[HPforGrownups] Re: Is there a limit on the number of Horcruxes a person can make?

[Kathryn Jones]

No: HPFGUIDX 162244

Steve wrote:
> ---  "Kenneth Clark" <kennclark at ...> wrote:
>> ---  "Geoff Bannister" <gbannister10@> wrote:
>>
>>> However, it would therefore follow that he has made
>>> SIX  Horcruxes; the seventh soul fragment remains 
>>> in him and is thus not a Horcrux.
>>>
>> Ken says:
>>
>> But he may not yet have made the last one.  Surely his
>> repeated attempts to kill Harry and, more importantly,
>> his instructions to his Death Eaters that they DO NOT
>> kill Harry would imply (not to put it any stronger 
>> than that) that he is reserving his last horcrux for 
>> Harry's  murder.
>>
>> ...
> 
> bboyminn:
> 
> While I do, to some extent, agree with Jen Reese's 
> statements about how and why Voldemort might have made
> Nagini into the final Horcrux, but I'm not actually sure
> that he did.
> 
> My impression of Dumbledore's statements on this matter
> leaves me with an intuitive feeling that Dumbledore has
> his doubts about Nagini. He seems to be saying that IF
> Voldemort made his 6th Horcrux then it is /probably/
> Nagini. Now I know that is far from a direct quote, but
> Dumbledore's attitude combined with his statements just
> doesn't leave me with the same feeling of sureness that
> he has with the other known Horcruxes.
> 
> So, in my opinion, the jury is still out on Nagini. 
> Dumbledore's statements could be a red herring, a 
> misdirection to send Harry off on a /wild goose chase/.
> Yet, is Harry likely to encounted Nagini /before/ he
> encounters Voldemort? I don't see how, so if Nagini is
> or is not a Horcrux, Harry can't possibly find out until
> the last minute.

snip of an excellent post

> Don't have a clue what that all adds up to though.
> 
> Steve/bboyminn

  KJ writes:

    I also have a problem with believing that Nagini is a horcrux for 
several reasons:
1.	She does not fit into Voldemorte's pack-rat love for shiny things. 
The things that we know he collected were a diary, a ring, a harmonica, 
a yo-yo, a thimble, a necklace, and a cup.

2.	He has no more affinity for animals than he does people. I think that 
he values Nagini as something owns rather than important enough to use 
her as a horcrux. He possessed her on one occasion for a short period of 
time.  As she is such a large snake, and the duration a short one, she 
suffered no ill effects.  When Voldemorte possessed smaller snakes and 
animals, they did not survive. Voldemort would realize that Nagini's 
life span could not be trusted to harbour a horcrux long enough.

3.	JKR agreed that Harry needed to find four more horcruxes in the final 
book, but then she qualified that by saying that it was what Harry 
thought he had to do. So, depending on how we all interpret this, there 
are either fewer horcruxes than Harry believes, or more.

	I think that Nagini is a red herring used to inform us that a soul 
piece can be put in a living being, but that the living receptacle still 
has the ability to think for itself. I believe that Harry has a soul 
piece, which gives him the power the Dark Lord knows not, and that it 
will end up being the final soul piece to be destroyed somehow.  For 
this reason, I am convinced that Voldemorte has not made any more 
horcruxes. If he does so, not knowing that Harry has his sixth horcrux, 
what would the effect be?  Perhaps making one too many horcruxes by 
accident would overwhelm the magic and destroy all of them. That doesn't 
seem a very exciting ending though.

KJ