Harry's Soul with Harry as horcrux

[Mike]

No: HPFGUIDX 155447

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "dumbledore11214" wrote:
> Alla:
<snip>
> 
> I totally get the possibility of soul piece not being attached to 
> Harry's soul. But it is still there, though, no? Inside of Harry? 
> At least metaphorically it is inside Harry's soul or am I missing 
> something after all? <snip>

Mike again:
Okay, I got the sheep dip out of my ears, I think I hear what your 
sayin'. Let's first put the quote on the table:

"...but he cannot possess you  without enduring mortal agony, as he 
discovered in the Ministry. I do not think he understsnds why, 
Harry, but then, he was in such a hurry to mutilate his own soul, he 
never paused to understand the incomperable power of a soul that is 
*untarnished and whole*."  (HBP p.511, US)

First off, we agree that Harry's soul is whole compared to LV's. But 
we are worried that it may be too whole and therefore tarnished with 
a piece of LV's. That's your question, right? (and Alla sighs 'It's 
about time').

My speculation, presented in two parts:

1) "...but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not..." Dumbledore 
says it just above the tarnished and whole bit; "You are protected, 
in short, by your ability to love!" then, "Voldemort should have 
known then what he was dealing with, but he did not!
  "But he knows now. You have flitted into LordVoldemort's mind 
without damage to yourself," (ibid).

IOW, Harry's inate ability to love protects him not only from the 
Horcrux, but even when he's inside of LV's mind which puts him in 
close proximity to LV's core soul piece, ostensibly a more 
powerfully magical bit of soul, bigger pull and all that. Harry's 
soul remains untarnished because his power/ability to love protects 
his soul from any incursions by the Horcrux.

2) My second part pertains to what I wrote earlier:

> > Mike:
> > It was never intended to possess another's soul like
> > the diary Horcrux. We don't know how Voldy managed this bit of 
> > magic with the diary Horcrux, but DD does say Riddle was
> > probably the most brilliant student to attend Hogwarts.

IMO, most detached soul pieces are not able to interact with the 
vessel that contains them. In fact, the soul piece didn't interact 
with the diary, the diary acted as a conduit allowing the soul to 
interact with someone who wrote in it. There's a small but distinct 
difference. Harry can access it spiritually (he gets his ability to 
speak Parseltongue from it; he gets some psychic connection to 
Voldemort through it), but it has no effect on him both because of 
his protection and because LV was not able to augment it with 
additional spells. Harry acts as the vessel, but without any more of 
LV's hocus pocus, this soul piece is nothing more than a benign 
tumor in the spirit dimension. Being benign means it can't attack 
Harry to tarnish his soul. Benign tumors will still hurt if you poke 
them, which happens to Harry when LV is near or emotional, and not 
employing Occlumency. But that's not an attack on Harry's soul.

So, Alla, are you buying any of this rot?
 
> Alla:
> 
> Just to be clear and I promise not to bug you  anymore :) - so it  
> is your argument that Dumbledore knows that Harry is a horcrux,  
> and still consider his soul untarnished and whole, and just does  
> not count Voldie piece, because it is not really attached to 
> Harry's soul, but just floats in him?
> 
Yep, that about covers it ;>)
And how does Dumbledore know this? I like the hypothesis/hint I read 
on Red Hen's sight that Dumbledore knows more about Horcruxes than 
Sluggy or even LV, because of some slightly shady experimentation he 
did in his youth. Nothing sinister, mind you, but stuff he had to 
later live down; but it also taught him a lot about the whole area 
of Horcruxes.

Mike, who's wind is getting too long, eh?