The House of Gaunt
January 1st, 1981
Dear R,
I hope this letter finds you well. I know I have not spoken to you much these past few months, but I require your attention at your earliest convenience.
Please meet me in my office at midnight tonight.
Sincerely,
A.D.
Not spoken to him in months had been quite the understatement. Regulus had not heard a word from Dumbledore since he had destroyed the diary and that wasn’t even directly by him, it was through what Sirius had relayed back to him. He had actually started to believe that he was never going to hear from him again. Sometimes he thought about just storming back into his office like he had after the night the Dark Lord had learned of the prophecy, but what more could he say?
Maybe he ought to finally tell someone about Peter… In the last two months since Peter had been introduced to the Death Eaters, Regulus had been carefully watching him, making sure that he was always within his reach. Every meeting, he listened to every word and if Peter ever spoke, he was the first to listen. He had promised that he was going to watch him and Regulus always kept his promises. The problem wasn’t keeping an eye on him though, it was that he still hadn’t said a word about it to anyone. How do you tell your brother that his childhood friend had secretly turned against him? He was already having a hard enough time, how much worse could he possibly make it?
Maybe Dumbledore was the person to tell… being the leader of the Order and all… but Regulus wasn’t sure that there was anyone to tell and if he was being quite honest, the information Peter presented at meetings, Regulus could have told them himself if he wanted to. It was never anything really useful or truly important. It was always just about where Order members might be staking out or some relatively useless updates about the Potters, but it had seemed that even Peter wasn’t very sure of his information anymore, like he was starting to run out of things to say. Regulus knew that ever since the Order became aware that they might have a spy, they had become that much more secretive and it didn’t help that their numbers were dwindling. So, from what he had learned from Sirius and Remus, there was a good chance that there was a lot Peter didn’t know.
Then, he had realized something - he couldn’t tell Dumbledore, he couldn’t tell anyone. The Death Eaters already suspected that someone was working against them and the Dark Lord would know for sure that it was one of his most trusted if Peter were caught. It would be too risky to tell anyone. He couldn’t say anything. Not yet at least, but he was still going to go and find out what Dumbledore needed to see him so badly for.
When it was 20 minutes until midnight, he left into the bitter, winter air of the London streets, wrapped up in his cloak and layers of clothes, and apparated back to Hogsmeade again, careful to be sure not a single eye would see him. Travelling back through the Shrieking Shack, out through the passageway guarded by the Whomping Willow, and back into the school, he made his way through his old school’s hallways, creeping through the shadows until he made it to the hidden staircase up to the Headmaster’s office.
Before he even had a chance to knock on the door at the top of the stairs, it slowly opened as Dumbledore’s voice called for him.
“Come in, Regulus, we don’t have much time to speak of this.” He said as Regulus stepped inside his office. Dumbledore was by his desk, holding onto a small, rectangular piece of paper and his gaze was on Regulus as he walked up to meet him at the desk.
“I haven’t heard anything from you in months,” Regulus said, “why did you ask me to come here?”
“I’ve heard that you’ve hit a bit of a wall recently finding these horcruxes,” Dumbledore said plainly, “and it occurred to me that you may not know everything about Tom.”
“Who told you I’ve hit a wall?” Regulus asked, sure he already knew the answer.
“Your brother, Sirius, mentioned it not too long ago.” Dumbledore replied.
Of course he did.
“Now,” Dumbledore continued, “do you recognize these people?”
Dumbledore held up the paper he was holding, turning it over to reveal a group of three people who appeared to be family. On the left was a gruff and angry looking young man who appeared to have gotten into one too many fights and carried a similar, unstable look behind his eye to Bellatrix. In the middle, was an older, balding man, sitting in an armchair as old as him, he looked just as angry as the man next to him, but less deranged, just angry. And on his right was a younger, sadder looking woman with a long pale face, long unkempt hair, and a locket hanging from her neck - Slytherin’s locket.
“Are they related to Slytherin?” Regulus asked, looking up from the picture.
“You catch on quickly.” Dumbledore said. “This is the Gaunt family. The last known direct bloodline to Salazar Slytherin and I believe they might have a horcrux with them.”
“If you think it’s the locket, I’ve kind of already destroyed that… You were there.”
“Indeed, I was.”
Dumbledore handed the photo to Regulus and he took it, looking at it again.
“But no, I’m not speaking of the locket.” Dumbledore said. “Not only are the Gaunts a direct bloodline to Salazar Slytherin, but Tom is too. Seeing as he is the only known child of Merope Gaunt, the young woman in that picture.”
Regulus stared at the woman in the picture as she seemed to cower behind the two men who both angrily gestured and screamed at the camera. He had never considered the Dark Lord would have a family. He had never thought of the idea and now that he was thinking about it, it seemed wrong, like he shouldn't have one at all. People have families, not monsters.
