Destruction of a Horcrux

It was the cruciatus curse that Harry attempted to use on Bellatrix, but was not wholly successful because he was not of the mindset to enjoy causing pain like Bellatrix, Umbridge or Voldemort. Unforgivable curses have to have 'mean'ing.

However a Horcrux is destroyed, I don't think the one attempting it will come out unscathed...look at Dumbledore's hand..he wasn't fast enough. Harry will be injured with these tasks..but not enough to stop him!

Maybe Harry should just chuck the Horcrux's at Dementors, they might be on Voldy's side but they dont know about Horcrux's, i'm sure they'd gratefully eat up a nice shiny piece of soul.

There is still a lot Harry needs to know about Horcruxes, maybe he will consult Albus' picture frame before leaving school or maybe even ask Slughorn about it.

I am going to repost a theory I previously posted since I feel it has much merit and that it was kind of glossed over.

Everyone here is of course looking at what needs to be done to destroy the remaining horcruxes, but as my theory discusses (I'll post it below in a second) what exactly is the purpose of a Horcrux?

The easy answer is that it prevents you from dying, right?

Well, yes, but it's a bit more complicated than that. It excases a piece of soul so that if the piece that resides in the body is unleashed (meaning that the body is destroyed) then it will not move on to the other plane of existence since the connection between the different pieces here on earth remains intact (my own wording).

So, to simplify it...

If you split up a soul then the pieces won't leave earth because the other pieces are somewhere else on earth. Is that a fair way to explain it?

So, what if the other pieces of soul were no longer in earth?

If the horcruxes were say, relocated to a different plane of existence, would the last piece go there when the mortal body is destroyed?

Best yet, what if the remaining pieces were relocated to the "plane of death"? Then, IMO, when the mortal body containing the final piece of soul us destroyed it would move on to the "afterlife".

Would anyone disagree with this line of thinking?

So, if Hermione thought about what she knows of Horcruxes, could she figure this out?

Next, have we ever been shown anything is the Harry Potter world that could be considered a "portal" to another "plane of existence"?

Got you guys thinking, huh?

So what if destroying the Horcruxes is not the actual best way to go. What if just relocating them would effectively solve the problem.

so, with this little prelude, here's my theory again...

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I recently came up with a theory about the remaining Horcruxes, using the cover art as support and posted it in a different thread. A couple of members recommended I start a new thread specifically discussing this theory, so here goes...

One of the things that we have been shown thus far in the Harry Potter series is that destroying a Horcrux is not an easy thing to do.

It seems, from the comments made by Dumbledore, that Harry kind of got (way too conveniently in my opinion) lucky in that he happened to destroy the diary in the only way that it could have been destroyed. Personally I have never liked the fact that Harry just happened to crack out the Basilisk's tooth and used it to destroy the Diary, and that it was the one way to do so. But that's what we have so we'll live with it...

Next we have Dumbledore destroying the ring and being wounded in the process. We don't know what he had to do to destroy it, but as he put it, "if it wasn't for his prodigious skill, and Snape's assistance" he would have bought the farm, so to speak.

The point is that destroying these Horcruxes is not that easy. It requires research before figuring out how to do it, and then you have to deal with the curses, as Dumbledore learned the hard way.

Now Harry still has upwards of 3 more (maybe 4) Horcruxes that he has to deal with. We all believe that the Locket is probably still a Horcrux, Hufflepuff's cup and an item from Ravenclaw or Gryffindor (I assume Ravenclaw). Then he has the 6th one to deal with, whether that's Nagini or something (or someone) else, that's for a different thread...

So first he needs to find them, then research how to destroy them and then do it. This alone would be way too much to fit into one book, let alone the fact that Rowling is going to have to deal with a wedding, Neville, Hermione and Ron's relationship, Ginny and Harry's relationship, the Dursley's, Luna, Dobby, Percy being a prat, the status of Hogwarts, Hagrid, Grawp, the Deatheaters, etc., etc., etc.

The point is that there is just too much that will need to be in the book to be able to find each Horcrux and destroy them individually.

This tells me that there will need to be a more simple, more direct route to take in order to destroy (or at least "disable") the Horcruxes...

So this got me thinking...

We have already been told that Hermione tried to research Horcruxes in Hogwarts to no avail, other than one passage saying that they are too evil to discuss...

So discovering how to destroy them via the Hogwart's library seems moot.

Then I looked at the US Children's cover and I speculated that it is the death room in the Ministry. That again got me thinking...

- What exactly happened to Sirius? We know he went through the archway, but where does that go to? Is it another realm? Another plane? Is it nothingness, though that doesn't seem right as there is definitely something on the other side?

So what exactly is that archway?

Being that it seemed to have "killed" Sirius, I took it as though that doorway leads to, for a lack of a better description, the "afterworld"?

So now lets look at the purpose behind Horcruxes...

"Well, you split your soul, you see," said Slughorn, "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. But of course, existence in such a form..."

So, as we know, you hide a piece of soul somewhere on earth so that if you are "killed" your soul remains earthbound.

Earthbound... earthbound...

That implies that wherever the Horcruxes are (on earth) is where your original piece of soul would stay, true?

So what if your pieces of soul were no longer earthbound? If your body and final piece of soul was then destroyed would it then remain earthbound, or would it "move on", as the other pieces would not be earthbound to keep the connection?

So, you see whaere I'm going? Hermione can't research the Horcruxes and how to destroy them, but she will be able to deduce a way to remove them from the earth plane. She will know the wording from Slughorn's memory and she has been to the ministry. She knows what happened to Sirius and will likely be able to research that doorway in the death room.

So what if she figures out that chucking the Horcruxes, all together, into the doorway in the death room would effectively nullify their purpose?

To me that seems a much simpler way to deal with the remaining Horcruxes, and in relation to the cover art it may be exactly that that we are being shown, Harry accioing the horcruxes (or final Horcrux) to throw it through the doorway in the death room.

Just a thought, but what an easier way to deal with something in one fell swoop.

-Storsy-

Well, Harry destroyed the diary, right? I guess is all depends on what object is holding the horcrux. The diary Harry put the fang right through the middle of the book. There was a crack in the center of the ring. So... I think it is possible that magic not might be required to destroy one.

So... I think it is possible that magic not might be required to destroy one.Voldemort probably didn't consider that a Muggle with a sledgehammer could destroy one (or more) of his precious Horcruxes--he's always making mistakes of overlooking things he considers beneath him (underage wizards, probably magical creatures like house-elves, half-giants). I say Harry should borrow one of Vernon's company's drills and have a go with it on at least the cup, and maybe the locket, too. :agree:

Come on now...

If it was as easy as just taking a drill to it then Dumbledore would have known this. Obviously, since he was injured during the destruction of the ring, it takes a bit more than using a drill or a sledgehammer!

-Storsy-

Come on now...

If it was as easy as just taking a drill to it then Dumbledore would have known this. Obviously, since he was injured during the destruction of the ring, it takes a bit more than using a drill or a sledgehammer!


I don't know about that, Storsy. Sometimes simple and straightforward is the way to go. Indeed, it seems to be the way Dumbledore went after the locket. We've seen countless cups/cauldrons and wands smashed and snapped in the series. Perhaps this is foreshadowing the destruction of horcrux items. If these are what some of the horcrux items are, why would destroying them in that fashion not destroy the soul within?

