Hogwarts Study Panel

Chapter 444, Section 442: Gaunt's Ring

Sheehan had seen this wizard, Bob Ogden, in the Daily Prophet.

He was there on a mission, and Dumbledore and Sheen followed him.

As he passed a wooden road sign, Sheen looked up at its two directional arrows.

The sign pointing to the way they came read: Big Hangleton, 5 miles.

The sign pointing in the direction Ogden was heading reads: Little Hangleton, 1 mile.

The approximate location has been determined...

Sheen silently noted it down.

They walked for a while, and could see nothing else around them but the tall bushes and hedges on both sides, the vast blue summer sky overhead, and the figure in a formal coat walking in front of them.

Then, the path turned left and descended steeply down the hillside, where they unexpectedly discovered a valley that stretched out before them.

Sheen saw a village, which was undoubtedly Little Hangleton, nestled between two steep hillsides, with its church and cemetery clearly visible.

On the hillside opposite the valley, there is a very grand mansion surrounded by a large expanse of lush green grass.

"The villagers of Little Hangton call it Riddle House."

Dumbledore said with a smile.

Sheen also looked at the house, where Tom Riddle, who had been found by Wormtail, would soon enter.

But if Bug Tail is imprisoned, will he be able to revive?

Sheen had no idea.

Perhaps other wizards will enter Albania, perhaps there will be "insect ears," "insect noses" or something like that.

Sheen dislikes things that don't go according to plan.

So he devised a detailed plan.

Now, in my memory, Ogden found himself jogging because the downhill path was so steep.

Dumbledore took bigger strides, and Sheen quickened his pace to keep up with him.

Suddenly, the path turned right, and as they rounded the bend, Ogden's tuxedo coat darted around, and he disappeared through a gap in the fence.

Dumbledore and Sheehan followed him to a narrow dirt road, where the bushes and hedges on either side were taller and denser than those they had just passed.

Although the sky was clear and cloudless, the ancient trees overhead cast cool, dark, and dense shadows. It took several seconds before Sheen's eyes caught sight of a house half-hidden among the tangled roots of the trees.

The house seemed to be rarely inhabited: the walls were covered with moss, many of the roof tiles were missing, and the rafters were exposed here and there.

The house was surrounded by dense nettles, which grew so tall they reached the windows, which were very small and covered with thick layers of old grime.

"arrive."

Dumbledore said.

With a click, a window of the house opened, and a thin wisp of steam or smoke rose from it, as if someone was cooking.

Then there was another snap, and a man dressed in tattered clothes jumped down from a nearby tree, landing right in front of Ogden.

Ogden quickly stepped back, but stepped on the back of his own coat and almost fell.

"His-"

The man standing in front of them had thick hair tangled with grime, making it impossible to discern its original color.

He had lost a few teeth, and his two small, dark eyes stared in opposite directions. He should have looked funny, but in fact, he was quite frightening.

"Uh—good morning. I'm from the Ministry of Magic—"

"Hiss."

"Uh—sorry—I don't understand you."

Ogden said uneasily.

"I think it would be difficult for us to understand what he was saying?"

Standing behind them, Dumbledore asked Sheehan with a smile.

He said, 'You are not welcome.'

Sheen said.

"Oh? That's a strange thing."

Dumbledore was somewhat surprised.

"The pronunciation of Parsnip is like a partial adaptation of Old Fussak, and this part is introduced in the book 'Parsnip'."

Sheen explained.

"Forgive me, I've never heard of this book."

Dumbledore looked thoughtful.

Sheen looked at his neck; the Wizard's Book was still there, but it was difficult to access his memories.

They probably can't even produce Ravenclaw's "Sophie's Song" from there.

In fact, in Ravenclaw's memory, Sheehan preferred to call the book "Salazar Slytherin's Observational Journal".

The images of memory are still circulating.

An old man came out, and his appearance made Ogden relax a little.

“I’ve come to see your son, Mr. Gaunt. Was that Morfin just now?”

Ogden said.

"Ah, that's Mofen."

The old man said casually,

Are you pureblood?

He asked, his attitude suddenly becoming so aggressive.

"This has nothing to do with today's conversation."

Ogden said coldly.

But Gaunt clearly disagreed. He squinted at Ogden's face and muttered something in a deliberately offensive tone.

