The Gaunt Legacy
The sun was beginning to set as James, Lily, Sirius, Marlene, and Remus approached the overgrown path leading to the crumbling ruins of the Gaunt family home. Tucked away in the dense thickets outside Little Hangleton, the house looked less like a dwelling and more like a corpse left to rot in the wilderness. Ivy and brambles had overtaken the stone walls, and what remained of the roof sagged dangerously.
Lily shivered. “I don’t like this place.”
Sirius kept his wand gripped tightly. “That makes two of us.”
Marlene moved ahead cautiously. “Let’s just get in, grab the ring, and get out.”
James cast a silent Homenum Revelio. “No one inside,” he confirmed.
Remus frowned. “Doesn’t mean nothing is waiting for us.”
Marlene stepped forward, wand raised, and gently pushed the splintered door open. It creaked painfully, revealing a space as eerie inside as it was outside. Dust coated every surface, the air thick with decay and something worse—something unnatural.
Lily scanned the room, her sharp green eyes landing on a shattered wooden chair in the corner. “This place belonged to Voldemort’s ancestors.” She gestured at a cracked, dust-covered family crest barely hanging onto the wall. “The Gaunts prided themselves on their bloodline but look at this place. They let themselves rot.”
Sirius snorted. “Pure-blood madness at its finest.”
James turned toward the small fireplace at the far end of the room, where a stone slab jutted out from the wall. “The journal mentioned a ring. If Voldemort hid it here, it’s got to be in a place he thought was significant.”
Marlene took slow, careful steps toward the fireplace. “Then we check for anything magical—”
A rustling sound interrupted her.
Everyone froze.
Lily’s wand shot up. “Did you hear that?”
Remus turned toward a shadowed corner near the collapsed ceiling. “We’re not alone.”
Then, from the darkness, a hunched figure stepped forward. An old woman, her face wrinkled and kind, leaned on a twisted wooden cane. Her robes were tattered, her gray hair frizzy and unkempt. She looked like she had been living in the ruins for decades.
The old woman walked closer to the group, looking very creepy.
Sirius shot Marlene a look.
Marlene kept her wand at the ready but offered a forced smile. “We didn’t mean to intrude.”
The woman tilted her head, her gaze flicking over each of them. Something was unsettling in the way she moved—too smooth, too controlled.
James took a careful step back. “We were just leaving.”
The group starts to back up while the old woman walks closer to them.
The air turned thick with tension.
And then—her lips parted.
A flicker of something inhuman flashed in her eyes.
Marlene’s breath caught. “That’s not an old woman.”
The figure shuddered. The hunched posture straightened. The frail form twisted in a way no human body should.
Then, with a sickening, slithering motion, she began to change.
Her robes melted away into golden scales. Her limbs shrank and twisted into something long and coiled. The cane clattered to the ground as the disguise unraveled.
Before them, where the woman had stood, was a massive snake.
Its body was thick and powerful, scales glinting like polished gold in the dim light. A forked tongue flickered out, tasting the air.
And then—it lunged.
“MOVE!” James shouted.
They scattered.
The snake struck where Marlene had been standing, its fangs piercing the air inches from her face.
Sirius grabbed her arm, yanking her back. “We’re leaving!”
The snake hissed; its eyes gleaming with something unnatural—something intelligent.
Lily flicked her wand. “Confringo!”
The blast sent debris flying, forcing the snake to recoil.
“Find the ring!” Remus shouted.
Marlene looked around the room and then turned toward the fireplace. Something glinted beneath the stone slab.
“There!” she called.
James lunged forward, pressing his weight against the fireplace slab. “It’s stuck—”
Sirius aimed his wand. “Reducto!”
The stone shattered, revealing a small golden ring with a dark, cracked gemstone nestled within the rubble.
Marlene didn’t hesitate. She snatched it up with the sleeve of her jacket just as the snake coiled again, preparing for another strike.
“GO!”
The group disapparated just as the snake lunged.
Potter Cottage – Aftermath
They landed in the safety of the Potters’ sitting room, chests heaving.
Marlene still had the ring clenched in her fist in her jacket. Her fingers tingled, a faint, almost imperceptible pull radiating from the object.
Lily immediately cast containment charms around it, when Marlene puts it on the table.
“That was… not an old woman,” James finally muttered.
Sirius let out a breathless laugh. “No kidding.”
Marlene sat down heavily on the couch, rubbing her face. “That was a snake. A snake disguised as a person.”
