Voldemort's chat with Dumbledore

[mercurybluesmng]

No: HPFGUIDX 143136

> Orna:
> I somehow can't imagine the sword acting as a loyal assistance to 
> Harry in CoS, if it was a horcrux. For the same reason I find it 
> hard to believe that the sorting hat, functioning the way it 
> functions, is one.   But I may be wrong; it would be a twist in the 
> story, worthy of JKR.
>
> I also like one horcrux to be hidden 
> in Hogwarts, because emotionally-wise it would fit into Voldermort 
> marking the school as important enough for him to place a horcrux 
> there, and story-wise, it would be a good reason for Harry to 
> revisit Hogwarts, even if he doesn't learn there. <g>


MercuryBlue:
The Sword CAN'T be a Horcrux. It was hiding safe in that Hat for how 
long, again?

The Sorting Hat probably IS the missing Horcrux. It's representative 
of all four Founders and the School itself, and is also a relic of 
Godric's, having once been his.

Now, throw in the fact that, when Riddle was sixteen and most 
decidedly the student Head of Slytherin, we know of three murders he 
had committed and two Horcruxes he had created. Leaving us a soul 
fragment (from a 'significant' death, even!) with which he could have 
created a third Horcrux. And there's the Sorting Hat, a nice ancient 
artifact with a thousand years of history behind it and connections 
to the Founders. All Riddle would have needed was thirty seconds 
alone in the Headmaster's office. As prefect and model student and 
later Head Boy, he probably had no shortage of opportunities.

And, if you think about it, Slughorn is your classic Slytherin--from 
before Tom Riddle's time at Hogwarts. Riddle clearly showed up 
determined to get the upper hand, and got it. The Slytherin kids who 
arrived a few years later looked at the acknowledged leader of their 
House and imitated his style. The kids a few years after them copied 
their upperclassmen, and so on. So we have a ripple effect. The best 
way to get power in Slytherin House is to use the same methods as 
those who already have power.

And nowhere along the line does there seem to have been anyone who 
managed to get any sort of following in Slytherin any other way.

But if the Sorting Hat became a Horcrux in Riddle's sixth or seventh 
year, that rather explains that, doesn't it? That soul fragment 
probably skewed the Hat's definition of 'ambition'. That would land 
more students willing to model themselves on Riddle to gain power 
into Slytherin, rather than the other Houses. Thereby tilting the in-
House power balance towards that faction (which had always existed in 
Slytherin, just hadn't dominated). The other Slytherins, not wanting 
to be on the losing side, promptly switched their allegiance to the 
newly dominant faction. So your portrait of the average Slytherin now 
looks suspiciously like your portrait of the average professional 
criminal or playground bully. Not, as in the pre-Riddle era, the 
average politician.

Think about that.

MercuryBlue