81
votes
Accepted
When did Voldemort find out that Harry was hunting Horcruxes?
After Harry & friends raided the Lestrange's Gringotts vault and took Hufflepuffs cup. When Voldemort found out, he killed all that delivered the message in Gringotts.
What did you say to me?&...
61
votes
Is the Sorting Hat a Horcrux?
The sorting hat is not a Horcrux
From the "Rumors" section of Rowling's old website:
Rumour: The Sorting Hat is a Horcrux
JKR: No, it isn't. Horcruxes do not draw attention to themselves by ...
59
votes
Did Voldemort kill his father before finding out about Horcruxes?
The information Voldemort is asking Slughorn is not help for how to create a Horcrux, but for an idea of what would happen if a wizard created multiple of them, or more specifically if the wizard ...
54
votes
Why didn't Voldemort recognize that Dumbledore was affected by his curse?
Voldemort never knew Dumbledore found his Horcrux
The last time Voldemort saw Dumbledore was when he dueled him in the Ministry of Magic, at the end of Book 5. Dumbledore acquired the Resurrection ...
51
votes
Accepted
Was it Tom Riddle's diary that Ginny left at The Burrow?
It's very likely to be Riddle's diary.
Ginny herself says that she came across Riddle's diary when unpacking the books which they'd bought in Flourish and Blotts.
"Why didn't you show the diary to ...
50
votes
Accepted
Why didn't any Death Eaters create their own Horcruxes?
Simply put, they didn't know how to and (probably) didn't have the skill to do it without seriously injuring themselves.
Per Pottermore;
Creating a Horcrux
And so we arrive at creating a Horcrux, one ...
44
votes
Accepted
Why didn't Snape work out Voldemort had Horcruxes?
Horcruxes were a fairly obscure topic, even among Dark wizards.
Though Snape had an interest in the Dark Arts, Horcruxes aren’t a common topic in Dark Arts. When Hermione searches the books in the ...
41
votes
Accepted
Did Dumbledore really have to wear the horcrux-ring on his finger?
Of course he did not have to wear it... but that doesn't mean Rowling had him wear it "just to get rid of him".
Dumbledore also knew the stone set in the ring was the Resurrection Stone. ...
41
votes
Did Voldemort kill his father before finding out about Horcruxes?
If we trust Dumbledore, Riddle had already killed his father long before he made the ring into a Horcrux.
Dumbledore deduces that the ring was turned into a Horcrux only after Voldemort had decided ...
34
votes
What happens to a Horcrux if the creature it's contained inside is killed?
To destroy a Horcrux, you must destroy the object it lives in beyond magical repair.
“It doesn’t have to be a basilisk fang,” said Hermione patiently. “It has to be something so destructive that ...
27
votes
Accepted
If Voldemort killed Harry, and Harry stayed dead, who would kill Voldemort?
If Harry stayed dead, Voldemort could still be killed if his Horcruxes and body were killed.
By this time, all but one of Voldemort’s Horcruxes, and with Harry's death the piece of his soul inside ...
26
votes
Is the Sorting Hat a Horcrux?
NO.
For one simple reason... all the founders died.
(Or at least I assume so... the only "confirmed" death we have is Rowena Ravenclaw)
Then my mother fell ill – fatally ill.
Deathly ...
26
votes
Why didn't Voldemort recognize that Dumbledore was affected by his curse?
It may not be the Dark Lord’s unique curse.
Though the Dark Lord does invent spells, there’s nothing that says that specific curse is unique to him. He also uses more well-known Dark magic that other ...
24
votes
Accepted
Why didn't Nagini sense Harry at the shrieking shack?
We know that she couldn't see them due to the Cloak, but snakes have other senses other than sight. Snakes can sense the vibrations on the ground made by their prey's movements, have infrared sensors ...
22
votes
Accepted
Is there any possibility that Harry's wand was a Horcrux?
No, Harry’s wand didn’t have a piece of the Dark Lord’s soul in it.
