Living Beings as Horcruxes (was: Re: Harry Potter: A Horcrux)

[Peggy Wilkins]

No: HPFGUIDX 150856

On 4/11/06, Kathryn Jones <kjones at telus.net> wrote:
> KJ:
> JKR also pointed out that using a living being as a horcrux was not a
> wise thing to do. Creatures with free will are not to be counted on to
> be there when needed.  [snip]

I began wondering about living beings as Horcruxes as soon as I
started wondering what happened to Voldemort's split soul when he
became Vapormort.  When he came up to kill Harry, his soul was already
split; then he was ripped from his body.  What became of the torn
portion, anything at all?  Did it evaporate?  Did it flee along with
the "main" Vapormort?  Did it plop onto the ground, abandoned?  Did it
wander around on its own?

It's provocative to speculate that if it lay abandoned, someone may
have found it and "done something" with it.  That last thought leads
to some interesting possibilities, including the possibility that it
could have been used to make a Horcrux that no one else, including
Voldemort, knows about.  That is interesting because it changes the
balance of power: since Voldemort doesn't know about it, it can be
used against him.

If I may be allowed to continue along this unlikely tangent of
speculation... Although we don't know who was at Godric's Hollow in
the aftermath of the big event, I would have to say that we know only
three wizards (not counting Voldemort himself) who are reasonably
likely to know how to make a Horcrux: Slughorn (maybe), Snape (more
likely), and Dumbledore (most likely).  Slughorn knows of the Horcrux
spell but I can't see him wandering around Godric's Hollow; he has no
reason to be there.  Snape has personal reasons to possibly show up
there due to his personal involvement with the Potter's situation and
with Voldemort, but would he have sufficient discernment to recognize
a stray piece of soul and then figure out why it was there and what to
do with it?  Maybe, maybe not.  Dumbledore is the most interesting
possibility.  Slughorn's report of Dumbledore's abhorrence of
Horcruxes suggests that Dumbledore may have had personal experience in
dealing with them, and his encounters with Grindelwald provide a
likely context for having experienced them firsthand.  He is the most
likely wizard other than Voldemort himself to know how to make a
Horcrux; and he certainly has demonstrated sufficient discernment (cf.
the cave in HBP where he makes out the faint, lingering signs of
magic) that it seems likely he could detect an abandoned bit of soul
"hanging around" and recognize it for what it was.

It seems to me that if Dumbledore did happen across a bit of
Vodemort's soul at Godric's Hollow, he would have had two choices of
what to do with it: destroy it; or preserve it in something (that is,
put it into a container).  Perhaps not knowing exactly what its
presence there meant, he would have considered it unwise to outright
destroy it and decided to save it until he could understand more about
what had happened, and what it meant.

So I think he would have decided to preserve it.  But what to put it
in?  If he puts it into an object, he then has the same problem that
Voldemort has with his Horcruxes: the object could be lost or stolen
or damaged, so he would then be obligated to devise an elaborate
protection scheme for it.
If he hides it, and needs to retrieve it in a hurry at some future
date, then he has the problem of needing to undertake a journey to
seek it out.

These are serious practical problems.  But here is a way to cleverly
address them all: put the bit of soul inside a strategically chosen
living being--a human being.  Now there is no need to hide an object,
the Horcrux-person simply goes about his life, wandering freely in the
world, unsuspected.  The Horcrux-person can protect himself, keep
himself out of danger.  The Horcrux-person is unlikely to become lost
or stolen like a common object.  If Dumbledore wants it back for some
reason, he need only summon the Horcrux-person to his presence,
provided he chooses the person wisely.

The question now is, who is the Horcrux-person?  I think there is a
short list of suspects: Dumbledore himself; Harry; and Snape.  Of the
three, I think Snape is the best choice.  If Snape agrees to take on
this role, it gives a concrete reason that Dumbledore absolutely
trusts him, and explains why he can tell no one the reason for his
trust.  As a double agent Snape can't openly fight in battles; that
keeps him relatively safe.  Indeed, we find him avoiding battles that
both Harry and Dumbledore take part in (cf Ministry of Magic; and we
see him pass through both sides unharmed in the HBP tower battle). 
Most important of all, Voldemort doesn't suspect Snape, so Snape can
be in his presence without Voldemort either fleeing or attacking him;
neither Harry nor Dumbledore can make this claim.

This makes it possible to use Snape stragegically as a pawn against
Voldemort.  Snape as a Legilimens won't let this slip to Voldemort. 
He can be present at a final battle between Harry and Voldemort
without Voldemort attacking him, while he helps Harry.  He can repay
his debt to Harry's father by giving his life to save Harry and defeat
Voldemort.

Interesting possibilities indeed.
--
Peggy Wilkins
enlil65 at gmail.com