Dumbledore said there were enchantments hiding the ring in the Gaunt house - which could have caused the injury to his wand hand just as easilly as wearing or destroying the ring could. So it wasn't all that obvious that the destruction caused it. The process of finding is dangerous too - offering of blood to open the cave, inferi guarding the place, plus the potion - and those are what caused Dumbledore's weakened condition prior to his murder. It could be the same for the ring's concealment enchantments as well. Even in the case of the juornal, Ginny and Harry went through quite a bit and both were injured discovering what the book truely held within. Although, I still think it's significant that the diary was destroyed, not just with a poisonous basilisk fang, but a fang covered in Harry's blood - indicating a sacrifice he's made by allowing himself to be injured, and also using the protective power of his mother's love that his blood posesses.

Voldemort tends, as most villains who will ultimately be defeated by the hero do, to 'forget' or 'omit' or 'fail to consider' something in every plan. Despite his 11 youthful years at the orphanage (and several summers thereafter), I'm betting 'Mort has overlooked 'Muggle methods' for destroying Horcruxes. Who would worry about such mundane things as hammers and drills when one considers oneself 'the greatest sorcerer in the world'? :lol:

Alright, getting past the possibility that a magical item such as a Horcrux could be easily destroyed by just smashing it, which I don't think is true, lets look at it from a story point of view...

If all Harry ends up having to do, once he finds the Horcruxes, is grab a rock and smash the Horcruxes, that would be horrible story telling. Rowling is not a horrible story teller so I can't see her doing this. The last two stories have all been ablout the Hocruxes and how finding and destroying them will be Harry's destiny. Again, Rowling will not have Harry and company go through all of these clues to find the items, just to smash them.

Now I still agree that destroying possibly 4 more Hocruxes is not going to be easy to fit into this book with the countless other things that she needs to fit into this story, that's why my theory makes so much sense.

- First it is great for the story.
- It isn't necessarily easy at all.
- It makes sense.
- It finds a "backdoor" to having to destroy them, which makes it faster.
- It uses something that we have been shown before and that has negative emotional attachment to Harry.

For those who have not read my theory, it has Harry throw the remaining Horcruxes through the Archway in the Death Room at the Monistry, the same one that Sirius was lost through, effectively relocating them to another plane of existence, the afterlife if you will...

Since the point of a Hocrux is to keep the attachment between the pieces of soul so that they won't leave the plane that the other pieces are on (earth) then by relocating them to the "afterlife" then when Voldemort's mortal body is destroyed his last piece of soul will go to the afterlife to be with his other pieces.

It really is kind of ingenius and I can see Hermione figuring it out based on what she knows about that archway and what Harry has told her from Slughorn's memory about the intent of a Horcrux.

Overall the smash and done idea is bad for the story, so Rowling will not go that way.

-Storsy-

It could be a muggle method but I am heading towards the lines of something like the veil destroying the Horcruxes. Like Storsy has said if the Horcruxes were removed from this plane by placing them beyond the veil, that once LV body is destroyed his soul will join his Horcruxes on the other side

You know I was thinking what if the mimic charm that Hermione and Draco used could somehow be used again on the Horcruxes. I mean if we think about it Harry would have to find, manage to destroy, and heal (I'm assuming he'll take some damge lol) before going onto the next. I wonder if the trio could simply find the horcrux and place mimicry charms on them so that when Harry kills Voldemort he destroys all the horcruxes at once?

I posted this on another thread. It would be easier to add a charm than to destroy the magic around the horcrux, I would think?

i honestly think that the destruction of a horcrux will involve the use of advanced magic and of course the killing curse.since the horcrux is such a dark object and that its holding a dark wizards soul maybe invoking some kind of ultra good magic must be involved in order to destroy the horcrux. maybe amortentia (i know that may seem wierd)because considering that dumbledore was a skilled alchemist...

hopefully the fact that harry has some part of voldy in him might give him some insight to destroying the horcux. i hope that harry does happen to do some kind of easy method to destroying the horcrux like throwing it into the veil that is only if harry doesnt have to die.

I can't rule your theory about chucking horcruxes throough the veil out because it's just a possible as anything else (including "muggle methods" of destruction). I even think it might figure in for one horcrux, but probably not all. Here's why:
- First it is great for the story.
That's a matter of opinion. It could also be considered a deus ex machina, and a way to tie up a bunch of loose ends at once. I tend to think Jo's probably a little more creative than coming up with just one, albeit clever, way to destroy all the horcruxes.
- It isn't necessarily easy at all.
Easier than destroying them all one at a time.
- It makes sense.
It would also make sense for Dumbledore to have thought of it and used it on the ring, or at least recommended it to Harry, being at least as clever as Hermione. Plus, all we know about the veil is that Serius died passing through it. Is there more than that to suggest that a horcrux would be destroyed by this method? How do we know an object doesn't just pass through the arch unharmed coming out the other side on the dais? Maybe it only works on people. If it works I expect to find out with only one horcrux.
- It finds a "backdoor" to having to destroy them, which makes it faster. You say "backdoor", I say shortcut. I don't think Jo takes that way out after so many years.
- It uses something that we have been shown before and that has negative emotional attachment to Harry.
This aspect is intriguing and perhaps the biggest reason I think the idea may show up yet. I don't think she'll use this method for all of them - that would be too easy in my opinion. But it may be how he deals with a particularly tricky one. I think he'll destroy othere first with more conventional means - conventional meaning non-veil. I agree the drill probably won't do anything - indeed probably won't even work in the presence of the magic of the horcruxes. But i can't rule out smashing the cup or snapping the wand - we've seen those conventional methods of destroying those objects all through the series.

The only thing I can provide as support that pysical objects other than a person can enter the veil and not "just pass through" is the fact that when Sirius was pushed in his clothing, wand, etc., all went in with him. These items weren't found behind the veil or on the ground, so they must have gone in, to wherever that goes.

Also, here's something else that would be Rowling's style...

We know that figures or shadows, or whatever they are, could be seen through the veil. If memory serves, it was as though they were touching the veil from the other side (don't have the specific canon). So that means that Sirus is on the other side and could possible help Harry in his fight against Lord Voldemort, possibly even helping to pull a Horcrux, or Lord Voldemort himself, through the portal.

-Storsy-

I'll have to look at that chapter again - I don't recall being able to actually see figures. I know the veil moved as though it had just been touched, but that's all I remember. Interesting theory however.

In response to the clothing, wand, etc. - when the animagi change to their animal forms the clothing is incorporated into their apperance. MacGonagal as a cat has eye markings like her glasses, etc. With the exception of the POA movie transformation of Wormtail, all of the animagi are able to do this. Perhaps the magic of the veil treats such objects similarly.

Well, even if the figures aren't "seen", the fact that the veil is moved as though it had just been touched is enough to imply this possibility.

Also I think it is enough that Sirius, when he was pushed through, did not los his clothing, wand, etc. This means that pysical objects can at least enter the veil, which is enough to support the theory...

-Storsy-

For those who have not read my theory, it has Harry throw the remaining Horcruxes through the Archway in the Death Room at the Monistry, the same one that Sirius was lost through, effectively relocating them to another plane of existence, the afterlife if you will...

Since the point of a Hocrux is to keep the attachment between the pieces of soul so that they won't leave the plane that the other pieces are on (earth) then by relocating them to the "afterlife" then when Voldemort's mortal body is destroyed his last piece of soul will go to the afterlife to be with his other pieces.

It really is kind of ingenius and I can see Hermione figuring it out based on what she knows about that archway and what Harry has told her from Slughorn's memory about the intent of a Horcrux.
This is a fun idea to destroy the horcruxes but it doesn’t help Harry much initially. What Dumbledore told about the ring and more importantly what we saw in the cave is that those horcruxes are rather well protected. In fact it is the protection which caused all that trouble in the cave. And Harry couldn’t just chuck the whole lake through the veil.

