Just a Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor

10 at night.

The sky was completely dark. At this time, Dumbledore and Sherlock disapparated through Fox's apparation and arrived at a village that was already shrouded in night.

"This is where the old house of Riddle's grandfather, the Gunter family, is located. Of course, his father's house is also nearby. The houses on both sides are not very far apart, on the other side of the valley, but now there is no one on either side. there is none left."

Dumbledore led Sherlock to a dilapidated house in the biting cold wind. They did not go in immediately. Dumbledore was still telling him how he found this place.

"I followed the clues and found the Gunter family where Riddle's mother, Merope Gunter, belongs. However, Riddle's maternal grandfather, Marvolo Gunter, had already passed away, but fortunately, he still has One son is alive, Morfin Gaunt, Riddle's uncle. He was sentenced to life in Azkaban for killing an entire Muggle family with magic."

"Fortunately, he didn't escape with the others during the Death Eater prison break some time ago. He was seriously ill, and even if the dementors ignored him, he had no way to escape. Just when he was dying When I was about to die, I found him on the island where the dementors had long since left, and I was lucky enough to gain the precious memory of the first and only meeting between him and his nephew.”

"Due to limited time, I didn't let you read that memory again when we were in the office, but it's easy to repeat the contents."

"When he was still in school at Hogwarts, Riddle began to investigate his own life experience during the summer vacation. The orphanage once received his mother. Merop said two names when he was dying, one was It's his father's name - Tom Riddle, which is exactly the same name his mother gave him, and the other is his grandfather's name - Marvolo."

"He had searched for traces of old Tom Riddle in the trophy room, in the prefects' lists of old school records, and even in the History of Magic books, but found nothing, and was finally forced to admit that his father had never been to Hogwarts. I believe it was then that he abandoned the name, adopted the name Voldemort, and began to investigate the family history of his mother, whom he had previously despised - a woman he had believed had no right to surrender to the shameful human weakness of death. Maybe a wizard."

"His only clue was the name 'Marvolo', which he learned from the orphanage administrator was the name of his maternal grandfather. After some painstaking research in old books and wizarding families, he finally discovered Slytherin. The remaining branch of the family. In the summer when he was sixteen, he left the orphanage he returned to every year to look for his relatives in the Gunter family. "

Sherlock looked at the dilapidated, haunted house-like cabin in front of him and said softly.

"He came here then?"

"Yes, of course he found this place and met his uncle Morfin."

"Riddle and his father looked alike, both were equally handsome, so Morfin recognized him at first sight. Because old Tom abandoned Riddle's mother and returned to this town, Marvolo and Marvolo Morfin is well aware that Merope has been abandoned."

"But they have always looked down upon the only female member of their family. After learning about this incident, they would only curse her for what she deserved. They had no intention of venting their anger or revenge on their daughter or sister."

"It was from him that Riddle learned everything that happened, and then Morfin's memory was interrupted here. After he woke up, Riddle's father's house and the entire Riddle family were all dead, and someone used it on them. It was Morfin's own wand that cast these spells."

"Morfin confessed to his guilt and showed off in a big way, but the last heirloom of the Gaunt family left to him by his father was lost. It was a black ring, which was originally worn on his hand. But after waking up, the ring was missing."

"At that time, the wizarding world was in great chaos because of another person. Morfin's case was not examined carefully at all. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban. Not long after I got this memory from him, He died on that island and was buried there."

After clarifying all the causes and consequences, the truth of this case can be easily determined.

Sherlock analyzed.

"Voldemort knocked out his uncle, took his wand, crossed the valley to the big house on the opposite side, killed the Muggle who abandoned his wizard mother, and also killed his Muggle grandparents. He went to the unlucky Riddle family and took revenge on his biological father who never wanted him. Then he returned to the Gunter family and used some complicated magic to implant false memories into his uncle's mind, and then used the wand. Place it next to its unconscious owner, take the ancient ring and walk away. "

His analysis was approved by Dumbledore, but there was still a small problem that Sherlock had not figured out.

"Morfin never thought it was him?"

"No. As I said, he confessed and showed off."

"But he kept this real memory?"

"Yes, but it would take a lot of highly skilled Legilimency to draw it out. Who's going to dig into Morfin's mind now that he's confessed his guilt? But I visited him in prison during his last days on earth. I finally retrieved this memory, and after seeing these contents, I tried to rescue Morfin from the island, but Morfin died before the Ministry of Magic made a decision."

Sherlock didn't have much emotion about this. After all, this Morfin couldn't be said to be completely unjust when he was arrested. Since Voldemort added false memories of his murder into his mind, it didn't make him feel any regret at all. Perhaps he had already had the idea of ​​killing the Riddle family before Voldemort found him.

However, Sherlock complained about another thing.

"It can be seen from this that the Ministry of Magic's supervision of Hogwarts students not being able to cast spells outside the school during the summer vacation is superficial. Those whose parents are wizards, or students who live next to wizards' homes, have no way of supervising them at all. , It all depends on their own consciousness.”

"This is indeed part of the loopholes in magical laws." Dumbledore also nodded and said, "But we don't have the energy to pay attention to these yet. Sherlock, you should have guessed what the last Horcrux we are looking for today is. ”

Sherlock stared at the shabby house in front of him.

"Is it the ring that Morfin lost?"

