Harry Potter Book 7 Theories:
Horcruxes
Possible Horcruxes from Tom Riddle’s Childhood
Many theories have been posted about what the final Horcruxes may potentially be; after re-reading book 6 over and over again I’v noticed that I keep stopping at the end of chapter thirteen ‘The Secret Riddle’. In the Pensieve Dumbledore tells Tom to give the items he stole back to their rightful owners. These items, which include a yo-yo, a silver thimble, and a tarnished mouth-organ, are given a lot of emphasis. I believe one or all three of these may potentially be a Horcruxes of Voldemort’s as these items remind of the first acts ‘evil’ that he performed. Although they might not mean as much as Slytherin’s locket they may have some emotional attachment for Voldemort, and could remain disguised as useless objects to anyone but himself, and now, of course, Harry. - Theory by Wacko
Did R.A.B. Have an Accomplice?
By now everyone “knows” about the locket at the Black house. However, when R.A.B. took it from the cave, he had to have someone with him. Dumbledore, as powerful as he was, had to have Harry force feed him the potion. No one would have kept drinking it on their own. My first thought was Snape, but I talked myself out of that one. If he is truly evil (which I don’t believe) then he wouldn’t have let R.A.B. take the locket, or he would have informed Voldemort. If he is good, then he would have told Dumbledore. Since Dumbledore didn’t know the locket was a fake, it couldn’t have been Snape. That leaves Kreacher (no surprise there!) He would do anything a Black told him to, but whether it was to drink the potion himself or to give it to R.A.B. I don’t know. But, as he would have been sworn to secrecy, he would even have been unable to tell Mrs. Black. We’ll just have to wait and see, I guess.
Could Kreacher Have the Locket?
Does Kreacher have a Horcrux? I have reason to believe that Kreacher has Slytherin’s Locket. Let us start with R.A.B. This obviously stands for Regulus ______ Black, Sirius’ brother. The last paragraph on page 116 of Order of the Phoenix states they found “a heavy locket which no one could open.” I doubt this is a coincidence. Regulus used to work for Voldemort. He probably found out about this Horcrux and switched it for the fake when he probably started to rebel. Now, if Kreacher was smuggling things from the cleaning, he could have easily taken it and hidden it in his cupboard. This also gives Harry a “freebie” Horcrux, which would move the story along quite a bit since JKR could not possibly have a huge quest to find the last remaining three Horcruxes without writing a thousand page book.
Anything Left in the Chamber?
Many characters in the books have stated that the safest place to hide something is Hogwarts. Hogwarts is even said to be safer than the vaults of Gringotts, and this is something Tom Riddle would have known. I think it is possible that he wanted to be at Hogwarts not to find something, but to protect one of his Horcruxes that was already there. There is a place in Hogwarts that only he [Tom] can access, and inside is a beast that only he can control. That place is the Chamber of Secrets, and it’s been hidden for over 1,000 years. What better place to hide something than the Chamber of Secrets? I think the name itself is a clue- Chamber of Secrets. Plural; more than one secret. I think Harry will realize this and return to Hogwarts to search the chamber. Harry is also the only parselmouth we know of since Riddle to attend Hogwarts. This would pose a great threat to Voldemort, as the only person who can access the chamber is his enemy.
The Locket at the Black House
I think the locket Harry and the others find while cleaning the Black house, the one none of them could open, is the real locket, R.A.B stole. “…also a heavy locket that none of them could open…” (OOTP) I think they aren’t able to open it because Voldemort’s soul is inside of it. I think to open the locket would be to let the soul piece out, which would destroy the Horcrux.
Is Harry a Horcrux?
Harry could potentially be a Horcrux because a bit of Voldemort’s soul might have been transferred to Harry when the Avada Kedavra killing curse backfired. The love Harry’s mom protected him with unknowingly could have prevented a clean implantation of Voldemort’s soul, thus leaving Harry’s scar.
Voldemort only makes Horcruxes from important deaths. According to Dumbledore’s beliefs, Voldemort still needed to make one more Horcrux at the time of his first attempt to kill Harry. Seeing as Harry was believed to be the equal who could potentially defeat him, this was deemed fitting for his final Horcrux by Voldemort.
‘However, if my calculations are correct, Voldemort was still at least one Horcrux short of his goal of six when he entered your parents’ house with the intention of killing you.
