In Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince, we learned that, to make himself immortal, Lord Voldemort ripped his soul into seven pieces, and created six horcruxes (the seventh piece of his soul still residing in his body). In the course of the book, we find out the specific whereabouts of some of the horcruxes and learn some information about the others.
To recap, this is what we know about the locations of the horcruxes so far:
We know that Tom Riddle liked to collect “trophies”, so the final Horcrux might be something that belonged to either Rowena Ravenclaw or Godric Gryffindor. But that makes the identity of the sixth horcrux still very unknown.
There is one other possibility for the location of the sixth horcrux that, I must admit, I have been reluctant to consider until very recently. But if you look at the clues, I now think it’s a very strong possibility.
It’s possible that Harry is the sixth horcrux, and it is physically located in his body at the location of his famous scar.
We learn in the very first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, that Harry can speak to snakes. We learn more about this in the next book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Harry is a Parseltongue, and this plays a big part in his battle in the book against Tom Riddle and the basilisk, a really big snake.
At the end of the book, Harry and Dumbledore are talking about the recent battle, and Harry’s fear that he might be the heir of Slytherin. Dumbledore tells Harry:
“You can speak Parseltongue, Harry,” said Dumbledore calmly, “because Lord Voldemort — who is the last remaining ancestor of Salazar Slytherin — can speak Parseltongue. Unless I’m much mistaken, he transferred some of his own powers to you the night he gave you that scar. Not something he intended to do, I’m sure …” “Voldemort put a bit of himself in me?” Harry said, thunderstruck. “It certainly seems so.”
CoS pg. 332/245
We know J.K. uses very specific words on purpose. Notice Harry says, “Voldemort put a bit of himself in me” and Dumbledore says “It certainly seems so.”
In the context of the second book, as readers we assumed they meant this in a general, unspecified way. But now that we’ve learned what horcruxes are, literally a bit of a person’s immortal soul that is placed in a container for access later, “Voldemort put a bit of himself in me” certainly sounds just like what a horcrux is, doesn’t it?
And although we would tend to assume horcruxes are inanimate objects like rings, lockets and cups, Dumbledore himself suggests in Half-Blood Prince that the snake Nagini is very possibly a horcrux. So, its possible for a horcrux to be in a person, like Harry.
Working back from this assumption, let’s look at the other clues.
In the first book, Hagrid tells Harry:
“Never wondered how you got that mark on yer forehead? That was no ordinary cut. Thats what yeh get when a powerful evil curse touches yeh.”
SS/PS pg. 55/45
Once again, notice the words. “A powerful evil curse”. That pretty much describes horcruxes again, doesn’t it? In Half-Blood Prince, the horcrux is described as the most evil of any magic, so evil that its very mention is banned in Hogwarts.
From the very first book we were shown that Harry was a parseltongue (although we didn’t know right away what it was called), and we were also shown that there was a connection between Harry and Voldemort via Harry’s scar. In the first book his scar hurts when he looks at Quirrel, we only learn at the end of the book that it was actually hurting because Voldemort was in Quirrel’s head at the time. As the books progress, this connection culminates in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, as we learn that, via the scar, both Harry and Voldemort can tell what the other is feeling.
During the course of the book, we see steps being taken to minimize the effects of this connection (Harry taking Occlumency lessons, Dumbledore avoiding his gaze). But we’re never given a good, specific explanation for why Harry’s scar could cause this psychic connection between them. Physically having a piece of Voldemort’s soul in him would certainly explain this very nicely, wouldn’t it?
There is so much that is not known about the events at Godrics Hollow on the night of Halloween, 1981. All we know is that, because of Lily’s sacrifice, Voldemort’s Avada Kedavra curse intended for Harry rebounded back onto Voldemort himself, leaving him almost dead. We know that, as part of the process of making a horcrux, it is necessary to commit a murder. Voldemort entered James and Lily’s house intending to murder them that night. What if he was already planning on making a horcrux that night, but because of the unexpected rebounding of his Avada Kedavra curse onto himself, he inadvertently and accidentally ended up putting a bit of his soul into Harry?
The ultimate question is, why is Harry “The Boy Who Lived”? We surmise it was Lily’s love that caused Voldemort’s Avada Kedavra to rebound onto himself, but what actually allowed Harry to live through it with only a scar to show for it, when Voldemort was almost killed by it?
We know that a horcrux will prevent the horcrux’s maker from dieing. Is it possible that the bit of Voldemort’s soul in Harry’s head is what actually allowed him to survive the attack that no wizard had ever survived before?
And here’s the part I don’t like thinking about. The prophecy says “neither can live while the other survives”. It would seem that Harry is safe, because Voldemort would never kill Harry, if Harry is his last remaining horcrux. But, we know Harry must destroy all the horcruxes before he can kill Voldemort. How can he destroy all the horcruxes when he’s one of them himself? It certainly looks like Harry must die, but if he’s the only one the prophecy says can kill Voldemort, how can he do that if he, himself, has to die first?
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Well nice assumption of course, and I believe it actually. But come to facts now and forget theories… JO said “Harry is not a horcrux” So it is just a theory, isn’t it?
Well… yes, it is just a theory, but it is a theory backed up with some interesting clues from the books. Besides, that’s what we do here at Beyond Hogwarts. We discuss and debate theories!