So far we do not know if it is actually difficult to destroy the horcrux itself. The fact that Voldemort decided to protect them so extensively seems to indicate that a horcrux itself is rather vulnerable.

But if it isn’t throwing the things through the veil could work. But how to get them is I believe the big challenge, and that’s where the veil doesn’t help. Harry will need all his resources and help to negate the protections, even if he manages to find them what is the first big challenge he faces.

Well, I understand your point about the difficulty of finding the remaining Horcruxes, but he's going to have that problem no matter what. This theory get around him having to figure out how to destroy each one and lets him take care of all of them in one shot.

Also Dumbledore's discussion with Harry about the ring was specifically pointed towards the curse being on the ring itself, and not just the hiding location. Here's the canon:

"You are forgetting...you have already destroyed one of them. And I have destroyed another."
"You have?' said Harry eagerly.
"Yes indeed," said Dumbledore, and he raised his blackened, burned-looking hand. "The ring, Harry. Marvolo's ring. And a terrible curse there was upon it too. Had it not been - forgive me the lack of seemly modesty - for my own prodigious skill, and for Professor Snape's timely action when I returned to Hogwarts, desperately injured, I might not have lived to tell the tale. However, a withered hand does not seem an unreasonable exchange for a seventh of Voldemort's soul. The ring is no longer a Horcrux."

And although he discusses the traps on the shack on the next page this specifically pointed to his hand being damaged during the destruction of the ring.

Of course it does raise the question as to why he would not have waited to destroy the ring until he got back to Hogwarts, possibly with Snape's assistance, but the canon seems straight forward.

So, based upon this, and also some of what he stated in Chamber of Secrets about how Harry destroyed the Diary, I believe that the destruction of the Horcruxes is more difficult than one might think. That being the case I continue to find it hard to see Rowling fitting finding and destoying each horcrux individually in this one book, especially since she needs to sum up every other open component and story line.

-Storsy-

Also Dumbledore's discussion with Harry about the ring was specifically pointed towards the curse being on the ring itself, and not just the hiding location. Here's the canon:

"You are forgetting...you have already destroyed one of them. And I have destroyed another."
"You have?' said Harry eagerly.
"Yes indeed," said Dumbledore, and he raised his blackened, burned-looking hand. "The ring, Harry. Marvolo's ring. And a terrible curse there was upon it too. Had it not been - forgive me the lack of seemly modesty - for my own prodigious skill, and for Professor Snape's timely action when I returned to Hogwarts, desperately injured, I might not have lived to tell the tale. However, a withered hand does not seem an unreasonable exchange for a seventh of Voldemort's soul. The ring is no longer a Horcrux."

And although he discusses the traps on the shack on the next page this specifically pointed to his hand being damaged during the destruction of the ring.

-Storsy-

I have to agree with staniw, DD does say that the ring had a curse on it, not that he destroyed his hand destroying the ring. The curse could have been just to keep anyone from picking up the ring...LV would not have wanted just anyone wearing a piece of his soul.

If there is anything showing that the "actual" destruction of a horcrux is difficult, I haven't seen it or don't remember it. They are horribly well hidden, and protected...this seems to point to the horcrux itself being fairly fragile or at least no more difficult to destroy than the actual object the soul is housed in. If only a wizard of DD's or LV's capacity could destroy a horcrux LV would not have been quite as careful with them (remember, he believes he is the biggest and best wizard around). In other words, I don't think that object will be hard to destroy, just hard and amazingly dangerous to get to.

If only a wizard of DD's or LV's capacity could destroy a horcrux LV would not have been quite as careful with them (remember, he believes he is the biggest and best wizard around). In other words, I don't think that object will be hard to destroy, just hard and amazingly dangerous to get to.

Good point. And remember that Dumbledore's initial judgment on the Journal was that Voldemort was being very reckless with a piece of his soul, tossing it in harms way where it might be, and as it happened was, destroyed. He knows it is a dangerous item, but fragile all the same. (Realizing of corse that Lucius did the actual tossing, but the clear intent of the book was to be read by a student to open the Chamber again, so same thing really) The other horcruxes we've seen were treated very differently - hidden very well and protected with powerful magic.

I think the withered hand and the trip to the cave were just to show Harry what he's up against in getting to and retrieving the horcruxes - not destroying them.

Wait a second...

Wouldn't Dumbledore have explained to Harry that it isn't too hard to destroy a Horcrux, just smash it, if that was the case?

Also I could have sword that DD specifically stated in CoS that Harry luckily found the one and only way to destroy the diary. I need to look it up...

-Storsy-

I have to go with the idea that the horcruxes will go through the veil. I don't think we are done with the MOM or the veil yet. It would also be tidy for Voldemort to follow Harry to MOM to stop the destruction and after Harry has thrown them through, they end up in the room that Harry can unlock (love room) and that is where, through Harry's greatest strength, Voldemort's final end will come, not through an unforgivable but somehow through love.

If Dumbledore Knew that the ring was a horcrux why would he put it on knowing that there would be some kind of spell on it?

I am curious to know what you guys think about the horcrux destruction? In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry deals with Voldemort, who's there as a memory at the end of the book. Perhaps this is the way horcruxes should be destroyed: each horcrux contains Voldemort from some period, so Harry has to deal with him each horcrux he finds and gets to destroy. What's your theory?
The original magic of the diary was the memory Voldemort placed inside it. That's why there was a Teenage Dark Lord in the chamber. The other horcrux items presumably have their own base magic which does not likely entail a memory of Voldemort seeing as how he didn't generate those relics like he did the diary - the founders and other folk are responsible for that. So I doubt we'll see another Memorymort, teenaged or otherwise.
If Dumbledore Knew that the ring was a horcrux why would he put it on knowing that there would be some kind of spell on it?
The hand he ended up wearing the ring on was his left hand - the one that didn't get all shriveled and burned. Remember when Slughorn commented on the withered hand and Dumbledore responded in the fashion of "yes, but on the other hand..." or something like that, and brandished the ring. The damaged one was his wand hand.

I'm guessing the spell either wrecked his wand hand when he picked up the ring in the first place, or else when he tried to use his wand or something else to destroy the horcrux. I still think the crude nature of Voldemorts protections is going to be consistant. The arch required a sacrifice of blood, and Dumbledore had to drink the potion and sacrifice his strength, the diary took a sacrifice too - wether it be the basilisk or the blood on the fang Harry stabbed it with. I think the hand literally was the price payed for destroying one seventh of Voldemort's soul. And the other objects will take a toll in order to be found/destroyed just like the ones we've seen.

If Dumbledore Knew that the ring was a horcrux why would he put it on knowing that there would be some kind of spell on it?
He would if it were the only way to destroy the piece of Voldemort's soul. He was prepared to drink the potion in the cave knowing it may kill him.

Also we don't know if Dumbledore put the ring on before it was destroyed. It is possible that the ring, after being "dehorcruxified" maintained its original magic and DD wore it for this reason. Or maybe he is wearing it as a trophy of sorts, or maybe even so Lord Voldemort would learn of its destruction.

Also RavenEye states that DD was willing to drink the potion knowing that he may die, but that is not necessarily the case. He stated that he believed the potion would prevent him from finishing and incapacitate him enabling Lord Voldemort to find the "great wizard", but with Harry there he was willing to chance that Harry could help him through the task.

