======The Gaunt Family======
=====Introduction=====
The **Gaunt family** was an ancient, inbred, and fanatically **[[Pure-blood]]** wizarding family, notorious for their instability, violent tendencies, and penchant for grandeur despite living in abject poverty. They were the last known direct descendants of **[[Salazar Slytherin]]**, one of the founders of **[[Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry]]**. The family's ability to speak **[[Parseltongue]]** was their most cherished and jealously guarded proof of this lineage. The Gaunts played a pivotal, albeit tragic, role in the history of the wizarding world as the maternal ancestors of **[[Lord Voldemort]]**, and they were the original guardians of two immensely powerful magical objects: **[[Slytherin's Locket]]** and the **[[Resurrection Stone]]**.
=====Family History=====
The Gaunts were descended from two legendary wizarding lines. Through their ancestor **[[Salazar Slytherin]]**, they inherited the rare ability of **[[Parseltongue]]**. They were also descendants of **[[Cadmus Peverell]]**, one of the three brothers from //The Tale of the Three Brothers// and the original owner of the **[[Resurrection Stone]]**, which was passed down through the generations set into a ring.
For centuries, the family practiced marrying their own cousins to keep their bloodline "pure." This tradition of inbreeding led to a significant decline in the family's fortunes, health, and sanity. By the 20th century, the once-wealthy family had squandered its gold, leaving its final members to live in a dilapidated shack near the village of **[[Little Hangleton]]**.
The last generation consisted of the patriarch, **[[Marvolo Gaunt]]**, and his two children, **[[Morfin Gaunt]]** and **[[Merope Gaunt]]**. In 1925, they were visited by a **[[Ministry of Magic]]** official, **[[Bob Ogden]]**, regarding an attack by **[[Morfin]]** on a local **[[Muggle]]**, **[[Tom Riddle Sr.]]**. The encounter revealed the family's squalor, arrogance, and cruelty. **[[Marvolo]]** and **[[Morfin]]** were subsequently imprisoned in **[[Azkaban]]** for attacking **[[Ogden]]**.
In her father's absence, **[[Merope]]**, who had been secretly infatuated with **[[Tom Riddle Sr.]]**, bewitched him, likely with a **[[Love Potion]]**. They eloped, but **[[Merope]]** eventually ceased giving him the potion, hoping he had genuinely fallen in love with her. He had not, and he abandoned his pregnant wife, returning to his family in **[[Little Hangleton]]**. Heartbroken and destitute, **[[Merope]]** sold her one priceless heirloom, **[[Slytherin's Locket]]**, to **[[Caractacus Burke]]** for a pittance. On December 31, 1926, she gave birth to a son at **[[Wool's Orphanage]]** in London, naming him **[[Tom Marvolo Riddle]]** before she died.
Years later, a teenage **[[Tom Marvolo Riddle]]** sought out his maternal relatives. He found only his uncle, **[[Morfin]]**, living in the squalid **[[Gaunt Shack]]**. From **[[Morfin]]**, **[[Tom]]** learned about his heritage. He then proceeded to the **[[Riddle House]]**, murdered his **[[Muggle]]** father and grandparents, and altered **[[Morfin]]**'s memory to make him confess to the crime. **[[Morfin Gaunt]]** died in **[[Azkaban]]**, and with the deaths of **[[Marvolo]]** and **[[Merope]]**, the Gaunt family name became extinct.
=====Shared Traits and Characteristics=====
  * **Physical Appearance:** As a result of generations of inbreeding, the Gaunts, particularly **[[Marvolo]]** and **[[Morfin]]**, had brutish, "monkey-like" features with oddly proportioned bodies and eyes that faced in opposite directions. **[[Merope Gaunt]]** was described as plain, with lank hair and a face that was pale and heavy-featured.
  * **Personality:** The Gaunts were characterized by an extreme and delusional pride in their **[[Pure-blood]]** status and their descent from **[[Slytherin]]**. This arrogance was coupled with a violent temper, a deep-seated hatred for **[[Muggles]]** and **[[Muggle-borns]]**, and significant mental instability. They were cruel and abusive, as seen in **[[Marvolo]]** and **[[Morfin]]**'s treatment of **[[Merope]]**.
  * **Magical Heritage:** The Gaunts were all **[[Parselmouths]]**, a skill they valued above all else as proof of their lineage. Despite this rare talent, their general magical abilities seemed unremarkable by the time of the last generation.
=====Family Heirlooms=====
  * **[[Marvolo Gaunt's Ring]]:** A heavy gold ring set with a black stone engraved with what **[[Marvolo]]** believed to be the **[[Peverell]]** coat of arms. The stone was, in fact, the **[[Resurrection Stone]]**, one of the three **[[Deathly Hallows]]**. The ring was passed down from **[[Cadmus Peverell]]** and was stolen by **[[Tom Riddle]]** from **[[Morfin]]**, who later turned it into a **[[Horcrux]]**.
  * **[[Slytherin's Locket]]:** A heavy gold locket bearing an ornate, serpentine 'S'. It was an heirloom passed down from **[[Salazar Slytherin]]** himself. **[[Merope Gaunt]]** sold it to the shop **[[Borgin and Burkes]]** for ten **[[Galleons]]**. It was later purchased by **[[Hepzibah Smith]]** and subsequently stolen by **[[Lord Voldemort]]**, who also transformed it into a **[[Horcrux]]**.
=====Lineage and Key Descendants=====
  * **Ancestors:** **[[Salazar Slytherin]]** and **[[Cadmus Peverell]]**.
  * **Known Members:**
    * **[[Gormlaith Gaunt]]** (Pottermore)
    * **[[Corvinus Gaunt]]** (Pottermore)
    * **[[Marvolo Gaunt]]**
    * **[[Morfin Gaunt]]**
    * **[[Merope Gaunt]]**
  * **Key Descendant:** **[[Tom Marvolo Riddle]]** (**[[Lord Voldemort]]**) was the last direct descendant of the Gaunt family and the Slytherin line, through his mother, **[[Merope]]**.
  * **Distant Relations:** Through their shared ancestry with the **[[Peverell]]** brothers, the Gaunts are distantly related to the **[[Potter family]]**, including **[[Harry Potter]]**.
=====Etymology=====
The word //gaunt// means "lean and haggard, especially because of suffering, hunger, or age" or "grim or desolate in appearance." This perfectly describes the physical appearance of the final members of the family, the squalid state of their home, and their miserable, hate-filled existence.
=====Behind the Scenes=====
  * The history of the Gaunt family is revealed primarily in //Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince// through memories that **[[Albus Dumbledore]]** shows **[[Harry Potter]]** in the **[[Pensieve]]**.
  * In the film adaptation of //Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince//, only the memory of **[[Dumbledore]]**'s first meeting with a young **[[Tom Riddle]]** at the orphanage is shown. The memories involving the Gaunts, including **[[Bob Ogden]]**'s visit and **[[Tom Riddle]]**'s meeting with **[[Morfin]]**, were omitted. (film)
  * Further family history, including the story of **[[Gormlaith Gaunt]]** and her connection to the founding of the American wizarding school **[[Ilvermorny]]**, was detailed on the **[[Pottermore]]** website. (Pottermore)