Have I just transfigured out the Horcrux!Locket?

[Jen Reese]

No: HPFGUIDX 137906

jujube:
> Actually, from his speech to the Death Eaters in the graveyard in 
> GoF, it is clear that not only do some or all of the DEs know
> about the idea of a Horcrux, it is logical to infer, from the 
> canon, that they know there are multiple Horcruxes.  He says to
> them (paraphrase follows):  "You, who know better than any, what I
> have done.  I, who have gone further than anybody along the path 
> that leads to immortality."

Jen: It doesn't appear the DE's do know the extent of Voldemort's 
plan involving the Horcruxes, at least not the group at the 
graveyard. Here's the exact quote in GOF: "What I was, even I do not 
know...I, who have gone further than anybody along the path that 
leads to immortality. You know my goal--to conquer death. And now, I 
was tested, aand it appeared that one or more of my experiments had 
worked..." (chap. 33, p. 653, US). 

Pretty vague statement there and Voldemort doesn't say the 
DE's 'know better than anybody'. 

Backing this up with even more canon, Dumbledore says this in 
HBP: "Then you told me, two yeas later, that on the night that 
Voldemort returned to his body, he made a most illuminating and 
alarming statement to his Death Eater's. 'I who have gone further 
than anybody along the path that leads to immortality.' That was 
what you told me he said.....And I thought I knew what that meant, 
**though the Death Eaters did not**. He was referring to his 
Horcruxes, Horcruxes in the plural." (chap. 23, pps. 502-503, US).

jujube:
> In addition, there is only one volume left in the series.  Book 7
> is going to be relatively straightforward:  Harry IDs the last
> Horcurx, Harry finds all of them and destroys them, Harry has his
> last meeting with Voldemort.  From a literary point of view, this
> is an entirely satisfying framework.  All of the clues we need are
> are pretty much in the 6 books, and JKR will take Harry--and us--
>through all of them as the series wraps up.  There is a simple,
> elegant outline and process at work in the first 6 books (although
> HPB was a bit more ungainly with all of the (necessary to be sure)
> exposition). Why would she suddenly now add a clumsy, convoluted
> story which adds nothing to the emotional richness of having Harry 
>solve all of these mysteries with the information he has at hand? 

<much snipping>
> I understand that details can be interpreted in many ways (the way 
> JKR has so very carefully constructed Snape's character being her 
> most brilliant example).  But IMO there is a big difference
> between using details from the canon to buttress an argument and
> taking one detail, out of context, and spinning a huge story about
> it.  Maybe I'm wrong and confused because I thought that this list
> was for discussing canon and to me that theories about what 
> happens are firmly grounded in patterns, details, descriptions,
> and events of what has gone before. 

Jen: And why does it matter if some of us want to explore and 
theorize about interesting plot twists if we use canon as a basis as 
Saraquel has done? Having a little fun with canon is not banned 
here. I was unable to link to the Humongous Bigfile at the moment, 
but when I started posting the rule was you had to make at least one 
canon point in your argument. Yes, the argument has to be tied to 
canon, but extrapolation is also allowed. (If an Elf reading this 
feels I'm in error, please correct me!). 

One apparent hole in HBP that has yet to be answered is how someone 
else found the cave before Dumbledore. It's clear *in canon* that 
Dumbledore was the only person in the WW who has spent time 
researching Riddle's past, his magical style, his rise to Lord 
Voldemort and his research into and formation of Horcruxes. Based on 
that canon, *no one* should have been able to get to that locket 
Horcrux before Dumbledore did. RAB did. So there's a hole there that 
isn't explained yet. Saraquel is merely filling the hole, IMO. 
Whether you agree with her theory is very different from saying she 
isn't using canon as a basis for her argument. 

Also, just for the record, my opinion is that HBP was not ungainly 
in its exposition. I personally was enthralled, wanted to know more 
about Voldemort, wanted to hear more explanations from Dumbledore. 
Two people, reading the exact same canon, with two different 
opinions. 

I tend to agree with you that Book 7 will be straighforward as JKR 
needs to wrap up the story, and JKR makes it clear Harry's headed in 
the direction outlined in HBP. But she also gives hope for a few 
plot twists, for those of us interested in that sort of frivolity ;)
(from the TLC/Mugglenet interview): 

MA: "Here at the end you sort of get the feeling that we know what 
Harry's setting out to do, but can this really be the entire 
throughline of the rest of the story?"

JKR: "It's not all of it. Obviously it's not all of it, but still, 
that is the way to kill Voldemort. That's not to say it won't be 
extremely an torturous and winding journey, but that's what he's got 
to do. Harry now knows — well he believe he knows – what he's 
facing. Dumbledore's guesses are never very far wide of the mark. I 
don't want to give too much away here, but Dumbledore says, `There 
are four out there, you've got to get rid of four, and then you go 
for Voldemort.' So that's where he is, and that's what he's got to 
do."
*****************

jujube:
> Obviously all of the above is my opinion, and the mileage of
> others will no doubt vary.

Jen: Yes, it will vary, and more than that, it's allowed.