As far as what J.K. has stated in interviews, we need to listen to her, but it really doesn’t affect our debates. The clues exist, you can read them for yourself.
Doesn’t Voldemort try, again, to kill Harry in GOF? I don’t have the book handy, but he does try in the film. Why would he destroy a horcrux?
Good point. Maybe because it was accidental, Voldemort doesn’t know Harry is one of his horcruxes until the psychic connection develops during Order of the Phoenix.
To be honest in the last couple, ive read this in another forum and i started to think about it, i never had your cluess but it felt like it… Now that i have ur clues some questions came to my head, 1: Why would voldy try or have the spell on his mind that cause harry to be one…
2: Lets say he did try it and made him a horcrux why will he try to kill him that night after he made him… so that brings me to think that someone else was there that night, with him (Voldemort)
3: Lets say he had the spell on his mind that for some reason (which its not clear and i think you have to peform the spell in order to make something a horcrux) and harry became one and as you go along in the books you start to find this clues that you have and many other that now i dont have but i will share with all of you…
In GOF Voldemort he trys to kill him on the grave yard but for obvious reasons he doesnt and escapes which in Order of the phoenix we know that he feels that connection..
So he then trys to prove it by taking harry and him as one and faces Dumbledore which at some point came this to my mind, what if when Dumbledore faces to kill them and sees that Voldy wants it bad to kill him and harry, he realises that something is up…
Then we get to HP, when we never see or hear why Dumbledore started with that idea that Voldy made horcrux, and i guess that comes in play at the end of the order… Now why do you guys think that after the order, Now we see that Voldy wants Dumbledore dead after all this years and specially when he was stronger and had more man power he doesnt… I think he saw that Dumbledore figured it out and wants to take him before he starts to look for them and not only that he fears him, and not only that he knows that no matter how much time its been Dumbledore still knows him.
At the end we get “one cannot live while the other survives”
lets say that this is true and harry destroys all of them and he himself is one, How to do so and lets say your right its his scar, there has to be a spell to remove it so he can save himself and if not the only way is to destroy it then harry must kill Voldermort and then he must die…
But its all a theory untill JK says and proves us all wrong… Lets hope that when the Deathly Hallows comes we all can get every question answered…
This was a very interesting and thought provoking article. Momentarily, it convinced me that Harry could be a Horcrux. Then I read the last paragraph of the article which, in my opinion, countered the entire arguement that had been previously stated. I do not see how Harry could be a Horcrux. If Harry must destroy the remaining of the seven parts of Voldemort’s soul he would have to destroy Voldmort’s body and himself simultaneously wouldn’t he? If he destroyed himself first, then Voldemort would still live and the prophecy would be fulfilled. If he destroyed Voldemort first, then Voldemort would still live since Harry is a horcrux. It doesn’t seem possible to me, at least for now…
It is always a very interesting topic. Dumbledore hints that Voldmort wished to make a Horcrux with the Potter murders. It is theoretically possible, as suggested above, that the process involved that murder and that when the spell went astray Harry could have thus become a horcrux. And, in OOP when Voldemort was hiding inside Harry perhaps he even saw the fragment and hence gives orders that Potter is not to be killed in HBP. If, however, JKR says Harry is NOT one, then that must settle it.
Now, if there is to be something from each founder (the preferred collection, per Dumbledore) how about a Ravenclaw Tiara? Please recall that we have at least 2 ‘red herring’ or clue Tiaras in HBP. One is on top of the statue Harry uses to mark the HBP book’s location and thus easily ‘discovered’ when back at Hogwarts to retrieve the book. The other is ‘Goblin made’ and belongs to an old wizarding family (Molly’s relatives) and will be conviently at the wedding.
Lastly, Harry’s being a Horcrux could provide a spectacular ‘surprise ending’ (one of several including where he must ‘play the hero’ and die to kill Voldemort whilst inside him). In the ‘surprise ending’ we would be led to believe that the horcruxes were destroyed… Harry faces down Voldemort and kills him. All seems over.. then harry’s scar hurts horribly and Voldemort returns in some other form from the scar… there is then a second confrontation and battle.
“If he destroyed himself first, then Voldemort would still live and the prophecy would be fulfilled. If he destroyed Voldemort first, then Voldemort would still live since Harry is a horcrux.”
This is interesting, because it basically sums up the last part of the prophecy “neither can live while the other survives.” maybe that part of the prophecy is not reffering to the fact that one of them will have to kill the other. Then, maybe there might be another part of the prophecy that is unknown to anyone yet. Just a theory.
for me it seems a little too deep, im going with abc
I want Harry to die, If he has to kill you know who then take his own life, Its a bit shady
god bless neville
What a great site! Dave, your articles always seem to put out enough contradiction to give rise to lots of thought and speculation. This one is seemingly a springboard for opposing ideas, but not really.
