#Gaunt family

[giselsann-opencommissions]

Gaunt family 🐍

[phinik]

Marvolo

[radical-ghostface]

Smiley Omi 🩶🥹

This one ended up looking a little.. weird 😏😂

[spotted-mooncalf]

Ominis in the Undercroft🐍✨

[meyrinn-revery]

Ominis Gaunt

~ •●• ~

Here are some Ominis Gaunt GIFs that I created from two YouTube videos from @LegendsForeverStudios and @ weepywillow.

Honestly, I feel like the creators of the game managed to reflect in his eyes the sorrow and fears that persecute him. I find it a shame that his story wasn't developed more than that, he could have been even more interesting.

You can also find some GIFs of Hogwarts Legacy in my fanfiction We had it all, available on Wattpad in English and in French (Nous avions tout).

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Idk if you’ve been asked this before, but what are your thoughts on the Gaunt family? Do you think they interbred a little too close (like siblings together, aunts, and uncles to nieces and nephews) because they seemed to be the only Pureblooded family (that I can remember) that is canonically unattractive and inbred-looking? And when you look up the Gaunt family, it says, “Due to their habit of marrying their own cousins,” but like all Pureblood families have done that/do that, so why are they attractive and “normal" looking (or, were they even? I can’t remember). Why were the Gaunt’s different? Did it just happen to run in their genes specifically because I remember Marvolo Gaunt being described as looking like an “aged monkey” and then his ancestor(?), Salazar Slytherin, being described as also looking "monkeyish"?

I definitely think they inbred too close to the sun. And actually, we don't see many other pureblood families that are that closely related. Even the Black family, the "always pure", aren't super inbred. In the (more or less) canon family tree that has 7 generations back, the only in-family marriage is between Orion and Walburga Black (Sirius' parents) and they are second cousins who had no inbreeding in their bloodline at least 4 generations back.

I actually did some research about inbreeding and when it starts to become an actual risk to the offspring. From what I've read, even marrying first cousins wouldn't be that bad as long as it's not every generation. To calculate an inbreeding coefficient (basically how inbred someone is) you calculate according to how close the relatives were and then multiply it with every generation the inbreeding continues. The thing about inbreeding is that the moment you introduce new blood, the coefficient goes down to zero and you start the counter again. So as long as pureblood families keep the familial distance to, at least, second cousins and make sure to keep a breath of two generations between these marriages they could get away with looking pretty normal and not harming their genes too much. Like, there are no major health risks, even though their breeding pool is still relatively small and too similar which puts them at a general health risk, and squib risk, but that isn't exactly an inbreeding issue, more a lack of genetic diversity in a small closed-off community issue (I talked about this here).

But the Gaunts are a different story. As you mentioned, the Gaunts are described as ugly:

The man standing before them had thick hair so matted with dirt it could have been any color. Several of his teeth were missing. His eyes were small and dark and stared in opposite directions

-Morfin Gaunt (HBP, 201)

An elderly man had come hurrying out of the cottage, banging the door behind him so that the dead snake swung pathetically. This man was shorter than the first, and oddly proportioned; his shoulders were very broad and his arms overlong, which, with his bright brown eyes, short scrubby hair, and wrinkled face, gave him the look of a powerful, aged monkey.

-Marvolo Gaunt (HBP, 202)

a girl whose ragged gray dress was the exact color of the dirty stone wall behind her. She was standing beside a steaming pot on a grimy black stove, and was fiddling around with the shelf of squalid-looking pots and pans above it. Her hair was lank and dull and she had a plain, pale, rather heavy face. Her eyes, like her brother’s, stared in opposite directions. She looked a little cleaner than the two men, but Harry thought he had never seen a more defeated-looking person.

-Merope Gaunt (HBP, 204)

Magically very weak:

as Merope, who had already picked up the pot, flushed blotchily scarlet, lost her grip on the pot again, drew her wand shakily from her pocket, pointed it at the pot, and muttered a hasty, inaudible spell that caused the pot to shoot across the floor away from her, hit the opposite wall, and crack in two.

(HBP, 205)

And if we count Hogwarts Legacy, Ominis Gaunt was born blind, something that can be caused by inbreeding. I mentioned their magical weakness is also most likely the result of a lack of genetic diversity, something we actually see with two other wizards:

Crabbe and Goyle.

Both are also described as ugly, stupid, and magically weak. And, of course, pure blood. Basically, I think these two families have an inbreeding problem between cousins as well...

