Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 584 Gaunt's Old House
The house that came into Sherlock's view was far more dilapidated than Riddle House.

Although Riddle House is also in a state of disrepair, it remains the largest house in Little Hangleton due to its excellent location.

But the location of this house is extremely awkward.

Beside the house, thick trees grow wildly, their lush trunks intertwined, like giant parasols, completely blocking out all the light.

This is only because it is springtime. Once summer arrives, the branches and leaves will become even more lush, and these trees will probably even cover the valley below, plunging the house into complete darkness.

The walls of the house were covered with a thick layer of moss, like a green velvet blanket, damp and exuding a chilly atmosphere.

On the roof, many tiles have long since disappeared, and the rafters are exposed abruptly, standing alone in the wind.

Nettles grew wildly around the house, reaching all the way up to the window.

The windows were tiny and covered with thick layers of grime, like layers of gray gauze, blurring the view between the inside and outside.

With just one glance, Sherlock knew that this was their destination.

Sure enough, Dumbledore slowly stopped in front of the house.

A look of reminiscence instantly welled up in his eyes, as if the old house had stirred up a distant memory.

He quickly turned to look at Sherlock, his eyes full of admiration:

"Sherlock, you have given me a lot of inspiration."

He made no attempt to be mysterious and stated directly:
"For many years, I have been trying to find out about Voldemort's past life."
I traveled to many places, searching for his whereabouts.

But I only made a breakthrough last year after you and Harry helped me get the crucial memory from Professor Slughorn.”

Sherlock nodded slightly upon hearing this.

Professor Slughorn's memories, especially his conversation with Voldemort about Horcruxes, are indeed a crucial breakthrough.

"Do you remember what you told me about, the black gemstone ring Voldemort wore?" Dumbledore suddenly asked.

"of course."

Sherlock answered without hesitation, "That ring was of great significance to Voldemort; I deduced at the time that he turned it into a Horcrux."

"As it turns out, your deduction was correct."

Dumbledore smiled and said, "Following this lead, I have finally found the key clue."

As he spoke, he reached out, gently pushed open the door, and slowly walked into the house.

Sherlock followed closely behind Dumbledore and stepped into the house.

A musty, rotten smell immediately hit me.

The room was very cramped, as if it had been squeezed, making people feel extremely oppressed.

The large room in the middle serves as both a kitchen and a living room.

However, this one room alone was so filthy that it defied description.

Thick cobwebs covered the ceiling, the floor was black and grimy, and a pile of rusty pots sat on the table.

The two dilapidated armchairs looked as if they would fall apart at the slightest touch.

There are also two other doors, each leading to a different room.

Can you guess where this is?

Sherlock frowned. "Too few clues."

Although he possesses exceptional observation and deductive abilities, he cannot achieve prophetic abilities in the absence of information.

Dumbledore laughed, then said softly:
"The original owner of that ring was Marvolo Gaunt."

Upon hearing this, Sherlock's eyes lit up instantly, like stars twinkling in the night sky.

The next moment, he immediately blurted out:

"Is this Voldemort's maternal grandfather's house?"

"Very good, Sherlock!"

Dumbledore said happily:
"Marvolo Gaunt, along with his daughter Merop and son Morfin, are direct descendants of Salazar Slytherin and the last remaining members of the Gaunt family."

It was a very ancient wizarding family, known for its restlessness and violence.

Because they are accustomed to consanguineous marriage, this personality trait has become more pronounced with each generation.

Lacking rationality and with a particular fondness for lavish displays, the family fortune was squandered several generations before the Mavolo family's.

By the time it reached their generation, Mahoro had ended up impoverished and had a terribly bad temper.

Yet he was also incredibly arrogant and conceited.

Even so, he still possessed two ancestral heirlooms.

He cherished them as much as his sons, far more than his daughters.

Sherlock listened quietly, quickly processing the information in Dumbledore's words.

As soon as Dumbledore uttered his last words, he immediately replied without hesitation:
"One of those two ancestral heirlooms was Marvolo's ring, which was later turned into a Horcrux by Voldemort."

No, since they're in the same person's hands, then both must have fallen into Voldemort's possession..."

Sherlock's gaze swept over the dilapidated house again, and he spoke rapidly:

"So this is the Gaunt mansion, the home of Voldemort's maternal grandfather, his uncle, and his mother!"

His mother met his father, Tom Riddle, here!
The murder at Riddle Hall fifty years ago was committed by Voldemort; he personally killed his grandfather, grandmother, and father!

He obtained Marvolo's ring and then went to Professor Slughorn to inquire about Horcruxes, wanting to confirm whether he could create multiple Horcruxes.

"As for why you brought me here today, it's because you deduced that he might have hidden the Horcrux here."

"That was brilliant, Sherlock!"

Dumbledore praised Sherlock, saying, "I only said one sentence, and you have already deduced the whole story!"

Hearing Dumbledore's words, Sherlock shook his head. "These are merely my deductions; there is no evidence."

"You have no evidence, but the Ministry of Magic does."

"Is there evidence?"

Sherlock looked at Dumbledore.

“Yes, there is evidence—but their conclusions are quite different from yours.”

Dumbledore said slowly:

“After we visited Riddell’s last time, you reminded me of that unsolved case from fifty years ago.”

I took your advice and started from that point, and finally obtained some useful information.

As Dumbledore spoke, he waved his wand, and two chairs slid in front of them, the dust on them disappearing and becoming spotless.

After the two sat down, Dumbledore slowly said, "As we investigated last time, the Muggle authorities are at a loss for what to do with this case and still don't know how the Riddles died."