"Yes, and you have seen this ring before, can you still recall it?" Dumbledore said.

Sherlock thought for a moment and thought of what Dumbledore said, where he had seen the ring.

"Are you talking about the black ring that Riddle was wearing in Professor Slughorn's memory?"

Dumbledore took out his wand, and with a flick of his hand, the door in front of them opened.

"Yes, when I saw the memory you brought back, I was already suspicious. Although I haven't seen the actual object yet, I am basically certain that the Horcrux hidden here is that ring."

They walked into this dusty room. There were cobwebs everywhere on the ceiling. It looked like no one had cleaned it for a long time.

"Can you feel it? Sherlock." Dumbledore looked at Sherlock and asked.

Sherlock's perception of Horcruxes was much more acute than anyone else's.

After entering the door, the mark on his left arm produced a strong burning sensation.

He was naturally familiar with this feeling. Dumbledore was indeed right to find the place. The only Horcrux they had not known before was hidden in this room.

Sherlock dispersed the control magic. After using the remnant soul of Voldemort in Slytherin's locket to make a thread, the range of the control magic doubled and could completely cover this small house.

But Sherlock didn't find any trace of the black ring in the house.

He frowned. There were only two possibilities for this situation. Either Dumbledore had guessed wrong. There was indeed a Horcrux here, but the Horcrux was not the ring they had seen.

Either Voldemort used some means to hide the ring. This hiding method is very special and can even block Sherlock's perception.

He repeated the results of his detection to Dumbledore, and both of them were more inclined to the second explanation.

Because that ring undoubtedly fits the characteristics of Voldemort's choice of Horcrux materials. It is the heirloom ring of the Gaunt family and the proof of Riddle's wizard lineage.

Sherlock didn't find any problems with his magic control, but Dumbledore relied on his experienced experience to find something wrong with the position next to the bookcase.

The place looks empty from the outside, and the ground is full of dust, no different from other places.

But when Dumbledore raised the Elder Wand in his hand and gently tapped the wall next to him, a string of sparks suddenly burst out in the open space.

The two of them looked at each other, and it was obvious that someone had used some magic here.

Dumbledore's ability to explore and solve the curse is undoubtedly much stronger than Sherlock's, but this does not mean that Sherlock's strength is much weaker than Dumbledore's.

But after all, Old Dengtou has lived for a long time, and he has learned a lot about all kinds of weird magic, and he knows what kind of method is more effective when encountering special situations.

It didn't take long for Dumbledore to have a look of understanding on his face. He held the wand and muttered something. With a final wave, a hidden wooden cabinet appeared in front of them.

The cabinet was as shabby as the house, with only two simple drawers on it. Dumbledore opened all the drawers and threw away all the other miscellaneous things. The extremely conspicuous black gemstone ring caught their eyes.

Dumbledore stared at the ring and narrowed his eyes, and Sherlock's breathing quickened slightly. They all knew that finding this ring meant that they knew where all of Voldemort's Horcruxes were stored.

Seeing that Dumbledore stretched out his hand without hesitation, Sherlock subconsciously reminded him.

"professor."

Dumbledore understood that he was worried about the curse on the ring, so he shook his head and said.

"It's okay. I can see that there will be nothing wrong with the person who picks up this ring, but it won't necessarily happen if you put it on."

With that said, he had already taken Gaunt's ring from the drawer. Seeing that nothing happened, Sherlock couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief.

"If someone didn't know the details of this ring, they might bring it under Voldemort's spell. But since we all know that it is a Horcrux, how could we bring it with us?"

Sherlock said easily, he was indeed in a relaxed mood now.

Although not all the Horcruxes have been collected, one of the remaining two is in Hogwarts Castle, and the other has always been with Voldemort.

As long as you know the specific location, all you have to do is wait for the opportunity, and there will always be a chance.

And just as Sherlock finished speaking, he realized something was wrong with Dumbledore.

After getting the Gaunt ring, Dumbledore seemed to have discovered something. His blue eyes were fixed on the notch in the center of the black gem set in the ring.

Sherlock had never seen Dumbledore's expression and gaze like this before.

His hand holding the ring was trembling, and his eyes staring at the ring were full of excitement and excitement, mixed with sadness and sorrow, which seemed very complicated.

"Professor, what's wrong with you?"

Sherlock frowned tightly, thinking that Dumbledore had not discovered that the spell Voldemort had set on the ring was the same as the poison in the stone basin in the cave.

As soon as you get the ring, you can't help but want to wear it!

Dumbledore seemed to be very excited now, but he seemed to have used a lot of willpower not to take the next action rashly. Instead, he stretched out the hand holding the ring in front of Sherlock.

"Can you recognize this sign?"

Dumbledore's voice completely lost the gentleness and calmness of the past. The slightly trembling tone was something Sherlock had never heard before.

Sherlock saw the pattern he was talking about, located in the center of the black stone.

There is a circle drawn in a regular triangle, and there is a straight vertical line between the triangle and the circle.

Sherlock naturally felt familiar with this symbol, and after just a moment's thought, he remembered where he had seen it before.

"Is this the emblem of Grindelwald's saints at the beginning of the twentieth century?"

Dumbledore never took his eyes away from the ring. He took a deep breath before speaking.

"Yes, Gettler did use this logo as the emblem of his organization, but before that, it already existed in the world, and it had its own name - the Peverell Crest."