In general, not all Gaunts are as ugly as they are described. Isolt Sayre, who founded Illvermony and whose mother was a Gaunt is implied to look normal. So do her mother, Rionach Sayre (born Gaunt), and aunt Gormlaith Gaunt, who is a pure-blood maniac (and a general maniac) but isn't described as ugly in any way. Ominis Gaunt also looks completely normal in Hogwarts Legacy (though I'm not sure how canon I consider the game). This makes me think the inbreeding of the Gaunts is relatively recent. The fact that both Morfin and Merope are described with eyes looking in different directions but Marvolo doesn't again, suggests that Marvolo might have married a bit too close, even for pure-bloods.

I also checked the description of Salazar Slytherin:

It was ancient and monkeyish, with a long, thin beard that fell almost to the bottom of the wizard’s sweeping stone robes, where two enormous gray feet stood on the smooth Chamber floor.

(CoS, 284)

Which is quite similar to Marvolo's description. So, in the case of Marvolo's ugliness, it's likely just the genes he got that were intensified by some level of inbreeding, but not anything worse than Crabbe and Goyle; as in marriage between cousins too often in the last 4 generations, but not something closer or something that has always been the case (probably not considering they aren't all infertile squibs). It's why he is somewhat more reasonable, stable, and magically capable than his kids.

Basically, I think Marvolo had his kids with another Gaunt that was too close to him genetically, be it a sister or first cousin who happened to share both sets of grandparents and great-grandparents with Marvolo. Something like that would definitely cause a quick decline. I'm leaning towards sister.

If we take Hogwarts Legacy as canon, the Gaunts, in 1890 are still a respectable enough family to be associated with the Blacks (as Ominis mentions his father is closely acquainted with Phineas Nigellus Black). But by 1926, the Gaunts are living in a hovel, dressed in dirty rags and the Blacks would likely be offended by the notion of knowing them. Marvolo acts like he remembers how important they once were and raves about it, but Merope and Morfin don't seem to know a life other than the one they are living.

So, my headcanon is that they were inbred more than the Blacks by the time Marvolo was born. They married cousins every generation in the past 4 generations, unlike the Blacks who made sure to marry other pure-blood families as I mentioned above. The Gaunts, like the Blacks, probably married other pure-blood families until the last few generations, like with Rionach Sayre I mentioned. But by Marvolo, their genetic diversity was shit as is. Then Marvolo was the one who married too close even by pure-blood standards. I think he "married" (quotation marks because I don't think it's legal in the Wizarding World) his sister and had his two very inbred kids with her. I think this, for pure-blood society was too much and caused the Gaunts to be pushed into the fringes the way we see them. I mean, Marvolo raves as if he can remember the times his family mattered:

“Summons! Summons? Who do you think you are, summoning my son anywhere?” “I’m Head of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad,” said Ogden. “And you think we’re scum, do you?” screamed Gaunt, advancing on Ogden now, with a dirty yellow-nailed finger pointing at his chest. “Scum who’ll come running when the Ministry tells ’em to? Do you know who you’re talking to, you filthy little Mudblood, do you? [...] “So!” said Gaunt triumphantly, as though he had just proved a complicated point beyond all possible dispute. “Don’t you go talking to us as if we’re dirt on your shoes! Generations of purebloods, wizards all — more than you can say, I don’t doubt!”

(HBP, 207-208)

He expects to be treated with the respect he likely wouldn't have received if the Gaunts were already in their hovel when Marvolo was growing up.

Hope this answers your question! 😊

[capriddle]

I have this headcanon where Voldemort was convinced he got his beauty from his mother's family. Then he sees Morfin.

[therealvinelle]

In book 6 the memories involving the Gaunts involve dialogue in Parseltongue. Given that Dumbledore understands what's been said do you think he's secretly a Parselmouth too or did he just study it / use some magical translator?

Given how fond Dumbledore is of jumping to conclusions, I don't think the man needs to understand a damn word to decide he knows exactly what just occurred. Besides, the Gaunts, bless them, weren't subtle. Morfin revealed something Merope desperately didn't want him to, something to do with the handsome Muggle he'd attacked, and whatever he said provoked Marvolo into attacking her in front of a Ministry worker. Shortly after Merope seizes the opportunity to elope with said Muggle.

It's one of those scenes in a foreign language movie you can more or less follow even if it isn't subtitled.

That being said, it's perfectly possible Dumbledore is a Parselmouth. The Gaunts became an incestuous mess, yes, but Tom Riddle is proof that only one parent carrying the gene is required. All it takes is one Gaunt having a child outside the family (and remember they weren't always what we meet in the shack, for all we know they had a proper house they were evicted from a year before Bob Ogden came to visit. We know less than nothing about these people) and you have someone carrying the gene. So, sure, Dumbledore could have been a Parselmouth, but that's not to say I believe that he is or that he would need to be to understand what Morfin said to Marvolo.

