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It is revealed in "The Deathly Hallows" that, when Voldemort tried to kill the baby Harry Potter, he unwittingly created in him a horcrux.

Basilisk blood destroys horcruxes.

In "The Chamber Of Secrets", Harry is bitten by a Basilisk.

Therefore, surely he is no longer a horcrux as of this point in time (i.e. the horcrux within him is destroyed).

How is it, then that at the end of the saga Harry is still a horcrux?

Or, is it that, as long as he still lives, then he is still a horcrux? (In the same way that Nagini, the horcrux snake, is a horcrux only as long as he lives). Do "living" horcruxes (Harry, Nagini, etc) need to be utterly destroyed with basilisk blood, rather than just "pierced" with it (such as seems to work for inanimate horcruxes - the locket, ring, diary, diadem, etc)? If so, why this difference?

And, if this were the case, why is it that, in their final duel, the horcrux in Harry is destroyed and Voldemort is finally able to die?

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    ... ummm... Does a basilisk use blood instead of saliva? Just because basilisk blood destroys horcruxen doesn't mean that basilisk saliva does...
    – Jeff Zeitlin
    Apr 25, 2018 at 13:41
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    I'm not sure - it is the fang of the basilisk that is used to destroy the other horcruxes (such as the diary, and the diadem) - the same fang that pierced Harry in "The Chamber...". If such a piercing is able to destroy the horcuxes in those inanimate objects, surely it would do the same in Harry?
    – user42178
    Apr 25, 2018 at 13:44
  • @F1Krazy; @Mithrandir - yes, you're right, it is - and there's a complete answer there, too, from JK herself! Thank you, and apologies - I hadn't seen that duplicate; please feel free to ignore this question. :)
    – user42178
    Apr 25, 2018 at 13:47
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    @JeffZeitlin I think that it was basilisk venom that was destructive, not the blood.
    – Arcanist Lupus
    Apr 25, 2018 at 13:56
  • @ArcanistLupus - Which just goes to show how long it's been since I've read the books, since I didn't spot that error in the question.
    – Jeff Zeitlin
    Apr 25, 2018 at 13:59

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