Actually, Voldemort went to Godric’s Hollow to murder Harry. Obviously, his parents were going to protect their son, so they were murdered first. But, we know from Dumbledore that Voldemort wanted to make a horcrux from Harry’s death (not his parents’) as Harry’s would be a “significant” death. Why? The Prophecy. Voldemort was determined to get rid of the child who would be his equal and have powers he knew not. However, after reading other sites, I don’t believe he used the AK on Harry. That is unblockable and is just a killing curse. And, we only have the fake Mad-Eye Moody’s word that it happened that way. If Voldemort was going to make a horcrux with Harry’s death, I believe it is quite possible he used a different curse–the one that creates a horcrux. What he forgot at that moment (never having experienced the love of a mother) was that Lily’s sacrifice, made after she bargained with Voldermort-my life for Harry’s, would protect her son. Tom Riddle said as much to Harry in the Chamber of Secrets–something to the effect that he had overlooked the power of Lily’s protection. If nothing can block AK, then it makes sense that he used the curse we still know nothing about-the horcrux-creating curse. It is blockable and Harry’s survival is proof. But, in using that curse and Lily’s blocking it, Harry became the Horcrux rather than the intended object. Why? Lily’s sacrifice caused it to rebound on the caster of the curse-Voldemort. And, when the curse rebounded and he was reduced to “less than the meanest ghost”, he lost all control over the events that were happening.
So, Dave, I too believe that Harry is a horcrux. He probably won’t find out until the very last minute when the idea bites him on the nose. I haven’t got a theory yet about how he will rid the world of “his” horcrux but I believe all we have learned about their protections, the veil, and Dumbledore’s desire to help Harry will somehow converge at the final battle.
i feel as though if harry was to be destroyed by Voldemort then Voldemort wouldnt have given him the protection of “Mad-Eye Moody” Barty Crouch Jr. in the Goblet of Fire. However maybe Harry will be the sixth horcrux and someone else perhaps Neville will have to defeat Voldemort!
How did you know that the ravenclaw artifact is her tiara?
And how could harry kill the dark lords dear snake without suspicion?
WAIT A MINUTE! Can a Dementor kill a Horcrux?! After all ‘a dementor’s kiss’ ‘sucks the soul’ out of a person, leaving a ‘hollow body’ left.
A Horcrux is nothing more or less than a Dementor hors d’ourve!
In the end might it not be possible (and I don’t think the story is going in this direction) to simply have a Dementor examine objects with the idea that if they find anything they can eat it? Couldn’t Harry (who may not know how to destroy a Horcrux.. ie the Ring is not ‘destroyed’ really) Couldn’t Harry arrange to have some of the objects left where dementors would find them?
If a dementor can ‘eat’ a horcrux Harry could have his scar (if indeed it were a Horcrux) ‘munched upon’ by a Dementor?
And, as the ‘kiss’ leaves a body undestroyed but souless it should be possible to have Harry whole at the end missing only the Horcrux fragment at the end of the series. (if indeed, he is a Horcrux, or his Scar is one)
I only wish it were possible to consult proper Wizards literally ‘beyond Hogwarts’ to see if this would work.
WOW! That was a really good theory Dave! It does seem a bit fishy, but makes sense! Jk has the most suprising conclusions, most of which we can’t guess until we actually read the book! I’m not sure if it’s possible but it might!
When the body dies the soul is released, not destroyed.
Normally, the soul would “move on”, but a Horcrux keeps the soul earth bound until it can be placed in another body.
If the Horcrux is destroyed, the fragment of soul is released soul, and no longer of use to the witch or wizard that encased it in a Horcrux.
You need a Horcrux to not die, but it does nothing to help you get, or get in a new body.
I know I’m not do a very good job of explaining it…
when voldemort died the night at godrics hollow, he must have used a first horcrux to come back the first time in the first book…?
Ok, Priori Incantatem theory is good, and it gives me hopes cause, personally, I don’t like the idea of Harry being a horcrux or having him dead at the end of DH.
I have been reading lots of comments and what I can say about Harry being a Horcrux is that Harry could actually BE the last horcrux and that wouldn’t make any trouble with the killing of Voldy. Why is this? Because everybody is assuming that in order to finish Voldy, Harry is the one to do it. Why? Because the prophecy says so? The prophecy doesn’t specifies what Harry has to do in order to finish Voldy. The only thing it says is that �none can live while the other survives� and that he is the one to finish him…but maybe he is the only one BECAUSE he is the horcrux. Since no other living person is a horcrux of Voldemort, Harry IS the only one who, in the end, can destroy him. Then some other can finish the job. So in orden to finish Voldy, Harry must die, sacrifice himself or what ever but some other can kill him, lets say anybody that could be with Harry at the moment of the final battle (could it be Neville?).
Ok, is not as thrilling as the other idea of an ending with Harry killing Voldy and this one coming out of Harry�s scar all over again, but it could be just another idea for those who support the theory of “Harry being a Horcrux”.
first off i like what jan just said a lot. wouldnt he have had to already use one of the horcruxs to come back to life? nagini was present at his reincarnation. but it never comes up. petigrew does give part of himself however and there was supposed to be another person present that night at godrics hollow. also, why would voldemort make a human a horcrux unless he was intending for harry to stay alive. otherwise he would just be carrying around a dead baby with a little piece of his soul in it. thatd would be pretty strange.
even if the fact that he was a horcrux had protected him from the AK wouldnt that spell have been placed after the murder. he couldnt have had the spell protecting him if it hadnt already been placed on him. it seems like that part of the spell would occur after the murder but theres no way to know that i guess. also, the fact that because his mother protected him is the reason he survived the AK doesnt add up. would she really be the first person in the history of magic to ever sacrifice herself for another person? that has bothered me for a long time. surely someone would have done that at some other point in history. i guess the idea that its in his scar is pretty interesting but i just dont see why voldemort would make a human a horcrux. i think there is something in this equation that we are just completely unaware of. one of those things we cant deduct from the other books just because rowling doesnt want us to. i dont know, im just throwing a couple things out there
Kevin, for what it’s worth, yes you are.
