If you were to attempt to kill Voldemort, would that destroy one of his Horcruxes?

Question

If someone just walked up and used the Killing Curse on Voldemort, would that destroy one of his Horcruxes? Dumbledore explains to Harry:

The seventh part of his soul, however maimed, resides inside his regenerated body.

— Half-Blood Prince, chapter 23, Horcruxes

Does that therefore mean if you were to destroy the “seventh part” of Voldemort’s soul which lies within his body, that another part of his should must release itself from whatever the object is (diary, ring, etc.) to give himself a new body, leaving one less Horcrux?

Answer 1

Dumbledore said "Seventh part of his soul". A part of soul doesn't make his body Horcrux. A Horcrux is an enchanted object used to keep part of Soul. So, Harry, who kept Voldemort's part soul, was never a Horcrux (it has been discussed here).

Also remember, a Horcrux can't be destroyed with Killing Curse. That's why, they needed Gryffindor's sword (which was infused with Basilisk's venom) to destroy Nagini.

So, if you apply Avada Kedavra to Voldemort's regenerated body, same thing would happen like first time (When Voldemort tried to kill kid Harry & Lily protected him). His regenerated body (which isn't a Horcrux) would be killed, but Voldemort would survive.

Answer 2

Having Six(or Seven, if you include Harry) horcruxes doesn't mean he has only six(seven) chances to come back to life & then he dies. He's immortal until every horcrux is destroyed. Also, none of his horcruxes were destroyed the 1st time he tried to kill Harry

Answer 3

Killing the part of the soul inside Voldemort's body, would not kill a 'Horcrux', or isn't equivalent to killing a Horcrux.

The part of the soul inside his body, is the crux- it is what it being protected by all those Horcruxes floating around. His soul(however bashed up) would remain tethered to this world.

And as long as the Horcruxes exist, he can reclaim that lost part of the soul from his body, using temporary measures like Unicorn blood or hitchiking on Quirrell, or more permanent rituals like the one using bone of father, flesh of servant, blood of foe.

So killing Voldemort with a curse wouldn't kill him. It would stop him temporarily until he found a way to rise again.

Answer 4

Likewise to Sachin, Voldemort isn't strictly 'alive' in the proper sense, at least as much as can be inferred from the name. Vol de mort is something like 'flight of death' in French, and is a loose transliteration of the German meaning 'in disguise'. The true Voldemort, in a sense, only exists extracorporally - Voldemort as form and flesh then is only a disguise over his true form - his body is essentially a golem, in a certain sense (although animated by itself and master of itself).

Answer 5

That did happen when he attacked Harry, the curse rebounded upon himself, but he was still alive because of his horcruxes
So no that would not count as destroying one of the parts of his soul
The main part of his soul still inside him probably has some characteristics different than the ones he has left outside him

Answer 6

The very next lines after your quote from HBP answer the question. Spoken by Dumbledore:

"That was the part of him that lived a spectral existence for so many years during his exile; without that, he has no self at all. That seventh piece of soul will be the last that anybody wishing to kill Voldemort must attack — the piece that lives in his body.”

So, the answer is no. The bit living in Voldemort must be destroyed last. Otherwise, there would be a vicious cycle of Voldemort losing his corporeal state, but surviving w/o any consequential harm to his 7 other receptacles (Harry isn't technically a horcrux).

Answer 7

No, the piece of soul in the Horcrux would remain undamaged.

A Horcrux works by keeping a piece of the wizard’s soul safe, so even if they are killed, it tethers the main part of the soul to life and the piece of soul in the Horcrux remains unharmed.

“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 …”
_{^{- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 23 (Horcruxes)}}

Trying to kill the main piece of the Dark Lord’s soul that wasn’t encased in any Horcrux simply would not work until all the Horcruxes (and also the piece of soul in Harry) were destroyed. Before that happened, attempting to kill him would “at best” simply cause him to return to the spectral form he was in after the curse he’d used on baby Harry rebounded on him.

Answer 8

I don't think so, because the Horcruxes could only be destroyed with Godric Gryffindor's sword and the Basilisk's fangs. Yes, you could kill Voldemort with the Killing Curse like everyone else, but you would have to kill the Horcruxes after you killed Voldemort.