"Can we go inside and talk?"

Ogden's tone also turned cold.

"Go inside?"

“Yes, Mr. Gaunt. I already told you. I'm here about Morfin. We sent an owl—”

"Owls are useless to me."

Gunter said,
"I never read letters."

"Then you can't complain that you didn't know someone was coming."

Ogden said sarcastically,
"I'm here to deal with a serious violation of wizarding law that happened early this morning—"

"Okay, okay, okay!"

Gunter roared,

"Go to that damn house, you'll be much more comfortable there!"

The house has three small rooms. The large room in the middle serves as both the kitchen and living room, and there are two other doors leading to the other rooms.

Mofen sat in a dirty armchair beside a smoldering stove, fiddling with a live venomous snake between his large, thick fingers, and softly humming in a snakesman's voice:

"Hiss, hiss,"

Baby snake, quickly crawl over to me on the ground.

You have to be exceptionally good to Mofen, or I'll lock you out the door.

A girl appeared in the room, dressed in tattered clothes, searching for something among bottles and jars filled with cigarette ash.

“My daughter, Melop.”

Seeing Ogden looking at the girl questioningly, Gunter reluctantly introduced them.

"good morning."

Ogden said.

The girl didn't answer. She glanced at her father in alarm, then quickly turned her back and continued to arrange the pots and jars on the shelf.

“Alright, Mr. Gaunt,”

Ogden said,

“Let’s get straight to the point. We have reason to believe that your son Morfin cast a spell on a Muggle late last night.”

With a deafening crash, Meloop knocked a jar to the ground.

"pick it up!"

Gunter yelled at Melop,

"What, crawling on the ground like a dirty Muggle to look for it?"

What's the point of your wand, you useless good-for-nothing?

Ogden was stunned and grabbed by the head. Finally, Gaunt forced Melop to use the Restore to the Original State technique, but she failed, and then curses poured down like a storm.

Dumbledore inadvertently blocked Sheen's view, preventing Sheen from seeing or hearing anything more.

All that was known was that after a while, Gaunt angrily said to Ogden:

"So what? Morfin casually taught a Muggle a lesson—so what?"

"Moffin has violated the laws of witchcraft."

Ogden said seriously.

“Moffin has violated witchcraft,”

Gunter imitated Ogden's voice, deliberately drawing out the intonation with an air of arrogance. Morfin burst into laughter again.

"He taught a dirty Muggle a lesson, and now that's illegal?"

“Yes,” Ogden said, “I’m afraid so.”

He took a small roll of parchment from the inside pocket of his coat and unfolded it.

"What is this? His sentence?"

Gunter raised his voice angrily.

"Summon him to the Ministry of Magic for questioning—"

"Summon me! Summon me? Who do you think you are, daring to summon my son?" "I am the captain of the Magic Law Enforcement Team."

Ogden said.

"Do you think we're lowlifes?"

Gunter screamed as he approached Ogden, poking his chest with his yellowed, dirty fingers.

"We're supposed to run off to the Ministry of Magic just because it summons us? Do you know who you're talking to, you filthy little mudblood, huh?"

“I think I was talking to Mr. Gaunt.”

Ogden appeared vigilant, but showed no sign of backing down.

"That's right!"

"Gaunt roared. He held up a finger, and Sheehan knew Gaunt was showing Ogden the ugly black gemstone ring on his middle finger."

He waved the ring in front of Ogden.

"See this? See this? Do you know what this is? Do you know where it comes from? It's been passed down in our family for centuries, our family history is that long, and we've always been pure blood! Do you know how much someone offered to buy it from me? The gem is engraved with Peverell's seal!"

"I really don't know,"

Ogden said the ring darted an inch from his nose, and he blinked.

“And it has nothing to do with this, Mr. Gaunt. Your son committed—”

Gunter roared angrily and charged at his daughter, one hand reaching straight for her throat.

For a moment, Sheen thought he was going to strangle her.

Then, Gunter grabbed a gold chain around his daughter's neck and dragged her in front of Ogden.

"Do you see this?"

He roared at Ogden, shaking the heavy gold locket on it at him, while Melop coughed repeatedly, unable to breathe.

"I saw it, I saw it!"

Ogden said hastily.

"Slytherin's!"