But the Ministry of Magic immediately realized this was the work of a wizard, because the Avada Kedavra curse usually leaves no scars... the only exception being your best friend.

At this point, he gave Sherlock a deep look, a complex expression in his eyes.

The boy who survived a great calamity.

At that moment, the same sentence popped into Sherlock's and Dumbledore's minds simultaneously.

After a brief pause, Dumbledore regained his composure and continued his narration slowly:
"The Ministry of Magic's files record this case, and the murderer has been identified as Morfingunt."

Hearing that this conclusion contradicted his own deduction, Sherlock frowned:

"You just said the Ministry of Magic has evidence?"

"That's right. After being confirmed by the Flashback Charm, his wand has been proven to be the murder weapon that killed the Riddle family."

"Other than that?"

"Morfin himself confessed to the matter and provided details that only the killer knew, saying that he was proud to kill those Muggles and that he had been waiting for this opportunity for many years."

"What was the motive for the murder?" Sherlock pressed.

“As I just said, both Marvolo and Morfin deeply hate Muggles.”

"That sounds like enough."

“That’s right, and before this incident, Mofen had been imprisoned for assaulting one of the victims in this case.”

Sherlock immediately fell silent.

He withdrew his gaze from Dumbledore and looked back at the old house.

All of this sounds so obvious and natural.

The witness testimonies, physical evidence, confessions, motives, conditions, and tools all match up.

All the facts pointed to Morfin Gaunt—the man who killed old Tom Riddle and his parents.

But Sherlock still felt that something was off.

Especially when he saw Dumbledore looking at him with a meaningful gaze.

He suddenly noticed that the narrow path leading to the village was very close to the grove of bushes where the house was located.

Once the window is open, you can hear the sounds outside clearly.

Even through the fence in the garden, you can still see the only way to get there.

Thinking of this, Sherlock immediately withdrew his gaze and looked back at Dumbledore:
"Was the Muggle that Morfin attacked earlier, Tom Riddle?"

"Yes, that happened a long time ago. Would you be interested in knowing about it?"

After receiving an affirmative answer, Sherlock smiled.

He clasped his hands together, rested his chin on them, and leaned back slightly: "I'm all ears."

“Bob Ogden worked in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement back then. I managed to find him and persuade him to tell me a crucial memory.”

The Ministry of Magic received a complaint that Marvolo's son, Morfin, had used a curse on a Muggle.

As you just said, he attacked Tom Riddle, old Tom.

Because the father and son refused to accept the owl, Augur went to the Ministry of Magic to summon Morfin for questioning.

Sherlock listened intently.

He leaned slightly forward, his hands supporting his chin, his grey eyes gleaming with a searching light as he stared intently at Dumbledore.

Marvolo and Mofen refused to accept it and attacked Ogden.

He Apparated into the department and returned fifteen minutes later with reinforcements.

Moffin and his father put up a fierce resistance, but both were subdued and taken out of the cabin.

Later, Wizengamo convicted them: Moffin, who had a prior record of attacking Muggles, was sentenced to three years in Azkaban.

Besides injuring Ogden, Marvolo also injured several other officials of the Ministry of Magic and was sentenced to six months in prison.

Sherlock quietly processed this information. After a moment, he frowned slightly and asked:
"Sir, what role did Melop, whom you just mentioned, play in the whole affair?"

Dumbledore laughed, and he laughed as happily as a child.

“I knew it. Even without the Pensieve, you would have been able to find the key—why don’t you try to deduce it?”

"Since you've already said that, I think the matter is quite obvious."

Melop showed affection for Tom Riddle, a fact discovered by his father and brother.

Morfin attacked Tom Riddle in retaliation, which attracted the attention of the brave gentleman from the Ministry of Magic.

“Absolutely right—I almost suspect I’ve taken you on a walk down Bob Ogden’s memory trail—otherwise how could you possibly know these details?”

Although Dumbledore said this, he still happily described the details to Sherlock:

"Melop is a witch, but during her father's oppressive reign of terror, her magical powers could not be fully utilized and she was always treated as a dud."

When her father and brother were imprisoned in Azkaban, and for the first time she was alone and free to do as she pleased, she fully utilized her talents to escape the agonizing life she had endured for eighteen years.

"So she controlled Tom Riddle to leave here and later gave birth to Voldemort—which also explains why Voldemort was someone you picked up from the orphanage."

"That's right, right after Marvolo and Moffin were arrested, the squire's son eloped with the tramp's daughter, Melop, causing a huge uproar in Little Hangleton."

However, a few months after their elopement and marriage, Tom Riddle returned to Little Hangleton alone and insisted that he had been deceived and misled.

I think he meant that he was under a spell, and that the spell has now been lifted.

But I believe he certainly wouldn't dare use such words, lest others think he's crazy.

From that day forward, he never saw Gropp again, nor did he show any concern for his son.

"So, he abandoned Merope while she was still pregnant?" Sherlock frowned again.

"Sorry, Sherlock, this part can only be guessed."

Dumbledore shook his head as he said:
"I think Melop loves her husband deeply and she can't bear to continue controlling him through magic."

I think she made a decision not to give him the love potion anymore—I personally lean towards the idea that she used the love potion to make Tom Riddle fall in love with her—because Tom Riddle already had a Muggle lover.

Perhaps, because she was so infatuated with her husband, she believed that he would fall in love with her in return.

Perhaps she thought her husband would stay for the sake of the children.

In any case, both of her plans fell through.

Tom Riddle not only left her, but also didn't bother to find out how his son was doing.

The love instilled by the aphrodisiac was an illusion; even after they had a child, he never truly loved her.

(End of this chapter)