Tracy, I agree that Kevin is doing a tremendous job, explaining how Horcruxes work.In fairness, so do many of you, thanks.
Jan and Johnny, made very significant comments “Has Voldemort already used a Horcrux” so he could stay alive? I have been asking this myself. So far we know for SURE that TWO pieces of his soul are destroyed:
1.The Diary (CoS) > destroyed by Harry
2.The Ring (HBP) > destroyed by Dumbledore
3.The Locket (?) > destroyed? by R.A.B.
Is loosing piece after piece of his soul, crucial to Voldemort? We know that he is already accurately described as “inhuman” due to his splitting of the soul. Will he be getting “weaker” after each of his Horcruxes are getting destroyed?
Our notorious R.A.B. writes in his note he left in the fake locket: “I face death in the hope that when you meet your match, you will be mortal once more”.
Am I correct in assuming that LV knows only of one Horcrux not existing anymore,this being the Diary? When Harry asks Dumbledore in HBP if Voldemort knows when a Horcrux is destroyed, this is what AD says: “A very interesting question,Harry, I believe not”.
Could not the effect of “loosing” his Horcruxes be like having the soul sucked out by Dementors – or at least make him less the “All-powerful” Dark Wizard he is? Giving Harry another chance to defeat him?
I must admit that the quote:
“Voldemort put a bit of himself in me?” Harry said, thunderstruck. “It certainly seems so.”
really raises some eyebrows. As you read it, you realize that saying that phrase is basicly like saying:
“So Voldemort put a Horcrux inside me?”
but with a younger tone. And it fits!
Book one is a childrens book and it’s written as such. An 11 year old can really relate to the way Harry thinks and does certain things (although Harry is marginably braver than the common eleven year old). And in the suceeding books, Joanne style of writing seems to age as Harry does. As a 16 year old, Harry thinks and does things alot different than he did when he was 11.
My point of all this rubbish is, did Joanne tell us that he had a Horcrux within him, but with a younger tone? A tone that a twelve year old would understand better?
I had the exact same thought when I read the passage where Dumbledore and Harry talk about the horcruxes some hours ago ( got the last three books over christmas, just finished HBP few hours ago ) when the possibility to make living creatures a horcrux.
Plus, he had just killed James And Lilly Potter,
now the question remains ‘why would he make a horcrux of Harry, while he is set on destroying him?’
To that question I have no answer, though to comment on something mentioned in this little talk that Voldemort might have decided not to kill Harry after the realisations of their mental connection in Order of the Phoenix:
Wrong, he means to do kill Harry and probably would have had Dumbledore not come to save the day?:)
About Harry not being able to kill Voldemort, without first destorying the last Horcrux ( himself ):
Not sure this has already been mentioned, but Dumbledore spends quite some time making it clear to Harry, that prophecies are ‘air’ ( as a sort of speaking ), that the only reason the first part of it came true is because Voldemort believed it to be true and set out to make it true.
Hence, we shouldn’t put much belief in ‘one can not live while the other lives’ ( or summit ).
It is also hinted throughout the books that Divination is bollocks, backed up by the Centaurs to boot.
This just hit me,
I read in rumours about the next book, which JKR confirmed that the reason of Harry having his mother’s GREEN eyes would be a part of the plot.
Charlie said:
“As to which curse… it is not only Moody who puts the AK forward. The films clearly use bright green light… Harry Remembers the green light from through his eyelids (this I wonder at as most light through eyelids is red) however… I concede that other curses do use green light spectrum effects but the classic AK is with green light..”
And this made me think, we’ve been discussing the possibility that Voldemort didn’t use AK on little Harry, but maybe this is something of a hint that he did?
Not sure, just a thought I had; green eyes, green spell, everlasting imprint made by Voldemort:)
Well, at first I thought this could be imposible, because of the fact that voldi wanted to kill harry very often, so this could just be posible if this really happend unintentionally…
now I had the idea, that Harry doesnt have to commit suicide, because, Hocrux have the function to save their “owner”…
so, when Voldi was killed from the bounced of AK curse, then HIS part of soul, which was inside was destroyed, so he was soulless for a short moment, but as he HAD KEPT his other parts of his soul in the hocrux, I think then one hocrux led the part free to let it come back to Voldi, and this let us draw 2 conclusions:
1. This means that one hocrux was “destroyed” or lets more say it was dissolved by voldemort hisself, so that there are just 3 Hocrux left which have to destroyed
1.) the diary – destroyed (by harry)
2.) the Ring – destroyed (by) Dumbi
3.) the Locket – probably destroyed (by regulus)
4.) the goblet – not destroyed or rather gone back to Voldi
5.) tha snake- not destroyed or rather gone back to Voldi
6.) Harry- not destroyed
7.) Voldemort hisself-destroyed by the AK
the left thre hocruxes are now harry, the goblet or the snake, and the one which went back to Voldi and is now in Voldi body
2. the other fact is, that Harry wouldn’t have to commit suicide, if Hocruxes went back to her owner, when the part in the owner got destroyed..
then Harry would have to destroy the Hocrux, which whether is in him nor in Voldi, then he had to kill Voldi (and voldis part of the soul)but Voldi wouldn’t die as Harry part of voldis souls would leave harry to go back to his owner (voldi) and then Harry would just have to kill Voldi again..
