Chapter 19: Chapter 19: The Gaunt Shack & Horcrux Ring
Draco walks around the unconscious Frank and enters Riddle House.
Despite being somewhat run down due to a lack of maintenance, the grass around the house is well-maintained thanks to Frank's efforts.
Draco goes straight to the largest room, which he assumes is the living room, in search of clues about Voldemort. However, he is unable to find any trace of magic due to the passage of time.
He looks through the wooden furniture in the room, including the table and stools, hoping to find something but ultimately shakes his head in disappointment.
Draco walked to the back of the house and stopped at a door that was almost completely covered by a vine.
He opened the door with a loud crunch and it swung open slowly.
The inside was as dark as a cave and cluttered with kitchen utensils, but there were no other notable features. It was difficult to believe that this was a kitchen.
Frank finally made his way to the corridor. The large, decorative windows on either side of the front door let in a small amount of light, which he used to fumble his way up the stairs.
The stone steps were covered in a thick layer of ash. On the landing, he turned to the right and walked straight to the top of the hallway.
There was a gap in the door.
"It seems there is no clue here, but it's also what I expected," Draco comforted himself.
Draco mutters to himself about being able to accomplish something in the future and then steps into the room, seemingly detection some spells.
He then returns to the door of the mansion and looks at Frank, saying that he will allow him to sleep and save his life once again. Draco casts a Muggle expulsion spell and then quickly leaves.
Frank woke up with a headache but then remembered Mary, his first love. The flame of love burned within him, giving him the energy to stumble out of Riddle House and head towards the place he remembered.
He left Riddle House, which had been a part of his life for decades, behind.
As Frank left, Draco watched him go and sighed, saying "Innocent old man, stay away from all of this."
"What happened before is different, but now it's different," Draco think himself.
From Riddle's viewpoint, Frank could see a wide grassy cemetery with a small church visible in the distance, behind a tall yew tree on the right.
On the left was a hill with an old, elaborate house on the slope, which was where Frank had just been.
There were a few creepy crows flying around the graveyard from time to time, but it was otherwise eerily silent.
Draco stands in front of a tall marble tombstone with the name
"Tom Mavolo Riddle" on it.
The strong wind causes him to shiver, but the gloomy atmosphere does not seem to affect him as he jokes about making a visit to the school prefect.
Draco opened his black pocket and placed a few cow bones on the floor. He raised his wand and lightly pressed it against the bones, saying "Powder crushed bones!" The bones turned into a pile of broken foam.
Draco used his wand to carefully remove the tombstone and reveal the mixture of soil and ashes underneath. He removed about a third of the mixture and replaced it with a newly-built pile of debris. Then he went inside.
"Reparo!"
The tombstone slowly closed again.
"I'm done," Draco exclaimed, clapping his hands and smiling. He made his way back the same way he had come, heading towards Great Hungerton.
There was nothing else around, just tall hedge bushes on either side of the path. Draco turned right and walked to a gap in the fence.
Draco walks down a long, narrow dirt road with tall, dense bushes and hedges on either side.
The road is uneven, full of potholes and rubble, and leads to a small, dark forest below.
Ancient trees tower above, casting a chilly, thick shadow. In front of Draco is a half-recessed house nestled among the intertwined trees, which blocks all the light and hides the valley below.
The walls of the house are covered in moss, and many tiles on the roof are missing.
The rafters are visible in some places and there are tall nettles surrounding the house, reaching up to the small, dirty windows.
The door was adorned with a dead snake that had been nailed to it. The entire house had a rotten smell and exuded a powerful wave of black magic.
Draco was facing the first Horcrux and was not taking any chances. He cast a spell to strengthen his will before proceeding.
He felt a little helpless that the spell he had created only had an auxiliary effect, but he still tried to remain optimistic.
This Horcrux had killed Dumbledore.
Draco gently pushed the door open and saw Marvolo's black gemstone gold ring lying quietly on the ground.
It seemed easy for him to pick it up. "Come and put me on, my master," the ring seemed to speak to him in a deceptive tone.
"Don't you have any deceased relatives or friends? As long as you wear me, you can see them," the ring continued, mentioning the curse magic and resurrection stone set by the Dark Lord.
It seemed that there was some kind of wonderful reaction between the two.
"Come on, put on me, but I am one of the three holy objects.""
Put me on, you will be omnipotent! Take control of the soul!"
The pendant box and diary of Slytherin, as well as this Horcrux, all have the power to manipulate and confuse people's hearts. They are able to evoke people's deepest desires.
Draco felt dizzy as he listened to the ethereal and serene voice. It was soothing and made him feel relieved. There was a sense of intimacy and warmth. Even without being told to, Draco wanted to pick up the ring and put it on.
Just as he bent down to touch the ring, his body suddenly convulsed and he curled up on the ground. He appeared to be fighting a battle between his subconscious and conscious mind. Sweat beads rolled down his forehead.
The magic sound in Draco's ear continued to echo: "Come on, put me on, you are the king of the world."
"But I'm the King of the World of --!" struggled desperately with the ring.
Draco used his mind as the battlefield and his will as his elite soldiers, desperately resisting the constant coercion and temptation.
It was impossible to tell how much time had passed, as for a person suffering from pain, a second can feel like a century.
Draco stopped shaking and the outcome of the battle was uncertain. His eyes showed the result.
He said, "It's terrible that people who obviously miss their loves ones are most vulnerable. They all had such powerful enchantments. It's no wonder that the old Dumbledore struggled. The spell just now may have been the most important factor in the balance of war."
He touched his back, which was cold and sweaty, and carefully made the Wannian ship.
"But it's impossible for people to indulge in illusory happiness forever." Draco seemed to have made the same determination.
Draco carefully and obsessively recited the obscure spell, speaking very softly and slowly.
Suddenly, a spark appeared in the virtual space, taking the form of a black flame full of strange feeling
Draco thought to himself, "I had originally planned to bring this back to someone to study it, but it seems that won't be possible. Due to old Dumbledore obsession with his sister, I guess he hasn't had time to explain it. This horcrux is over, and it's really over. So let me solve you here."
Draco tried to control the black flame to fly to the ring, being careful not to get burnt by one of the flame.
When the black flame touched the ring, Draco felt the ring start to vibrate violently. A bloody, black sticky substance seemed to permeate from it, accompanied by weak and extremely distant screams of pain.
"Boom."
It seemed that the black flame had found a fuel source and suddenly burst into the air, reaching a height of about two meters. It fiercely rushed towards anything that could burn in the surrounding area.
"This is not fun at all."
Suddenly, there was a big change and he had only one choice: to run.
"The Horcrux and the Philosopher Stone, this is really enough for him to burn."
It must be said that Draco reacted quickly and escaped from the house before the fire spread. Draco gasped, as if he had just experienced a war.
As he watched the wooden house being swallowed by the flames, Draco became entranced.
Some of the flames even reached the old trees, making a "crackling" sound. He remembered a phrase from his previous life:
"Set fire to the mountain and sit down firmly."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone