Gaunt Ancestral Home

Little Hangleton a Muggle village in northern England.

On a tree-lined hillside outside the village, a crimson flame suddenly ignited.

The flames surged and shone brightly in the twilight, then vanished in an instant, leaving only the lingering warmth in the air.

After the flames subsided, the figures of an old man and a boy appeared in the same spot.

We've arrived at the Gaunt Ancestral Home.

Standing beside Dumbledore, Lucien did not rush to take a step, but first looked around at his surroundings.

The trees on the hillside grew haphazardly, with vines and weeds intertwined, showing no trace of human life.

The air was filled with a damp smell, a mixture of decaying leaves and earth.

Following Dumbledore's gaze, the outline of a building came into view behind the dense thicket of trees.

The entire house was dilapidated and gloomy. The simple wooden structure was almost entirely covered by moss and nettles. The wood had turned black and rotten, as if it would fall apart at any moment. Grayish-yellow vines climbed from the corners of the walls all the way to the eaves.

Lucien's gaze fell on the door.

There was a dead snake nailed there, arranged in an S-shape. The snake's body was shriveled but intact, and there was even a trace of luster left on its skin.

The snake's head was fixed to the center of the door panel, its hollow eye sockets facing the direction of the person entering.

It appears to have been enchanted; the snake corpse remains in a state of immediate death, without rotting into bones.

Lucien examined the dead snake, recalling that it was probably a symbol of Pure-blood, albeit an extreme one.

So this is Voldemort's hometown. It really fits the stereotype of a major villain.

Dumbledore held a diary in his left hand; the cover showed signs of corrosion. It was Tom Riddle's diary.

My fingers slowly traced the cover, as if sensing something.

"There's a faint resonance," Dumbledore said softly, "From the soul connection between the Horcrux."

After saying that, the two of them simultaneously drew their wands and headed towards the Gaunt Ancestral Home.

The gate was wide open, and as soon as one stepped into the dusty house, cold gazes rushed in from all directions.

"Hiss--"

A colorful venomous snake peeked out from the shadows in the corner, its forked tongue flicking, and slowly crawled toward the two uninvited guests.

The appearance of this snake was like a signal, and more snakes emerged from every corner of the room—from under the broken chairs, from the cracks in the walls, from the roof beams, one after another, their rustling crawling sounds rising and falling.

The colors varied, some were vibrant, some were pitch black...

It was like stumbling into a snake's den.

Lucien showed no reaction to this scene; he had seen so many snakes lately that he was no longer allergic.

He even took a keen interest in identifying the species; most of them appeared to be common British snakes, without any Magical Creatures mixed in.

Dumbledore calmly explained:

"As direct descendants of Slytherin, the Gaunt family has a high probability of having Parseltongue."

The members of Gaunt enjoy being around snakes, and even though the house has been empty for many years, it still has a large number of snakes.

Upon hearing this, Lucien casually waved his wand.

Dozens of Transfiguration beams of light shot out from the tip of the staff, landing precisely on each snake.

A flash of light, and the venomous snakes that had been meandering forward twisted Transfiguration —their scales disappeared, their bodies lengthened, and their colors faded.

In the blink of an eye, they transformed into rows of white candles, neatly arranged on the ground. The wicks lit automatically, and the orange flames flickered, illuminating the once dark house.

"That's much better."

Then, Lucien tapped his wand again, and a nimble current of air swirled through the house.

The dust that had accumulated for years was swept up by the wind, swirling and flying towards the door, and the stale smell in the air dissipated considerably.

Air currents flowed through the house, also serving as an extension of Lucien's senses, probing for any apparent danger.

The walls and furniture that were brushed by the airflow did not show any unusual fluctuations.

Dumbledore watched this scene with a hint of a smile in his eyes.

He felt that bringing Lucien along on this exploration was the right choice.

Unfortunately, I can only go with Lucien during holidays; once school starts, it won't be possible—after all, it would be quite inappropriate for the principal to take students to skip class.

The Gaunt Ancestral Home wasn't very large.

Lucien and Dumbledore quickly crossed the garbage-strewn living room and arrived at a half-open door.

The wood of the door was rotten and soft, riddled with wormholes, and creaked open.

Dumbledore stood in the doorway, glancing down at the diary in his hand.

"The resonance is relatively strongest in this room."

Lucien looked around the room, which was filled with old and broken clutter, and cobwebs hung from the ceiling like layers of translucent gauze curtains.

The two waved their wands, and the miscellaneous items floated up one by one, silently pushed to the sides, and piled up in the corner.

A simple wooden box was picked out, and its lid opened with a click.

A black gemstone ring lay quietly inside.

The gemstone is a dark black with a smooth surface, absorbing the surrounding light as if it could swallow your gaze.

The ring setting is made of gold and engraved with a special emblem.

A glint flashed in Dumbledore's eyes as he tried to examine the ring more closely.

The ground disappeared without warning.

The solid wooden floor beneath my feet vanished in the blink of an eye, replaced by a bottomless, dark cave.

All the items in the room began to fall freely, plummeting into the darkness.

Lucien and Dumbledore also plummeted straight into the cave, their robes fluttering like flags torn by the wind.

On the dark, damp stone walls all around, beams of magical light gradually lit up, like a net activated by its prey—ghostly green, dark red, and pale blue lights intertwined and spread rapidly along the walls, stretching from above their heads all the way to the depths of the cave.

A sense of danger spread, and the musty, damp smell in the air was replaced by a surge of burning magical energy.

Lucien raised his wand; now that's what an adventure looks like.

The next moment, the wind rose.