destroying the horcruxes /Re How do the Horcruxes work?/Re: magic late in life

[Cathy Drolet]

No: HPFGUIDX 135025

>>--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "fanofminerva" 
>>drjuliehoward at y...> wrote:
>> Unless, of course, Harry is the only one that CAN destroy 
>>horcruxes.   
> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "colebiancardi" 
<muellem at b...> >wrote 
> I do like the idea you have about Harry being the only one who CAN 
> destroy them.  

Karen said: 
Yes.  For "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord" 
read "The one with the power to destroy the Horcruxes" As no harm 
whatsoever came to Harry when he destroyed the diary, maybe he can 
destroy them without their being able to destroy him.".  

I have to disagree.  Most of the horcruxes would have been made before the prophecy ever came along.  The diary was and I imagine the ring and locket and cup were, as well.  The last one, the one DD believes resides in Nagini, is one that we know came after.  That no harm came to Harry when he destroyed the diary, I think, is because LV/Riddle designed the diary to be used to re-open the chamber.  Afterwards, he made it into a horcrux as well.  That's just my take on it.  He made the diary at the end of his fifth year at Hogwarts, after all the COS events were finished.  That summer he killed his father and grandparents and made the diary into a Horcrux.  It was his 16-year-old self in there.  He still, above all else, wanted the diary to be able to be used...so that his bit of soul could get into the person who was opening the Chamber....how very close Ginny was.....

>From JKR's FAQ.
"In 'Chamber of Secrets', what would have happened if Ginny had died and Tom Riddle had escaped the diary?
I can't answer that fully until all seven books are finished, but it would have strengthened the present-day Voldemort considerably."


*******************
Inge asked: "Voldemort wants immortality. But what happens if he's AK'd and loses 
that part of his soul which is presently inside him? He has 6/7 
soulparts hidden in Horcruxes - but how to get hold of one of these 
soulparts and get it inside him?"


The soul inside the current LV cannot be destroyed as long as any of the other 6 horcruxes exist.  That was the point of making them.  He doesn't want to get ahold of the horcruxes.  They, being hidden away (in the cave, in the rubble of the Gaunt house) are what is keeping him alive.  As long as 1 remains, the walking-talking LV can't be killed. JMO.


*****************
azriona said: 
"But wouldn't it have been unused, since as Harry didn't die, Voldy 
didn't make the horcrux, and the object then was either stored in some 
DE's home, or left in Godric's Hollow?"

If there is in fact one in the cottage at Goderic's Hollow (let's leave Dung out of this for now), it would have been the one LV had intended to use for his sixth and final horcrux.  Yes, it would be unused, but I think if the Trio find it, it will lead them to know what the fifth one is...the one that is something of Gryffindor's or Ravenclaw's.

*******************
CathyD said:
> "Do you really think 18 is *late in life*?  DD said something along 
the lines of Merope's magic being not what it should be while she was 
tormented and tortured by her father and brother.  It didn't show in 
the best light.  Something along those lines. (Sorry, I hate not 
being able to quote but my book isn't handy.)  I think she was a 
witch all along, she was just so cowed and frightened by her father 
and her brother, everything she did went wrong.  Marvolo was calling 
her a Squib as even more torment".


azriona again:

"Yeah, actually, I do think 18 is late in life - when you're talking 
about a society where children start showing magic at the age of 
three and four, and if by eight you haven't shown it, you get dropped 
out of a window by your great-uncle.  (Neville being case in point.)  
Maybe 18 isn't that old for us, but I think 18 would be pretty much 
past the age of being able to do anything about it for them."


" 'I think you are forgetting,' said Dumbledore, 'that Merope was a witch.  I do not believe that her magical powers appeared to their best advantage when she was being terrorized by her father.  Once Marvolo and Mofin were safely in Azkaban, once she was alone and free for the first time in her life, then, I am sure, she was able to give full rein to her abilites and to plot her escape from the desperate life she had led for eighteen years.' " DD never considers her a Squib but a Witch.  At that moment we see her, she has not only been terrorized for years, but she knows why Ogden is there, knows what her brother did, and knows her father is about to find out.  No wonder she shot the pot across the room instead of Wingardiam Leviosa-ing it to the stove.

The quote for magic late in life from JKR is: 

Q: Will there be, or have there been, any "late blooming" students in
the school who come into their magic potential as adults, rather than
as children? 

A: No, is the answer. In my books, magic almost always shows itself in
a person before age 11; however, there is a character who does manage
in desperate circumstances to do magic quite late in life, but that is
very rare in the world I am writing about.

It sounds to me, and I'm sure we've discussed this on list quite a while back, that this is a one-off situation.  I don't think Merope's situation can be considered 'desperate circumstances'  as once her father and brother were out of the picture she could have just split.  (I thought DD's 'safely in Azkaban' quite funny.  Safe?  Being guarded by Dementors?)  

I think we're yet to see someone - Filch, Figg or Petunia Dursley - grab a wand and cast a spell to protect someone.  (Protect Dudley from a 17 year old Ron?  Filch protecting Mrs. Norris?)  Something absolutely desperate.  IMO, JKR's 'quite late' indicates someone more like Filch or Figg.  Again, JMO.


CathyD
TrentonON




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