Regulus continued to look around the photo until finally his eyes settled on something glinting in the light as the oldest man shook his fist - a ring.
“Do you think that ring that man is wearing is a horcrux?” Regulus asked, looking back up to Dumbledore who tilted his head up a little and raised his eyebrows.
“I do.” He nodded. “And I believe, Marvolo Gaunt’s ring is in that very house where that photo was taken.”
“And they’re still there?” Regulus questioned further.
“No.”
“Well then, where are they?”
“Dead.”
Regulus wasn’t sure what he could’ve said to that. So these people in this photo are the Gaunt family, they have a horcrux that he was looking for, in a house he didn’t know, and they’re all dead. What a great start...
“Soooo… what do you want me to do with this information then?” Regulus asked, starting to feel a little impatient.
“The Gaunt family lived in what was once an impressive home that eventually became dilapidated and unloved and was therefore abandoned when Morfin Gaunt was arrested and sent to Azkaban for killing the Riddles.” Dumbledore looked unsure as he finished his sentence, as if he himself did not believe that Morfin Gaunt had killed the Riddles. “It sits abandoned just outside of Little Hangleton. That’s where I believe you may find another horcrux.”
Little Hangleton? He knew that village. He had been sent there about a dozen times by the Dark Lord to patrol it over and over again. He had never been told what exactly he was patrolling for, but to never let anyone pass them into the woods just on the outskirts of the village. They had been ordered to kill anyone who did. He knew Little Hangleton very, very well.
“What makes you think this ring is a horcrux?” Regulus asked as he tried to put the pieces together for himself.
“I believe that Tom may be choosing heirlooms as his way to conceal his horcruxes. Trophies of a sort. He always liked to collect trophies in a sense when he was young, a way to remember his triumphs and power over others.” Dumbledore explained. “And if I’m correct, there are six horcruxes in total, though I would not be surprised if he tried to make a seventh. I’m not sure of the last two yet, but I will update you as soon as I have any theories.”
“Is that it then? You think there might be a ring hidden in an old house and possibly another two horcruxes somewhere in the world?”
“Not somewhere. They’ll more than likely be somewhere that holds meaning to Tom or with someone he believes would die for it.” Dumbledore sat down at his desk and folded his hands over his stomach as he leaned back into the chair. “That will be all for now then. Have a goodnight, Regulus.”
Regulus said nothing as he only nodded then turned away, leaving the office again and heading back to Hogsmeade. When he arrived back at Grimmauld Place, he went straight to bed, dropping the picture onto his desk and throwing himself facedown on top of the blankets, burying his face into his pillows.
The next morning, he woke up, still dressed and on top of his blankets that were now falling off of his bed. The sun was shining through the crack in his curtains and he groaned as he rolled over and pulled himself out of his bed to clean himself up and change.
As for Little Hangleton, it had been a little while since he had actually been sent there to patrol. Recently, the Dark Lord had been sending Barty, Evan, Mulciber, and Rudolphus to patrol the area. He hadn’t understood the reason for his change in patrol, but now it made more sense. He had picked some of his most violent Death Eaters to unknowingly protect his horcrux, the ones that would happily kill someone on sight with the go ahead. And now Regulus was going to have to figure out how to get by them without being noticed. He already knew the times they would patrol the little village and their general whereabouts during those times which made things slightly easier, as long as he could just get into the forest unseen, then he would be just fine.
So, with a twist and a pull, he apparated to Little Hangleton. That was where he made his first mistake. Without thinking about where he was going to apparate to, he landed in the centre of the village square out of instinct. That was where they always met when they were on patrol. Taking a quick look around, he immediately ducked into an alley between two shops. He didn’t think anyone had seen him and he didn’t see anyone else. As of right now, they shouldn’t have been anywhere near the square and luckily enough, they were not.
Thanking his lucky stars that no one was around, he snuck off to the back of the alley, following it back out to a side road he knew would lead him towards the forest. That was his second mistake. When he was on patrol, they would usually start at the square, then make their way to the right, so he chose to go left, but something had changed while he was not on patrol and just ahead of him were Barty and Mulciber, standing just at the edge of the forest and who seemed to be in a heated argument. He just needed to get past them.
Trying his best to stay out of sight, he walked parallel to the path, trying to stay low so their arguing might keep them distracted long enough. He managed to reach the edge of the forest as well, slipping behind some trees. He could hear their argument now. They were arguing about the patrol and why they were doing it. Regulus heard Mulciber yell something about feeling like it was a pointless job followed by Barty telling him he should piss off if he doesn’t want to do the job. They were starting to get heated and Regulus was surprised neither of them had pulled their wands on each other yet. But that was none of his concern right now, so he crept away until he could no longer see them and just hoped that when he reached this old house, no one else would be waiting there for him.
