A Horcrux is an object that a person has used to store a part of their soul. If the body of the owner dies, the portion of the soul that has been kept in the body will stay in the living world in a non-corporeal form instead of passing onto the next world.
About[]
Creation[]
The process of creating a Horcrux involves damaging and then splitting the soul. The only way to do this is to willingly commit a murder, the darkest use of magic, without regret or remorse. This will break the soul. The witch or wizard will then perform a spell to sever a piece of the damaged soul and encase it in an object of their choice; whether it is something inanimate or living. It is not possible to create a Horcrux if the killing is committed out of self-defence or when the person wishes to die.
Nature[]
As long as the object containing the Horcrux stays intact or the person is alive, then the owner cannot truly die. The soul fragment will remain inside ensuring the rest of the owner's soul is tethered to it. The owner can technically be killed and their body destroyed, but their soul will remain anchored to the living world in a non-corporeal form. It is a way of attaining a sense of immortality but does not render the owner invulnerable.
Using an object is preferable to a living being that can still think and move, increasing the risk that the Horcrux will be destroyed. There is no known limit to the number of Horcruxes that can be created, with Tom Riddle splitting his soul into Horcruxes on seven occasions. However each time the soul is split, it is reduced to smaller portions which will strip away at their humanity and make their soul increasingly unstable.
It very rare conditions, a piece of the soul can be ripped away and sealed within something without the creator intending or realising it. It is only when every Horcrux is destroyed that the owner can suffer the finality of death.
Powers[]
In the event the soul is contained within a living being, they will gain a telepathic and physical connection even if they do not realise it. The owner will transfer certain magical abilities to their victim and have the ability to somewhat influence their behaviour. For example if the owner feels intense anger, then the living creature containing their soul will also feel it. An object is capable of thinking for itself and can mentally and physically influence those in its vicinity.
It is incredibly difficult destroy Horcruxes that are living creatures because they have to suffer damage so severe that magic cannot repair it. There are very few ways to achieve this. Once they are irreparably damaged, the fragment of soul within them is destroyed. The only way the owner can reverse their creation of a Horcrux and regain the broken piece(s) of their soul is if they go through a process of deep remorse for the murder they committed to create it, but the pain of this remorse can be so excruciating that the process can kill the creator.
Destroying a Horcrux[]
There are very few ways to destroy a Horcrux. The known materials or objects capable are:
- Basilisk venom: with the creatures fangs permanently impregnated with venom, this makes them very effective at destroying Horcruxes.
- The Sword of Gryffindor: the Sword cannot be damaged in any way, shape, or form. It will also only change in such a way that makes it stronger than it previously was. When it was used by Harry Potter to kill a Basilisk, the blade absorbed the venom. The blade is thus now fatal with a single cut which makes it capable of destroying Horcruxes.
- Fiendfyre: a magical flame that cannot be extinguished unless it runs out of fuel, nothing is invulnerable its power. With its damage irreparable, Horcruxes can be destroyed with it but it will very likely kill the user in the process because the flame is uncontrollable.
Known Horcruxes[]
History[]
The spell to create a Horcrux is inside a book titled Secrets of the Darkest Art.
Trivia[]
- Rowling once revealed that she was going to detail the process of creating a Horcrux in a planned encyclopedia of Harry Potter. Now that the encyclopedia has been replaced by Wizarding World, it is unknown if she still intends to do this.