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In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Tom Riddle says the following to Harry:

‘If I say it myself, Harry, I’ve always been able to charm the people I needed. So Ginny poured out her soul to me, and her soul happened to be exactly what I wanted. I grew stronger and stronger on a diet of her deepest fears, her darkest secrets. I grew powerful, far more powerful than little Miss Weasley. Powerful enough to start feeding Miss Weasley a few of my secrets, to start pouring a little of my soul back into her ...’

Chamber of Secrets - page 228 - Bloomsbury - chapter 17, The Heir of Slytherin

So, Voldemort put parts of his soul into Ginny.

J.K. Rowling describes Professor Quirrell's possession by (the barely alive and very fragmented) Voldemort as a "partial Horcrux".

While Quirrell did not lose his soul, he became completely subjugated by Voldemort, who caused a frightful mutation of Quirrell's body: now Voldemort looked out of the back of Quirrell's head and directed his movements, even forcing him to attempt murder. Quirrell tried to put up feeble resistance on occasion, but Voldemort was far too strong for him.

Quirrell is, in effect, turned into a temporary Horcrux by Voldemort. He is greatly depleted by the physical strain of fighting the far stronger, evil soul inside him. Quirrell’s body manifests burns and blisters during his fight with Harry due to the protective power Harry's mother left in his skin when she died for him. When the body Voldemort and Quirrell are sharing is horribly burned by contact with Harry, the former flees just in time to save himself, leaving the damaged and enfeebled Quirrell to collapse and die.

Professor Quirrell - POTTERMORE - J.K. Rowling

Both Quirrell and Ginny did not ultimately lose their souls to Voldemort. Both were subjugated by Voldemort (both tried to fight back) and both were greatly physically depleted by their contact with him. Both housed Voldemort in their very beings, their souls. Neither had the Horcrux spell performed on them, nor were there murders associated with either Ginny or Quirrell (which is required to make a Horcrux).

Is Ginny Weasley considered a "temporary Horcrux" in the way that Professor Quirrell is?

★ I'm looking for an answer based in canon (Harry Potter novels, the three supplemental books, documented interviews or information from J.K. Rowling, or Pottermore. I do not prefer an answer from the HP Wikia or the Wikipedia.

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    I have nothing canon to back it up, but I would say that the book remained the primary repository of the V Soul fragment -- It occasionally went out and controlled her, but it didn't change it's residence to her. It was more of an expanded version of what the Amulet did to the trio while on the run. In Quirrell, he was the primary repository of the fragment, with Ginny, the book still was. Ginny opened a channel between the fragment and her self by 'pouring out her soul', but the fragment never actually took up residence in her as V did with Quirell -- it just controlled her.
    – K-H-W
    Oct 20, 2012 at 17:32
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    @KeithHWeston I think stabbing the diary with the basilisk fang was a fair amount of proof...
    – Izkata
    Oct 20, 2012 at 17:56
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    @Keith H Weston: post that as an answer.
    – b_jonas
    Oct 20, 2012 at 18:08
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    @KeithHWeston - I agree with bjonas, you should post your comment as an answer! Your comment prompted me to scour OotP and I found a quote that supports your theory: ‘Then You-Know-Who hasn’t ever possessed you,’ said Ginny simply. ‘When he did it to me, I couldn’t remember what I’d been doing for hours at a time.’ (OotP - chapter 23, Christmas On the Closed Ward)
    – Slytherincess
    Oct 20, 2012 at 18:20
  • There is a difference between possession and being a Horcrux. A Horcrux is a container that encapsulates a soul fragment. Possession occurs when any soul or part-soul with a mind of its own takes over a body for its use. In this case the soul is in control and can come and go as it likes.
    – balanced mama
    Jan 22, 2013 at 17:24

5 Answers 5

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No. This is what Hermione said in DH (Ghoul in Pajamas):

“Hang on,” said Ron, frowning. “The bit of soul in that diary was possessing Ginny, wasn’t it? How does that work, then?”
“While the magical container is still intact, the bit of soul inside it can flit in and out of someone if they get too close to the object. I don’t mean holding it for long, it’s nothing to do with touching it,” she added before Ron could speak. “I mean close emotionally. Ginny poured her heart out into that diary, she made herself incredibly vulnerable. You’re in trouble if you get too fond of or dependent on the Horcrux.”

"Flit in and out" seems to strongly imply that the possessee does NOT become a container.

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Originally posted as a comment:

I have nothing canon to back it up, but I would say that the book remained the primary repository of the V Soul fragment -- It occasionally went out and controlled her, but it didn't change it's residence to her. It was more of an expanded version of what the Amulet did to the trio while on the run.

With Quirrell, he was the primary repository of the fragment, but with Ginny the book still housed the fragment. Ginny opened a channel between the fragment and her self by 'pouring out her soul', but the fragment never actually took up residence in her as V did with Quirrell -- it just controlled her.

Ginny was possessed by a portion of V's soul, but she didn't become a new vessel for it, as a Horcrux does.

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    See DVK's answer below; he's got the canon quote I was hunting for.
    – K-H-W
    Dec 8, 2012 at 15:16
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No, because the horcrux was still made and lived in the diary. It just possessed Ginny to get Harry to come so he could kill him.

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No, Ginny was not a Horcrux, just a temporary tool for Tom Riddle's evil plan. The diary, the actual Horcrux, was that piece of soul's homebase/headquarters, the one tangible object keeping it earthbound. Inbetween Ginny's periods of possession, the soul had to return to the object Voldemort originally designated it to.

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I think the end of the 6th book mentioned that souls cannot be attached to a living thing but to a container.

People who get emotionally close to horcruxes become susceptible to their power as Ginny did.

And the Diary sucked energy from Ginny in order for Riddle to get a "body" back.

So no Ginny wasn't a horcrux but rather a source of energy used to reanimate Riddle's Body. The Horcrux rather sucked energy from Ginny rather than transfer itself to Ginny.

Now I don't have the direct quotes for all this but I guess that would make Harry's forehead a container and not harry himself?

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    "I think the end of the 6th book mentioned that souls cannot be attached to a living thing but to a container." -- What about Nagini?
    – K-H-W
    Apr 10, 2014 at 19:06
  • @KHW Interesting. I just started the seventh book last night so I'll let you know what I think when I get there.
    – Mallow
    Apr 10, 2014 at 19:15
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    The main plot point of the entire HP series is that a piece of Voldemort's soul broke away when he tried to kill Harry, and that piece of soul attached itself to Harry's soul -- Harry is a living being. As KHW mentioned, so is Nagini, and she is a Horcrux. Please provide citations for your quotes -- they are important. Sorry, but -1.
    – Slytherincess
    Apr 11, 2014 at 5:06
  • wow so harsh... :(
    – Mallow
    Apr 11, 2014 at 17:35

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