Also the diary was very special and, as DD put it, was meant "to get in harms way", meaning that of all of the Horcrux it had a secondary purpose and, as Rowling put it, "would have made Lord Voldemort more powerful". The other Horcrux do not likely have sentient pieces of soul, as Colloport suggests.

-Storsy-

My view has always been that you release the bit of soul by using the object:

the ring - wear it on your finger ie. the reason for thw shrivelled hand
the locket - wear it around your neck
the diary - write in it: we've already seen this happen
hufflepuff's cup (?) - drink from it: a hint is perhaps given to this with all the drinking references and the drinking of the potion to free up the locket
nagini - not a horcrux according to this theory
aunt muriel's tiara (which i think is a horcrux) - wear in on your head aka. chaos at the wedding

nagini - not a horcrux according to this theory


Nagini-speak parseltongue to her (something only Harry can do, btw)

However, I think there is a strong likelyhood that a Protean Charm could be placed upon each horcrux (my thinking that it would be easier to add a charm than to break a curse or removing it from it's hiding place) That way, since the last bit of soul resides in Vodly, if the Protean Charm is in place then all the other horcruxes go poof when Voldy dies. It also keeps the horcrux in the hiding place should Voldy feel the need for whatever reason to check on the horcruxes.

Let's remember way back in SS when Draco and Harry are sent into the Forbidden forest together? What if Ron takes Hermione (who can do the charm) and places a Protean Charm on one horcrux all the while communicating via the two-way mirror with Draco (who can also do the charm) and Harry who are placing a protean charm on another horcrux. By using the two-way mirror they can then verify if the charm is working.

My view has always been that you release the bit of soul by using the object:

the ring - wear it on your finger ie. the reason for thw shrivelled hand
the locket - wear it around your neck
the diary - write in it: we've already seen this happen
hufflepuff's cup (?) - drink from it: a hint is perhaps given to this with all the drinking references and the drinking of the potion to free up the locket
nagini - not a horcrux according to this theory
aunt muriel's tiara (which i think is a horcrux) - wear in on your head aka. chaos at the wedding
It would be an interesting theory except canon explodes it. The diary was written in for a long time by Ginny, and later by Harry, and yet it was still a horcrux. What de-horcruxified it was Harry plunging the basilisk fang through it - whether it was the physical penetration, the basilisk venom, Harry's blood, or some other aspect of it, it was clearly the plunging of the fang which destroyed the soulpiece, and this has been confirmed by JKR since HBP

My view has always been that you release the bit of soul by using the object:

the ring - wear it on your finger ie. the reason for thw shrivelled hand
the locket - wear it around your neck
the diary - write in it: we've already seen this happen
hufflepuff's cup (?) - drink from it: a hint is perhaps given to this with all the drinking references and the drinking of the potion to free up the locket
nagini - not a horcrux according to this theory
aunt muriel's tiara (which i think is a horcrux) - wear in on your head aka. chaos at the wedding

This doesn't make sense based on canon.

The diary was written in, which was not how it was destroyed. Harry used a Basalisk tooth that had his blood on it. Writing in it was just part of the magic, not the way to destroy it. Also everything that has been stated about Horcruxes never indicates that they become useless after be turned into one, meaning that they can still be used. After the cup was turned into a Horcrux it could likely still be drank from without destroying it, same for the locket, ring, etc.

The whole idea though is that Voldemort would not wish to keep a horcrux near him once created and that is why he hid them/protected them.

To me it would be a big let down if all that had to happen to destroy one was to use it or smack it with a hammer or something.

Also, if either of those were the case I can't see how DD would not have mentioned it. When he and Harry were discussing the mission it would have been the perfect opportunity for DD to state, "all you need to do is find them and then use them and they will release Voldemort's soul".

having just read over the passge in HBP I will agree that the information provided regarding destroying the horcruxes is minimal and vague. Harry does state that he has to destroy them, which seems to indicate a process more than just using them. And if it was as easy as hitting it then he likely would have said "find them and then break them". Destroy has more involved implications.

-Storsy-

Wow... it seems like it has been so long since I've been on here! It's great to be back... ok enough about me on with the topic. First off I don't know if this would be better in this section or the Division... so Mods up to you.

So here is an interesting question that popped into my mind. Can Voldemort destroy a part of his own soul? Now I don't think he would do this... but we can hypothesis no?

LEts assume for this conversation, as an example, that Harry's scar is a Horcrux. Now I hope this doesn't turn into a debate about wether he is or isn't because then the Mods will probably close this :-(. Voldy has never been able to 'destroy' HArry... but maybe this is off topic for this thread...

Can a person is general destroy there own Horcrux or soul? Maybe not just Voldemort specifically, but any witch or wizard who has created their own Horcrux? Or does something prevent them from doing so?

I'm going out on a teetering limb here!For conversation sake,I'm going to say he CANNOT destroy his own soul.He can piece it apart without destoying it because it is his and his alone.I think,maybe,only another "soul"(person)is the only thing that can destroy completely anothers soul.Our souls are ours and will always be so unless someone ELSE takes it away.

their is no info on this,its only my made up idea so don't be too hard on me if you think its lame!!

Storsey- The quote you mentioned by DD re: his hand is why I speculated awhile back in the thread that there would be a sacrifice required for destroying a horcux. I believe it was not the fang but Harry's blood on the fang that "killed" the diary soul piece and DD says " a withered hand does not seem an [I]unreasonable exchange[I] for ... This to me, means that Dumbledore realized a sacrifice was required and chose to offer his hand. Same with the potion protecting the locket in the cave- DD knew that he had to drink it. TO "sacrifice" his health or maybe even his life although its probable he thought SNape could once again, save him from its effects.
In the series we have many instances of body parts used in spells and JKR made a quote in a 2000 interview about a wizard using his eyes in a spell, which first got me thinking about this sacrifice idea. But we've also seen Voldemort use papa Tom parts to make babymort and Wormtail have to "sacrifice" his hand in that spell. Or concotion or what have you. I think Harry will, in his mission to destroy the remaining horcruxes, be required to sacrifice something physical, perhaps his eyes or eyesight if the quote I mentioned fits with this quest.
Although the theory is a good one about the veil, I agree with whoever said it seemed too easy although we will see more of it and we will see more of Sirius. I can accept the idea that one of the horcruxes will be destroyed this way(or relocated). Perhaps the last one, pitching Voldemort right after it:lol:

I apologize if this has already been discussed.

What about Dementors? Their kiss means that they suck out and devour a person's soul. What if a Dementor had a Horcrux - would the Horcrux be destroyed by the Dementor's ability to suck out souls?

Just a thought...although, to be honest, how would Harry get the Dementor to eat the soul? Still...