I have subscribed to the Harry is a Horcrux theory for a while. But I would like to add a small revision to what you have proposed. It is somewhat logical that if Voldemort is undead or half dead due to a lack of any remaining part of his soul within his body after he tries to kill Harry with AK. It also seems logical that he would need to be reunited with part of his soul to become reanimated.
With that in mind, I am remind of a few points, in Sorcerer Stone, Quirrel tries to kill Harry but is thwarted. I believe that is the point where Voldemort came to understand what had exactly happened in Godric’s Hollow. The murder of Lilly was the murder that Voldemort had used to create the Horcrux. However unknown to Voldemort, Lilly had planned on Voldemort killing her and may have cast a spell causing the Horcrux to be pushed to Harry instead of it’s intended target. This could have made Harry incapable of being killed by Voldemort which cause the spell to rebound onto himself.
With respect to the reanimation, at the graveyard, there are some very important features. First availability of a Horcrux to take back a portion of his soul. In the spell that brings Voldemort back to life, there are 3 parts, flesh of the servant, bone of the father, and blood of the enemy. It seems unreasonable that Voldemort would have knowing made Wormtail or any part of him a Horcrux knowing his trustworthiness. Likewise, Voldemort’s general disdain for his father makes it seem unlikely he’d place something so important there. That leave Harry’s blood as the source of the Horcrux. What makes it even more clear that this is the true source of the Horcrux is what Voldemort say’s immediately after reanimation, “I can kill you now Harry Potter”. This implies that he could not kill him before but something major has changed. (He tried to kill Harry 3 times before – once in SS, once in COS when he was about to be reanimated by the Diary and of course once in Godric’s Hollow.) All previous attempts had failed. Now things were different, He could kill Harry and if not for some luck he would have. So why could he kill Harry now but not before? Because killing Harry would have killed one of only a few remaining opportunities to become reanimated. But with the Horcrux returned to it’s owner, killing Harry would serve it’s original purpose of stopping all from challenging him.
Lastly, in OOTP the prophecy stated that “neither can live while the other survives”. That is true while the Horcrux resides inside Harry but changes with the reanimation. Obliviously something has changed as of the end of GOF, because both do in fact live at the same time. Lastly, we need to verify when Jo stated that Harry wasn’t a Horcrux. The statement was most likely made after HBP when we are introduce to the concept of Horcruxs. At that time Harry was no longer a Horcrux. As everyone knows, when it comes to quotes by Jo you have to be very careful in how you read them.
Franzi
Originally, I was thinking along the same lines. One horcrux was spent to regenerate Voldemort. But Dumbledore himself said there are still:
the locket
the cup
Something of Grifindor’s or Ravenclaw’s
The snake
This leads me to believe that one horcrux wasn’t “used up” for Voldemort’s rebirthing.
Also a thought about Harry being a horcrux. Dumbledore does nothing to suggest that Harry is a horcrux. [Unless Harry is an heir of Ravenclaw or Grifindor] And if Harry was a horcrux then Dumbledore would have known this and could have extracted the soul from Harry. Afterall do you need to destroy the vessel to destroy the horcruxed soul?
And if you had to destroy the vessel as well, which would mean Harry would have to die to defeat Voldemort once and for all, then again Dumbledore would know this. So then I wonder if Dumbledore would have handled that situation the way he did in H.B.P. From this point of view he is less than honest with Harry, not preparing him and perhaps misleading him.
For this reason I don’t think Harry is a horcrux. The end of C.o.S “He put a bit of himself in you” does bother me though. So I’ve been thinking what Kevin says about horcruxes. That they are nothing more than vessels for the soul. Then that wouldn’t give Harry the abilities that he has.
Perhaps the Harry / Voldemort connection and transfer of powers has less to do with horcrux making and more to do transfer of power due to a failed killing curse. Like dueling with brother wands.
Michael Allen
I enjoyed reading your post. Two things that I thought about though as I read it.
First that Voldemort says he can kill harry now, not because of soul swapping but because the protection Harry’s mother gave him now resides in Voldemort’s veins as well.
Second if the Harry / Voldemort connection was due to Harry being a horcrux and the horcrux was neutralized at Voldemort’s rebirthing, then wouldn’t the connection be broken? Instead we see the connection at it’s strongest in O.O.T.P.
I must admit I don’t wand Harry to be a horcrux. It seems too fatalistic for me.
Good Theory but… if harry was a horcrux, than why little old voldy want to kill harry?… he tried to kill him in book 1,2,4,and 5, SO if harry was a horcrux then voldemort would have wanted to kill him, so tht makes the entire theory impossible.
Well, I was thinking why would voldemort wanted to kill harry then. But Harry is not his own horcrux, and he doesn’t expect anyone to know about it. But I don’t think he is.
