Who is Hogwarts Legacy’s Ominis Gaunt: Voldemort ancestor explained

Jessica Filby
Ominis Gaunt in Hogwarts Legacy

Ominis Gaunt is a recognizable figure in Hogwarts Legacy and happens to be the ancestor of the one and only Tom Riddle, better known in the Harry Potter universe as Lord Voldemort. Here’s everything you need to know about the Slytherin student and his link to dark wizards.

Hogwarts Legacy’s busy halls are filled with eager students, ready to make a name for themselves, whether that’s for good or evil. One such student is Ominis Gaunt, of which many Harry Potter fans will already know his evil descendant.

However, his relation to Lord Voldemort isn’t as cut and dry as many expect, leading fans and players to wonder who Ominis Gaunt actually is. While you get a good idea of his character, especially if you’re sorted into Slytherin, not much is provided as to what his relation to the Dark Lord really is.

Ominis Gaunt

Who is Ominis Gaunt in Hogwarts Legacy?

Ominis Gaunt is one of the many characters you meet in Hogwarts Legacy, but he’s so much more than just another student. In fact, once sorted into Slytherin, many will learn about this boy’s traumatic home life, background, and some skilled Harry Potter fans will quickly decipher the importance of this Slytherin student.

Ominis Gaunt, from the pure-blood Gaunt house, is a member of a family heavily involved in dark magic, with his immediately family even casting Crucio on innocent muggles ‘for sport’. Ominis heavily objected to this, often succumbing to the same fate as the unfortunate muggles due to his refusal to partake.

On top of his family, Ominis Gaunt was born blind and is a direct descendent of Salazar Slytherin, making him the ancestor of another famous pure-blood supremacist of which no one dares utter the name of.

Omnis Gaunt descendent

With Ominis Gaunt being directly related to Salazar Slytherin, as well as his immediately recognizable surname, many Harry Potter fans have already made the jump to realize that this must mean Ominis is directly related to Voldemort, otherwise known as Tom Riddle.

In fact, we find out during the Harry Potter franchise that Tom Riddle’s mother was Merope Gaunt, though he was given his father’s name.

So, the main question comes down to how Ominis is related to Voldemort, and while we don’t have a definitive answer, we can speculate using prior Harry Potter timeline.

Voldemort was born in 1926, and Merope was born in 1907. Then, we only know the predicted birth date of Marvolo, Merope’s father, as being pre-1890. Finally, Ominis was born between 1874 and 1875. With that in mind, for Marvolo to naturally have a child, assuming he was at least 20, we can predict he was likely born around the same time as Ominis, perhaps making him either a brother or cousin of the Slytherin student.

So, while we don’t know the direct family tree, we do know that the Ominis Gaunt we see in Hogwarts Legacy is the ancestor of the infamous Voldemort — and perhaps a very close, direct descendant.

While loading up your game and trying to find Ominis, take a look at some of our handy Hogwarts Legacy guides:

Which classic Harry Potter characters are in Hogwarts Legacy? | What is the Vivarium in Hogwarts Legacy? | Hogwarts Legacy Trophy list | Is Hogwarts Legacy coming to Xbox Game Pass? | How to get Thestral mount in Hogwarts Legacy | Hogwarts Legacy voice actors for all characters | All confirmed mounts in Hogwarts Legacy | PC requirements & specs for Hogwarts Legacy

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About The Author

Based in Cumbria, England, Jessica is a Senior Games Writer who joined Dexerto after stints at Game Rant and The Gamer. You can find her covering everything from Minecraft, CoD, Disney Dreamlight Valley, Pokemon Go and more. You can contact Jessica at jessica.filby@dexerto.com