Remus frowned. “Not just any snake. It knew what it was doing.”
Lily looked at the ring on the table, staring at it warily. “It’s cursed.”
Marlene sighed. “Of course it is.”
Sirius sat down beside her. “You alright?”
Marlene let out a soft, humorless chuckle. “That’s a loaded question.”
He nudged her gently. “You did good, McKinnon.”
Marlene exhaled. “We got lucky.”
Sirius smirked. “You make your luck.”
She rolled her eyes, but a small smile tugged at her lips. “Don’t go soft on me, Black.”
Sirius leaned back. “Perish the thought.”
The moment between them stretched, something unspoken hanging in the air.
Then—
The journal glowed.
They all turned toward the table as the book pulsed faintly with magic.
Marlene opened it, breath hitching as she watched the ink shift and change.
The word Ring was now crossed out.
Sirius sighs and says, “Well, we are on the right track. But I don’t know about you all but I am exhausted. McKinnon, we are going to bed.” Marlene softly chuckles and says, “I guess we are going to bed. See you all in the morning.”
The group disperse in the three rooms available in the Potter’s cottage. James and Lily go to the master bedroom. Sirius and Marlene stay in the guest room and Remus sleeps in the second guest room.
The next morning, the group slowly wakes up to the smells of coffee tea, and pancakes. The group eats and settles down at the dinner table to discuss the next steps. The morning light filtered through the windows of the Potters’ cottage, casting a golden glow over the cluttered sitting room. Books were piled high on every surface, parchment covered in hastily scribbled notes scattered across the floor. The air was thick with the scent of tea and ink, but none of them were paying attention to such details.
All eyes were on the ring.
It sat encased in a shimmering containment charm in the center of the table, dark and ominous despite its small size. The curse surrounding it was palpable, an invisible force that made their skin prickle whenever they got too close.
James was the first to break the silence. “We’ve confirmed the ring. That’s one found and collected. We need to figure out how to find the others.”
Lily turned another page of Cursed Objects and Their Creators, her brows furrowed. “We already know about the locket, the cup, and the diadem. But the journal hinted at something of Gryffindor’s.”
Remus tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Gryffindor didn’t leave behind many artifacts, did he?”
Sirius shook his head. “Just the sword, and we know that’s not a Horcrux. We have also ruled that one out because it only appears to Gryffindors.”
Marlene drummed her fingers against the table. “So that means the real mystery is where is Ravenclaw’s Diadem.”
Lily flipped through Hogwarts: A History before stopping at a passage. “Rowena Ravenclaw was said to have possessed a lost diadem. A crown of wisdom. But it was stolen by her daughter, Helena Ravenclaw. She ran away with it, and rumor has it that she hid it before she died.”
Sirius exhaled sharply. “So, we’re looking for a cursed tiara that could be anywhere. Brilliant.”
Marlene frowned. “Are there any clues at where it is?”
Lily hesitated. “There’s a rumor it was hidden somewhere inside Hogwarts or in a hollowed-out tree in Albania.”
Sirius groaned. “Of course, it wouldn’t be that easy.”
James rubbed his temples. “Alright, we add that to the list. Now, let’s talk about the snake.”
A heavy silence fell over them.
Lily folded her arms, her expression grim. “I’ve been thinking about that.”
Remus tilted his head. “You think the snake was more than just a guard?”
Lily nodded. “What if… what if the snake is one of the Horcruxes?”
Sirius sat up straighter. “That’s a bloody terrifying thought.”
James considered it. “It makes sense. The journal mentioned a Horcrux tied to a ‘living creature.’ But what if that changed?”
Lily flipped back to the page listing the known Horcruxes. “Look at this.”
The journal sat silent for a moment, then began to glow faintly.
The ink on the page flickered words vanishing and rearranging themselves.
The entry for Living Creature blurred and twisted—then disappeared entirely.
In its place, a new word formed in bold, clear script:
Snake, Nagini.
The air in the room turned frigid.
Marlene exhaled slowly. “It changed.”
Remus frowned. “Meaning?”
Lily met his gaze. “Meaning the future isn’t set in stone.”
Sirius stared at the book. “And we just got confirmation that the snake we ran into? Wasn’t just a snake.”
James leaned forward; his jaw clenched. “That means if we want to kill Voldemort for good… we have to kill that snake.”
Marlene looked down at the book again, watching the ink settle.
The past was shifting.
And they were the ones rewriting the future.