[HPforGrownups] Re: Dumbledore Wrong?

[Ralph Miller]

No: HPFGUIDX 145194

---Allie wrote:
I don't think it works like that. I think the idea with the
Horcruxes is that as long as there IS Horcrux, Voldemort can't be
killed. I don't think it's like a video game where he uses one up
each time he's supposed to die. :) There's not much canon on how
the Horcruxes actually work, though.


---Another_Potter_Fan wrote:
This begs the question: what happens to the soul in a horcrux when
it is destroyed? Does it cease to exist? In CoS, it appeared that
Tom Riddle's entity/soul was destroyed when the diary was destroyed.
But according to your point ("as long as there IS Horcrux, Voldemort
can't be killed"), wouldn't it stand to reason that (due to the
existence of the other horcruxes) that his entity/soul shouldn't
have been destroyed? Thoughts?

---RM now:
I apologize for not having much canon to back this up, but there just isn't
that much on horcuxes. I see it like this -

1. The purpose of the horcrux is to hold a piece of soul so the the core
soul is anchored to the real world - this is canon from numerous places.
2. The horcrux can't rejoin the core soul once separated - Mostly speculation,
but backed up by the fact that LV isn't aware that the horcrux is destroyed.
If his soul rejoined him, and he is capable of being aware of a soul piece
as he would have to be in order to manipulate it into a horcrux, he should
be aware if it rejoins him.
3. The core soul can't be destoyed, just diminished, as long as a horcrux
exists - the proof of this is that the rebounded AK didn't kill the core
soul, requiring rebuilding from a horcrux, but diminished him to less than
living but not dead. 
4. The destruction of a horcrux container releases/destroys the soul piece
- the proof of this being that teen TR is released and disappears in CoS
when Harry "breaks" the diary container.

If these are all true, I draw the following conclusions -
1. Killing LV is impossible while even 1 horcrux exists, he can just be
diminished and his core soul remains, not living and undead.
2. The horcruxes are not used up when he is supposed to die, they are only
destoyed when released.
3. His rebirth in GoF was not the creation of a new LV with a horcrux, but
rather the restoration of the core soul.
4. LV wouldn't know that his horcruxes are destroyed until he either checks
them, or he is killed and realizes he can die.

That's the way I see it anyway. Agree? Disagree? Think I spend entirely
too much time thinking about this stuff? :-)