LV, Nagini and Harry

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 159177

iowagirl681 wrote:
<snip>
> other than the fact that both the "visions" and
> Harry's ability to speak parseltongue are as a result of whatever
> connection to Voldemort exists because of that scar. (Whatever power
> Voldemort transferred to Harry gave Harry both the ability to see
> into Voldemort's mind and the ability to speak parseltongue.)

Carol responds:
I agree completely with this part (we know that the powers were
transferred to Harry via the cut in his forehead and they probably
reside in the scar, which does not necessarily indicate that a soul
bit also resides there).
> 
iowagirl681:
> > Another related question is if Nagini is a young Basilisk, but
that somehow does not fit in. If Nagini is one, then biting Arthur
> should have killed him, since the bite was severe and there was a
considerable time before Arthur was in St. Mungo's. <snip>

Carol responds:
Not necessarily. If Nagini is a Horcrux, any protective spell on her
would presumably kick in only if she's killed, as the curse that
attacked Dumbledore when he destroyed the ring attacked him either
after or simultaneously with the destruction of the ring. (I think
that cracking it open to release the soul bit also released the
curse.) Nagini's venom is natural to her, not part of her nature as a
Horcrux, if she is one. It serves a role more like that of the green
potion (poisoned memory?) and Inferi protecting the (supposed) locket
Horcrux than the curse on the ring Horcrux, IMO.

iowagirl681:
> I personally think that Dumbledore is mistaken - Nagini is not a
> Horcrux at all, although she and Voldemort are quite close.
> Voldemort gained his rudimentary body through a spell or potion
> of "his own design" that included (amonst other things) the venom
> provided by Nagini. Remember - Voldemort was having Peter milk her
> and feed it to him well before the murder of Frank Bryce.
> 
> Maybe - and this is so icky and strange - that Voldemort having been
> somewhat "nursed" by Nagini, the relationship between the two is
> now like that of a mother and child. (Gag)

Carol responds:
I agree with you about the surrogate mother/child relationship between
Voldemort and Nagini, which I discussed in my post number 155602:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/155602

I think that the fetal Voldemort is her "child," born from her "milk"
(venom)  mixed with unicorn blood, and that she "nurses" him like a
mother even though it's Wormtail who actually has to "milk" Nagini and
feed this repulsive infant. Surely this imagery is deliberate on JKR's
part, an evil parody of the mother/child bond seen in so many
manifestations (and violated by Merope's death in childbirth?)
elsewhere in the book. Whether the relationship is intended to be more
than symbolic remains to be seen, but it's clear that Nagini is the
only creature or being for whom Voldemort feels anything like affection.
> 
<snip arguments that Nagini was not made a Horcrux with Frank Bryce's
murder, which I agree with>

Carol:
Even if Dumbledore is wrong about the timing of Nagini being made a
Horcrux, she may still be one. As I've argued elsewhere, she could
have been made a Horcrux before Godric's Hollow. Voldemort's snakelike
appearance predates his fetal form, and his dependence on her venom
suggests a soul-bond between them that makes it possible for him to
use her venom to create and sustain that fetal body. (Certainly it
would simplify matters for Harry if Nagini and not his scar is the
sixth Horcrux!) And I still wonder if Quirrell smuggled Voldemort into
England while LV was possessing Nagini, which I don't think he could
do without killing her if she weren't a Horcrux. (BTW, it was Snape,
not Dumbledore, who made the remark about the Dark Lord seeing through
the snake's eyes because he was possessing it at the time.)

iowagirl681:
> In summary - I think Harry's job gets a little easier in book 7 as I
> think there is one less horcrux out there to deal with - as Nagini
> is just a big old snake that perhaps thinks of Voldemort as one of
> her children.

Carol responds:
Funny thing: I think his job will be much easier if he "just" has to
kill Nagini (probably with the Sword of Gryffindor, which previously
killed the Basilisk) rather than having to figure out how to destroy
the last Horcrux if it turns out to be in his own forehead. How can he
destroy that Horcrux without killing himself or being killed by
someone else, and how can he kill Voldemort without merely
revaporizing himself if the last Horcrux is still in his forehead?
Nope. Unless Snape destroys the Scar!Horcrux or Voldemort attempts to
AK him in the same place and the AK rebounds again, I see no way out
for Horcrux!Harry. I much prefer Nagini!Horcrux (and Dumbledore being
mostly right).

But even if Nagini isn't a Horcrux, she's a lot more than a "big old
snake," IMO. She's a magical snake with deadly venom that nearly
killed Mr. Weasley, and Voldemort has promised Nagini that she'll have
a chance to eat Harry ("Never mind, Nagini. there is still the boy.")
She's Voldemort's closest ally, a deadly enemy that Harry will have to
face before destroying Voldemort, whether or not she's a Horcrux.

Carol, hoping that Dumbledore is only wrong about the timing and not
about her being a Horcrux