This is a pretty out-there idea that I came up with (I've mentioned in some other threads and in another forum so you might have heard it) but it occured to me with all the grace of a bolt of lightening one day as I was reading quotes by JKR and I have since refined it after some input on other forums. In one of the quotes JK gave, she was asked something about torture or killing or some sinister sort of magic like that (forgive me for not remembering where I got the quote but I was rather distracted by my sudden idea) and whether or not there could be an opposite sort of spell/potion/magical activity to counteract that horrible sort of deed and she replied very strongly that everything in the Harry Potter universe has an opposite and that for every push there was a pull. THis was when the bolt of lightening struck me and I almost fell out my chair as I thought about what that meant. I'll start with the obvious: the opposite of hate (something that Voldemort thrives off of) is love (something that Harry possesses in great and powerful quantities) and both are used to acheive victory-- Voldemort uses hate to carry out dasterdly deeds and Harry uses love to carry out heroic deeds. The opposite of murder (killing someone else out of hate) is sacrifice/martyrdom (allowing yourself to be killed for a greater good) and both are used to acheive immortality to some extent (or at least to save a person from death at one point or another)-- the key element to a horocrux is murder and the key element to the ancient magic that protected Harry from the killing curse is the sacrifice of his mother for him. Okay so there are a few less obvious things that I concluded from these first two ideas, if you can split a soul than you can mend a soul, and if you can put a peice of soul into an object than you can take a soul out of an object. There must be a way to repair a soul. There must also be a way to remove soul from a horocrux without necessarily destroying the object its harbored in. I had been trying to think of an alternative way for Harry to complete his task of making Voldemort mortal again, other than going around and searching for relics that could be anywhere and anything and then trying to get past the magical enchantment protecting them (protections that twice, almost killed the greatest wizard of all time) and then trying to find a way to smash them up or in some way destroy them all in the course of a year with only the knowledge he has gained from a uncompleted schooling and the aid of two teenage friends. THere has to be another way....so what if he could somehow peice Voldemort's soul back together-- it would acomplish the same thing because Voldy would end up with only one peice of soul and Harry would have only one thing to destroy. THere is another part I wanted to add to this but I have to go and this post is getting rather long anyway so I'll add that bit later..... I don't really know how my theory can be carried out but I would love input and does anyone else out there agree that there has to be another way than going around smashing dusty goblets?

katishere- that's a cool idea! It would still require Harry to find the horcruxes. And obviously for him to get the info needed to do this. Do you think DD would have told him if this was possible? It would seem better for Harry's sake because, as you mentioned, it appears to be quite dangerous doing things DD's way. I would have to say that if this were possible, DD wouldn't have known about it . But it's an interesting theory

Some people believe that the diary was a horcrux. If so Harry destroyed it using the tooth. Maybe each horcrux will have to be destroyed in a different way...

The Diary was definitely a Horcrux.

Storsy, the Horcruxes keep the soul piece in Voldemort's body from going beyond the Veil when the body dies. It doesn't go where the various soul pieces are; it just stays on the same plane they're in. The suggestion of tossing them through the Veil is a good one, and has been made before. You're right that the Diary was unique in that it had a conscious soul piece in it--this was because Voldemort intended it as a sort of weapon to open the Chamber of Secrets.

Voiced could be heard beyond the Veil in the MoM, but no actual shapes are seen. At one point I think Harry has the impression that someone (not Sirius) has just gone through it because of the way the Veil moves.

We've seen the destruction of one Horcrux; it was accomplished without a magical spell, although a basilisk is a "fantastic beast" (or what Hagrid would call an "interestin creature,") and so we might see magic involved in that way. Harry apparently either destroyed the physical Horcrux itself--the Diary (he stabbed it and the venom burned a hole in it) or poisoned or tore apart the soul piece in the Horcrux. Young Riddle was destroyed quickly (it took longer in the movie). So does this mean that destroying a ring, locket, mirror, whatever that contains a soul piece destroys that piece? Or must the soul piece itself be attacked?

katishere, I don't think Voldemort's soul can be restored; Harry destroyed one of his soul pieces and Dumbledore (apparently) destroyed another. There are only 5/7 of them still here.

The canon doesn't say anything about preventing the soul piece that resides in the mortal body from going beyond the veil, just that it ties it to the plane as that is where the other pieces are... Here's the actual quotes from HBP:

"Well, you split your soul, you see," said Slughorn, "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."

So from that and other canon I have concluded that the soul is meant to be together and it is for this reason that Horcruxes work. So wherever the other pieces are the main piece, or last piece, would want to "join" the other pieces. If all of the remaining Horcruxes were sent to a different plane then wouldn't the last piece go there as well once uncontained?

I disagree when you write that there were no shapes seen in the veil. If memory serves I thought that the curtain was moving as though someone or someones were touching it from the other side. Also since we know that someone could go in, and the "doorway" is open, couldn't they maybe not come back, but come to the door to possible pull something (OR SOMEONE) into the veil?

Storsy

Since a Horcrux is created with a murder, could there be a connection between destroying it and life and love?
We see in CoS that Harry saves Ginny in the events of destroying the diary with the basilik fang, and in HBP we read:
“Had it not been – forgive me the lack of seemly modesty – for my own prodigious skill, and for Professor Snape’s timely action when I returned to Hogwarts, desperately injured, I might not have lived to tell the tale.”
Dumbledore, HBP, pages 470-1

Both of these events (assuming you believe Snape is good) show compassion, protection (being saved) and, in a way, love. Does anyone else see a connection?

I don't see that connection.

Harry ended up destroying the Diary out of luck. He grabbed the Basalisk tooth which worked due to the venom, being from a magical creature or most likely because it had Harry's own blood on it.

DD was injured by the ring, either when he destroyed it or getting it. The fact that Snape helped him just provides canon for the Snape is Good or Bad debate. It also shows that certain injuries are better left to a wizard knowledgeable in the dark arts than a healer. Snape helping to prevent DD from dying does not suggest that that had anything to do with the ring's destruction.

Storsy

Dumbledor is not dead and he will help Harry destroy the horcruxes, and godforbid DD is dead:upset: wormtail will betray voldy and tell harry how to destroy them.

yeah...this horcux thing is very complicated....I don't think harry can perform any of the unforgivible curses it's dark magic and he would have to mean them...which, for harry isn't possible. Even dumbledore wouldn't perform magic such as that because it is evil. So how would he go about destroying them....very complex...it will be very interesting to find out how! 39 more days!

Actually, firebolt57, didn't Harry start to attempt casting an Unforgiveable Curse in HBP, but Snape prevented him from finishing? If memory serves then he is quite capable. Now I don't believe that he will need to do this to destroy the Horcruxes, just that he and others are quite capable. For example, wouldn't it be pretty cool to see Neville perform a Cruciatus curse on Bella?

On a side note, when it comes to the desrtuction of the Horcruxes it all comes down to finding them. I have to imagine that the start of DH will have Harry saying goodbye to the Dursleys and going to Bill and Fluer's wedding. I don't see him acquiring too much info about Horcruxes during this time. Next stop after that would probably be to visit the barkeep that Mundungus was talking to. Being that this is Alberforth, DD's brother, this will start the journey. The locket will probably be obtained through this, as will other information as to other items. From there it's just a skip and a jump over to Hogwarts and a visit with Hagrid, Grawp, maybe McGonigal and maybe even the sorting hat (which has to have some viable info) and more importantly, possibly DD's picture.

So, being that before they are destroyed the have to be found, then where else might they be? We know that so far they have all been hidden in a place from LV's past. So let's list different possibilities...

- The Orphanage
- Hogwarts (this makes a lot of sense)
Maybe the Room of Requirement (LV had to know about the room, right?)

Anywhere that I'm missing?

Later,
Storsy

if its a peice of voldey's soul, an the way to kill a whole soled person is by using the killing curse, then it may be possible to use this on the horcruxes also, but mabye thats too simple, or harry would just look a bit daft doing that . . .

Actually, firebolt57, didn't Harry start to attempt casting an Unforgiveable Curse in HBP, but Snape prevented him from finishing? If memory serves then he is quite capable. Now I don't believe that he will need to do this to destroy the Horcruxes, just that he and others are quite capable. For example, wouldn't it be pretty cool to see Neville perform a Cruciatus curse on Bella?

Storsy, Harry actually performed the CC on Bella, but it did not hurt her as he really didn't enjoy the pain. That's the taunt that Bella throws back at him, that he doesn't really mean it.