Harry’s wand absorbed something of the Dark Lord when their wands connected, but not a piece of the Dark Lord’s soul. Dumbledore ...
22
votes
Accepted
Did making Horcruxes affect Voldemort's power?
No, the Horcruxes didn’t affect his magical power, just his soul.
Creating Horcruxes splits the soul, but has no effect on magical power. Dumbledore explains that, though the Dark Lord’s soul is ...
20
votes
Accepted
Why did Voldemort want to kill Harry Potter given that Harry was one of the horcruxes which provided protection for Voldemort's eternal survival?
The Dark Lord didn't know Harry had a piece of his soul.
Unlike the Horcruxes he created, the Dark Lord had no intention of placing a piece of his soul in Harry Potter. When he tried to kill Harry and ...
20
votes
Accepted
Could Voldemort perform Legilimency through Nagini?
He's never shown doing it, and it seems unlikely.
While he was still noncorporeal, he possessed snakes, but animals weren't suited to perform magic, even while holding a piece of the Dark Lord's soul.
...
17
votes
Accepted
Did Umbridge hold prejudices towards muggle-borns before the fall of the Ministry?
Absolutely
Though she wasn't quite as open about it as the Death Eaters were, she definitely had some...strong opinions on the matter. There's a rather long bit of writing on Pottermore about Umbridge,...
17
votes
Accepted
Is the Sorting Hat a Horcrux?
No, the founders all expected they would die and planned for it.
The founders weren’t planning to live forever. In fact, the Sorting Hat was created to continue Sorting the students how the founders ...
16
votes
Is a horcrux made everytime someone kills?
No, a horcrux cannot be made accidentally, and Harry was not a horcrux
“By an act of evil — the supreme act of evil. By commiting murder.
Killing rips the soul apart. The wizard intent upon creating ...
14
votes
Accepted
If killing splits one's soul, why does Slughorn say Voldemort was the first person to split his soul more than once?
He meant that the Dark Lord was the only one to split his soul to create multiple Horcruxes.
Although he refers to it as "splitting the soul" it's implicit that he means splitting the soul, to then ...
14
votes
Accepted
Did Voldemort know about his mother by the time he created his first Horcrux?
He knew his ancestry before making Horcruxes.
The Dark Lord knew his ancestry before he made his first Horcrux. He began his search by looking for his father in wizarding records, but was unable to ...
14
votes
Can a Muggle inadvertently create a horcrux-like object?
It seems that there are two distinct stages of damaging the soul. The mere act of murder is said to rip apart the soul. This is what Slughorn tells Tom Riddle in Chapter Twenty Three of Half-Blood ...
14
votes
Accepted
Do the Horcruxes know about each other?
Horcruxes all have a degree of autonomy.
All Horcruxes have the ability to possess others who get emotionally close to them. Though the diary was the only soul fragment that we see gain a somewhat ...
13
votes
Accepted
Why didn't Dumbledore and Harry bring a house-elf to the Horcrux cave?
Dumbledore was already poisoned with the cursed ring (as revealed later in book 7) and knew he was going to die. He was ready to take all the risks himself.
Dumbledore did not know in advance of the ...
13
votes
Accepted
Why can Harry be injured so easily?
Harry wasn’t given the protection that a Horcrux is when created.
Horcruxes aren’t strong simply because they contain a soul fragment. The wizards who create them have to strengthen them using strong ...
13
votes
Accepted
Is the Sorting Hat a not-Dark version of a Horcrux?
It doesn’t seem like the Hat contains parts of the Founders’ souls.
The only mention in the books on how the Sorting Hat got its abilities is in one of its songs. The Hat says the Founders “put some ...
13
votes
Did Voldemort ever worry about Slughorn's Horcrux memory?
Slughorn also wanted to keep the secret.
The Dark Lord wouldn’t have had much reason to be concerned about Slughorn telling others that Tom Riddle had asked him about Horcruxes, since Slughorn told ...
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