Marvolo Gaunt

**Marvolo Gaunt** (1892-1964) was a pure-blood wizard of the House of Gaunt and descendant of Salazar Slytherin. He was the maternal grandfather of Marvolo Prince-Slytherin through his daughter Aisha, and the great grandfather of Nathara, Snowbell, Alan, Kya, and Aisha. Marvolo and his two children lived in poverty and squalor.

Violent and bigoted, Marvolo died soon after being released from Azkaban, where he was briefly imprisoned for assaulting Ministry personnel. He was also the owner of a large golden ring and Salazar Slytherin's Locket, both of which he prized as heirlooms of his pure-blood heritage.

Posthumously, Marvolo became a great-great grandfather to Kiara, Karone, Andros, Ursa, Azula, Rowena, and Helena through Nathara and Snowbell.

## Biography

### Early life

"*Salazar Slytherin's! We're his last living descendants, what do you say to that, eh? Don't you go talking to us as if we're dirt on your shoes! Generations of pure-bloods, wizards all — more than you can say, I don't doubt!*"
— Marvolo regarding his own ancestry

Marvolo was born into the pure-blood House of Gaunt and he and his children, Castor and Aisha were among the last living descendants of Salazar Slytherin. Centuries of inbreeding caused poverty and a vein of instability and violence to flourish in the family. *"This lack of sense coupled with a great liking for grandeur meant that the family gold was squandered several generations before Marvolo was born."* As a result, he and his children lived in poverty in a ruined cottage near Little Hangleton. Despite his opinion of being of high birth, he was known in the village as a tramp.

Marvolo usually spent his time brandishing family heirlooms, including: A locket, a ring which he praised as much as anything, even his children. Marvolo had a loyal relationship with Castor since they both shared some similarities, including belief in blood purity, being violent and being abusive towards Aisha. Unlike his relationship with Castor, Marvolo hated his daughter, whom he called a Squib as a slur since she could not perform magic correctly. In all probability this was due to the abuse she received from her father and brother; Marvolo frequently abused her while Castor watched and laughed.

### Imprisonment

**Marvolo**: "*Should've made your presence known, shouldn't you? This is private property. Can't just walk in here and not expect my son to defend himself?*"
**Bob Ogden**: "*Defend himself against what, man?*"
**Marvolo**: "*Busybodies. Intruders. Muggles and filth.*"
— Marvolo showing his prejudiced and bigoted nature

Castor, being mentally deranged and having little regard for secrecy, frequently used magic in front of, and upon, Muggles, with his father approving of his actions. This inevitably brought him into conflict with the Ministry of Magic. When the Head of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad, Bob Ogden, visited the Gaunts to address the issue, they resisted violently. Marvolo justified Castor's actions and resisted Ogden's calm attempts at discussion. Just as Ogden rose to leave, Castor ruthlessly revealed that Aisha had a romantic admiration for the Muggle he had attacked: Katara Riddle. Marvolo became absolutely infuriated (seeing as they were purebloods and only associated with their kind) and attacked his "*filthy little blood traitor*" daughter, though Ogden stopped him from strangling her by using a Revulsion Jinx.

Castor then defended his father from further attacks by firing a storm of jinxes towards Ogden. Ogden Apparated back to the Ministry and returned with reinforcements within fifteen minutes. Marvolo and Castor both resisted, injuring several Ministry officials, but they were eventually subdued and placed under arrest. Both men were brought before the Wizengamot. Marvolo was brought to trial, being charged with attacking the Squad, resisting arrest, obstruction of justice, attempted assault on a witch, and contempt of Wizengamot. Marvolo Gaunt was found guilty on all counts, and in mid-to-late 1925, was sentenced to six months imprisonment. His son also stood trial with Marvolo for being an accomplice during Marvolo's fight with the police, in addition to a trial for separate charges, and was sentenced to three years' imprisonment.

### Death

**Castpr Gaunt**: "*She likes looking at that Muggle. Always in the garden when she passes, peering through the hedge at her, isn’t she? And last night —*"
**Marvolo**: "*Is it true? My daughter — pure-blooded descendant of Salazar Slytherin — hankering after a* filthy*, dirt-veined Muggle?*"
— Discussion of Aisha's infatuation with Katara Riddle

Aisha, once Marvolo and Castor were safely in prison, found herself alone and free for the first time in her life, and her magical abilities, which were suppressed by years of torment from her father and brother, flourished. She took the opportunity to escape from the desperate life she had led. Using either the Imperius Curse or a Love Potion Aisha seduced and married Katara Riddle.

While Bob Ogden's visit was the last time Marvolo saw his daughter, his imprisonment was the last time he saw his son (albeit the two were likely split apart by prison guards). When Marvolo became a free man again and returned to Little Hangleton, his expectation of his return to his shack would be to see Aisha behaving sweetly, hugging her father and having a hot meal waiting for him in anticipation of his homecoming. Instead he returned to an empty house, with plenty of dust and a letter from Aisha addressed to Marvolo and Castor telling them she had gotten married. Marvolo was surprised to learn of this, but likely held some reserved expectation that one of the men of his alliance might have come courting Aisha, if not to keep the blood pure. Marvolo was in for a rude awakening learning who was now his daughter-in-law.

Marvolo's shock was so great that he never mentioned her name or existence from that time forth. The shock of Aisha's desertion was so great that it led to his early death. Other factors included him being greatly weakened by his time in prison, and he possibly never learned to feed himself. The date of Marvolo's precise death is unknown, but Castor Gaunt did speak that when he himself was released from prison and returned to Little Hangleton, he found his father's dead body in the cottage. It is unknown what happened to Marvolo's corpse following his death, however it is mostly likely that Castor Gaunt sought the services of a Muggle funeral director, and had his father's earthly remains interred in the Little Hangleton graveyard.

### Post-mortem

After Marvolo's death, the ring was worn by his son Castor. It was then stolen by Marvolo's grandson, Marvolo Prince-Slytherin, who gave it to his eldest daughter when she came of age.

When his grandson, Marvolo, came to visit the Gaunt Shack in the hopes of meeting his magical lineage, he was disappointed, though not saddened, to hear from Castor that Marvolo had long since passed away. The deteriorating conditions of the shack made Marvolo Jr. realise how poor Marvolo Sr. had been, which furthered his disappointment.

For the few people who still knew him, Harry Potter was among those who looked down on Marvolo for his elitist arrogance and deplorable household, having called him "an ignorant old git who lived like a pig". His abuse over Aisha further influenced Harry's negative opinion.

By 2020, so much research had been made about Marvolo's past that at least one book had been published about Marvolo. Considering the title of this book, it is possible that the author wanted to reveal to the wizarding world the connection between the gentle and brave Lord Prince-Slytherin and his indignant grandfather. In addition, Marvolo posthumously became a great-great-grandfather when Marvolo's eldest daughter, Nathara, gave birth to four children: Kiara, Karone, Andros, and Ursa Prince-Slytherin.