From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 187 Little Hangleton
The village of Little Hangleton meets all the stereotypes of a country village.

Ignorant villagers, not very clean and tidy streets, rude accents and guard dogs that bark once or twice from time to time.

Apart from the church and the cemetery, the only public facility in the village is a tavern with an unlucky name, called "The Hanged Man Tavern". But there are no hanged ghosts in the tavern, only rumors, gossip and family matters.

The village of Little Hangleton doesn't even have a police station.

If a murder occurred in the village, the police had to go to the town of Great Hangleton, six miles away, to report it.

However, small places also have their advantages, that is, it is difficult for some public security incidents to occur.

The last time there was an incident in the village that required police investigation was fifty years ago.

The murder took place on a hillside outside the village, where there was a magnificent mansion called Riddle House.

At dawn one summer day, when a maid walked into the living room, she found that all three members of the Riddle family had died.

The three members of the Riddle family did not die of poisoning, nor did they have wounds from sharp weapons or bullets, nor were they suffocated or strangled. They were just "dead", without breath, or in other words, their souls were harvested by the god of death.

Because the death of the Riddle family was so strange and rare that even fifty years later, it was still talked about by the villagers. After several generations of exaggeration and repeated legends, the original story was no longer known, and even many versions were derived.

Christmas is a time for the whole family to sit together, and it is also the best time to tell stories. Ivy, who passed by the village of Little Hangleton, has heard at least three different versions.

The one he found most interesting was that young Riddle had an affair with a woman in a big city and then abandoned her, eventually causing a pregnant girl to commit suicide for him. His unborn child became a vengeful spirit, and it took him fifteen years to find where his biological father lived. Old Riddle and his family of three died at the hands of this vengeful spirit.

Ivy and Dumbledore passed by one wooden house after another, listening to the laughter coming from inside.

There were no dark tracks or footprints on the newly snowed area, and it made a crunching sound when stepped on. However, due to the Disillusionment Charm, the villagers did not notice the passers-by outside the window.

Riddle House is located on a hillside not far away, overlooking the entire village.

Several windows were sealed, the tiles on the roof were incomplete, and only dead branches of ivy were left, but the ivy was still unwilling to loosen its roots in the cracks between the bricks, even though it was covered with white snow.

Old gardener Frank Bryce was warming himself by the fire in his cabin. His leg, which was injured in the war, was in unbearable pain in this weather. Anyway, the rich man who bought the Riddle House never took it seriously, so old Frank could sleep peacefully in the house.

Ivy touched the door lock with her wand, and after a click, the door of Riddle Mansion opened to them.

The floor and stone steps were covered with thick dust. Old Frank couldn't even deal with the weeds in the yard, so how could he possibly deal with the dust that penetrated every pore?
In addition to Dumbledore's high boots and Ivy's moccasins, there were several footprints in the dust.

They were a little smaller than the two people's footprints, and they were probably some teenagers in the village who were keen on adventure.

"This isn't a remote place." Ivy looked around the dusty old house.

"Tom has been a child who likes to collect souvenirs since he was young." Dumbledore's blue eyes did not miss any possible space, and his sharp gaze scanned back and forth.

"He had already started bullying his classmates when he was still in the orphanage," Dumbledore cast a spell to move the sofa in the living room, turning over the carpet that had been eaten by moths several times. "Not only that, he would also collect some 'trophies', as if those things proved his past great achievements."

"This is the place where he murdered his biological father. For him, it is like saying goodbye to the Muggle blood in his veins. It should have sufficient commemorative significance." Dumbledore waved his wand, and all the furniture in the living room returned to its original position.

Flames rose from the fireplace, which had not even a trace of ashes, bringing a little warmth to this empty, dilapidated and cold house.

"Since he has decided to say goodbye to his Muggle father and Muggle bloodline once and for all, it is unlikely that he would leave the Horcrux here," Ivy analyzed. "Perhaps he would rather leave the ring in the messy old Gaunt house?"

"Oh..." Dumbledore raised his face and smiled. "You are right, Ivy! Voldemort hates his Muggle blood, so how could he leave part of his soul here? I am more confident that I can find his Horcrux today. I hope Voldemort will not let us return empty-handed."

Through the stained window, Ivy noticed that it was snowing again outside.

Dumbledore also noticed this. He stretched out his wand to clean the dust in the room and conjured up two chairs. "We'd better wait until the snow stops before we act. The road to Gaunt's old house is not easy to walk on."

Seeing Ivy sitting in the chair, Dumbledore said softly: "Perhaps we can talk about Voldemort's Horcrux? The diary?"

"There is a memory of Tom in that diary." Ivy paused and said, "It was a memory disguised by magic. Voldemort had planned to use it to cause riots in Hogwarts. However, this plan was ultimately not implemented because Lucius gave it to me."

"It seems that Voldemort has a large number of Horcruxes..." Dumbledore said, "Horcruxes should be objects that are well preserved by dark wizards, but Voldemort used them as weapons. Perhaps he was prepared to lose them. I just don't know how many Horcruxes he made..."

The Riddle Mansion fell silent, save for the faint sound of snowflakes falling to the ground.

"The last time you went to Azkaban..." Ivy didn't finish his words.

"Visiting a house-elf." Dumbledore did not hide the fact. "Voldemort has always looked down upon house-elves."

"I thought Azkaban was a place used to imprison wizards." Ivy said. He already knew who the house-elf was. Although he didn't remember her name, Ivy knew that she once served the descendants of Helga Hufflepuff.

"Some intelligent non-human creatures are also imprisoned there, including werewolves and goblins." Dumbledore adjusted his sitting posture. "The house-elf is called Hokey, and has served the Hepzibah family for generations. Through her memory, I have almost confirmed Voldemort's other two Horcruxes."

