The Gaunt Family
The Gaunt family, entangled in centuries of pureblood pride and marked by generations of incest, held a dark legacy within the Sacred 28. Obsessed with their Slytherin roots, they maintained a fierce pride that made other wizarding families wary. However, Ominis Gaunt stood apart. Unlike his relatives, he was drawn not to blood superiority but to the very essence of magic, a fascination that led him to reject his family’s twisted beliefs and forge his own path.
Ominis’s curiosity drove him to explore the legends of Avalon, the mythical birthplace of magic where raw power flowed freely, unbound by wands or spells. This ancient realm was said to be home to figures like Merlin and Morgana, who wielded magic beyond light and dark. While most dismissed Avalon as a fairy tale, the Sacred 28 understood its reality. Each family in this group descended from Avalon’s lineage, carrying a dormant spark of its magic. For generations, they guarded fragments of Avalon’s truth in dusty grimoires, but over time, they became disconnected from their roots, viewing Avalon as a myth too fearsome to awaken.
Although Avalonian magic once thrived in its purest form, it became feared—more so than blood magic, which was already regarded as dark. This primal magic was left untouched and largely forgotten. But for Ominis, repelled by his family's obsession with blood purity, Avalon held an undeniable allure. At Hogwarts, he discovered the lost Slytherin Scriptorium, a hidden vault filled with grimoires and relics that revealed Avalon’s forbidden secrets. This was no ordinary collection of spells but a trove of raw magic that society deemed too dark to use. To protect these secrets from his family's corrupt hands, Ominis took everything from the Scriptorium and severed his ties to the Gaunt name.
In France, he built a new life and married Marie Monet, a pureblood witch from an ancient family who respected magic's true origins. Far removed from the cruelty of his English kin, Ominis raised his son, Noctis, to honor Avalon’s legacy, teaching him to see magic as a force beyond good and evil. Ominis instilled in Noctis the understanding of Avalon's truths, sharing all he knew about the lost realm and its untamed power.
Noctis honored this heritage, marrying Manon Delacour and naming their daughter Avalon, after the birthplace of magic itself. Ominis’s French branch of the Gaunt family was far removed from the madness of their English roots. They became guardians of Avalon’s secrets, a line of keepers inheriting an ancient magic that could one day awaken the wizarding world.
The Gaunts, once among the most powerful pureblood families, had become nearly extinct, their legacy fading into obscurity. However, in the hidden circles of pureblood society, their name was never forgotten. Even as their bloodline diminished, whispers of the Gaunt family's dark past lingered, particularly through Avalon Gaunt, who later revived the family name in Britain by marrying into the Malfoy family.
While Ominis took his legacy across the Channel, his brother Marvolo Gaunt remained in England, descending into poverty. Marvolo’s desire for grandeur far exceeded his means, resulting in the Gaunt fortune being squandered generations before him. Proud to the point of delusion, he was seen as nothing more than a tramp in Little Hangleton, living in a ruined cottage with his children, Morfin and Merope, and instilling in them a twisted obsession with blood purity.
From this branch of the family came the darkest wizard of modern history—Tom Riddle, later known as Lord Voldemort. Born to Merope, he inherited the Gaunt’s pride and a relentless thirst for power.
In his quest for domination, Voldemort sought Avalon’s ancient magic, leading to a devastating event in 1980 known as the Malfoy Massacre. He targeted Avalon Gaunt, believing she held the key to that lost power. In a chilling act, he murdered Avalon, her husband Caius, and their two daughters, Nymeria and Noctua.
This tragedy left the Gaunt legacy hanging by a thread, with only one surviving heir: Letheyra Malfoy.