Horcrux #3? The Marauder's Map

[marda.buz at juno.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 144324

The Marauder’s Map is in contention, in my mind, for the book 3 horcrux position. <?xml:namespace prefix == o ns == "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Let’s start in the CoS. Mr. Weasley says “never to trust anything that thinks for itself if you can’t see where it keeps its brains. Why didn’t you show the diary to me, or your mother? A suspicious object like that, it was clearly full of Dark Magic—”.
<?xml:namespace prefix == st1 ns == "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />LV would want to place a horcrux inside something that can preserve and protect it. The map does seem to 
lead a charmed existence. Fred and George set off the dung bomb 
in Filch’s office…”and we couldn’t help noticing a drawer in one 
of his filing cabinets marked Confiscated and Highly Dangerous.” 
Fred whips the drawer open and, out of all the contents, happens 
to grab the map. Once again in the hands of students who will 
treat it with great respect. Furthermore, (I’m a mathematician 
by day) what’s the likelihood they would ever stumble upon the 
exact words to work the map. (mathematical probability ==== 
approximately zero) The map next transfers to Harry. It avoids 
falling into Snape’s possession twice. Each time it goes to 
another teacher and somehow works its way back into Harry’s 
hands. The map appears to have some enchantments placed upon it 
that keep it safe from being lost/destroyed. 

LV may have targeted James Potter early on (for example, to get 
the Gryffindor sword, which may have been a family artifact). 
Perhaps one of LV’s spies (say Snape, perhaps through a Death 
Eater acquaintance) identified Peter as desperate for the other 
there Marauder’s approval. LV (or one of his agents) may have 
approached Peter with an offer of “help.” Peter knew of several 
ways to get out of Hogwarts and could easily have gone to meet 
with someone at Hogsmeade as needed. 

We know that Peter almost could not learn to be an animagus. Who helped him finally master this? LV? If so, that would put Peter in LV’s debt. Interestingly, Peter is a rat. This tells us about his personality. Is he a rat because he was sneaking around behind his friends’ backs? Tonks’ animagus changed to reflect her relationship with Lupin. Peter’s never did change.

After they had become animagi, the four friends created the Marauder’s Map. Each of the Marauders contributed to the creation 
of the map. By all accounts Peter was a mediocre wizard at best. 
The map is a clever piece of magic. It is reasonable to expect 
that Peter needed help with this, too. So, LV keeps the map to 
help Peter with his contribution, and while in his possession he 
places a horcrux in the map.

A horcrux and an agent who is a confidant of the Potters: a true coup. We know that Peter had been working for LV for some time. In POA, “DON’T LIE” bellowed Black. “YOU’D BEEN PASSING INFORMATION TO HIM FOR A YEAR BEFORE LILY AND JAMES DIED!  YOU WERE HIS SPY!” 
(JKR’s capitalization) Peter did not deny this accusation. 

Moody shows Harry a picture of the former Order of the Phoenix in which Peter is seated between Lily and James. Far fetched perhaps, but suppose that Peter also has a thing for Lily. He would never 
want her to know his involvement with LV. Hence, more leverage for 
LV. So LV could have implied that he only wanted Harry and James 
and that no harm need come to Lily. 

I do hope my first post passes the inspector elves and that this is 
a new idea rather than a previously discussed possibility. 

Happy Pottering,
Marda