died, for the Avada Kedavra curse does not usually leave any sign of damage. … The exception sits before me,” Dumbledore added, with a nod to Harry’s scar. “The Ministry, on the other hand, knew at once that this was a wizard’s murder. They also knew that a convicted Muggle-hater lived across the valley from the Riddle house, a Muggle-hater who had already been imprisoned once for attacking one of the murdered people.

“So the Ministry called upon Morfin. They did not need to question him, to use Veritaserum or Legilimency. He admitted to the murder on the spot, giving details only the murderer could know. He was proud, he said, to have killed the Muggles, had been awaiting his chance all these years. He handed over his wand, which was proved at once to have been used to kill the Riddles. And he permitted himself to be led off to Azkaban without a fight. All that disturbed him was the fact that his father’s ring had disappeared. ‘He’ll kill me for losing it,’ he told his captors over and over again. ‘He’ll kill me for losing his ring.’ And that, apparently, was all he ever said again. He lived out the remainder of his life in Azkaban, lamenting the loss of Marvolo’s last heirloom, and is buried beside the prison, alongside the other poor souls who have expired within its walls.”

“So Voldemort stole Morfin’s wand and used it?” Harry asked. “What exactly happened that night?”

“It’s obvious. Voldemort killed his father, modified his uncle’s memory, and then walked away with the ring,” Evan answered for Dumbledore, “That’s what happened that night, but in fact there is much more to it than that. Riddle made his first Horcrux that night.”

“A Horcrux, the special Horcrux you were just talking about?!” Harry repeated in a low voice, and suddenly thought of something. He looked at the ring on Dumbledore’s right hand in shock. “That ring… sir, is it this one?”

“Yes, Evan and I found this ring in the ruins of the Gaunt family house. I have to admit that it is a very special magic item, a special Horcrux. It is not just a Horcrux, it has other important uses,” said Dumbledore. “Well, we’d better hurry up, there are still three more memories to go through. Before showing you how Evan and I retrieved this ring, I want you to see another memory first. It has great relevance to the plan ahead…”

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