[teddyniffler]

The Harry Potter TV show will have more content on The House of Gaunt... or at least, I hope so.

The creators of the TV show have announced Hogwarts legacy will tie into the HP TV show and vice versa, for example, Philosopher's Stone, when Harry is asking Ron about his family, if they were all wizards, Ron can mention his great- great Aunt was deputy headmistress once under Professor Black, it can be little things like this, however the one idea that has my interest is Chamber of Secrets.

Remember in Hogwarts Legacy there was said to be a Gaunt quest that was removed, a player found the files in the back code, where players could go to the legendery House of Gaunt. With the Director's cut coming out in the near future, it's likely that quest may be back in the game. The makers of Hogwarts legacy know players love Sebastian and Ominis, the tops with both of their faces, both boys being in the Quidditch game, general love for them both in the fandom.

On Harry Potter (Past Wizarding World / Pottermore) there is fragments of the Gaunt history, and while you have to go searching for it in many places, you can build up a picture of the family, and there's a bit on Corvinus Gaunt as a student at Hogwarts in the 1700s, hiding the chamber within the plumbing. We know a child of a Gaunt, Isolt Sayre founded the American school. We know from Hogwarts Legacy that Ominis' father still had influence and power in the wizarding world, able to have his say with the Headmaster. They are well known for being dark wizards, with a ton of knowledge and ancient rituals they apparently perform on their kids, the stuff Noctua wanted her brother to stop. These are not the same Gaunts of Half Blood Prince, these are the Gaunts who still had power and were dangerous wizards.

So the TV show is linking Hogwarts legacy to the TV show. They said if they go outside of Canon - Aka adding in Ominis, a young member of the Gaunt family- JKR gets to know and they confirm if she is happy with it. She knows about Ominis and the Gaunt storylines from the game.

She herself created fragmented insights to the Gaunts. Who is this young wizard who causally hid the chamber of secrets enterence without a second thought of all the children just like him who he is helping to kill? I would love to learn more about Corvinus. Was he forced into hiding it? Did he do it willingly? Is he more like a Draco or Regulus character who believes in what their parents tell them to believe. Did he hide it out of fear of what his family would do to him, should he allow the chamber to be found? So many questions about him.

They've been guarding the chamber for centuries. What does that do to more gentle Gaunts like Ominis or Isolt or her mother, Rionach Gaunt, who are good, decent people.

The Gaunts are briefly mentioned in the book, but their history is so fascinating, but the majority of it is outside the original books. You can find loads more on the Harry Potter site. You can find it in Hogwarts Legacy, but the books only cover Marvolo, Morfin and Merope, and Voldermort ends two of them (somewhat remotely)

The TV show can change that. In Chamber of Secrets, show Harry stumbling upon Corvinus Gaunt's name or picture in an old book or trophy. Have Harry walking through the chamber and, unseen by Harry himself, have the name 'Gaunt' scratched into the wall, placed there long ago by yet another Gaunt. Show Professor Black standing with a man who is Mr. Gaunt (Marvolo and Ominis' father) and have the trio question who he is—who is this Gaunt fellow and why was he so important back then? Then keep the little clues coming until Half-Blood Prince when Harry hears the name Gaunt. Then have it hit him that these people are the ones who guarded the chamber, who were Slytherin's ancestors. Then have him slowly realize he has been obsessing over Voldemort's family for years and have him realise it's not him, but the Horcrux inside of him that's doing it. The amount of foreshadowing here can be huge.

Harry is related to them, somewhat distantly, but with the Gaunts paticularly way of breeding, Harry's bloodline is the closest to family they have. They are all Peverell decendents, fated to carry the secret of the Deathly Hallows down their lines. Voldermort and Harry are more or less cousins and when people learn that for the first time, they are shocked, but maybe they can explore that in the show, the books hide it well, leaving little clues, but its often missed by more casual readers.

Have Dumbledore in season 6 mention one of the Gaunts, a young boy who ran away from the House of Gaunt at a young age, was never found by Voldemort and escaped the certain death that would have surely came to him from him also being an heir of Slytherin, as Voldemort wanted to ensure he was the only one—that would really make Ominis' fans happy. Have Dumbledore hope he had a happy life, had children, that they are out there somewhere still to this day, other Gaunts. Maybe even say he found one and asked for permission to destory their ring. Leave Harry a note in HP 7 that the Gaunts said destroy it in the end, to free them of their last link to a darker past.