‘He seems to have reserved the process of making Horcruxes for particularly significant deaths. You would certainly have been that. He believed that in killing you, he was destroying the danger the prophecy had outlined. He believed he was making himself invisible. I am sure that he was intending to make his final Horcrux with your death.’
Voldemort’s worst fear is death. His blind fear in it could lead him to believe that everyone shares the fear. Therefore, Voldemort might believe that by forcing part of his soul into the one person who could possibly kill him, Harry, it would make him invincible because it would require Harry to kill himself to destroy the last part of Voldemort. Voldemort can’t imagine someone willingly choosing death.
Harry being a Horcrux is a win-win situation for Voldemort. Should Harry die, Voldemort would dispose of part of his soul and the one person who can kill him. Should Harry kill Voldemort, Voldemort still would live on as a Horcrux in Harry.
Harry being a Horcrux would also help explain his abnormal connection with the Dark Lord.
Some connections:
- He has the rare ability to speak Parseltongue.
- He has the ability to experience Voldemort’s emotions as Voldemort experiences them.
- The Sorting Hat has trouble figuring out whether to put him in Slytherin or Gryffindor.
- Harry and Voldemort’s wands are “brothers,” using the same phoenix feather core.
And now, some input from our forums members!
Kritina does not believe that Harry is a Horcrux: “First, there’s the prophecy. If Harry were a Horcrux, Voldemort couldn’t be killed as long as Harry were alive, so it wouldn’t be a “one or the other” thing. If Voldemort knew Harry was a Horcrux, he would not want to kill him. The book also talked about how obsessive Voldemort was about doing everything himself, so he wouldn’t want his immortality to swing on a person, especially since the Horcrux could die well before he intends to.”
McGonagall counters, saying, “I’m agreeing with some that Harry could be the vessel for another Horcrux. If it happened accidentally, Voldemort may not be aware of it. Because of this, he would have no qualms about killing Harry. Voldemort may, however, start to question whether Harry is a vessel for his Horcrux because of the bond between Harry and Voldemort.
In book five, Dumbledore talks to an instrument in his office after Harry has the dream about Mr. Weasley. Dumbledore says, ‘Naturally, naturally - but in essence divided?’ Maybe Dumbledore is asking about whether Harry’s soul and Voldemort’s soul are still divided in Harry’s body.”
CutieCerutti also disagrees with the “Harry is a Horcrux” theory:
Although there are some good points as to why Harry could be a Horcrux, I just don’t see it happening either way, accidentally or purposely.
Purposely:
Dumbledore said it was very risky using a living thing as a Horcrux because it can think and move on its own. Dumbledore suspected that Voldemort’s snake, Nagini, is a Horcrux. And that was just a snake. Why on earth would Voldemort put part of his soul in someone he wanted to kill? It would be a waste of power and time to place part of your soul in something you were going to try and kill since he was one year old.
In the Ministry of Magic in Order of the Phoenix, when Voldemort possessed Harry for that brief period of time, he could not be inside of a body so full of love. It was excruciating to him. So therefore, how could part of his soul live in a body so full of love?
It just wouldn’t make sense. Voldemort repeatedly tries to kill Harry. That’s like committing 1/7th suicide.
Accidentally:
This seems pretty unlikely. This isn’t the kind of magic like when young wizards and witches accidentally break a glass or something. This is a HIGHLY advanced spell. Yes, a spell. Meaning there would probably need to either be an incantation of some sort or something physically being done to bind the spell. Therefore, this doesn’t seem likely.
Is Aragog a Horcrux?
JKR said that obvious connections to COS were to be made in Half-blood Prince. I found one obvious one, the diary, and the presence of Aragog. We have not heard of him since CoS, so is this foreshadowing of future knowledge?
Reasons:
- We know that animals can potentially be Horcruxes; Dumbledore suspects the snake (Nagini) is one.
- Aragog can talk, which could be a human quality he picked up from Voldemort’s soul.
- We know that Tom Riddle interacted with, and knew about Aragog.
- What if Aragog was his first Horcrux? (The death used would be his first, Moaning Myrtle)
- Perhaps his knowledge of Horcrux (freshly obtained from Slughorn) sparked his curiosity in the mysterious chamber.