Gunter shouted,

"Salazar Slytherin's! We are his last living descendants, what do you have to say about that, hmm?"

“Mr. Gaunt, your daughter!”

Ogden said in alarm, but Gaunt had already released Melop.

She stumbled away from him and returned to the corner where she had been, rubbing her neck and panting heavily.

As Sheen watched them, he felt like there was something stuck in his throat.

Finally, he blurted out:

"Should I mourn your foolish mind, Salazar?"

These words made Dumbledore turn around, his tone playful:

"Ravenclaw, it's Ravenclaw?"

"Just a memory, Principal."

Sheen's voice was very low.

Ravenclaw's memories not only bring back long-accumulated memories, but when too many memory points are touched, it seems that Sheen is unable to cope for a while and can only act according to Ravenclaw's experience.

For example, right now, he's in a great mood, and it would be even better if he could find a Salazar Slytherin to mock him.

"I think that's about enough, son."

"Dumbledore said. He grasped Sheehan's elbow and gave it a gentle tug.

In the blink of an eye, they were floating higher and higher in the darkness as if weightless, and finally landed steadily back in Dumbledore's office, where it was already night outside the window.

What did you notice?

Dumbledore asked.

"A locket and a... ring."

Sheen answered.

"That's enough."

Dumbledore was pleased with this.

The young wizard in front of me always manages to grasp the key points, which is not just due to his intelligence.

"Old ears always yearn to hear the wisdom of young people, and I am certain of that in one respect."

If you have received any inspiration from the stars, would I have the honor of being your first sharer?

Dumbledore said.

"I will."

Sheen said.

But not this time.

The sky outside was pitch black, and the lights in Dumbledore's office seemed brighter than ever.

"Thank you for sharing, Headmaster Dumbledore."

"Before leaving," Sheen said.

"No, I'm thanking you, Green."

Dumbledore's gaze was deep.

The principal's office door was also closed.

The downside of using the Pensieve is that, in your memory, only an hour has passed, but in reality, a whole day has gone by.

Sheen entered the principal's office in the early morning, but it was already evening.

Will.

He called out.

"Dear Mr. Green."

Butler Pukchi teleported out of the Wizard's Book.

"Go to Diagon Alley."

Sheen said.

"According to your will!"

Will snapped his fingers.

……

Diagon Alley.

Fairy Tale Corner.

Even at dusk, little wizards lingered in front of the dazzling shop windows, unwilling to leave.

This is the most mysterious and interesting shop in Diagon Alley, selling magical items that drive the entire wizarding world crazy.

Even more interestingly, Fairy Tale Square hides invitations inside the chocolate frog cards sold at the entrance.

They had personally witnessed several cheerful young wizards, as well as their families!
Everyone who enters this shop has a smile on their face. I wish they could bring smiles to others like that.

The young wizards thought to themselves with delight.

Just then, a young wizard appeared at the door.

No one knows how he appeared, but a chubby-cheeked little wizard kindly reminded him:
"Hey! I can't get in!"

The little wizard turned around, and the little witch who had spoken then realized that he was an extremely handsome little wizard.

"Oh, I mean, a lot of people want to go in, but the stern-faced boss inside is terrifying!"

The little witch stammered.

"Thank you."

As the wizard spoke, the little witch, who had just been beaming with joy, watched him push open the door and enter.

"He's in!"

The little witch screamed.

Fairy Tale Square remains the same, shimmering with a warm orange light.

"Professor Quirrell."

Sheen said.

"How did you..."

Quirrell, who was in the distance, quickly waved his wand and appeared respectfully in front of Sheen the next second.

“You know it doesn’t have to be this way.”

Sheen was somewhat helpless.

"Ah."

Quirrell simply answered.

“We’re going to a place that’s highly likely to be dangerous, Professor.”

Sheen said.

"Do you really have to go? If you trust me, of course, I... I... I can do it for you..."

Quirrell spoke haltingly and in a flustered manner.

"Professor, I need you."

Sheen said softly.

Quirrell's face flushed red instantly, and he stammered, unable to say anything.

The night was already deep in the distance, and most of the wizards were sitting around the fireplace resting and chatting.

Sheehan gazed at every warm window in Diagon Alley. He had been following his plan, sometimes faster, sometimes slower, but he was never used to stopping.

That's not possible either.

(End of this chapter)