Horcruxes are objects containing a piece of a wizard’s soul, created by committing an evil act. Voldemort created seven, and Harry must destroy them to defeat him. Two have been destroyed, and the remaining five are likely hidden in objects belonging to the founders of Hogwarts. The creation of horcruxes makes a wizard less human and is seen as a metaphor for the destruction of the soul. There are theories that Dumbledore may have created a horcrux, but it is unlikely.
The term horcrux is an invention of JK Rowling, first mentioned in the sixth Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The creation of a horcrux occurs when you tear your soul out by committing an intensely evil act, such as murder. The torn out part of the soul is then encased in some kind of meaningful object. Thus, if a person’s physical body with a horcrux were destroyed, the person would still not have died, unless the horcrux containing the soul piece was also found and destroyed.
Rowling uses the term to explain why Voldemort was able to survive a killing curse when he attempted to kill year-old Harry. Much of the sixth book deals with Headmaster Dumbledore instructing Harry about the horcruxes that Voldemort probably created. These horcruxes kept Voldemort alive, albeit disembodied until the end of the fourth book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
Through the sixth book, Harry learns that of all the places dearest to Voldemort, Hogwarts, the school of witchcraft and wizardry, was the most such. Therefore, the objects of the founders of the school are probably places where Voldemort can hide the horcruxes. Dumbledore also suggests that Voldemort created not one horcrux, but more likely seven. As a result, Harry’s ultimate goal is not only to defeat Voldemort, but also to destroy the remaining Horcruxes.
Two horcruxes have been removed so far. Harry destroyed one in the second novel, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, in the form of a diary that Tom Riddle/Voldemort made when he was about 16. Dumbledore destroys another at the beginning of the sixth novel. This suggests that five more Horcruxes remain to be destroyed.
From the sixth book, we know that a locket belonging to Salazar Slytherin, one of the founders of Hogwarts, contains a horcrux, although it is not hidden where Voldemort thinks. A fake horcrux contains a note from RAB that he took the real horcrux. RAB is probably Regulus Black, and the locket is probably in a locker in the house that Harry inherits from Sirius Black, brother of Regulus and godfather of Harry.
Another horcrux is probably contained in a cup belonging to Helga Hufflepuff, another founder of Hogwarts. Perhaps, Voldemort’s snake Nagini contains another one. This leaves two more to be found, possibly in items owned by the other two founders of Hogwarts, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. Some have also suggested that Harry himself, as the intended victim of Voldemort’s crimes, may be a horcrux, which could lead to Harry’s death as part of defeating Voldemort.
By creating a horcrux and tearing the soul apart, the wizard becomes less human. Making a horcrux is bad enough. Creating sects is horrendous in the world of Harry Potter, as the person becomes less and less human and operates with a disfigured tiny soul. When Dumbledore gives this knowledge to Harry, he suggests that since Voldemort has only a part of his soul left, Harry has some advantage. Harry fights with a pure and complete soul, thus possessing a power that Voldemort “does not know”, as the fifth book suggests.
There are some theories on Harry Potter online sites, however, that Dumbledore may have created a horcrux himself, however, when he defeated the evil wizard Grindenwald. Most suggest that the horcrux could be found in Dumbledore’s faithful phoenix, Fawkes. This is debatable at best, but it could suggest that Dumbledore isn’t actually dead.
However, Dumbledore has always suggested that the natural progression of life leads to death, and refers to it as “the next great adventure” at the end of Book One. It seems unlikely that Dumbledore will rip his soul out of him in this way as he values the whole and pure soul above all else.
What can be said about the horcrux is that it is metaphorical of the destruction that occurs to the soul when one commits an evil deed and fails to repent in any way. The remaining horcruxes are likely to feature heavily in the last book in the Harry Potter series, since they are the key to completely defeating Voldemort.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
