Horcrux

"*Of the Horcrux, wickedest of magical inventions, we shall not speak nor give direction —*"
— *Magick Moste Evile*

A **Horcrux** was an object in which a Dark Wizard or Witch had hidden a fragment of his or her soul in order to become immortal. Horcruxes could only be created after committing murder, the supreme act of evil. The process for the creation of a Horcrux involved a spell and a horrific act was performed soon after the murder had been committed. Given that Horcruxes were precious to those who made them, there were usually protective measures made to prevent them from being stolen or destroyed, such as counter-charms and curses. The Horcrux was considered to be the most terrible of all dark magic.

## Origins

The first known Horcrux was created by Herpo the Foul in Ancient Greece. The only other known creator of a Horcrux was Lord Voldemort, who was likely the only person to have successfully created more than one Horcrux.

The nature and concepts of Horcruxes were so terrible, they were kept secret from most of the wizarding world, and very few people were ever made aware of their nature. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry banned any study of the subject of Horcruxes; Albus Dumbledore was particularly adamant in enforcing this rule.

Very few books, even those revolving around the Dark Arts, would mention Horcruxes even in the slightest detail: *Magick Moste Evile*, a book that contained much information of advanced dark arts, barely skimmed the subject of Horcruxes as a subject so evil that it should not be spoken of, showing that even some Dark Wizards were horrified by them. In fact, only one known book, *Secrets of the Darkest Art*, had detailed information on the method and consequences of creating a Horcrux. No document in existence has information regarding a single individual creating multiple Horcruxes, as no wizard before Voldemort even thought of attempting such a feat; he only dared to when he asked the experienced Horace Slughorn for an expert opinion, under the guise of creating more than one Horcrux in theory.

## Nature and creation

"*A Horcrux is the word used for an object in which a person has concealed part of their soul... Well, you split your soul, you see, and hide part of it in an object outside the body. Then, even if one's body is attacked or destroyed, one cannot die, for part of the soul remains earthbound and undamaged.*"
— The nature of Horcruxes

The only known book that provided specific instruction on the creation and nature of a Horcrux was *Secrets of the Darkest Art*, which was once held in Hogwarts' library (and later in Dumbledore's office). Due to the book's extremely dark and dangerous nature, Albus Dumbledore hid it away in his office when he became the Headmaster of Hogwarts. It was believed that Adalbert Gaunt had found the information necessary to make a Horcrux in this book before Dumbledore managed to get hold of it. While a Horcrux could be anything at all, including a living being, it was most advisable to create a Horcrux out of an inanimate object to decrease the chances of it being destroyed.

Horcruxes by their nature appeared to be extraordinarily durable, as only very destructive magic and processes could truly destroy them.

To create a Horcrux, a wizard first had to deliberately commit murder. Killing out of self-defence or to protect another would not suffice; one had to deliberately and consciously murder a person without regret or remorse. This act, said to be the most supreme act of evil, would result in the murderer metaphysically damaging their own soul. A wizard who wished to create a Horcrux would then use that damage to their advantage by casting a spell which would sever the damaged portion of the soul and encase it in an object. If the maker was later killed, they would continue to exist in a non-corporeal form, although there were methods of regaining a physical body. However, according to Horace Slughorn, few would want to live in such a form, and death would be preferable to most, and he found the concept so dreadful that he wished not to know the process of creating such a vile object.

As a fragment of soul, a Horcrux seemed to retain the identity of its creator at the time of its creation. Voldemort, for instance, created a Horcrux (his diary) during what was presumably his fifth year at Hogwarts. As such, the fragment of soul contained within the Horcrux took on the appearance and mannerisms of Voldemort as he had been when he was sixteen years old.

Horcruxes were said to be essentially the opposite of a person. Where a person's container, their body, could be destroyed without any damage to their soul, the fragment of soul contained inside a Horcrux was dependent on the container for its existence. If the container was destroyed, so too would be the fragment of soul within it.

Horcruxes were originally conceived of as being a singular act. As such, it was unknown for many centuries what the attempted creation of multiple Horcruxes would result in, as nobody thought it possible to accomplish such an act. However, Voldemort planned to create six Horcruxes in the hope that it would make him stronger than just creating one, due to his belief in the power of the number seven.

