Harry Potter: Ranking Every Major Magical Family From Worst To Best

The Gaunts can be an easy family to forget given they don’t even exist in the movie adaptations. And in the books, they are featured almost exclusively in a chapter entitled ‘The House of Gaunt’ during The Half-Blood Prince.

Yet they still play a pretty significant role. Marvolo and Morfin are both-mean spirited, violent, and immensely proud of the fact they’re descended from Salazar Slytherin. Indeed, they own two items which eventually become Horcruxes – Slytherin’s Locket and the Resurrection Stone.

Marvolo’s daughter – Merope – is also significant. After falling in love with the handsome Muggle who lived nearby, she eventually gave birth to the boy who would one day become Lord Voldemort.

The Gaunts are the most important family in regard to Voldemort’s backstory and his ties with Slytherin’s descendants. And despite how villainous Marvolo and Morfin are, Merope’s timid persona gives the family some much-needed nuance.