I wouldn't be surprised to find Ravenclaw's cup still in the old lady's (I can't remember her name, but she had the cup and a house elf) house hidden by some truly sinister magic. Remember how crowded the house was? Granted, her heirs could not find the cup or the locket, but it could have been hidden the way the ring was. There is also the Riddle House as a possiblity. DD would have known if there were any horcuxes in Hogwarts, so I'm going with no on that one. Albania...that's where he hid out for the last few years, so maybe...That's really all we know about Riddle (before he became LV) I have a feeling that DD's memory will play a part again.

I think that in order to destroy a horcrux, you must first activate it. Ginny activated the diary by writing in it, dumbledore I am assuming put the ring on before destroying it. I believe that the locket in grimmauld place showed no real powers (aside from not being able to open it I guess) because nobody put it on around their neck. Sorry if this has been mentioned before, but its just a thought.

Okay so has anyone listened to the latest Mugglecast episodes? because on one of them they talk a little bit about Hufflepuff's goblet and what its magical powers could be. There was a quote from that lady Hepzibah Smith while she was showing Tom Riddle the cup in Half Blood Prince where she said something along the lines of "This cup is legendary for having all sorts of powers but I haven't tested them all out fully and I just like to keep it nice and safe in its box." So what could its magical powers be and how would they affect the way it is destroyed? Well, on the Mugglecast episode they were discussing whether it could be the magical version of the Holy Grail, provide everlasting life or, I like to think, provide healing (that's seems like a very Hufflepuffish thing to do--- shes more of the "spread happiness and cheer" type of person not the "make people immortal muhahahh" type). So if it did have some sort of power like that would that interfer with how its destroyed? I mean if it provides healing would it heal itself from whatever damage Harry tried to perform on it? And what if there was a way to simply destroy the soul fragment and not the object itself because if the cup really did have some amazing powers than it would be ashame to smash it into ablivion

I think that in order to destroy a horcrux, you must first activate it. Ginny activated the diary by writing in it, dumbledore I am assuming put the ring on before destroying it. I believe that the locket in grimmauld place showed no real powers (aside from not being able to open it I guess) because nobody put it on around their neck. Sorry if this has been mentioned before, but its just a thought.

This is an awesome idea! I think someone has mentioned it but that was way in the beginning of the thread so cheers! Yah, I completely agree that this is a possiblity, especially considering the fact that Harry has something that looks very much like a locket around his neck on the US cover......

The problem that I have with the way to destroy a horcrux is by using it is that per canon a horcrux can be created using any item, not just items that have a purpose or that are magical. LV used these items because he felt superior...

So what if you have a horcrux that was a rock? How exactly would you "use" a rock? What about if Nagini truly is the 6th (or 7th) Horcrux. How do you "use" her?

Also, since creating a horcrux requires a spell (didn't Slughorm state "There's a spell, don't ask me" - or something like that) then wouldn't that suggest that it's going to take a bit more than just breaking or just using the Horcrux to set the piece of trapped soul free?

Lastly, in thinking of areas where LV may have hid the horcruxes, Alabania does not make sense as he did not go there until he lost his physical form while trying to create his final horcrux using Harry's death. So hiding one there would only be logical if he recently relocated one, which wouldn't make sense. Why relocate something that you have already hidden?

-Storsy-

So what if you have a horcrux that was a rock? How exactly would you "use" a rock? What about if Nagini truly is the 6th (or 7th) Horcrux. How do you "use" her?

I think that since she is living, you wouldn't have to "use" her. I think just simply killing her would be enough. I don't know, I have theories on all the other possible Horcruxes that I will type up and post in a bit.

As I always said: I think the room of the Department of Mysteries will come in play here, since it has Love. And Love > Dark Magic, especially Voldemorts. So.. yeah..

I think the way you release a Horcrux if you plan on using it is also through a spell. LV had to use a spell to put his soul in an item, I think he has to use a spell to remove it and return it to himself. To destroy it, it might take a spell or just like Harry did with the diary just takes pyshical force. But I still do think that a spell on Nagini would release his soul from the snake so he could use it if the need arise. Because I don't think he would just destroy the locket to get his soul since he created his Horcrux's out of powerful objects he wouldn't just destroy them. Especially something of Slytherin's since he is the last surviving heir and they are his heritage.

I don't believe there is an activation requirement to destroy a Horcrux. It seems more likely that there is some sort of sacrifice required to destroy it though. Just as there was an offering of blood - however crude the magic seemed to Dumbledore - to get through the opening of the Cave, there have been similar offerings to get rid of the two destroyed Horcruxes we know of. The Diary was destroyed with a venomous fang that had pierced Harry's arm and likely had his blood on it. This offering or sacrifice parallels the one made to get into the cave almost exactly. The ring cost Dumbledore his hand. A small price to pay, he says, for a seventh of Voldemort's soul.

The concept of a sacrifice being the anti-horcrux seems logical. Harry's mother sacrificed herself and it prevented his murder. Seems like items created with a primary act of murder might be countered with an act of sacrifice. Wether that means people will have to die to see them destroyed - that seems unlikely as both Harry and Dumbledore lived after the initial Horcrux destructions. But the ring might have killed Dumbledore if not for Snape's help - so I think they could prove lethal.

What sort of sacrifice needs to be made, I'm not sure, btu I think it will go that way. And as the two destroyed Horcruxes have been spiritually and physically destroyed - pierced through with a fang and cracked through the stone - I think all of the Horcruxes will be likewise broken, cracked, or otherwise destroyed physically.

"That's right!" said Hepzibah, delighted, apparently, at the sight of Voldemort gazing at her locket, transfixed. "I had to pay an arm and a leg for it, but I couldn't let it pass, not a real treasure like that, had to have it for my collection. Burke bought it, apparently, from a ragged-looking woman who seemed to have stolen it, but had no idea of its true value -"
There was no mistaking it this time: Voldemort's eyes flashed scarlet at the words, and Harry saw his knuckles whiten on the locket's chain.
...
"I thought - but a trick of the light, I suppose -" said Hepzibah, looking unnerved, and Harry guessed that shee too had seen the momentary red gleam in Voldemort's eyes.
...
For a second, Harry was on the verge of shouting a pointless warning: He was sure that Voldemort's hand had twitched toward his pocket and his wand; but then the moment had passed, Voldemort had turned away, the door was closing, and he was gone.
HP6, CH.20, Lord Voldemort's Request

Is Voldy's eyes turning red the sign of a creation of a Horcrux, like Harry's eyes (Supposedly) turning green after Lily transferred her power to him (Sorry, one of my theories, tying it in)?

why would LV give harry a horecrux while at the same time try to kill him? that scar was from LV trying to kill harry potter, nothing more or less

I don't think that Harry will ever be able to fully perform the Unforgiveable Curses as they're meant to be cast because he is pure of heart. In addition I don't think that the Unforgiveable Curses will destory the Horcruxes. I think that the Horcruxes are heavily guarded by magic unique to each one so that no two are alike. As for defeating Voldemort, at the end of Half-Blood Prince we see Harry's Parents, Sirius and Dumbledore gone and Harry pushing away the people he loves for fear of their death. Harry has to realize and accept that love is what Voldemort does not know and what will be the end of him. Who knows, maybe in book 7 Harry learns a new spell that conjures the love of Harry's Parents, Sirius, Dumbledore, etc. that destroys Voldemort. Or Harry forces Voldemort to feel love, etc. I believe in the end Harry will have to face Voldemort alone and it will somehow involve love.