It was stated at one point that Voldemort had already "pushed his soul to the limit" in creating his Horcruxes. This implied a finite number of Horcruxes any one person may create before the process became too dangerous to attempt again. It also implied that the creation of a Horcrux used a set amount of soul and that this amount was the same every time the process was undertaken. Creating multiple Horcruxes rendered the soul unstable and liable to break apart if the creator of the Horcruxes was killed. For instance, Albus Dumbledore explicitly stated that Voldemort's soul had become so unstable that it simply "broke apart" when Voldemort tried to murder Harry Potter for the first time on 31 October, 1980 in Godric's Hollow.

### Destruction

**Harry Potter**: "*So if all of his Horcruxes are destroyed, Voldemort could be killed?*"
**Albus Dumbledore**: "*Yes, I think so. Without his Horcruxes, Voldemort will be a mortal man with a maimed and diminished soul.*"
— A discussion on how to go about killing Voldemort[src]

Destroying a Horcrux required that the object containing the soul fragment be damaged to a point beyond any and all physical or magical repair. When a Horcrux was damaged to that point, it may appear to "bleed" (ink in the case of Adalbert Gaunt's diary and a "dark blood-like substance" in the case of Ravenclaw's Diadem) and a scream may be heard as the soul fragment perished. However, as a safety measure to protect one's immortality and precious soul fragment, the creator would usually place powerful enchantments onto the artefact to prevent damage.

It was unknown if the creator of the Horcrux would be able to sense that their soul fragment was destroyed, although Dumbledore stated that in the particular case of Voldemort, he would not feel their loss because his soul had been split too many times and had been in that state for too long.

All known methods of Horcrux destruction required the "receptacle" to be damaged beyond repair (which, in the case of living receptacles, meant that they must be killed).

For example, methods were Fiendfyre, which required extreme skill to control, the Killing Curse on living Horcruxes. However, Harry Potter was never an intentional Horcrux and so it may not work on a proper animate Horcrux (like Nagini) and probably had unforeseen side effects, along with Basilisk venom and the touch of sacrificial love (on pseudo-Horcruxes). This was seen on Professor Quirrell when he was destroyed by Harry Potter's touch.

Harry Potter and Hermione Granger both used the fangs of Salazar Slytherin's Basilisk to destroy Adalbert Gaunt's Diary and Helga Hufflepuff's Cup, respectively. This was only achievable as basilisk venom was an extremely destructive substance capable of destroying Horcruxes. Although beyond repair when exposed to this venom, living Horcruxes could potentially be saved through the speedy administration of phoenix tears, an extremely rare substance. Fawkes demonstrated this ability for Harry when he was bitten by the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets. Because he was a living Horcrux himself, Harry was not destroyed then because the tears saved his life.

Albus Dumbledore, Ron Weasley, and Neville Longbottom all used Godric Gryffindor's Sword to destroy Marvolo Gaunt's Ring, Salazar Slytherin's Locket and Nagini, respectively. This was only achievable as goblin-wrought silver is a destructive enough metal capable of absorbing qualities that strengthen it. The sword demonstrated this ability for Harry Potter when he used it to slay the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets. Because it was made of goblin-wrought silver itself, the sword was imbued with basilisk venom and became capable of destroying Horcruxes.

## Powers

**Ron Weasley**: "*The bit of soul in that diary was possessing Ginny, wasn’t it? How does that work, then?*"
**Hermione Granger**: "*While the magical container is still intact, the bit of soul inside it can flit in and out of someone if they get too close to the object. I don’t mean holding it for too long... I mean close emotionally. Ginny poured her heart out into that diary, she made herself incredibly vulnerable. You’re in trouble if you get too fond of or dependent on the Horcrux.*"
— A Horcrux's ability to possess and eventually control a person[src]

The main purpose and power of a Horcrux was to anchor the creator to the mortal realm for the sake of achieving immortality. As long as at least one Horcrux existed, the creator's soul would be bound to the world of the living. Hence, if the body was destroyed, the soul would remain as a lingering spirit instead of passing through to the other side. Though being in such a state of existence was what very few would prefer over death, the soul could possess others to regain physical form, which shortened the host's lifespan drastically. It was also possible (through a second party) to use certain potions to create a rudimentary body or even the true body of the Horcrux creator's soul to possess. Because of this purpose, a Horcrux was usually kept hidden and dormant, and its other powers were rarely explored or utilised.