I never really thought that a person could be a horcrux but now that we think the snake is one, why can’t a human be a horcrux? It’s a good possibiliy because no one would kill Harry except a death eater or Voldemort himself. But, if Voldemort killed Harry and all the other horcruxes were destroyed wouldn’t he die to? Having a piece of Voldemorts soul in Harry would explain the connection between them wouldn’t it? I don’t think Harry has to kill himself to kill Voldemort though because in book 5 it says that not all the prophecys come true! So, i do think Harry is the last horcrux but, i dont think he has to kill himself.
Michael Allen, I enjoyed reading your theory but why does LV need to be reunited with part of his soul to become reanimated. He was already animated as we saw in SS/PS. What he needed was a body. He needed Harry’s blood to recreate a body as a soul in not in the physical realm.
Also, I don’t think LV came to understand what happened at Godric’s Hollow in SS/PS. It was in CoS that Tom Riddle asked why Harry survived and realized the power of Lily’s intervention when Harry replied that his mother had died to save him. He said as much to Harry.
It seems to me that “I can kill you now” does indicate a leveling of the playing field but what LV took was Harry’s blood. Are you saying that Harry’s blood was the vessel that housed LV’s horcrux? I don’t know if that’s possible. Can the physical (blood) and ethereal (soul) mix? Is that where Jo is leading us? I’m not sure. It seems a stretch to me.
As to when she said Harry’s not a horcrux, well…Jo never said that. Check out some of the sites that list her quotes. The only thing she has said is not a horcrux is the Sorting Hat.
Michael C., I wondered, as I read your post, about someone extracting a soul from the horcrux vessel other than the person whose soul it is. I’m not sure DD or anyone could do that without deadly injury as we saw in HBP. DD only survived because of the potion made by Snape for him. In CoS, Harry didn’t extract the soul of Tom Riddle, he destroyed the horcrux entirely. I’m inclined to think that the vessel can be destroyed with the horcrux but attempting to remove the soul from the horcrux may cause a fatal injury to anyone other than the individual whose soul it is.
When you say DD is being less than honest with Harry about his being a horcrux, I found myself thinking about many times when DD is less than honest by simply not saying all that is on his mind. That seems very much like DD not telling Harry about the Prophecy until the end of OofP when he sadly explains to Harry why he put it off each of the four previous years and was then ready to tell Harry “everything”. It’s very consistent with his character.
Great comments. I am now firmly a believer that Harry WAS a horcrux. Or rather, his blood. Once Voldemort became “human” again in GOF, the horcrux within Harry was used. Hence, Voldemort could kill him now, since he had used the horcrux he had placed in Harry. That doesnt mean he cant use Harry again, but his purpose had been realized. That was why no other wizard would do, as Worntail had suggested. Just makes sense. Know it is just a theory, but it all fits into place
The Soul Fragment which was released when Voldemort’s body was killed (releasing ‘less than the meanest spirit’ etc etc) it was that same soul fragment which wandered in the wilderness until it found Quarrel, then back to Albania, then Wormtail made it a ‘temporary’ body. At the Graveyard they made a ‘permanent’ body for that single, still in use, soul fragment.
Yes, Harry’s blood was used.. but it would appear that this was to ‘share’ the lingering protection Lilly placed in her bloodline for Harry. (augmented by Dumbledore over time) There is NO suggestion in the books that any additional soul fragment was passed back to Voldemort.
As to what Lilly was doing in defending Harry, Voldemort, who really is one of the most qualified people to comment here, says it was ‘old Magic’ that he should have been aware of. It was her ‘sacrifice’ which protected Harry… nothing about some Extreme Dark Magic (which he would recognize). It is simply unacceptable to think that Lilly would even KNOW such dark magic let alone use it.
As to ‘Lilly’s Eyes’ being important? I will tell you that it was the long time love of Severus Snape for Lilly Evans which is where we shall see this again. Not as part of something implanted by anything other than genetics in Harry. Severus’ ‘worst memory’ was when he called Lilly a ‘filthy mudblood’ and lost his chance with her forever. The fact that Snape sees Lilly in Harry will allow Love to remain the strongest magic at work here, not the Dark Magic of placing some of herself in Harry.
Great comments.
I still believe Voldemort’s last horcrux is hidden somewhere in Harry’s body, probaby in – or underneath – the scar. Harry carrying a part of Voldemort’s soul is not a nice idea, but it makes very much sense: the attraction he has on Dementors (PoA), Voldemort trying to possess him in OotP, Harry’s tremendous powers (he can compare with OotP members, aurors and DE), the way he feels Voldemort’s emotions,…
I think the reason Voldemort made such a Horcrux has to do with immortality. If Voldemort only made non-living Horcruxes, he would still be mortal in some way. As Kevin says, he would keep his soul Earth-bound, maybe get for some time a pair of renewed bodies (like with the diary). But what’s the use of a soul if you don’t have any power, due to the fact that you don’t have a body on your own. Voldemort had to wait ten years before possessing Quirrel, then three years to get a new opportunity. It cannot match with Voldemort’s purpose of immortality and power.
