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Basilisk venom is a very poisonous substance in the Harry Potter book series. The venom is in the fang of a Basilisk and it is capable of destroying Horcruxes.

About[]

Basilisk venom is a very poisonous substance capable of killing a person in less than a minute. It causes drowsiness and blurry vision before they die. It has one known cure, the tears of a phoenix but it is exceptionally rare. Basilisk venom is a rare "foolproof" substance capable of fatally damaging and completely destroying a Horcrux.[1][2] In the case of a human Horcrux, e.g. Harry Potter, he will have to die for it to be destroyed because they need to be damaged beyond repair - simply being poisoned isn't enough because phoenix tears are able to heal it.[3]

History[]

During their invention of the Sword of Gryffindor, the goblins imbued Basilisk venom into it.[4] In May 1993, Harry Potter used the sword to kill a Basilisk and further imbued the venom into it. Harry was stabbed by a fang and it poisoned him, but he deduced it was able to destroy Tom Riddle's Diary and he stabbed it, damaging it beyond repair. Fawkes then healed Harry.[1]

Three years later, Professor Dumbledore used the sword to destroy a second Horcrux, Marvolo Gaunt's Ring[5], and less than a year later Ron used it to destroy Salazar Slytherin's Locket.[6] In May 1998, Ron and Hermione Granger used the sword to destroy Helga Hufflepuff's Cup[7] and Neville Longbottom to kill Nagini.[8]

Notes and sources[]