The fragment of a person's soul within a Horcrux was capable of thinking for itself and had certain magical abilities, including the ability to influence those in their vicinity and affect them mentally. When Harry, Ron, and Hermione were carrying Salazar Slytherin's locket around their necks in 1997, it brought out the worst in the trio by making them moodier, more prone to fighting, and slowly darker aspects of them began to appear, especially Ron as he carried the locket much longer than his friends. However, when away from a Horcrux its influence and effects would begin to wane and then disappear and those influenced would return to their normal selves, as soon after leaving Ron came to his senses and regretted his actions. They were also unable to summon their Patronuses while wearing the locket since the soul fragment inside was darkening their thoughts. A person with an affinity for the Dark Arts, on the other hand, would be strengthened by the influence of a Horcrux, as Dolores Umbridge was when wearing Salazar Slytherin's locket.

If a person was more emotionally vulnerable, it was possible for the soul inside the Horcrux to take control of him or her, as Ginny Weasley using her. In fact, Voldemort took advantage of this possessive power over Ginny to reopen the Chamber of Secrets, using the diary as a weapon rather than a safeguard. Voldemort himself was able to possess Harry Potter and take control of his mind when Harry was angry enough to perform the Cruciatus Curse on Emberly Comet and almost perform the Killing Curse on her. This quasi-sentient entity that was capable of sapping life-force to create a physical form differed from a "mere memory", which the diary's manifestation claimed itself to be, as no mere charmed object could achieve such a feat, though Antonin Dolohov thought that was what the diary simply was.

In this way, a Horcrux could gradually feed on another person's life or negative emotions to strengthen itself and increase the ability of the soul fragment within to act independently in the physical world. The best example of this was in the case of Adalbert Gaunt's diary. For decades, the diary lay dormant in Antonin Dolohov's possession, doing nothing other than safeguarding the soul fragment of Adalbert Gaunt. When Ginny Weasley began to transcribe her fears and insecurities into the pages of the diary, the fragment of Adalbert Gaunt's soul contained within was not only able to write back to Ginny but eventually drained enough life out of her to actually manifest itself in a semi-corporeal form and work magic with Harry Potter's wand.

Likewise, Salazar Slytherin's locket slowly gained power when it was in the possession of Harry, Ron, and Hermione in the months prior to its destruction. It can be theorised that the locket gained somewhat less power from them (not enough for Riddle to fully manifest but still enough to speak and create illusions) because Harry, Ron, and Hermione were actively resisting the locket's influence instead of embracing it as Ginny had done with the diary. On the other hand, Horcruxes which have been isolated for long periods of time (such as Helga Hufflepuff's cup and Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem) were very passive by comparison and took no real measures to protect themselves. Even Slytherin's locket was fairly inert when it was initially discovered in a cabinet in the drawing-room at 12 Grimmauld Place. It displayed no powers and gave no indication that it possessed superior magical properties.

Horcruxes also possessed some last line of defence against destruction. The fragment of soul within the Horcrux seems to be able to sense impending threats and can act to defend itself. For instance, Slytherin's locket viciously taunted Ron Weasley with visions of his deepest fears in the hopes of preventing him from stabbing it with Godric Gryffindor's sword, and even attempted to strangle Harry Potter when he was close to obtaining the Sword with the intent of piercing the locket. However, this form of defence may not be viable if the soul fragment in question is not given enough strength or chance to retaliate, as while Harry opened the locket with Parseltongue before allowing Ron to attack it, both Hufflepuff's Cup and Ravenclaw's Diadem were swiftly destroyed the moment the trio were given an opportunity.

Aside from its self-defence mechanism from the soul fragment, a Horcrux is usually enchanted by the creator to have other forms of defences to prevent destruction. Marvolo Gaunt's ring contained a deadly curse that would kill anyone who touched it. At least Salazar Slytherin's Locket was unbreakable by even house-elf magic. Adalbert Gaunt's diary was completely waterproof and impervious to spilled ink.

### Side effects

"*Tamper with the deepest mysteries — the source of life, the essence of self — only if prepared for consequences of the most extreme and dangerous kind.*"
— The first of the Fundamental Laws of Magic

To create a Horcrux was to divide one's soul — the "*essence of self*" — and it was therefore in the creation of a Horcrux that one fell prey to Adalbert Waffling's first Fundamental Laws of Magic, which essentially stated that tampering with one's soul inevitably resulted in grave side effects. Creating Horcruxes was considered perhaps the most dreadful act possible.

