Doesn’t it seem natural that a dementor could destroy a Horcrux better than any wizard? Wouldn’t they be attracted to them as an easy meal? Perhaps the dementors will play a role in the destruction of one of more Horcruxes. Perhaps a dementors kiss would be a perfect remedy to a person who also happens to be a Horcrux
Theory by Hallen
Could R.A.B. have been the Death Eater responsible for placing the Locket inside the cave in the first place? It is unlikely Voldemort would trust somebody with something as important as part of his soul, but it is a mystery how else R.A.B. could have known about the Horcrux to begin with. Many people suspect R.A.B. is Regalus Black, who is portrayed by Sirius as not particularly clever. If it took Dumbledore all this time to work out where the Horcrux (the locket) is, how could somebody else with much less wisdom than him work it out all by themselves? How would they have known how to get to get to it in the cave? How, supposing they did manage to get the locket, would the basin have re-filled itself after they had drunk it? A possible reason is that Voldemort made the locket into a Horcrux, then told one of his Death Eaters to go and put it in the cave for him so it was protected. We know from OotP that Regulus was a Death Eater around the time Voldemort would have been making the Horcruxes, so Voldemort could have chosen him to do it. Somehow Regulus must have worked out it was a Horcrux and realised what Voldemort was up to, so made a fake locket with the note inside before he went to the cave. Inside the cave (possibly accompanied by Kreacher) he would have placed the enchancements and filled the basin with the potion to cover the fake locket. Then he left, and nobody would have gone in there until Dumbledore and Harry did. Voldemort must have worked out what Regulus had done and therefore killed him. It explains in OotP that Regulus was killed on Voldemort’s orders, and this could have been the possible reason.
-Theory by Nuclear Fish
Can a Horcrux be made from a phoenix or even a ghost? It would make sense for Voldermort to place his Horcrux in the Bloody Baron seeing is that is Slytherin’s ghost. This would make Voldermort immortal and surely the greatest dark wizard of all time would have thought of this the minute he decided to split his soul. This leads to the possibility of any number of things being a Horcrux- Fawkes, any one of the many Hogwarts ghosts,etc.
-Theory by CC
I think Voldemort’s father’s grave (or something around it) is a Horcrux. It marks one of his first murders, and probably one of his more important since he hated his father. It also marks the spot of his resurrection. It is also in a remote place, and he has used it before. It seems likely that Voldemort would go to a place with a Horcrux when he was resurrecting himself. Also, if Harry is in fact a Horcrux, there would be symbolism in his being phisically bound to a part of Voldemort’s soul that night in the graveyard.
-Theory by Muzzy
Perhaps there is another Horcrux Harry has destroyed without knowing it. It is thought that Voldemort used Nagini as a Horcrux. Is it possible he used the basilisk as a Horcrux as well, possibly using the death of moaning myrtle to create it? We know Voldemort prized himself on being Slytherin’s heir, so what better to use as a Horcrux than Slytherin’s own monster? If this is the case, Harry has already destroyed another Horcrux without knowing it.
-Tom Riddle Senior
If you have the children’s Bloomsbury hardback edition of HBP, look at the illustration of Slytherin’s ring at the top of the spine. You’ll see a crack in the stone in the shape of a lightning bolt. This crack is not described in any of the books, yet the ring is not described after it was turned into a Horcrux. I believe the crack was made when Voldemort turned the ring into a Horcrux, and the lightning-bolt is the symbol for one. This supports the theory Harry is a Horcrux since he has a lightning-bolt shaped crack in his head as Slytherin’s ring has one in its stone. JKR has said the most important thing about Harry’s scar is its shape. It is very unlikely this could be a coincidence or a red herring. Also, remember that Dumbledore kept pulling his hand away from Harry in the last book, perhaps it was to not let Harry see the crack in the ring and come to the same conclusion, as I have.
Does the barman of the Hog’s Head have the Locket? We all know that Harry and Dumbledore were looking for a locket, and the locket that they found was not the right one. This theory sort of ties in with the Kreacher has a Horcrux and RAB is Regulus Black theories. I think that the locket “that none of them could open” was the Horcrux locket, and Kreacher ‘acquired’ it when they were cleaning 12 Grimmauld Place. I think that it was left in the house when the Order moved out, and it was one of the things that Mundungus Fletcher took from the house and was selling. We know from the chapter “Silver and Opals” that the barman was at Mundungus’s stall outside the Three Broomsticks: “One was very tall and thin; squinting through his rain-washed glasses Harry recognized the barman who worked in the other Hogsmeade pub, the Hog’s Head.” It states that the barman walks away as Harry et al approach. “As Harry, Ron and Hermione drew closer, the barman drew his cloak more tightly around his neck and walked away, leaving the shorter man to fumble with something in his arms.” I think that the barman drew his cloak around his neck because he had something around his neck. A locket, perhaps? I think that the barman has the locket that Dumbledore and Harry were looking for. I think that this will come out in the next book.
- Theory by Jacqui
Could there be a Horcrux within Luna Lovegoods home? It states in book five that her mother, an extrodinary witch, died during an experiment. What was that experiment? Luna is in Ravenclaw; What if her mother was experimenting with an heirloom of ravenclaws, possibly a horcrux?
- Theory by Tischy
Could Voldemort’s Wand be a Horcrux? We know that Voldemort used items of special significance as his Horcruxes. His wand definitely fits into that category. We also know that he was definitely eager at the prospect of a wand in the pensieve memory in HBP. And where has the wand been kept all these years? In GoF he asks Wormtail to hand him his wand. Where did it come from? Wormtail could hardly be holding onto it for him as a rat. It may have been hidden away secretly like the rest of his horcruxes. And it is certainly well protected now as Voldemort would keep it on him at all times. Perhaps in the final battle, Harry could use Priori Incantatum to his advantage and destroy Voldemort’s wand, therefore leaving the last part of his soul (the part in his body) defenceless.
- Theory by aLLi
Could voldemort have wanted to make the prophecy a Horcrux? Sirius says he is looking for a weapon. How would the prophecy have been a weapon unless used as a Horcrux? We know Voldemort likes to make Horcruxes out of things have a great significance to him (like the diary as a memory that he opened the chamber of secrets) surely the prophecy would be equally important. Maybe he wanted to kill harry a make his last horcrux with harry’s death and use the prophecy record as the Horcrux. Further if he killed harry for his last horcrux and made the prophecy the Horcrux then his seventh and most powerfull Horcrux would serve as a memory that he had destroyed the person who had the power to destroy him. Futhermore, no one (other than Harry) would be able to touch the prophecy without going insane, which would be a pretty good defence for it if it were a Horcrux.
-Theory by Abhay
I think that Tom Riddle’s Special Services Award could be a Horcrux. Now, my reasoning behind this is Dumbledore’s claim that Voldemort likes to keep trophies from particulary significant events. The only reason for he got this award is because he framed Hagrid. Not to mention he was able to kill a ’mud-blood’, Moaning Myrtle, and get away with it scott free. The school award, for Voldemort, is a testament to his cunning; a reminder of how he ruined two people’s lives and was rewarded for it. The trophy, to me, seems to be a very good candidate for a Horcrux.
- Greg
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
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.
-Theory by Judy
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.
-Theory by Loser’s Lurgy
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.
-Theory by Warp
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.
-Theory by Carlin
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.
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) ***
*: Response by firewhisky12.
**: Response by Balderdash!.
***: Response by siriusly.
Theory by forum member idunno.
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.
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. in Order of the Phoenix.
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
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