The day remained steeped in gloom, the sky a heavy, soiled cloth stretched taut above. Though rain held off, the air clung, thick and suffocating. Little Hangleton nestled in the valley, squeezed between steep, watchful hills. The Hanged Man pub, the Little Hangleton graveyard... the village was small, isolated, and worn. Upon the hillside loomed the decaying Riddle Manor, once the grandest house for miles. Outside the village sat a dilapidated hovel, overgrown with moss, its roof half-collapsed, choked by nettles. The ancestral home of the Gaunts; a family of pure-blood wizards.
...
Inside the decrepit Gaunt family shack.
"Still as wretched as ever," Tom murmured, his mood surprisingly buoyant. He recalled visiting the Gaunt shack during his Hogwarts years when it had been marginally less ruined than this.
Tom's purpose in coming here was simple: recover the last of the Deathly Hallows, the Resurrection Stone. A prophecy had led him here.
How predictable, he thought with derision. That simpleton of a Horcrux-fragment is so transparent. Still, he understood the reasoning. The Horcrux soul shard wanted to deceive him and placing the Stone in a place both he and Albus Dumbledore already knew was easy.
Besides them, nearly everyone else who knew about this place held significant power. In the Horcrux-fragment's eyes, tricking any of them would have been a worthwhile victory. As for why it had bothered to use the Resurrection Stone as bait? Perhaps it was simply all that fragment had left to offer.
The thought evoked a sardonic smile from Tom.
...
Picking his way through a pile of splintered wood, Tom located the ring in a dusty corner. The ancient ring, once belonging to old Gaunt, held a black, rhomboid stone—the Resurrection Stone itself.
Though the ring and the Stone had long since been crafted into a Horcrux, the damage was minimal. The Stone remained nearly intact, only subtly altered.
[Item: Resurrection Stone]
[Quality: Mythical]
[Status: Bound to a Master (Death), Corrupted (Fleeting Soul)]
[Function 1: Resurrection (Pseudo): Connects the boundary between life and death, allowing one to see phantoms of the long-dead.]
[Note: Because the Resurrection Stone is already bound to a master, its effect is reduced by 80% for others!]
[Function 2: Unknown (Cannot be viewed - unbound)]
[Function 3: Unknown (Cannot be viewed - unbound)]
[Evaluation: One of the Deathly Hallows, possessing the ability to resurrect the dead, but only for a true master of death. 'Resurrection' is one of the powers of the Grim Reaper, but the Resurrection Stone, combined with other divine powers, can also achieve this… However, the Resurrection Stone now appears tainted.]
Frankly, after reading this "evaluation," Tom considered the Resurrection Stone almost useless. After all, he already possessed the Stone's primary ability... He could only hope the other two functions proved more useful.
Tom disregarded the "taint" mentioned in the evaluation, recognizing it as the residual soul of the Horcrux-fragment and the curse it had left behind.
The remnant soul was useful, but as for the curse... well, it meant the Horcrux-fragment's last treasure, the "Resurrection Stone," would soon be gone.
Tom reached out and picked up the ring. The moment his fingers closed around it, a subtle darkness crept up his arm.
The curse left by the Horcrux-fragment. Not instantly fatal, but potentially dangerous.
The Horcrux-fragment had initially intended a fatal curse. The only way to conceal one required Tom himself to trigger it with the Stone.
But even if the Horcrux-fragment misunderstood others, surely he understood his other self? He didn't believe Tom would bother resurrecting anyone else.
So, the fragment had changed tactics. Anything to harm Tom was acceptable, and if this curse landed, it would perfectly fulfill the Horcrux-fragment's desire for revenge.
However, as the inky blackness snaked onto Tom's arm, a faint silver glint flashed from within his robes, and then... nothing.
The curse had vanished. Unless it was a curse from a true deity, nothing could penetrate the Invisibility Cloak and harm Tom.
"Still so stubborn."
Tom pocketed the ring. "I'll be keeping this. Come find me again when you find something else of value."
...
Meanwhile, on a remote island off the coast of England, in Lanlock's and the Horcrux-fragment's dwelling:
"Hehehehehe... I did it! I did it!! I did it!!!"
The Horcrux-fragment screamed, leaping up and down, waving its arms and legs erratically, like a madman.
Watching the Horcrux-fragment flail its thin, pale limbs, twisting and swaying, Lanlock stared in disbelief, mouth agape.
Perhaps this partner is finally losing his mind completely, he thought. Best not to provoke him.
Lanlock shook his head minutely and retreated further into the shadows.
After a wild dance, the initial euphoria subsided, and the Horcrux-fragment burst into tears once more. "Finally! Finally! Waaaaah..."
"You damned Merlin! You're not fair!"
The Horcrux-fragment roared at the sky. "Do you know how long I've waited for this day?! Now! I've finally waited for it!!!"
That curse!
As long as he's been hit by the curse, Tom will suffer from a remote torture!
He couldn't kill him!
But at least this would channel his anger!
Through the enchantments he had left on the ring, the Horcrux-fragment knew this time he'd caught Tom!
That damned, tormenting "me"!
Did saying this count as insulting himself? Wasn't that a bit inappropriate?
Whatever!
He would exact his revenge now!
The impatient Horcrux-fragment began trying to torment Tom before he even pulled back his hand.
Three minutes later...
"Wait? My curse didn't work at all?"
The Horcrux-fragment stared blankly. A sudden, chilling premonition washed over him. "Are you kidding me?! That thing is impossible to detect beforehand! Even if I'd been hit by it, there's no way I could escape!"
He tried a few more times, refusing to believe it.
Then he was forced to believe it. That damned thing was truly cursed.
---
Straight up. The goal's far. Won't pretend otherwise. But every powerstone moves the needle. On everything it adds up. Drop them. Act accordingly.