So, I’m pretty sure that Voldemort’s purpose at GH was not to kill Harry, but to entirely possess him as a new body. If he only feared the prophecy, he would have sent DE to kill both Harry and Neville. In an interview she gave, Jo told that Voldemort had proposed several times to save Lily and she refused. Jo also said that Lily didn’t know that her sacrifice would save Harry (James tried to give his life to save Harry, when he asked Lily to get away while he stopped Voldemort, and Jo said that Lily’s sacrifice was different). So, we must figure out that Lily refused for another reason than saving Harry, and Voldemort needed Lily for some future task. Any guess?
Milli V., i beleive that voldemort tried to kill harry in those books because he thought that harry was too dangerous for him to keep alive, or maybe he didn’t know that he had a harry horcrux.
The reason I think it unlikely that Harry is a Horcrux is that, according to Dumbledore, Morty used only objects that already had some historical or personal significance… and he saved the “making” of them for significant deaths…. Harry was not in and of himself significant, but Morty believed, because of the prophecy, that his death would be very important. He may have saved making his sixth Horcrux for Harry’s death.
My question is, how long after a murder do you have to make a Horcrux? Would Morty have had the object with him in Godrick’s Hollow? Would it have been destroyed? Is there anything that has to be done to “prepare” an object to receive a piece of one’s soul? If Harry finds this object, and it has been “prepared”, will this give any clues on how to find, identify, or destroy a Horcrux?
This is exactly what I thought about it. I think Voldemort tries to kill harry, because if he doesn’t, Harry could kill voldemort and the horcrux will save harry. I don’t think that’s a good plan to Voldemort. And this will explain why they can’t live if the other one is still alive. They both take part of the same soul…
Kevin, I believe that Voldemort had the object with him and used it. Although that seems awkward, it could have been made from a bone he stole in Godric Gryffindor’s grave (maybe the day he applied to be DADA teacher), then reduced to a very very small size. He gave it the shape of a very tiny snake. That was his Gryffindor relic, since he could not make it from the sword.
Voldemort used it to get part of his soul in Harry’s body, in order to take further possession of him. The scar marks the Horcrux place, which fits very well with Voldemort “marking him as his equal”. What else would be equal to Voldemort than his Horcrux? (Harry may have equal power to Voldemort, but is certainly not equal in evilness).
I know Dumbledore tells Harry that the mark came just because Voldemort missed his attempt. But this statement doesn’t match the prophecy: it is not said “the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal because he has power that the Dark Lord ignored”; it is said “the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal but he has power that the Dark Lord ignored”. Big difference, isn’t it?
Charlie Tarbox suggests that Voldemort uses Harry’s blood in order to “share the lingering protection Lilly placed in her bloodline for Harry”. But if this is the case then why does Harry still need to go back to the Dursley’s every summer? The fact that he still needs to go to the Dursley’s suggests to me that Harry’s protection from Lilly’s bloodline is still in place and has not been transfered to Voldemort.
What about the following as a possibility? We know that the act of killing splits a wisard’s soul the second part of which can be placed in an object in order to make a Horcrux. We also know that the killing curse back fired on Voldemort. Would it not be possible in that case that the killing curse did indeed kill Voldemort (i.e. Voldemort’s body and the piece of soul in it) and the other piece of his soul, which had already split off but had not been placed in an object, is the one that got away and which needed a body? This would bring down the number of Horcruxes to 5 as opposed to 6!
Herve,
I believe the “power” from the prophacy is Lilly’s protection.
If that protection rflected the avada’ curse, Morty was toast before he had the chance to implant any of his soul from Harry’s murder in anything.
Besides, Harry didn’t die.
Kevin, if Voldemort put something inside Harry, it was done before the AK curse on Harry, and then, the Horcrux was made from James’ death or Lily’s death, and not Harry’s death.
Then, the AK curse on Harry might have been necessary to liberate Harry’s soul and let Voldemort’s soul inhabit Harry. We’ve had no chance, up to now, to know exactly what happens in case of an AK performed towards someone that gets two souls, his own, and another one concealed and protected within a Horcrux.
And again, I think that the prophecy makes it clear that Voldemort marked Harry BEFORE Harry’s power destroyed him.
Speaking of the prophecy, it says that Harry and Voldemort survive, but don’t live. I guess surviving stands for “still being alive” and live for “being a full human, free from anyone else”, what obviously Harry and Voldemort can’t be in the situation where their souls are sharing a body.
At last, the Horcrux protects Voldemort’s soul from being injured by Harry’s power. When he tries to get out and invade Harry’s body (OotP), Harry’s protection is strong enough to expell him, maybe with a help from Dumbledore.
Herve,
By “MARK”, the prophecy may just mean Choose..
By “neither can live while the other survives” it could just mean that since Morty has already shown himself to be obsessed with killing Harry that neither of them will be able to live thier lives until one of them has destroyed the other.
Mark meaning choose. It may or it may not. Who knows?
I just came with another idea about the scar being a Horcrux: sometimes, Fawkes is quoted as being closely related to Godric Gryffindor. We know that Olivander used a thin feather of Fawkes’ tail for Harry and Voldemort wands. He did both wands with the feather, and there must have been some parts left unused from the feather. Now imagine that when he sold the wand to Riddle, he gave him the rest of the feather as a game or to show him how it was made(Riddle was a very curious boy, an orphan, one would have liked to please him). Then Riddle kept it carefully and when he heard that it was a relic from Gryffindor, and he got to know about Horcruxes, he decided it would be the support for his last Horcrux, the best one that gave him immortality.
