4

Inspired by trying to answer "Is a living being a poor choice for a Horcrux?"

We know that Crabbe's Fiendfyre destroyed the Diadem as a Horcrux.

Is there any evidence in canon that would indicate whether - in the unfortunate event of Harry failing to escape the Room of Hidden Things - the Fiendfyre would also have ...

...destroyed the fragment of Voldemort's soul contained in Harry himself, e.g. destroying Harry as a Horcrux in addition to simply killing him?

4 Answers 4

4

I'm going to suggest, after reading these discussions, that yes, the Fiendfyre would have destroyed the horcrux. Hermione explains that it is the object of the horcrux that protects the piece of soul, not the other way around, ergo destroying/killing Harry would indeed have destroyed the piece of soul along with him. As for whether he could be killed, I'll take a bit of Slytherincess's quote from the other answer:

His body keeps her sacrifice alive, and while that enchantment survives, so do you and so does Voldemort’s one last hope for himself

Lily's sacrifice only works against Voldemort. I'm pretty sure that's stated explicitly somewhere, but at the moment I'm not sure where. Therefore, the Fiendfyre, coming from Crabbe and not Voldemort, would have been able to kill Harry and destroy the piece of Voldemort's soul stuck inside him.

4

Pursuant to my answer here, I think that if Crabbe's Fiendfyre had destroyed the piece of Voldemort's soul within Harry -- and we know that Fiendfyre is one of the few means of destroying a Horcrux -- Harry himself would not have died as long as Voldemort remained alive, as Harry and Voldemort's lives were strongly tethered by the point of the Fiendfyre/Room of Requirement scene. Do I think Voldemort could have chosen to use Fiendfyre instead of Avada Kedavra to kill Harry in the forest, and thus destroy the Horcrux inside of Harry? Yes. He could have optioned Fiendfyre instead of Avada Kedavra. But as long as Voldemort remained alive, Harry himself -- his physical body, mind, and soul -- was protected from death by Lily's enchantment.

4
  • 1
    See my comment to that answer. I think you are wrong as the protectoin in Harry's blood was NOT universal Jan 5, 2012 at 14:00
  • If it's not a universal protection, then what exactly is it and from which specific individual(s) is Harry only protected from (using only examples from canon as a counter-argument, in the spirit of your original question which asked for a canon-based explanation)? Harry certainly had a zillion potential brushes with death throughout the series, so I'm happy to consider any alternate canon-based explanation(s). Jan 5, 2012 at 15:49
  • 5
    I'm going to posit that the ONLY thing it protects from is killing by Voldemort (by any means). For example, it's hinted that abscent the phoenix tears, HP would have died from Basilisk venom Jan 5, 2012 at 16:06
  • 2
    As I mentioned in my other comment, I'm thinking you're right. The more I thought about it, the less sense the universal protection idea made. :) Jan 6, 2012 at 16:49
1

The Fiendfyre would have first destroyed the part of Voldemort's soul in Harry but because it wasn't being controlled it would have kept going, destroying Harry's body and leaving him with no body to return to. So not only would his mind be in limbo, his body would be dead.

1

Yes, Fiendfyre would’ve killed him and destroyed the soul piece.

If Harry had fallen into the Fiendfyre, the piece of soul in him would die when he did. J.K. Rowling has said in many places that the piece of soul in Harry would have been destroyed if he had died.

7. Why wasn’t the Horcrux inside Harry destroyed when he was bitten by the Basilisk in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets?

A Horcrux can only be destroyed if its container is damaged beyond repair. Harry was healed by Fawkes. Had he died, the Horcrux would indeed have been destroyed.
- F.A.Q. (J.K. Rowling’s website)

Also, Fiendfyre is itself a method of destroying Horcruxes, meaning non-living intentionally made Horcruxes with strong protective enchantments on them, and it’s highly dangerous.

“Fiendfyre – cursed fire – it’s one of the substances that destroy Horcruxes, but I would never, ever have dared use it, it’s so dangerous.”
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 31 (The Battle of Hogwarts)

Harry is never shown as being immune to physical harm - he injured himself playing Quidditch and broke his arm, so it’s just as possible to hurt Harry as it is to hurt any other wizard.

“The Bludger had hit him at last, smashed into his elbow, and Harry felt his arm break. Dimly, dazed by the searing pain in his arm, he slid sideways on his rain-drenched broom, one knee still crooked over it, his right arm dangling useless at his side.”
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 10 (The Rogue Bludger)

Therefore, it’s almost certain that falling into Fiendfyre and not being rescued in time would kill him, and would also destroy the soul piece residing within him when it does.

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.