Dumbledore's hand / horcruxes

[fanofminerva]

No: HPFGUIDX 134815

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "rachel" <rachel.evans14 at b...> 
wrote:
> Hi!  I hope this has not recently been posted - I have looked 
through but I
> may have missed something.
> 
> I am intrigued by Dumbledore's withered and black hand in HBP and 
I am sure
> that there is more to this than meets the eye.  In the latter part 
of the
> book Harry asks Dumbledore about his hand and is never given a 
straight
> answer, in fact the book closes without a reasonable explanation 
of why it
> happened.  We do know that Snape tended to the hand (and may 
therefore know
> all about the hunt for the horcruxes) - could this be linked to 
the reason
> Dumbledore sacrifices himself at the end.  Is it possible that 
when the
> vessel for part of Voldermort's soul (the ring) is destroyed that 
the soul
> fragment found a new host in the headmaster's hand, causing it to 
die and
> decay?  This would mean that he had a reason to choose death, and 
a reason
> to ask Snape to be the one who commits the deed.  After all, apart 
from
> Voldie, only Harry, Dumbledore and Snape appear to know anything 
about the
> Horcruxes.
> 
> Okay - it's a bit far fetched - but any thoughts?
> 
> 
> Rachel x

I posted this on another thread, but perhaps it best fits here.  How 
is Harry going to destroy the horcruxes without looking like a 
California raisin?!  And given that a horcrux contains part of a 
person's soul, does it have to be killed or simply destroyed?

Julie