======The Gaunt Ring======
=====Object Information=====
  * **Type:** [[Horcrux]], [[Deathly Hallow]] ([[Resurrection Stone]]), Heirloom
  * **Owners:** [[Cadmus Peverell]] and his descendants, the [[Gaunt Family]] (notably [[Marvolo Gaunt]] and [[Morfin Gaunt]]), [[Tom Marvolo Riddle]] ([[Lord Voldemort]]), [[Albus Dumbledore]], [[Harry Potter]] (the stone only)
  * **Maker:** The [[Resurrection Stone]] was created by [[Death]] according to legend, or by [[Cadmus Peverell]] himself. The ring setting was of unknown make.
=====Description and Appearance=====
The Gaunt Ring is described as a heavy, rather clumsily made ring of what appeared to be gold. It is set with a heavy black stone, which is notable for having a crack running down its middle. Engraved upon the surface of this stone is a symbol that [[Albus Dumbledore]] and [[Harry Potter]] would later identify as the sigil of the [[Deathly Hallows]]: a triangle containing a circle, bisected by a vertical line. [[Marvolo Gaunt]] incorrectly believed this symbol to be the [[Peverell]] coat of arms.
=====Magical Properties and Usage=====
The ring possessed two distinct and powerful magical identities:
  * **The Resurrection Stone:** As one of the three [[Deathly Hallows]], the black stone was the legendary [[Resurrection Stone]]. According to //[[The Tales of Beedle the Bard]]//, turning the stone three times in one's hand would summon shades or echoes of the deceased. These shades were not truly alive but rather memories brought into a semi-physical form, appearing sad and cold, separated from the living by an invisible veil. Its original owner, [[Cadmus Peverell]], was driven to suicide by the torment of being unable to truly reunite with his lost love. [[Harry Potter]] later used it to find the courage to face [[Voldemort]], summoning the shades of [[James Potter]], [[Lily Potter]], [[Sirius Black]], and [[Remus Lupin]].
  * **Horcrux and Curse:** [[Tom Marvolo Riddle]] transformed the ring into his second [[Horcrux]], embedding a fragment of his soul within it through the murder of his father, [[Tom Riddle Sr.]]. To protect it, [[Lord Voldemort]] placed an extremely powerful and malevolent curse upon the ring. This curse was triggered when [[Albus Dumbledore]], in a moment of weakness, put the ring on his finger. The curse immediately began to spread through his body, withering his hand and threatening to kill him. [[Severus Snape]] was able to contain the curse's effects to the hand, but could only delay Dumbledore's inevitable death by approximately a year.
=====History=====
The ring's history is ancient and significant, connecting two of the wizarding world's most powerful bloodlines.
The [[Resurrection Stone]] was first given to [[Cadmus Peverell]], the second of the three [[Peverell]] brothers. The stone, set in a ring, was passed down through his descendants. Over centuries, the [[Peverell]] line eventually merged with the line of [[Salazar Slytherin]], resulting in the [[Gaunt Family]]. The ring became a treasured, if misunderstood, heirloom of the Gaunts, who were fanatically proud of their pure-blood heritage.
By the 20th century, the ring belonged to [[Marvolo Gaunt]]. Upon his imprisonment in [[Azkaban]], it passed to his son, [[Morfin Gaunt]]. In the summer of 1943, a sixteen-year-old [[Tom Marvolo Riddle]] sought out his maternal relatives at the [[Gaunt Shack]] near [[Little Hangleton]]. After learning his family's history, he stunned [[Morfin]], stole the ring, and proceeded to murder his Muggle father and grandparents. He magically altered Morfin's memory to make him confess to the crimes.
[[Tom Riddle]] wore the ring at [[Hogwarts]] for a time. After confirming the nature of [[Horcruxes]] with [[Professor Slughorn]], he used the patricide of [[Tom Riddle Sr.]] to turn the heirloom into a [[Horcrux]]. Years later, as [[Lord Voldemort]], he hid the ring in the ruins of the [[Gaunt Shack]], protecting it with numerous powerful enchantments in addition to its deadly curse.
In the summer of 1996, [[Albus Dumbledore]] located and retrieved the ring. Realizing it was both a [[Horcrux]] and the [[Resurrection Stone]], he was overcome by a desire to see his deceased sister, [[Ariana Dumbledore]], and his parents. In his grief, he forgot it was a [[Horcrux]] and put it on, activating the curse. Though mortally wounded, Dumbledore managed to destroy the [[Horcrux]] element of the ring using the [[Sword of Gryffindor]], which was imbued with [[basilisk]] venom. The cracked black stone, the [[Resurrection Stone]], remained intact.
Dumbledore later hid the stone inside the first [[Golden Snitch]] [[Harry Potter]] had ever caught, bequeathing it to him in his will. Harry solved the Snitch's riddle, "//I open at the close//", and used the stone in the [[Forbidden Forest]] before sacrificing himself to [[Voldemort]]. He then dropped the stone, where it was presumably trampled into the forest floor by the hooves of centaurs, lost to the world.
=====Role in the Story=====
The Gaunt Ring is a pivotal object in the series. It is the first [[Horcrux]] that is confirmed to be destroyed during the events of //Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince//, and its retrieval provides the central mystery for much of the book. The curse on the ring directly leads to [[Albus Dumbledore]]'s fatal weakness and sets in motion his planned death at the hands of [[Severus Snape]].
Furthermore, the ring serves as the primary link between the hunt for the [[Horcruxes]] and the legend of the [[Deathly Hallows]], revealing that [[Voldemort]] and [[Harry Potter]] are distant relatives through their shared ancestry to the [[Peverell]] brothers. The [[Resurrection Stone]] inside it provides Harry with the final piece of emotional fortitude needed to complete his journey and face his destiny.
=====Behind the Scenes=====
  * In the film adaptation of //Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince//, the black stone is depicted as cracking at the moment [[Dumbledore]] strikes it with the [[Sword of Gryffindor]]. In the novel, however, the stone is described as already having a crack in it when Harry first sees it in the [[Pensieve]] ("//a heavy black stone with a crack down the middle//"). The curse on the ring is also shown as a black, creeping rot that consumes Dumbledore's hand and arm. (film)