NAMBLA?

Well I think in the seventh book maybe Dumbledore will have left some information around for Harry on what to do if Dumbledore dies. The thing about the unforgivable curses is up in the air though. I mean I'm sure Dumbledore had thought about that at some point in time. Maybe Dumbledore was going to teach Harry how to them?? But I doubt that because I really can't see Dumbledore or Harry for that matter using a unforgivable curse. Maybe there is another way to kill him???

I'm pretty sure Dumbledore has used one. Did he not kill Grindelwald?

I'm pretty sure Dumbledore has used one. Did he not kill Grindelwald?The frog card says he defeated him, not killed - just like the prophecy says defeat and not kill. Dumbledore has said there are worse fates than death. It seems almost like he may be speaking from experience - perhaps alluding to the fate of Grindelwald, and that perhaps Voldemort was aware of that fate.

The frog card says he defeated him, not killed - just like the prophecy says defeat and not kill. Dumbledore has said there are worse fates than death. It seems almost like he may be speaking from experience - perhaps alluding to the fate of Grindelwald, and that perhaps Voldemort was aware of that fate.
I think so too.
I don't think that Harry will ever be able to fully perform the Unforgiveable Curses as they're meant to be cast because he is pure of heart. In addition I don't think that the Unforgiveable Curses will destory the Horcruxes. I think that the Horcruxes are heavily guarded by magic unique to each one so that no two are alike. As for defeating Voldemort, at the end of Half-Blood Prince we see Harry's Parents, Sirius and Dumbledore gone and Harry pushing away the people he loves for fear of their death. Harry has to realize and accept that love is what Voldemort does not know and what will be the end of him. Who knows, maybe in book 7 Harry learns a new spell that conjures the love of Harry's Parents, Sirius, Dumbledore, etc. that destroys Voldemort. Or Harry forces Voldemort to feel love, etc. I believe in the end Harry will have to face Voldemort alone and it will somehow involve love.
If Harry only has to defeat Voldemort, it would be such an inspiring ending, wouldn't it, that Harry destroys Voldemort by forcing him to feel love. I'm just not sure that Voldemort knows or can ever feel love.

The frog card says he defeated him, not killed - just like the prophecy says defeat and not kill. Dumbledore has said there are worse fates than death. It seems almost like he may be speaking from experience - perhaps alluding to the fate of Grindelwald, and that perhaps Voldemort was aware of that fate.


So it's possible that Grindelwald is still running around? And doesn't the prophecy say 'vanquish', which is 'to defeat in battle'? it may not, but thats what i thought it said. so what did dumbledore do, really? and, then, the prophecy didnt say he had the power to kill voldemort, so its looking like harry will get killed by voldemort and voldy will die too... idk, its all confusing.

I believe that destroying a horcrux will be unique to each one. For example, Dumbledore had to drink the potion in the cave in order to retrieve the fake locket horcrux; however, in COS, Harry used the fang of the Basilisk to stab the diary, even though that may not have been the only way to destroy it. Also, if Dumbledore's arm was injured by destroying Marvolo's ring, there could be many ways that destroyed it, like the theory of him throwing it threw the veil. (But that's another topic.)

get a dementor to do it

Actually Emerson did bring up dementors (for destroying horcruxes) on the book tour, and it does sound like a good possibility. Perhaps you could use a dementor on a living horcrux like nagini?:shrug:

I think you have hit on a very good Idea .The veil is a portal to the land of the dead ,so if Harry throws the Horcruxes through the veil ,then those parts of Voldemort would be in the land of the dead, and be effectively dead !,so that Voldemort would be 5/7th. or 6/7th. dead and thus vunerable to being killed by Harry !. So what do you all think? :huh:

Of course the flip side is if this didn't destroy the Horcrux's there's no way to go get them to try something else.

But ye, I think that would be an easy way to destroy them, maybe too easy.

If Harry only has to defeat Voldemort, it would be such an inspiring ending, wouldn't it, that Harry destroys Voldemort by forcing him to feel love. I'm just not sure that Voldemort knows or can ever feel love.

I can picture it now, Voldemort and Harry squared off against each other, the DA and DE's all gathered around, everyone holding there breath waiting to see what's going to happen. and Harry shouts out "Group Hug!!"

I actually think we (and therefore, Harry) might be overlooking the obvious in the destruction of the Horcruxes.

JKR said that Harry has 'amassed more knowledge than he realizes'. I take that to mean that for the most part, Harry already knows what he needs to know - he just hasn't figured it all out yet.

First of all, Harry is going to be limited in the places he can get information on Horcruxes in general. They aren't a widely discussed subject and it isn't like the trio can waltz into a bookshop and request a book on the subject. We already know that JKR has said that Dumbledore's portrait would only have limited value to Harry, not to mention that Harry isn't about to go around asking Order members and his teachers (former teachers) about the subject.

So, I really think Harry already knows how to destroy them; after all, he's already done it once.

The thing is that JKR hides the details in plain sight. When Harry destroyed the diary, there was one little overlooked property that has nothing to do with the 'stabbing' of the diary OR the basilisk poison, and that was Harry's blood; he'd just wrenched the fang out of his own arm and it was covered in it.

Dumbledore told Harry in the cave in HBP that Harry's blood was more valuable than his own - which means SOMETHING!

I personally think that since originally, Harry's blood was toxic to Voldmort (or at least, his touch was) and those Horcruxes were made prior to Voldemort obtaining Harry's blood - it would be poisonous to them.

Prediction: Harry can destroy the Horcruxes with his own blood and will destroy the embodied Voldemort with the only thing he has that is still toxic to Voldemort - his 'pure and untarnished soul.'

There are probably different ways to destroy different horcruxs. :cool:

If there is a piece of Voldemort's soul inside of Harry, when Harry destroys his body the only part of him remaining would be inside of Harry. As a result of this, from voldemorts point of view he would be suffering a fate worst than death because he will be surrounded by the thing he hates the most which is love.

i really really like that theory

no i love that theory

could be dead on



a theory of my own is that, and i didnt bother to read through all 24 pages to see if this is a repeat so forgive me if it is, you can only destroy a horcrux with another horcrux

the diary destroyed by nagini
when harry kills voldemort directly

i dont know, just a thought

As far as Nagini, I think you just need to kill her like any other snake. The cup though, I don't know it'd be a bit anti climatic if they ran it over with a ford anglia! Would be cool if there was something in the restricted section in the library about removing souls. I know Dumbledore objects to the teaching of Horcruxes but I was under the impression the Hogwarts library had almost everything in it, and doubt Dumbledore would remove books on Horcruxes just have them in the restricted section.

Well, I think Dumbledore knew Harry would have help destroying them. Not himself, obviously, because Snape had already told him of the vow and Dumbledore insisted on going, despite Snape's protests throughout the year.

No, I think Snape (obviously a very powerful wizard in his own right) is close enough to the Dark Lord to know about the horcruxes, and may even know how to destroy them. He will probably help Harry.

I think the basilisk tooth was a lucky catch for Harry in the second book, and he's obviously not going to be that fortunate again (without Felix Felicis anyway...).

I do think the dementor's kiss will feature prominently in Nagini's destruction, or at least the removal of the horcrux from her. Because, let's face it, Dumbledore's pretty much right about everything. If he thinks Nagini's a horcrux, she probably is... and judging by Harry's ability to see into her, I think there's good supporting evidence.