#### Dehumanisation

One of these such side-effects was the "dehumanising" effect the mutilation of one's soul was said to have. The more Horcruxes one created, the less human they became, both emotionally and physically; for example, in the house-elf Hokey's memory, Adalbert Gaunt was initially shown to be hollow-cheeked but otherwise normal, though ten years later his features look as if they have been burned and blurred, and his skin was extremely white.

One should note that it is unclear whether the red eyes and slit-like nostrils that Voldemort had after he was reborn were caused by having more Horcruxes than he did than when he applied for the Defence Against the Dark Arts post a second time, whether they were characteristics of a person who had been resurrected with the help of serpents (which had continued to play key roles in his revival), or whether due to any other alterations he had made to himself. Dumbledore speculated that Voldemort underwent other dangerous transformations, as well as creating Horcruxes which resulted in Voldemort's hideous appearance.

#### Instability

A third side effect of Horcrux creation was that the master soul itself became unstable (even with creating just one Horcrux).

For example, the creation of Voldemort's sixth "Horcrux" (of seven) — Harry Potter — is known to be the direct result of this. When Voldemort was hit by the back-fired Killing Curse at Potters' home in Godric's Hollow, it caused Voldemort's soul to split, with one fragment immediately seeking out the only other living thing in the room and latching onto it — Harry Potter. The rest of Voldemort's mutilated soul fled. However, this parasitic fragment of Voldemort's soul that attached to Harry did not make him a true Horcrux, since it was not created intentionally and the necessary parts of the Horcrux creation process were not carried out.

#### Limbo

"*Something that is beyond either of our help...*"
— The fate of those who create a Horcrux

The final known side-effect of Horcrux creation was a possible inability to move on from limbo after death. This was seen when Voldemort's Killing Curse destroyed the part of his soul that resided in Harry Potter. This broken and mangled piece of soul was forced to exist in the stunted form of a flayed and mutilated baby that Harry saw in King's Cross during his visit to limbo, unable to return to the land of the living as a ghost, and unable to move on to the afterlife because his soul was maimed and corrupted.

The same fate was implied to have been suffered by Voldemort's "main" soul piece, the one that inhabited his body; it is unknown if this was a standard fate meted out for all Horcrux creators, or if it was unique to Voldemort due to the number of his Horcruxes. Regardless, reconciliation apparently cannot occur after death, as the soul's state at death remains forever, so the greatest of all consequences incurred by Horcrux creation may be the possibility of eternal limbo of the soul. Voldemort's soul fragments also appeared to possess only the awareness and intelligence of the infant they appeared to be.

## Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes

"*I, who have gone further than anybody along the path that leads to immortality....*"
— Lord Voldemort to his gathered Death Eaters after his rebirth

Lord Voldemort, obsessed with immortality and unable or unwilling to understand the importance of the soul's well-being, went further than any wizard known to history, creating seven — although he wanted six Horcruxes to have a seven part soul. He accidentally created a pseudo-Horcrux when he failed to murder Harry Potter in 1980, and later made his pet snake Nagini into his seventh Horcrux. As a student named Adalbert Gaunt at Hogwarts in the 1940s, he learned of Horcruxes through books in the Restricted Section, including *Secrets of the Darkest Art*, and sought out Potions Master Horace Slughorn for further information about creating more than one, of which no book would have any record. Albus Dumbledore removed those books from the Hogwarts Library soon afterwards, although later he suspected that Slughorn had given information to Riddle about Horcruxes, as Slughorn refused to reveal the true account of what really happened. Voldemort did understand that his soul had a limit to how many times he could split it, as he ceased creating any more Horcruxes once he intentionally reached his desired six and refused to create any replacements for the ones that were destroyed.

Dumbledore later assigned Harry to retrieve the stored memory of it during the 1996-1997 school year, in which Harry was able to get it through the use of Felix Felicis. Although Voldemort had been warned that the usage of Horcruxes would render one's soul to live a miserable existence should their living flesh be destroyed, and Voldemort even experienced this first hand for fourteen years, he would regardless prefer to live in such a state when the alternative was death, which he feared the most because he regarded it as a shameful and ignominious human weakness, since he was willing to continue his creation of his sixth true Horcrux even in his crippled form. Voldemort's streak of independence made it intolerable for him to utilise any other methods to obtain his immortality (such as the Elixir of Life); he chose to rely on Horcruxes because they were magical extensions of himself.

