Chapter 157: "The Gaunt Shack"

With only a few days left before his fourth year at Hogwarts began, Harry had one more important task to complete. The summer holidays had been incredibly productive - winning the dueling tournament, clearing out the inferi horde, and making huge progress in his knight training. It had been a great couple of months, and Harry was determined to end it on an even higher note.

Disguised to avoid recognition, Harry touched down in Little Hangleton, the birthplace of Tom Marvolo Riddle. His mission was simple but crucial: to destroy another of Voldemort's Horcruxes, the Gaunt ring. Armed with knowledge about the protections guarding the ring, Harry felt it was best to take care of it as soon as possible.

He was slightly worried that if he waited a few more years, the butterfly effect might change the ring's location. Things were already shifting from the canon timeline in this alternate reality, and Harry didn't want to risk losing track of such an important item.

Walking along the roads of Little Hangleton, Harry turned onto a dusty track leading to the woods just outside the village. After a short walk, he came upon a dilapidated shack, untouched by time and overgrown with vegetation. This was the house of the Gaunt family, descendants of the noble house of Slytherin, now reduced to such a sorry state.

The house, once partly hidden by trees, was now fully engulfed by nature. Branches had breached the walls, growing uncontrollably inside and out.

Before approaching, Harry decided to deactivate the protections first. He knew there were some nasty ones in place.

Standing in front of the house, Harry hissed in Parseltongue, "Open in the name of Lord Voldemort, the Heir of Slytherin and the conqueror of death."

The young Tom Riddle, inspired by the secret phrase to open the Chamber of Secrets, had created a similar incantation for the protections at the Gaunt Manor. Harry thought Salazar Slytherin would have approved.

Waves of magic rippled through the air, accompanied by strange sounds. Harry could sense that all the protections around the house had been deactivated. Now, all that remained was to find the ring.

As Harry entered the house, he had to navigate through a maze of tree branches that had invaded the shack. Searching through the few rooms, he soon found a golden box which he knew contained the ring.

Not daring to touch the box directly, Harry waved his hand to wandlessly open it. Inside lay the Gaunt's ring - a gold ring inset with a black stone, engraved with what Marvolo Gaunt had called the Peverell coat of arms. Unknown to most, the ring also contained the famed Resurrection Stone of the Deathly Hallows.

At first glance, the ring looked harmless. There was no obvious aura of danger. If Harry hadn't known about the curse on it, he might not have suspected anything was amiss.

Harry got to work destroying the Horcrux. He took out his wand and muttered the incantation for the Horcrux-destroying spell.

As Harry cast the spell, a dazzling burst of white light erupted from his wand, enveloping the ring. It was a fierce battle of light against darkness. The light triumphed, destroying the darkness. A spectral form of Voldemort appeared, shrieking as it dissipated into nothingness. The light then returned, merging with Harry.

Harry felt the familiar, happy sensation of his soul growing stronger, just as he had when destroying the diadem Horcrux. Voldemort was one more soul piece down, and Harry was one soul piece stronger.

With that done, Harry waved his hand to close the box, leaving it, the ring, and the Resurrection Stone where they were.

He had several reasons for this decision. Firstly, he didn't need the Resurrection Stone at the moment. He wasn't sure of its exact functions, but even if it could bring back souls of the dead, Harry had no use for it now. He didn't think his grandparents would want to learn about his life's events, and he was reluctant to disturb the souls of the dead unless absolutely necessary.

Another reason for leaving the ring was that he didn't know how to safely destroy the curse on it. Since Harry lacked the knowledge to safely neutralize the curse and retrieve the ring, he decided it was best to leave it in this protected location for now.

In fact, Voldemort had deliberately left the cursed ring as a trap for Dumbledore. The Dark Lord knew that eventually, Dumbledore would learn about his quest for immortality and likely discover the Gaunt house. Voldemort had assumed that Dumbledore wouldn't realize he had created multiple Horcruxes. He hoped Dumbledore would falsely believe he had removed Voldemort's immortality by destroying the ring, all while falling victim to its deadly curse.

Harry also had his own reason for keeping the ring where it was, one similar to Voldemort's. If the "Bearded One" ever became too much of a nuisance, Harry planned to leave clues leading Dumbledore here. The curse was too difficult for even Dumbledore to overcome, and Harry wouldn't have to worry about the old man and his lemon drops ever again. It was a contingency plan he hoped he'd never have to use, but Harry felt more secure knowing it was an option.

Returning to the front yard of the shack, Harry hissed in Parseltongue, "Close in the name of Lord Voldemort, the Heir of Slytherin and the conqueror of death." The protections and enchantments reactivated, and Harry left the remote place, heading towards the village of Little Hangleton.

With his important task completed, Harry decided to do a bit of sightseeing. He visited the Riddle house, still the largest building in the village, and the local graveyard. However, he didn't interfere with anything, merely observing.

This caution was because Harry wanted Voldemort's eventual resurrection to proceed as planned. Tampering with things like the bones of Voldemort's father might cause the ritual to fail, sending Voldemort back to his wraith form rather than resurrecting him in a weakened state. Harry had learned this from his book "Arcanum Rituales." So, it was better to leave things as they were and deal with Voldemort after he regained his body.

Returning to Black Castle after his short trip, Harry resumed his daily routine and enjoyed the last few remaining days of the holidays with his family. Soon, he would have to leave for Hogwarts and face the events surrounding the Chamber of Secrets and its thousand-year-old basilisk. Despite the challenges ahead, Harry felt more prepared than ever, strengthened by his summer experiences and the strength he had gained.