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Is Harry the last horcrux?

by David Haber

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). We know or suspect about five of the horcruxes. Is it possible that Harry is the sixth horcrux? There are clues to suggest that he is.

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Reader Comments: (Page 11)

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 un or half due to a lack of any remaining part of his soul within his body after he tries to 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 Harry but is thwarted. I believe that is the point where Voldemort came to understand what had exactly happened in Godric's Hollow. The of Lilly was the that Voldemort had used to create the Horcrux. However unknown to Voldemort, Lilly had planned on Voldemort ing 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 ed 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 you now Harry Potter". This implies that he could not him before but something major has changed. (He tried to 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 Harry and if not for some luck he would have. So why could he Harry now but not before? Because ing Harry would have ed one of only a few remaining opportunities to become reanimated. But with the Horcrux returned to it's owner, ing 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.

Posted by Michael Allen from Rowlett, Texas on January 14, 2007 08:20 AM

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 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 ing curse. Like dueling with brother wands.

Posted by Michael Chiarella from New Jersey on January 14, 2007 09:19 AM

Michael Allen

I enjoyed reading your post. Two things that I thought about though as I read it.

First that Voldemort says he can 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.

Posted by Mikey from New Jersey on January 14, 2007 09:41 AM

Good Theory but... if harry was a horcrux, than why little old voldy want to harry?... he tried to him in book 1,2,4,and 5, SO if harry was a horcrux then voldemort would have wanted to him, so tht makes the entire theory impossible.

Posted by Millie V. from Michigan on January 14, 2007 09:42 AM

Well, I was thinking why would voldemort wanted to 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.

Posted by Claudia from Holland on January 14, 2007 10:38 AM

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 Harry except a eater or Voldemort himself. But, if Voldemort ed Harry and all the other horcruxes were destroyed wouldn't he 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 himself to 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 himself.

Posted by Whitney B. from Hagerstown, MD on January 14, 2007 11:05 AM

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 d to save him. He said as much to Harry.
It seems to me that "I can 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 ly 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.

Posted by Hannah on January 14, 2007 12:55 PM

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 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

Posted by MIke McGrath from Columbus GA on January 14, 2007 4:11 PM

The Soul Fragment which was released when Voldemort's body was ed (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 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 allow Love to remain the strongest magic at work here, not the Dark Magic of placing some of herself in Harry.

Posted by Charlie Tarbox from Gettysburg, Pa on January 14, 2007 4:59 PM

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 bos (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 Harry, but to entirely possess him as a new body. If he only feared the prophecy, he would have sent DE to 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?

Posted by herve from strasbourg on January 15, 2007 12:56 AM

Milli V., i beleive that voldemort tried to 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.

Posted by ahmed from manama, bahrain on January 15, 2007 05:17 AM

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 s.... Harry was not in and of himself significant, but Morty believed, because of the prophecy, that his would be very important. He may have saved making his sixth Horcrux for Harry's .

My question is, how long after a 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", this give any clues on how to find, identify, or destroy a Horcrux?

Posted by Kevin from Wisconsin on January 15, 2007 06:16 AM

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