Walking further through the forest, he came across a house that may have once been grand, but was now so old and rotted that it looked no better than a shack. The entire front garden was completely overgrown, the windows were mostly boarded up or smashed open, and the door was holding onto its hinges for dear life, but what stood out to him the most was the serpent made of wood, clinging to the front door. This was definitely the house.
When he approached the front door, he gently pushed it open as it creaked and rattled. Inside the house was probably even worse than the outside. The floorboards were rotted and curling in places, the wallpaper along the walls was peeling, rolling down and molding and a god awful smell was wafting through the air from what he could only assume was once a small kitchen. The smell was so bad, it made his eyes water. Suddenly, the polyjuice potion was seeming like pumpkin juice.
Having absolutely no idea where to start and just wanting to be able to get out of the house, he began his search where he stood. Where the hell would the Dark Lord hide a ring in this place? He began pulling dusty things off of the kitchen shelves, digging through cupboards that were still intact and pushing aside everything in his way.
When he was finished in there, he continued into what was probably once a living room off of the kitchen, but there wasn’t much to search. Just the old armchair that had been in the photo and an old fireplace with a rusty cauldron sitting in front of it. He pulled the chair apart and reached as far as he could into the chimney of the fireplace - still nothing.
Then, it was off to the two bedrooms on either side of the living room. The first one he assumed had been the master bedroom, most likely Marvolo’s room. There was only a full bed frame and an old dresser that was missing a leg in there, neither of which had a ring. In the other bedroom, were two twin bed frames, one with an old and musty mattress, the other one with nothing again. He pointed his wand at the mattress, slashing it opened and hoping he might find something, but again, there was nothing in this room either.
At this point, he had about turned the entire place upside down looking for the ring. He was starting to wonder if it was really even there or if Dumbledore had sent him on a wild goose chase. Then, as if his luck weren’t already testing him, he heard a crash come from the kitchen, followed by the sound of footsteps entering the house.
Oh fuck.
He did his best to quietly shut the door of the bedroom he was in and held his breath. He leaned a little closer to the door, trying to listen for any voices that might give away who had entered the house.
“You’re sure you didn’t imagine it?” He heard a man’s voice say. He was almost certain it was Evan’s voice.
“No. I’m telling you. I swear I heard something in the forest, but Mulciber wouldn’t stop whining.” The second voice said. Definitely Barty.
“Well, take a quick look around then let’s get out of here. We shouldn’t be this far out.” Evan said as he wandered further into the house.
Regulus could hear the sounds of them rustling around and kicking things out of their way as they moved further into the house and closer to him. He held his breath again as he heard their footsteps creak past the bedroom he was in. There was nowhere for him to hide if they came in, all he had was the door to slip behind, but who knows how well that would actually work. Then, the door knob turned and all he could do was move back behind the door as it opened and pray that whoever it was would be too careless to not properly look.
As the door creaked open, he heard a few footsteps come into the room, but they didn’t move in very far as there wasn’t much to look at. He held his breath tightly as his heart felt like it might just stop right then and there.
“There’s nothing here… Maybe it was just an animal or something I heard.” Barty said from the otherside of the door.
He stepped back out of the room again, leaving the door open and as he left, Regulus watched through the small crack between the door and the doorframe and just because the world really wanted to test him, his eyes locked with Evan’s. Evan froze for a second as he stared then squinted a little. Then, he stopped squinting and his eyes widened just a little bit. In that moment, Regulus knew he had been caught and all he could do was test whether or not Evan was his friend or Death Eater first.
As Evan stared at the crack in the door, trying to make sense of what he was seeing, Regulus just slowly shook his head as if to say, “Please Evan, for the love of Merlin, you did not see me.” Then, Evan looked back up at Barty.
“Yeah… probably just a rabbit or something.” Evan agreed with Barty.
Holy shit.
By some fucking miracle, it had worked as the two walked back towards the front door through the kitchen. He already knew he was going to have to do a lot of explaining and a lot of pleading and hope that Evan really had chosen to be his friend first.
Regulus watched them leave, feeling like he was about a second away from vomiting, then something caught his eye that he had not seen before. By the front entrance, where the door was now laying on the floor, there was a floorboard knocked inwards and something was glinting at him from the crack the door had left.
Waiting another minute to be sure Barty and Evan had left (or maybe just waiting to be able to feel his legs again), he finally raced out from behind the door and into the kitchen where the crack in the floor now was. Under a loose floorboard Regulus had not noticed before, was the ring. Without hesitation, he pulled the floorboard out of the way and grabbed the ring.
That was his third mistake.