A moment ago, the surroundings had felt completely unfamiliar.
But the instant Sean saw the dead snake nailed to the door, realization struck him like lightning.
A crucial location from the Harry Potter story surfaced in his mind.
The Gaunt shack.
Sean glanced at Dumbledore and finally understood why they had come to Wiltshire.
Sean already knew that the Gaunts and the Riddles had once lived in neighboring villages, though he had never known the precise location.
Clearly, Dumbledore's first suspicion for a Horcrux had been the ring passed down through the Gaunt family for generations.
And this crumbling shack was also where Voldemort's parents had first met.
Voldemort's mother, Merope Gaunt, had fallen in love with the local landowner's son, Tom Riddle.
Yes.
Voldemort's father was also named Tom.
Merope used a love potion to make Tom fall for her.
Then, after her father and brother were imprisoned in Azkaban, she eloped with him to London.
But once Tom discovered she was a witch—and once the potion's effects faded—he cruelly abandoned her, even though she was already pregnant.
On a snowy New Year's Eve, Merope gave birth to Voldemort in a Muggle orphanage in London.
Before dying, she named him:
Tom Marvolo Riddle.
Even though Sean already recognized the shack as the Gaunt home, he still put on a confused expression.
"Professor, what is this creepy place?"
"This is near a village called Little Hangleton," Dumbledore replied. "And nearby is Great Hangleton. You could say this is Voldemort's ancestral home."
Sean already knew the history.
The Gaunts were descendants of Salazar Slytherin and one of the oldest pure-blood families.
But generations of arrogance and wasteful spending had ruined them.
That was why they ended up living in such miserable poverty.
Meanwhile, the Riddle family had been wealthy landowners in Little Hangleton.
And wealthy families usually had private graveyards.
Sean did not care about treasure.
He was not here to rob graves for valuables.
He wanted bones.
In the original story, the fake Moody had turned the Triwizard Cup into a Portkey linked to the Riddle graveyard.
There, Voldemort had used:
Bone of the fatherFlesh of the servantBlood of the enemy
to restore his body through ancient dark magic.
Sean's eyes lit up.
Dumbledore accidentally reminded me of something important.
If I dig up the Riddle family graves, Voldemort loses one of the conditions needed for resurrection.
Admittedly…
That was extremely immoral.
No.
Not "a little immoral."
Utterly immoral.
But Sean still decided to do it.
"If I remember correctly," Sean thought, "the only person left at the Riddle manor should be an old gardener named Frank Bryce."
During the summer before his fifth year, Voldemort had returned to Little Hangleton.
Inside the ruined Gaunt shack, he had met his uncle, Morfin Gaunt, and learned that his grandfather, Marvolo Gaunt, had already died.
Voldemort stunned Morfin, stole the Gaunt ring, and went to the Riddle manor.
Using Morfin's wand, he murdered the entire Riddle family in revenge for abandoning his mother and himself.
Then, within the manor, he transformed the Gaunt ring into his second Horcrux.
Afterward, he altered Morfin's memories and framed him for the crime.
The Ministry imprisoned Morfin in Azkaban again.
This time, he died there.
The Muggle police were naturally unable to solve the murders.
Most villagers suspected Frank Bryce, the crippled gardener.
People whispered behind his back and pressured him to leave the village.
But Frank stayed.
He knew he was innocent.
He remained at the manor as caretaker, serving the next two families who moved in.
Yet both families soon fled, convinced the place was cursed.
Eventually only Frank remained.
Of course, in the original timeline, Voldemort killed Frank during Harry's fourth year.
Find Frank.
Learn the location of the Riddle graveyard.
Dig up Voldemort's ancestors.
Sean rapidly organized his plan.
At that moment, Dumbledore waved his hand.
The tangled branches blocking the path parted like curtains swept aside by a strong wind.
"Let's have a look inside," Dumbledore said as he stepped forward.
"Of course, Professor."
Sean followed behind him.
If nothing unexpected happens, Dumbledore should soon discover the ring hidden here.
Unfortunately, reality rarely followed Sean's wishes.
Three months earlier, Voldemort and Barty Crouch Jr. had already retrieved the ring.
The shack was filthy and dilapidated.
Dust covered every surface.
The tiny interior had been divided into four cramped rooms, making the house feel even smaller.
The moment they entered, both Sean and Dumbledore noticed footprints pressed into the thick dust.
Men's shoes.
Size forty-three, roughly.
And the prints were fresh.
Following the trail, they arrived at the smallest room in the shack.
"Professor," Sean said quietly, "someone has been here."
"I sincerely hope it is not who I think it is," Dumbledore replied grimly.
This room had belonged to Merope Gaunt.
After turning the ring into a Horcrux, Voldemort had hidden it beneath one of the floorboards.
That board was now open.
Whoever had taken the ring had not even bothered to close it afterward.
Dumbledore stared silently for several seconds.
Then he sighed.
The Gaunt ring had already been removed.
Sean felt his scalp tingle.
Who else could have taken it except Voldemort himself?
"Voldemort has already begun making moves," Dumbledore said solemnly.
"I fear his return is closer than we hoped."
Sean's emotions were complicated.
On one hand, the ring being gone meant Dumbledore would never touch it and suffer the deadly curse from the original story.
That meant Dumbledore could survive.
But on the other hand, one Horcrux had escaped them.
Which meant Voldemort still possessed another path to immortality.
"We'll return to Hogwarts for now," Dumbledore decided.
Sean's grave-robbing operation would have to wait until Christmas break at the earliest.
They had left Hogwarts during first period.
By the time they returned, lunch had already begun.
Dumbledore headed straight for his office.
Sean walked toward the Great Hall.
But as he approached the entrance, he noticed a large crowd gathered around the bulletin board.
"Dueling Club?"
Sean narrowed his eyes at the announcement.
That was supposed to happen in December.
It had started early.
Ever since Sean found candy hidden inside Gilderoy Lockhart's room, he had become convinced Lockhart was connected to Haierbo's faction.
Which meant every unusual move Lockhart made deserved attention.
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