The scar would contain that very thin piece of feather, folded as a Z and a couple of inches long.
That also would explain why the sister wand found Harry so easily.
i dont aggree with a the whole “harry’s a horcrux thing”. if it is true that lily’s sacrifice saved harry then voldemort’s soul will not be able to inhabit harry as love will completely vanquish the soul if kept for a long time as shown in the order of the pheonix.
Why would Voldemort try to cast Avada Kedavra on his horcrux though?
Here is my theory:
ALL of the horcruxes are:
1)Ring (destroyed)
2)Hp’s cup
3)St’s locket
4)Diary (destroyed)
5)Harry himself
The other 2/7th parts are, 1/7th is being used by voldemort, and the other 1/7th was destroyed when AK came back to Voldemort after trying to kill Harry in Godric’s Hollow.
In DH, Harry finds and destroys 2 horcruxes, the locket and the cup. Then he finds out, he is one of the horcruxes. He then, takes the gryffindor’s sword, finds Voldemort. They do a duel, and voldemort loses. Harry makes a horcrux from Voldemort’s death, and its the sword. Then, he finds Hermione and Ron, and they go to Godric’s hollow. They make up the potion to use the horcrux, and harry kills himself with the sword. Hermione and Ron use the potion, they use harry’s father’s bones, Harry’s hand, and Harry’s blood in the potion. Harry comes back to life. After defeating voldemort, harry takes the most powerful wizard title, and he gets an invite from Albus Dumbledore, to be the DADA teacher in hogwarts. Albus Dumbledore wasn’t killed by Snape, it was Aberforth, they swap when Harry was bringing brooms: (I don’t have my books with me right now, but its pretty accurate)
Rosmerta: “I have 2 brooms, should I go get them?”
Albus Dumbledore: “No, Harry will take them”
and harry makes the Accio spell, bringing brooms. In this time, Harry and Rosmerta was looking to brooms when they are coming, the barkeeper, Aberforth Dumbledore, swaps his place with Albus Dumbledore. So, Aberforth dumbledore was killed at that night. You can say “what about the portrait in Dumbledore’s room?” I say Albus Dumbledore put it there when Harry was getting his invisibility cloak.
Anyway, at the end, Albus Dumbledore is the Head of Hogwarts, McGonagall is Gryffindor’s head, and Harry is Slytherin’s head.
I’ve come along this site, and I have to say, it’s great…
One fact that wasn’t mentioned in the article…
There was a triumphant look in Dumbledores eyes when he heard that Voldemort used Harry’s blood to get a new body in GoF. Now what if Harry WAS a horcrux and those blood drops actually undid that horcrux-thingy… then our dear Joanne wouldn’t have lied if she said that Harry ist’t a horcrux… since he isn’t anymore. Since it is his blood, he still has some kind of connection to Voldemort, but he isn’t a horcrux anymore… maybe Voldemort now is his own horcrux.
I just want to point out that a Horcrux cannot be ‘used up’ to come back to life. The idea is that until all seven pieces are earth-bound, neither piece can be liberated. So when the AK backfired on LV, he continued to live a spectral existence because the others parts of his soul were still on earth. He will be killed when all the parts, including the one in his body are liberated.
Also, LV could not have just ‘accidentally’ made Harry a Horcrux. From what little we know about it, making a Horcrux is a complicated process and its unlikely that its spell involved a simple ‘swish and flick’. A Horcrux has to be made intentionally with proper concentration. And Voldemort is the second most clever wizard we know of. Its highly impossible that he’d do it by mistake.
Also, there is a very good chance that his own wand is a Horcrux. He may have made into a Horcrux, using someone else’s wand like one of his Death Eaters. Maybe Bellatrix.
herve, You assume much.. I don’t know why Harry’s wand “chose” him, your theory seems thin, but admittedly plausible. but I can not accept Harry being a Horcrux.
When i fnished the book after reading it in one setting in the same day I believed Harry to be a Horcrux.
To me this means Harry IS a shard of Voldemort not that he hosts it.
Dumbledore makes a point that people are defined by how they act not their origin, etc.
He also believes in anybody’s ability for goodness.
I assume that the story will make a point that for all his evil a part of Voldemort remained good and became Harry. This seems to fit the tone of the series about love being more powerful that dark power, etc.
Since murdering splits the soul, it can be understood to mean that it splits the basic goodness (that Dumbmedore believes in) from one’s belief that he has no goodness.
The only thing bothering would the JKR statement that Harry is not a Horcrux.
I don’t think that the theory “not anymore a horcrux because of taking his blood” fits. Blood is blood and is not a soul.
So if we follow the above reasoning, I can think of an alternate solution: not only Voldemort’s plan backfired when he tried to kill Harry so that a Horcrux was created but it backfired also in such a way that Voldemort is the Horcrux (the secondary soul) and harry is now the main soul of the two. So JKR supposed statement is true (anyone knows where it is? It is important to find out the context. She is quite adept at double meanings, red herrings, etc.)
Any elements that this could or could not be?