Hufflepuff's gold cup, and Slytherin's locket.

Sure enough, Dumbledore said, "The relics of the four great men of Hogwarts, the Hufflepuff cup, and the Slytherin locket. The former is a family heirloom of the Hepzibah family, and the latter is something that Voldemort's mother once held. If you remember the memory we saw before, you should be able to recall that Morfin Gaunt once mentioned it."

Ivy nodded slightly and said nothing.

Dumbledore's gaze kept lingering over his head. Whenever he saw Dumbledore in recent weeks, Ivy could always feel a similar gaze.

"I think... since two of the relics of the Big Four may have been made into Horcruxes by Voldemort, would he also be coveting the other relics of the Big Four?" Dumbledore sat up straight, touching his fingertips together. This was his usual posture when thinking. "Gryffindor's Sorting Hat and Sword have been kept in the headmaster's office. He has no chance to take them. So what about Ravenclaw's Diadem?" Ivy rubbed a ring on his hand. It was a rare item he had made recently - the Ring of Prudence.

The effect is quite simple, the Ring of Discretion magically conceals the wearer's armor and stowed weapons, either by rendering them invisible or creating the illusion of normal clothing.

As Ivy moved, the Ravenclaw crown hidden by the cautious ring reappeared, and the sapphire reflecting the starlight made the whole room dreamy.

"You really can't hide anything, Dumbledore." Ivy smiled.

"I don't think you have any intention of hiding it." Dumbledore's white beard twitched and he laughed. "There are many civil servants in the Ministry of Magic who saw Professor Victor wearing a crown."

"So - it's not a Horcrux?" Dumbledore stared at the light reflected by the sapphire. "Such a beautiful light... is this the result of the magic ritual you performed in the academy last time?"

"It used to be a Horcrux." Ivy rubbed the rings on her hand again, and the dazzling crown disappeared again. "But even I can't eliminate its Horcrux properties while ensuring that the crown itself is not destroyed. The crown you saw before was the result of my repair."

"Did you not tell me about the existence of the Ravenclaw Diadem because you were afraid that I would ask you to return it?" Dumbledore asked with interest.

Ivy curled her lips and said, "I did have some concerns about this, but even if you really said that this crown should belong to Hogwarts, I would not give it to you."

Dumbledore laughed. He was very happy to know that Voldemort had lost two of his Horcruxes. "Where did you find it?"

"The Room of Requirement. Voldemort placed it on top of a bust." Ivy didn't tell him that it was Cassandra who found the tiara.

"No wonder... It seems that Voldemort really placed all the Horcruxes in places that have extraordinary significance to him. If we can confirm that Marvolo's gold ring is in the old Gaunt house, the remaining Horcruxes will be easy to find." The wrinkles on Dumbledore's face smoothed out. Since he became the headmaster of Hogwarts, no Christmas has made him so happy.

"The diary, the tiara, the golden cup and the locket, and the remaining gold ring..." Dumbledore counted each of Voldemort's Horcruxes, sighed and shook his head, "His depravity and terror terrify me, but I wonder if Voldemort has created more Horcruxes besides these five..."

"Not five." Ivy stood up from his chair. He found that the snow outside the window had stopped. "You forgot Harry."

The expression on Dumbledore's face disappeared. After a long silence, he said, "Harry... he is only a child..."

"He's also my friend." Ivy began to restore every item in Riddle House to its original state, trying not to leave any traces.

"If..." Dumbledore seemed very hesitant, "If we find Marvolo's gold ring... I have something to tell you about Harry..."

Having said this, Dumbledore stood up from his chair and joined Ivy in restoring the furnishings of Riddle House.

Under the manipulation of the two masters of magic, Riddle Mansion soon returned to its original state of decay. Thick dust covered the ground again, and all traces that Ivy and Dumbledore had ever visited disappeared.

Walking along the snow-covered country road again, all the footprints left by Ivy and Dumbledore not long ago disappeared.

The two men turned a corner at a gap in the fence and entered a hedge with only dead branches left.

There was no trace of a road under my feet, but the direction pointed by Dumbledore was much better than the snow with one foot deep and one foot shallow. At least it was flat.

This was undoubtedly difficult terrain, and it reduced my mobility by half.

Ivy thought with a little smile.

Soon they came to a dark forest. Although the snow had stopped, the dark clouds covering the sky had not yet dispersed. However, the snow on the ground reflected the light, so the visibility in the forest was still so-so.

"We're here." Dumbledore stared at a white protrusion in the woods. "The old Gaunt house has become a complete ruin."

The unmaintained little wooden house really deserved such a fate, not to mention that it could have been described as rotten fifty years ago.

After being eroded by rain and snow and eaten by insects and ants, it is good enough that some traces of the old house of Gaunt are still left.

Dumbledore cast a spell to push away the snow, revealing a mess of dark wooden ruins.

"Here comes the Ring," Dumbledore said.

But nothing happened.

"I should have thought of that earlier." Dumbledore didn't seem surprised at all. "Voldemort cast a spell on the ring that could counter the Slingshot curse."

"Snapped!"

Ivy snapped his fingers, and a magical light spread out from him, quickly sweeping across the entire ruins.

The ring's magical aura lit up in the ruins, like a tiny firefly responding to the call of its companion.

"There." Ivy cast a spell to move away the debris covering the ring, and then lifted it up with the wizard's hand.

The gold ring lying on the wizard's hand was not very eye-catching, and there was a lot of dark brown mud on the golden ring.

However, at this distance, Dumbledore could already see its full appearance - there was a black ring face on the gold ring, which did not look like a gem, but just a black stone engraved with the Peverell coat of arms.

"Ivy..." Dumbledore's voice was almost dreamy, "Can you let me see it?"

(End of this chapter)