Editing Lord Voldemort (section)

==== House of Gaunt ====
Most of the [[Exposition (literary technique)|exposition]] of the '''House of Gaunt'''{{'}}s background occurs in ''[[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince]]'', through the medium of Dumbledore's [[Pensieve]]. The Gaunts were once a powerful and influential family, and are the last known descendants of [[Salazar Slytherin]]. However, a vein of mental instability and violence within the family, reinforced through [[cousin marriage]]s intended to preserve the pureblood line, had reduced them to poverty and squalor, as shown in the Pensieve's "memory" that Harry and Dumbledore witnessed. Like Salazar Slytherin, the Gaunts spoke Parseltongue. At the time of the story, the Gaunts' only material asset is a ramshackle shanty in Little Hangleton, that stood in a thicket in a valley opposite the Riddle House. Like the Riddles, the Gaunts were also unpopular with the local residents, with a reputation for being vulgar and intimidating.<ref name="HP6ch10">{{HPref|book=6|chapter=10}}</ref>

Marvolo Gaunt was the last family patriarch. He was sentenced to a short term in Azkaban for his and his son's assault upon a [[Ministry of Magic]] official; this affected his health and he died soon after returning home. His [[Seal (emblem)|signet ring]] passed to his son, Morfin Gaunt, who was convicted of assaulting a Muggle, and later died in Azkaban, convicted this time as a party to the murder of Tom Riddle Sr and Riddle's parents.<ref name="HP6ch17">{{HPref|book=6|chapter=17}}</ref>

Dumbledore discovers the real culprit while visiting Morfin in Azkaban to gather information about Voldemort. After Dumbledore successfully extracts Morfin's memory of his encounter with his nephew, he tries to use the evidence to have Morfin released, but Morfin dies before the decision can be made. The House of Gaunt ended with Morfin's death.

Merope Gaunt ({{IPAc-en|m|ɛ|ˈ|r|oʊ|p|i}}) was the daughter of Marvolo, and sister of Morfin. Harry's first impression of her was that she looked "like the most defeated person he had ever seen". She married Tom Riddle Sr and became pregnant within three months of the wedding.<ref name="HP6ch10" /> It is suggested that she tricked her husband into loving her by using a love potion, but sometime during her pregnancy, chose to stop administering the potion. It is implied that Merope had grown tired of living the lie and thought that her husband might have grown to love her, or that he might have stayed for the sake of their unborn child; however, he left her. Desperate, Merope wandered through the streets of London. The only thing she had left was the heavy gold locket that had once belonged to Salazar Slytherin, one of her family's most treasured items, which she sold for a small amount. When she was due to give birth, she stumbled into a [[Muggle]] orphanage, where she gave birth to her only son. She died within the next hour.