- With the Basilisk, he could have killed more students, allowing him to create and experiment with more Horcruxes.
- Dumbledore was very curious about Myrtle’s murder; he could have suspected a Horcrux then.
It might not have been very smart for Voldemort to use a living thing to house his soul, but Aragog might have been a “practice Horcrux” for Voldemort’s newly found knowledge. Therefore, he wouldn’t have known the potential dangers of placing it in a living being. Also, being his first Horcrux, maybe he didn’t care so much if it died.
Felix Felices is a very powerful potion that lines up everything to the drinker’s advantage advantage. Perhaps going to the funeral did one more unknown thing for Harry other than just allow him to get the Slughorn memory? Perhaps the funeral presented him with the end of another Horcrux.
Cons
- It seems like a very careless thing for Voldemort to do to allow a Horcrux to die. *
- All Acromantula can talk as mentioned in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. **
- Voldemort liked to make trophies of his kills (i.e. the Slytherin Ring of his father) ***
Does Dumbledore Have a Horcrux?
We know that Dumbledore was famous for “destroying” the dark wizard Grindelwald, so does that mean that Dumbledore could have a Horcrux? Dumbledore did say that he thought that separating his soul was cheating nature, but he might have done it for what he believed to be the greater good, the downfall of Grindelwald. Dumbledore did always say that there were things worse than death, but that he may have found a way to cheat death just for a little bit until he completes his destiny. That could be his reasoning to separate his soul.
His Horcrux could be Gryffindor’s sword that Harry pulled out of the Sorting Hat. Dumbledore said, “I will only truly have left when none here are loyal to me.” The sword came to Harry when it was most needed; it could, perhaps, be the way Dumbledore is allowed to still help those at Hogwarts after his death.
Another possible Horcrux for Dumbledore would be Fawkes, his pet phoenix. It seems extremely fitting considering his intelligence and the fact that Dumbledore’s Patronus was a phoenix. The mythological basis of the Phoenix (being reborn from its ashes) could be very symbolic of what happens to Dumbledore, especially considering his burial with fire.
Dumbledore’s Horcrux could potentially be Hogwarts itself. That would explain his ability to never leave it as long as there are those still loyal. Dumbledore is also the only headmaster to be buried at Hogwarts.
Cons:
- Horcruxes are some of the darkest possible magic. Dumbledore would never stoop to that level no matter what the reasoning.
- Dumbledore would not try to evade death. He’s not afraid of it.
- If Dumbledore was found to have a Horcrux that would go against J.K. Rowling’s style of showing him as noble and would instead make him out as a hypocrite.
- It is never stated that Dumbledore killed Grindelwald, only defeated. Harry defeated Voldemort at the age of one without actually killing him.
-Theory taken from a post by Secret Keeper. Addition of Hogwarts as a possible Horcrux taken from a reply by Rolex1.
The Seven Parts of Voldemort
Through the various clues and definite Horcruxes we know of, it is fairly easy to predict, to an extent, the seven different parts of souls Voldemort has. The following is a list of confirmed Horcruxes:
Horcrux 1: Himself.
Reason: Voldemort must keep one part of his soul within his body.
Status: Not destroyed.
Horcrux 2: The Diary.
Reason: It was confirmed in Half-Blood Prince.
Status: Destroyed by Harry in Chamber of Secrets.
Horcrux 3: Slytherin’s Ring.
Reason: It was confirmed in Half-Blood Prince.
Status: Destroyed by Dumbledore in Half-Blood Prince.
Horcrux 4: The Locket.
Reason: It was confirmed in Half-Blood Prince.
Status: Taken by R.A.B., whose intent was to destroy it, but it is not known if he was successful. Likely last seen in
Grimmauld Place
in Order of the Phoenix.
Here ends our list of confirmed Horcruxes and leaves us with three more spots to fill.
Horcrux 5: Something from Hufflepuff.
Reason:
Status: Object unknown. Not known to be destroyed.
Horcrux 6: Something from Ravenclaw or Gryffindor.
Reason: Dumbledore believed it to be one of the two Hogwarts founder’s possessions.
Status: Object unknown. Not known to be destroyed.
Horcrux 7: Unknown.
Reason: Debate rages around what, or even who, is Voldemort’s seventh Horcrux.
Status: Object unknown. Not known to be destroyed
