======Lower Hogsfield======
=====Location Information=====
  * **Type:** [[Hamlet]]
  * **Location:** In a valley near [[Little Hangleton]] and [[Hogsmeade Village]], [[Scotland]]
  * **Owner/Residents:** Notably, the [[Gaunt family]], including [[Marvolo Gaunt]], [[Morfin Gaunt]], and [[Merope Gaunt]].
  * **Key Features:** An isolated and squalid settlement; home to the dilapidated [[Gaunt shack]].
=====Description and History=====
Lower Hogsfield is a small, impoverished [[hamlet]] situated in a wooded valley. It is reached by a "narrow, winding, and stony" path that descends into the hollow. The area consists of a few squalid cottages with overgrown gardens and grimy windows, suggesting a state of neglect and poverty.
The most significant location within the [[hamlet]] is the [[Gaunt shack]], the home of the last known descendants of [[Salazar Slytherin]]. The shack itself was in a state of extreme disrepair, covered in moss with a slithering, dead [[snake]] nailed to the door. Its interior was filthy and squalid, containing only a few pieces of decrepit furniture.
The history of Lower Hogsfield is intrinsically linked to the downfall of the [[Gaunt family]] and the origins of [[Lord Voldemort]]. In 1925, [[Ministry of Magic]] official [[Bob Ogden]] visited the [[Gaunt shack]] to issue a summons to [[Morfin Gaunt]] for attacking a local [[Muggle]], [[Tom Riddle Sr.]]. During this visit, [[Ogden]] witnessed the Gaunts' immense pride in their pure-blood heritage, their poverty, and their possession of two priceless heirlooms: [[Slytherin's Locket]] and the [[Peverell Ring]]. Following this confrontation, [[Merope Gaunt]] was able to bewitch [[Tom Riddle Sr.]] with a [[Love Potion]], leading to their brief marriage and the birth of their son, [[Tom Marvolo Riddle]].
Years later, [[Tom Marvolo Riddle]], now known as [[Lord Voldemort]], returned to Lower Hogsfield. He murdered his father and grandparents, the [[Riddle family]], in their manor in the nearby village of [[Little Hangleton]], and used his [[magic]] to frame his uncle [[Morfin]] for the crimes. [[Voldemort]] also returned to the ruins of the [[Gaunt shack]] to hide the [[Peverell Ring]], which he had transformed into one of his [[Horcruxes]].
=====Role in the Story=====
Lower Hogsfield is a location of profound historical significance in the series, primarily explored in //Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince//. [[Albus Dumbledore]] shows [[Harry Potter]] a memory of [[Bob Ogden]]'s visit to the [[Gaunt shack]] using the [[Pensieve]].
This memory serves several crucial purposes:
  * It introduces [[Harry]] to [[Lord Voldemort]]'s maternal ancestors, the [[Gaunt family]], revealing their direct lineage from [[Salazar Slytherin]].
  * It provides the first glimpse of two future [[Horcruxes]]: [[Slytherin's Locket]], worn by [[Merope Gaunt]], and the [[Peverell Ring]], worn by [[Marvolo Gaunt]].
  * It establishes the desperate and abusive environment in which [[Merope Gaunt]] lived, providing context for her decision to enchant [[Tom Riddle Sr.]], the act that directly led to [[Voldemort]]'s conception.
  * The location later becomes the hiding place for the [[Peverell Ring]] [[Horcrux]], which [[Dumbledore]] retrieves and destroys, though at great personal cost.
Ultimately, the events that transpired in Lower Hogsfield are central to understanding [[Voldemort]]'s heritage, his motivations, and the creation of his [[Horcruxes]].
=====Known Areas Within=====
  * **[[The Gaunt Shack]]:** The primary dwelling in the [[hamlet]], home to the [[Gaunt family]]. A small, dilapidated structure where [[Voldemort]]'s mother lived and where he later hid the [[Peverell Ring]] [[Horcrux]] beneath the floorboards.
=====Behind the Scenes=====
  * In the film adaptation of //Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince//, the entire memory sequence set in Lower Hogsfield is omitted. The exposition about the [[Gaunt family]], [[Merope]]'s story, and the [[Peverell Ring]] is conveyed through dialogue from [[Albus Dumbledore]] in his office. (film)
  * The name "Hogsfield" likely connects it to the nearby wizarding locations of [[Hogsmeade]] and [[Hogwarts]], while the prefix "Lower" refers to its geographic position down in a valley.