Description
A heavy gold ring set with a large black stone, into which is carved a strange symbol — the mark of the Deathly Hallows, though for centuries the Gaunt family mistakenly believed it to be the Peverell coat of arms. The ring is crude and old, clearly the work of ancient hands, and carries an unmistakable aura of dark magic. The black stone set within it is, in truth, the Resurrection Stone.
History
The ring was a cherished heirloom of the Gaunt family, descendants of both Salazar Slytherin and Cadmus Peverell. Marvolo Gaunt — Tom Riddle’s maternal grandfather — treasured it as proof of his pure-blood lineage, frequently brandishing it as evidence of the family’s noble heritage even as the Gaunts descended into poverty and squalor.
Tom Riddle discovered the ring’s existence when he tracked down his mother’s family. In August 1943, he traveled to Little Hangleton and confronted his father, Tom Riddle Sr., and his paternal grandparents. Riddle murdered all three and used his father’s death to create his second Horcrux, sealing a fragment of his soul within the ring. He then hid it in the ruins of the Gaunt shack, protected by powerful curses.
Riddle did not know that the black stone in the ring was the Resurrection Stone, one of the three Deathly Hallows. He valued the ring only for its connection to the Peverell bloodline and his own heritage.
The ring was eventually discovered by Albus Dumbledore, who recognized the Resurrection Stone for what it was. In destroying the Horcrux, Dumbledore was fatally cursed by the ring’s protective enchantments — the dark magic withered his hand and left him with approximately one year to live.
Properties
- Soul vessel: Contains a fragment of Tom Riddle’s soul, functioning as a Horcrux.
- The Resurrection Stone: The black stone set into the ring is the Resurrection Stone, one of the Deathly Hallows, capable of summoning the shades of the dead.
- Cursed defenses: Riddle placed powerful curses on the ring to protect it. Contact with the ring’s curse caused a lethal, spreading affliction that could not be fully healed.