Chapter 66: ring and resurrection stone
Ciaran breathed a sigh of relief as he gazed upon Gaunt's old house in the small Hangleton village. Who else but the Gaunt family would affix a snake to their door?
Only descendants of Slytherin who know Parseltongue would do such a thing.
Hiss...
A black and green venomous snake slithered out from the house, leaving a trail in the dusty ground. The snake hissed softly, fixating its cold, vertical pupils on Ciaran.
"Into pieces!" Ciaran brandished his wand and swiftly cast a crushing spell, eliminating the snake with ease. He didn't want to risk being bitten by the poisonous creature, despite his ability to heal himself magically. Dealing with venomous snakes was never pleasant, even for those proficient in magic.
"Open Alajo!" With a flick of his wand, he fastened a snake bone to the Gaunt family's door, causing it to creak open. Stepping inside, he entered the Gaunt house.
The old Gaunt house contained three rooms. The largest, likely serving as the kitchen and living room, had two doors leading to other rooms, presumably bedrooms.
Ciaran headed straight for the central room.
"Marvolo Gaunt's ring..." Ciaran scanned the room, sifting through the accumulated dust. He had to retreat momentarily as the dust stirred up upon his entry settled again.
"This is the challenge of exploring an abandoned house." Ciaran murmured to himself. With more caution, he re-entered, careful not to disturb the dust.
Locating Marvolo Gaunt's ring, despite its protective spells, proved relatively easy for Ciaran. The ring, an unattractive black gemstone with a jagged crack containing the Resurrection Stone, caught his eye.
"Marvolo Gaunt's ring, and...the Resurrection Stone!" Ciaran's eyes sparkled with excitement. These two items held potent magical power, known as Force points. Though he hadn't touched them yet, Ciaran was certain of their significance. The Resurrection Stone, along with the symbols of the Elder Wand and Invisibility Cloak, comprised the Three Hallows of Death.
Aware that the Elder Wand was with Dumbledore and the Invisibility Cloak with Harry, Ciaran refrained from touching those items. However, Marvolo Gaunt's ring presented an opportunity to absorb Force points temporarily.
Suppressing his excitement, Ciaran whispered, "However, this ring contains many spells by Voldemort. Dumbledore lost an arm in the original timeline due to Voldemort's curses. Even with Snape's help, his life expectancy was shortened. This differs from Riddle's diary and Ravenclaw's diadem."
Approaching cautiously, Ciaran decided to test the ring with a spell first.
"Fire is raging!" Reciting the spell, he directed controlled flames toward the ring, burning away surrounding spider webs. Prepared for any dark magic rebound, he remained vigilant.
As expected, green light emitted from the ring, casting spells toward Ciaran. He dodged swiftly, keeping the flames directed at the ring. Despite the onslaught of curses, Ciaran maintained focus, setting the wooden house ablaze to counter the magic.
Unperturbed by the flames, the spells continued. "Invulnerable! Protect yourself with armor!" Ciaran chanted, deflecting the curses.
Realizing the spells were futile, Ciaran observed the ring's soul fragment. The magic, seemingly ignored by the fragment, allowed Ciaran to proceed.
"It seems ordinary fire won't affect the ring. Should I use a more powerful fire spell?" Ciaran pondered, considering the risks of destroying the ring and losing its Force points.
Though hesitant, Ciaran knew the Fire Curse could potentially destroy Marvolo Gaunt's ring. With extensive knowledge of dark magic, he weighed the consequences carefully.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone