In the 7th book Harry didnt die because when he was hit with the "avada kedavra" curse the horcrux in him died not him, and in the 2nd book he was stabbed in the arm (i think) with a basilisk fang(which is known to destroy horcruxes) so why wasn't the Horcrux in him destroyed then??


Thanks for Answering....or trying to answer.....or at least reading the question.....

So this is like literally my first post about the 7th book that's not in the Pre-DH archives, really. I'm still not over it...

Well, my only issue with your question is that I don't remember where it says that Basilisk Venom destroys Horcruxs. Even Dumbledore doesn't seem to have a surefire way of destroying them. But, when he was stabbed in the arm, he didn't necessarily die. Because, if I remember right (I haven't read the 7th one since that first time, start crying too much) when Harry is hit by the Killing Curse, he's pretty much dead. I think it takes a lot more than Basilisk Venom to destroy a Horcrux. I think, because it's a part of a soul, that whatever it is contained in needs to die for it to be destroyed. Which brings up another good question. Are the parts of the soul destoyed, or do they return to the Dark Lord? Anyways, can deal with that somewhere else.

That would make the most sense, though. The vessel must die. And, remember that after the diary was no longer a horcrux, it looked like a regular diary, at least, it seems to. I can't remember, but that would explain how.... Wait, never mind. Anyways, I still can't quite explain how killing Harry didn't really kill him, but then again, far to many people have died in the past and come back, so it's really hard to count him out of that list. Cause, is he really dead, or can you kill a soul and make it look like the vessel is dead, and then it has a fun journey, and is not dead? It seems much more like he actually died, and then was going down that long black tunnel of awesomeness, and was told he can't die. So he was nearly dead. Not all dead.

Hmmm... That's an interesting question.... But to answer yours, I think that it's most likely because Harry was the host, and that's the reason that it worked, and because the vessel has to be compeletely destroyed for the horcrux to be destroyed. So mere venom isn't going to destroy the horcrux, but a killing curse sure will. Hope that helps, even if it was long winded.

And after reading what is below, it is slightly obvious that I haven't read the seventh book since that first time, mostly cause it's too depressing. Well, my peeps brought me to tears just by saying Weasley for the longest time, so I supose that's a good reason... Anyways, I guess mine's not quite right, but there you go. I do need to read DH again.

~Aeryn~

Actually Basilisk Venom does destroy a Horcrux. In CoS Harry thrusts a fang into the diary and kills the Riddle Horcrux. Then in DH during the battle, Ron and Hermione slip off to go to the Chamber to get Basilisk Fangs to use on the remaining Horcruxes. And Gryffindor's Sword had the venom on it when Ron stabbed the Locket. And as you said La MaitressedeMort, Harry didn't die in CoS so the Horcrux was not destroyed.


The Killing Curse will kill the Human vessel as you like to call it, but it won't kill the Horcrux. Voldemort would not make Horcruxes if they could be killed by a Killing Curse. He wanted to be immortal remember? He wouldn't be so stupid as to let his immortality hang on such fine threads as hoping that no-one decides to use the AK on his Diary. And since Harry technically died in DH the Horcrux had nothing to shelter it and it perished. And I believe since Harry still had his own Soul he came back.

As Triad said as well, it was indeed mentioned. I believe Hermione finds it in one of the books she summoned from Dumbledore's Office. Though she may have come across the information elsewhere, I do not remember. The 7th book does however say that Basilisk Venom and Fiendfyre are capable or destroying a Horcrux.



It seems that Dumbledore did know how to destroy a Horcrux. If Hermione can obtain that information, then certainly Dumbledore did. This is why he chose to use Godric Gryffindor's sword to destroy the ring, being Goblin-made it imbibes that which strengthens it, thus taking on the destructive properties of Basilisk Venom.



I can answer it quickly. They are destroyed. The only way to make a soul whole again after Horcruxes are made is to feel genuine remorse. Apparently that is excruciatingly painful. But this can only be done BEFORE the Horcruxes are destroyed.



I disagree, Triad! I believe it is clear that the Avada Kedavra curse will kill the Horcrux when the vessel is an animate object. When making a living thing a Horcrux, the only suitable place to contain a Horcrux (especially an accidental horcrux) would be the soul itself. The AK curse kills the soul, thus killing the Horcrux. Like I said, we see this in DH. Harry dies as a result of the Killing Curse and thus the Horcrux dies as well, releasing its hold on Harry. Since Harry was tethered to life by his mother's blood in Voldemort, combined with the Deathly Hallows, he was able to come back from the dead- without the Horcrux.

I agree with the notion that the AK would not harm the Ring, the Cup, the Diary, etc. While the AK does destroy inanimate objects, I believe a Horcrux would be impervious to such destruction.

If you reread Hallows the chapter when he is talking to Dumbledore in his head. Dumbledore says he had to accept the fact that he had to die. When he got stabbed with the fang he wasnt ready to die and Fawkes healed him so that also couldve saved the horcrux. Plus the horcrux was attached to his soul so voldemort himself had to destroy it. Voldemort didnt know about it so when he tried to kill Harry he killed part of himself without knowing it.

When "what is a Horcrux?" it's explained in the book, I think Harry is told that they are the opposite to a soul. The horcrux is tied to the object, unlike souls, one cannot kill the horcrux without destroying the object. With Avada Kedavra, you can destroy souls (in case of Harry's horcrux, the horcrux is tied to his soul, hence, the horcrux is destroyed with it), therefore, you will not harm a horcrux if AKing the object itself (I doubt it would be destroyed).
In that exact situation, Harry was healed by Fawkes, his body was not destroyed at al... and in addition to this, as I said before, I think the horcrux is with Harry's soul, not his body (obviously, if Harry actually DIED because of the Basilisk's Venom, his soul would be destroyed, as well as if he felt from the Astronomy Tower).

Just thoughts...

I have a strange kind of theory. As we see from Chamber of Secrets the basilisk bites Harry in the arm. Now I have no idea on these things but I imagine your soul is somewhere around your mid-riff. But anyway, because Fawkes so helpfully cried on Harry's wound, perhaps the Basilisk venom didn't get a chance to destroy the horcrux before he was healed by Fawkes. That leaves the horcrux intact but explains how we could have still been bitten.
Just a thought