Marvolo Gaunt's Ring

• Type: Horcrux, Deathly Hallow (Resurrection Stone), Heirloom
• Owners: Cadmus Peverell, The House of Gaunt (including Marvolo Gaunt and Morfin Gaunt), Tom Marvolo Riddle (Lord Voldemort), Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter
• Maker: The Resurrection Stone was created by Cadmus Peverell. The ring was turned into a Horcrux by Lord Voldemort.

The object is a gold ring of crude, seemingly amateur craftsmanship. It is set with a heavy, black stone engraved with a symbol that Xenophilius Lovegood later identifies as the mark of the Deathly Hallows. The stone itself is the legendary Resurrection Stone. After Albus Dumbledore destroyed the Horcrux contained within the ring, the stone was noted to have a long crack running down its center. The Gaunts, who treasured it as an heirloom proving their descent from both Salazar Slytherin and the Peverell family, were unaware of its true nature as one of the three Hallows.

This ring possessed three distinct and powerful magical properties:

• Resurrection Stone: As one of the Deathly Hallows, the stone, when turned three times in the owner's hand, could summon echoes or “shades” of the deceased. These shades were not ghosts, nor were they truly alive; they were described as more solid than a ghost but less than a living body. They were visible only to the summoner and existed to provide comfort and support. Harry Potter used this power to bring back his parents, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin for a short time.
• Horcrux: Lord Voldemort, a descendant of the Gaunts, turned the ring into his second Horcrux. By murdering his Muggle father, Tom Riddle Sr., he split his soul and embedded a fragment within the ring. This granted him a form of immortality, tethering him to life so long as the ring remained intact.
• Protective Curse: To protect his fragment of soul, Voldemort placed a powerful and deadly curse upon the ring. When Albus Dumbledore put the ring on, the curse was activated, causing his hand to wither and blacken as if dead. The curse was incurable and would have spread to kill him quickly had Severus Snape not contained it within Dumbledore's hand and arm, granting him roughly a year to live.

The ring's history begins with Cadmus Peverell, one of the three brothers in The Tale of the Three Brothers, who received the Resurrection Stone from Death. The stone was passed down through his descendants, eventually coming into the possession of the House of Gaunt, an impoverished and pure-blood fanatical wizarding family. Marvolo Gaunt prized the ring as proof of his prestigious lineage. After his death, it was passed to his son, Morfin Gaunt. In the summer of 1943, Tom Marvolo Riddle sought out his maternal family and met Morfin. He stunned his uncle, stole the ring, and proceeded to murder his Muggle father and grandparents. He then altered Morfin's memory to make him confess to the crimes. Riddle wore the ring openly during his Hogwarts years before turning it into a Horcrux and hiding it within the ruins of the Gaunt shack in Little Hangleton. In the summer of 1996, Albus Dumbledore located the hidden Horcrux. Recognizing the stone as the Resurrection Stone, he was overcome by a moment of weakness, hoping to use it to see his deceased sister, Ariana Dumbledore, and his mother, Kendra Dumbledore. He put the ring on, triggering Voldemort's deadly curse. After Severus Snape contained the curse, Dumbledore destroyed the Horcrux within the ring using the Sword of Gryffindor, which was imbued with Basilisk venom. This act cracked the stone but left its Hallow properties intact. Dumbledore later concealed the Resurrection Stone inside the first Golden Snitch Harry Potter had ever caught, enchanting it to open “at the close”. He bequeathed the Snitch to Harry in his will. When Harry walked to face his death in the Forbidden Forest, he whispered that he was about to die, and the Snitch opened. He used the Stone to summon his loved ones for courage before facing Voldemort. After the encounter, Harry dropped the Stone on the forest floor, deciding that its power should not be used again.

Marvolo Gaunt's Ring is a crucial object in the latter half of the series. Its discovery by Dumbledore provides the first concrete proof of Voldemort's Horcruxes. The devastating curse it carries is the direct cause of Dumbledore's terminal condition, which sets in motion his year-long plan with Snape that culminates in his death. Furthermore, the ring serves as the primary link between the Horcrux plot and the Deathly Hallows plot. It reveals Voldemort as a descendant of Salazar Slytherin and the Peverell family, just like Harry. The ring symbolizes both Voldemort's arrogance—using a powerful, legendary artifact without understanding its full nature—and Dumbledore's greatest personal weakness. For Harry, the ring's final form as the Resurrection Stone represents a major step in his journey, allowing him to accept his own mortality and demonstrate his worthiness as the “Master of Death”.

• In an interview, J.K. Rowling stated that she believes Harry Potter would not go back to the Forbidden Forest to retrieve the Resurrection Stone, and that it would likely be trampled into the ground by a centaur's hoof and become buried forever. (J.K. Rowling interview)
• In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, the Resurrection Stone is not simply dropped. After Harry uses it, it falls from his hand as he approaches Voldemort. It is later shown lying on the ground, and there is no indication that it is lost or buried. (film)