~ Adhish

The frog card says he defeated him, not killed - just like the prophecy says defeat and not kill. Dumbledore has said there are worse fates than death. It seems almost like he may be speaking from experience - perhaps alluding to the fate of Grindelwald, and that perhaps Voldemort was aware of that fate.

I do believe the prophecy says "Neither can live while the other survives." I take this to mean Harry will have to kill Voldemort if he hopes to survive the battle.

As for how, I agree with the others who have said that the Department of Mysteries will come into play again.

Hi powerfulmagic,

When Harry destroyed the diary, there was one little overlooked property that has nothing to do with the 'stabbing' of the diary OR the basilisk poison, and that was Harry's blood; he'd just wrenched the fang out of his own arm and it was covered in it. [...]

Prediction: Harry can destroy the Horcruxes with his own blood and will destroy the embodied Voldemort with the only thing he has that is still toxic to Voldemort - his 'pure and untarnished soul.'

So you are still onto that... :tu: agreed, of course! I just read in another thread (http://www.cosforums.com/showpost.php?p=4596879&postcount=35) that you are of the opinion that Voldemort might have planned to rejoin all soul pieces at last. Agreed as well, in terms of alchemy this would result in some kind of evil Philosopher's Stone. Voldemort would be life force to himself and a great analogy to the composite King in Goethes "Märchen" (http://wn.rsarchive.org/RelAuthors/GoetheJW/GreenSnake.html) (see also the thread (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=105462) on that tale).

Putting your two points together, one can conclude that Voldemort has lost his ability to reach his final goal in GoF when he recreated his body with Harry and therefore Lily's blood. Voldemort would destroy his own Horcruxes with his own blood now. This explains Dumbledore's gleam of triumph. Together with your notion, powerfulmagic, that the Horcruxes are designed to be worn, which makes the soul piece move on to a victim, one can predict how the final confrontation between Voldemort and Harry might look like: Harry destroys all Horcruxes with his blood, except of the last, which he wears (how painful). Then he lets himself be killed by Voldemort, the Avada Kedavra backfires again and Voldemort is vanquished, everyone happy ;) (and if Harry is very mean, he tells Voldemort beforehand).

As always, I have some doubts: You assume that Harry's blood destroyed Voldemort's diary Horcrux. Nevertheless, this was before the GoF resurrection scene. Could the resurrection have had an effect on the Horcruxes as well? And if Harry still can destroy Horcruxes with his blood, would he at all able to wear a Horcrux and absorb its soul piece? Harry is so integral usually. Would not this destroy the Horcrux as well? Or would Harry become a danger to his own friends?

Well, I hope the cross-references were not too off-topic. powerfulmagic, you inspire the wildest speculations, as always!

Kind regards,


N_H

Well, I think Dumbledore knew Harry would have help destroying them. Not himself, obviously, because Snape had already told him of the vow and Dumbledore insisted on going, despite Snape's protests throughout the year.

No, I think Snape (obviously a very powerful wizard in his own right) is close enough to the Dark Lord to know about the horcruxes, and may even know how to destroy them. He will probably help Harry.

I think the basilisk tooth was a lucky catch for Harry in the second book, and he's obviously not going to be that fortunate again (without Felix Felicis anyway...).

I do think the dementor's kiss will feature prominently in Nagini's destruction, or at least the removal of the horcrux from her. Because, let's face it, Dumbledore's pretty much right about everything. If he thinks Nagini's a horcrux, she probably is... and judging by Harry's ability to see into her, I think there's good supporting evidence.

~ Adhish

I can`t agree. First Dumbledore showed Harry all the memories for that he discoveres that Voldemort trusted nobody. Dumbledore said that some may believe they are, ore close to him than the others, but they are wrong.
Second we have seen in the books that Harry often used unconscious little things while fighting against a superior opponent. Like Expelliarmus that saved his life. And little twelve year old Harry found a way to destroy a Horcrux unhurt different from what Dumbledore achieved.
So I think we could be sure that Harry will find the right instrument/way for destroying all the other Horcruxes. In my opinion the tooth of the basilisk worked so well because the basilisk was the instrument for the murder that Voldemort used to make exactly this Horcrux or one of them Then Harry should be able to destroy another one with his wand only because that has the same core than Voldemorts and Voldemort used his wand against his father.

i think harry will have to either use a curse on the horocrux, or break it somehow, or they would have to suck out the soul

I'd say dumbledore's portrait can help him

So I think we could be sure that Harry will find the right instrument/way for destroying all the other Horcruxes. In my opinion the tooth of the basilisk worked so well because the basilisk was the instrument for the murder that Voldemort used to make exactly this Horcrux or one of them Then Harry should be able to destroy another one with his wand only because that has the same core than Voldemorts and Voldemort used his wand against his father.

That is an interesting idea...and it brings up speculation on how Dumbledore was able to destroy the ring Horcrux.:hmm:

I agree with whoever said it was Harry's blood and not the fang that destroyed the dairy. I posted a theory on here a very long time ago that it will require a sacrifice to destroy a horcrux. The dairy- Harry's blood, the ring- Dumbledore's hand. ANd though the locket had been replaced, getting to it required DD to drink a potion that was harmful to him.

I think that Voldemort designed the horcruxes so that, in order to destroy them, one had to weaken themselves somehow. Either the enchantments placesd around them to guard them or the horcruxes themselves, need the wizard to sacrifice a physical part of themselves. This would virtually guarentee that one wizard would not be able to "disarm" all of them.

ANd the knowledge that Harry has but doesn't realize he has is that his blood is very powerful. There is a quote of DD's that I love that firmed up this theory for me. He says something like " the use of a hand is a small price to pay for the destruction of a soul piece". I wish I could find it as , imo, he basically said that he realized he needed to sacrifice his hand in order to destroy the ring's soul piece.

I'm all for the Dementor theory. Here, kiss this necklace, please.

hopefully harry, along with hermione the human dewey decimal system, will do some research and figure it out.

first off, lol. Then second, ha to the way you totally left Ron out. Poor Roonil. :p

I think we have seen that each method must be different... or at least seen enough to infer it with a large degreee of certainty. Harry destroyed the Diary with the fang of the Basilisk (that worked out well for him, huh?)... and unless thats how Dumbles broke the ring (INCREDABLY DOUBTFUL) I would have to say that it's stricktly situational.

That is an interesting idea...and it brings up speculation on how Dumbledore was able to destroy the ring Horcrux.:hmm:

In my opinion Dumbledore hadn`t the right instrument, thats why he got that blackened hand. Maybe the true reason why Harry is the Chosen one is that he is able to find the right way/instrument to destroy the Horcruxes without getting hurt deathly.

I could be a spell. There's a spell to make a Horcrux, so why not a spell to remove one?

And you wouldn't need to destroy the object to remove the soul, because when Dumbledore removed the soul from the stone in the ring, the stone just cracked, i didn't explode.

I could be a spell. There's a spell to make a Horcrux, so why not a spell to remove one?

And you wouldn't need to destroy the object to remove the soul, because when Dumbledore removed the soul from the stone in the ring, the stone just cracked, i didn't explode.

But if the soul was sealed in the stone, not in the ring the crack would mean the stone was destroyed. The diary didn`t vanish after Harry put in the tooth, it wasn`t usable anymore.

One of the questions of a FAQ-poll (http://www.hp-lexicon.org/about/sources/jkr.com/jkr-com-poll.html) on Jo`s site asked "Does the destruction of a Horcrux involve more than the destruction of the object?" In my opinion this implied that first it is indispensable to destroy the subject that surrounds the soul part and second that you have to do more than that to destroy it really.

Just force Voldemort to eat them..........