Marvolo Gaunt's Ring, which carried the curse Placing the CurseĪfter he had acquired his maternal grandfather's prized heirloom ring from his deranged uncle, Tom Riddle wore it openly during his time at Hogwarts after killing his father and grandparents. Harry Potter was able to hold the Stone without any sign of the curse affecting him thereafter. When Dumbledore used the basilisk venom-infused Sword of Gryffindor to attack the cursed ring, it destroyed the Horcrux and disabled the curse on it. It is unknown if Dumbledore would have escaped the curse if he had simply removed his hand from his body.Īlthough removing the curse from an infected individual was seemingly impossible, it could be removed from the host object if said artefact was damaged to a certain degree. Regardless of the methods of delaying the spread, there was no known way of removing or completely stopping this curse, though Snape claimed that he may have been able to do more to stop the curse had Dumbledore come to him more quickly. It was also the type of curse that would strengthen over time. In the case of Dumbledore, this curse caused serious injury to his hand, causing it to look as if it had died, and would prove fatal in roughly one year. This curse would rapidly cause the death of anyone who came into contact with it, although in certain cases the spread of the curse could be slowed down by magical means. The ring is no longer a Horcrux.' - Albus Dumbledore explaining the effects of the curse However, a withered hand does not seem an unreasonable exchange for a seventh of Voldemort's soul.

Had it not been - forgive me the lack of seemly modesty - for my own prodigious skill, and for Professor Snape's timely action when I returned to Hogwarts, desperately injured, I might not have lived to tell the tale.

And a terrible curse there was upon it too.

Harry potter professor snape