I really hope they do something like this, even in Goblet of Fire, show Voldermort in the Riddle house and have him mention it used to belong to his own family, before they lost everything (That would make me so happy as its a personal headcanon of mine that the Riddle House is really the House of Gaunt)

I know some people are now anxious after seeing the news, but I think this is a really, really good thing. This didn't even mention the Sallows, but imagine seeing in Season 5 at St Mungo's, a picture of Anne Sallow, a young witch who was one of the first breakout cases for curse cures, or a Sebastian Sallow on a list of past Hogwarts teachers. I know non-Hogwarts Legacy players may not be impressed by the game being tied into the TV show, but I feel strongly that the TV show will bring us much more content and closure.

[mellabreeanna]

Chills

[giselsann-opencommissions]

ominis at gaunt mansion🐍

[phinik]

Ominis

[radical-ghostface]

No bc he has no business being this pretty

[manbunzscareme]

I would say that I’m not good at colouring. BUT LOOK AT HOW CUTE THEY ARE. 50s/60s au

Here’s the reference

[crescentlxna]

There’s this belief that if Merope had survived, and would have raised her son, that Tom would be different. I beg to differ, and plead that he’d be even worse.

If Merope was there by his side, you best believe that she would enable an unhealthy bond with her son, and Tom would quite literally grow into a mothers boy. This term is often used as an insult to men, yet I believe that the mother is to blame.

When raised to be dependent on your mother, and when she attempts to sabotage your every relationship, maybe even corners you, one cannot easily escape your mothers grip.

That’s exactly what would happen between this mother and son duo. Merope would guilt trip him into staying by her side at all times (maybe even without realizing it), making Tom not only feel somewhat guilty, yet also frustrated at Merope for good reason.

And no, Tom wouldn’t be a better person, since Merope herself wasn’t exactly nice either.

She was raised in an abusive, sheltered household with strong beliefs. Her father and brother mistreated the young woman greatly, any sense of affection nor love was ever given to her. Merope was unstable, and desperate to find any sort of positive relationship, hence those circumstances must have led her to do what she did to Tom Riddle senior.

I don’t blame her at all for her past, but she isn’t the defenseless woman that she gets portrayed as. It’s a tragedy what happened to Merope, yet she’d only pass along that misery to her only son.

Their relationship is definitely an interesting one to analyze and play out, however let’s not pretend that it would be healthy for either of them, nor a good one.

What they do share in common, is the search for a sense of belonging and love in their younger years.

[weasleys-wizard-writes]

Ominis Gaunt really is an untapped angst fic goldmine...

We all know the “Ominis had to be dead by his 50s” fact, courtesy of Gaunt family lore (which in and of itself is an angst riddled consideration), but no one talks about how sad even the alternative to that is.

“Ominis could have changed his last name, thus removing him from the family prior to their ‘extinction’” is just about the only argument that keeps Ominis’ potential early demise from being an absolute certainty, but has anyone stopped to consider how sad even THAT is?

Imagine you grow up in an absurdly heinous family, escape after years of torture, abuse, and attempted brainwashing, and then all you can do is “watch” from a distance as your entire family falls apart.

And sure, we all know that Ominis wasn’t a fan of his family members, but when we talk about them we aren’t thinking about the additional two who would have done nothing wrong by the time he likely would have left the family - Morfin and Merope.

Because assuming that Marvolo was Ominis’ brother, that would have made Ominis an uncle to them around 25/26 and 32/33 years old.

And sure, you could absolutely argue that he may have never even learned his niece and nephew existed in a world where he left his family entirely at whatever age, but I struggle to believe he wouldn’t have at least learned of them eventually (if not at their birth) and felt the need to check in from afar from time to time.

I mean, think about it, Ominis mentioned having looked up to his aunt Noctua to the extent that she was his favorite, and he likely had almost no one else who shared (and maybe even helped him to develop) his personal views on blood purity. Knowing that, do we really think he’d be able to separate himself entirely from the youngest members of the Gaunt family when, in his own experience, it was a family member in the very same position as he who made him feel understood for the first time in his life?

All that I’m saying is, if Ominis didn’t die, he inevitably had to learn of his family’s suffering from afar, and considering how purely innocent even individuals like Morfin and Merope were at birth, I can’t imagine it was easy to learn of what was becoming/ultimately became of them while he could do nothing but wish things to be different.

And yes, I will be expanding upon this concept EXTENSIVELY in the Ominis x Reader series I have planned, so this is FAR from the end of Gaunt family lore angst.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk 😌.