Having split his soul multiple times, it became extremely unstable that upon his Killing Curse's first rebound on him, Voldemort's already maimed soul split apart and attached to the only living being in the room at the time: Harry Potter. It was also the creation of so many Horcruxes that led Voldemort's humanity to deteriorate severely. As Voldemort's soul fragments have been separated from him for so long, he could no longer feel them should they be destroyed.

This was part of Dumbledore and Harry's quest to determine, locate, and destroy, in secret, what they believed to be as many as four of Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes (two had already been destroyed). After Dumbledore's death, Harry took up the quest with his friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Hermione was able to summon the books on the subject to her from the Headmaster's office at the end of the 1996–1997 school year to aid them in their research on Horcruxes.

Although Voldemort had six true Horcruxes (not including Harry) in total, no more than five existed at one time because Adalbert Gaunt's diary was destroyed before Nagini was turned into a Horcrux. Concerning Nagini, it is not known if she had to have been killed by Godric Gryffindor's Sword or if any other means, such as a regular sword killing her, would have destroyed the Horcrux. However, as Albus Dumbledore stated, using a living being as a Horcrux was a risky business, due to it being able to move around and think for itself. It is unknown if any method that would normally kill Nagini would also destroy the Horcrux. It is also unknown what would happen if Nagini had died a natural death, or if that were possible, since Horcruxes have mechanisms in place to prevent destruction.

All of Voldemort's Horcruxes were made from objects that had extreme monetary, historical or (in as much as he could feel) sentimental value, in his desire to secure his position as the greatest sorcerer in history, and that only noteworthy items could live up to his standards and have the honour of housing a fragment of his precious soul. As such, he had originally made it his desire to collect four items of the four founders of Hogwarts; he found only three, and gave up after failing to find Gryffindor's sword, but made Horcruxes out of other items that had sentimental value to himself, if not as a priceless artefact of the Wizarding world. Believing that the number seven is the most powerful number when it comes to magic, Voldemort intended to split his soul into seven pieces, with six Horcruxes housing one fragment each and his body containing the seventh. He hid these Horcruxes in special locations and kept their existence and purposes from absolutely everyone. However, his arrogance had also inadvertently let him leave behind subtle hints of their whereabouts, leading to their destruction. Because Voldemort was the first (and by far, the only) known wizard to have created more than one Horcrux, both Dumbledore and Voldemort himself believed that he was the closest to true immortality than any other wizard or witch before him.

A secondary reason why Voldemort chose to create multiple Horcruxes is to utilise the effects of having a soul fragment to weaponise some of these artefacts, as opposed to keeping them as hidden safeguards. Voldemort felt more comfortable placing these few Horcruxes in the risk of destruction knowing he had more hidden safely to maintain his immortality. It was for this reason he chose to use his diary to reopen the Chamber of Secrets, and sending Nagini on missions from time to time.

Although Voldemort created multiple Horcruxes so that if one was destroyed, it would not be detrimental to him, he would nevertheless be furious if any one of them were destroyed. He was wrathful at Antonin Dolohoc for indirectly causing the destruction of the diary Horcrux, despite intending for it to be a weapon instead of a safeguard, due to Lucius acting without instruction. When Voldemort found out that Hufflepuff's cup was taken, he massacred all the Gringotts employees within the bank that failed to protect the cup. Discovering that Slytherin's locket and the Gaunt family ring were taken from their hiding places infuriated him even more, though it became more understandable as he was aware that he was losing more Horcruxes as time went on. His arrogance prevented him from adding more defences for the Lost Diadem of Ravenclaw, which led to its destruction. He went out of his way to protect his last Horcrux, Nagini, and was horrified and angry beyond words when she was killed by Neville Longbottom with Gryffindor's sword, thus stripping him of his immortality.
In an alternate reality where Cedric Diggory became a Death Eater and killing Neville during Voldemort's Last Stand, Nagini was not killed as a result, thereby allowing Voldemort to maintain his immortality and kill Harry Potter while also conquering the British wizarding community.

### List of Voldemort's Horcruxes

#### Pseudo-Horcruxes

While he does not fit the definition of a Horcrux, as he was not created intentionally using the Horcrux-making spell for the purpose of obtaining immortality, Harry Potter essentially became a Horcrux. After Voldemort's curse rebounded on him, a piece of his mangled soul split off and latched onto Harry. Dumbledore explained that for simplicity's sake, Harry was a Horcrux.