The Gaunt family

// THIS IS AN OLD CHAPTER. THE NEW CHAPTERS ARE IN VOLUME 2. YOU CAN READ THESE CHAPTERS IF YOU WANT SOME INSIGHT ON WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN LATER BUT SOME EVENTS CAN BE DIFFERENT BETWEEN THE OLD AND NEW CHAPTERS.

I'm passing through Little Hangleton today, I want to get back what is mine and have a little chat with my cousin. Styx is wrapped around my neck like a too bulky scarf, I will have to think about finding him something to reduce his size.

The old Gaunt home is a ruin. Without anyone to maintain it for several years, the vegetation has regained its rights. A real estate sign hangs from the remains of a wooden fence that circled around the property, what remains of the Gaunt family heirloom has been put up for sale for a pittance. Maybe I should buy it, have it rebuilt and give it to mom for her birthday.

I approach the front door, one of the hinges is broken and the door only holds by the one on the top, threatening to fall at any time. The floor creaks under my shoes, half the wood is rotten and threatens to give way with my every step. The little furniture in the house is good to throw away. Everything here is decadence and shame.

I manage to go upstairs without going through the stairs which is already a miracle in itself and I open the first door. The bedroom is so small it makes me a little claustrophobic, a split bed frame and a small dresser are the only pieces of furniture in the room. I glance in the dresser to see if I come across anything of value and find a small music box. I turn the crank and a soft music escapes despite the few false notes due to the usury of the object.

"Rerum memoria" I didn't need to invent a spell to see the past of things, my aunt gave it to me in secret, it's a spell that is normally only known to high-ranking Aurors to be able to investigate on black mages.

Ghostly images appear and items in the room appear in better condition. A young woman walks in the room, she empties her dresser to put her meager possessions in a suitcase. I see her caressing her stomach with one of her hands.

"Soon my baby, we will have a family."

The vision disappears, it must have been my great aunt leaving to join Tom Riddle senior. I put the music box in my suitcase and walk towards the next room.

Styx hisses, a snake's skull is nailed to the door, and small vertebrae litter the ground.

~ Butcher, assassin ~ I can't really argue with him, it was common knowledge that Grandpa didn't have lights on all floors.

I turn the handle that remains in my hand as the rotten wooden door, which is no longer held in place, creaks open. Grandfather's bedroom is much more furnished than Merope's. A gutter is probably broken not long ago because water escapes from it to crash into a dresser. The bed frame is still intact despite the mold-eaten mattress.

"Rerum memoria"

I see my grandfather; he is still young. He is sitting on his bed writing in a book. A potion is placed next to him. As I get a little closer, I can see the name on the label, amortentia.

"Morfin! The fire is dying! Go get some wood in the forest." Grandpa seems surprised by the voice and hastens to hide the potion and the book in his drawers.

"I'm coming father!"

It's the end of the vision, I go to drawers, hoping to find the book but it is filled with water. The book is there but most of the pages are unreadable, the water having erased most of my grandfather's writings, some bits of text are still readable, but they don't make sense on their own. I take the book anyway; I hope I can restore it and find out what happened.

The last room has to be my great-grandfather's bedroom, Elvis Gaunt. It is much more spacious than that of his children, in addition to the bed and the drawers which are common to all the rooms, there is a fireplace and a rocking chair.

There is a strange cold in the room, I am not alone. The single shutter hanging from a window begins to slam and the chair to move.

"Enough! Show yourself and stop this childish game." No response from the ghost. "Specie larvae" with a wave of my hand I make the ghost appear who is looking at me with a frowning eye, sitting in his chair.

"You are a bastard; I can feel the vile magic of this beast on you."

"Hello to you too great-grandfather."

"Don't call me that! If only I could have stopped my son from fornicating to create your brood." I decide to annoy him a little more.

~ Perhaps you will be nicer by expressing yourself in this language ~

~ Shut up! You are not allowed to use the language of my ancestors ~

"In that case I'll get right to the point. Is there any legacy of the family that can be saved?"

"Yes, there is one left." I see the ghost smirk before getting up and leaving the room. I follow him as he returns to the first floor and passes a door under the stairs that lead to the cellar. He points to a part of the loose dirt that served as the floor for the room.

"Please serve yourself ha haha" He continues to chuckle, if only he knew what's going to happen to him.

I turn over a thin layer of dirt which concealed a small wooden box. It opens without difficulty revealing the Gaunt family ring. The ghost's eyes glow with greed. I get my athame in my suitcase and pretend to strike a blow in the direction of the ring, triggering the protection spell, a black cloud seems to want to attach itself to me, but I redirect it straight to the ghost of Elvis and seal it inside of him. The ghost howls in pain as I pierce the ring of my knife.

"What have you done to me monster."

"Nothing you weren't planning to do to me yourself." The black cloud slowly spreads changing the color of the ghost from blue to black. "However, I still have family values ​​compared to you, that's why I'm going to give you a chance to get out of this."

"Speak vermin, what do you want from me?"

"I want you to serve me, you will be reborn in a different form, free from my cousin's curse." Elvis seems to hesitate between his dignity and his non-life.

"Good" I take a deep breath and place my hands above my grandfather lying on the ground "Spiritus malus torquerentur animo felle revertere mortis" Black smoke rises from my fingers, engulfing Elvis entirely. The spell lasts for several minutes, but when it ends, a banshee rises from the dark cloud. I put the ring on my finger and order the banshee to enter my suitcase and attack any intruders.

"It's time to say hello to my dear cousin, Tom Riddle."