CHAPDISC: HBP 23, Horcruxes

[Goddlefrood]

No: HPFGUIDX 160285

Q6. Why would Uncle Horace become excited when describing Horcruxes?

> Ceridwen:
> He wasn't, he was nervous. Tom Riddle was excited.

Goddlefrood comments:

Slughorn is described as both nervous at certain points and excited 
at others during the conversation with Tom. I read and reread the 
Chapter under discussion several times in my Bloomsbury hardback 
edition before writing the summary, although due to now being at work 
I do not have an exact reference to point to.

Another response also made the same observation as Ceridwen. What I 
took out of this statement that Horace was excited was that he 
clearly enjoyed discussing a somewhat taboo subject with Riddle and 
seemed, at least initially, to revel in his knowledge. It appears 
there is more to Slughorn thatn meets the eye and reasonable 
inferences include that he was sympathetic to LV at first a la Blacks 
seniors and that he only belatedly came to disapprove of LV's stated 
aims.

It also made clear that the argument that Slughorn may have been a 
Death Eater was wide of the mark and that he certainly never did 
support LV once the true agenda came out.

> Ceridwen:
> As others have mentioned, it received the thought processes of all
the founders and so became more of a universal artifact than one
specific to Gryffindor. I don't know why this wouldn't make it more
of a prize to LV, unless he knows the addage that one shouldn't trust
an object that can think for itself.

Goddlefrood:

In respect of the Sorting Hat I must say that I found it odd that not 
even a passing mention of it was made by Dumbledore when he and harry 
were discussing possessions of the founders. Even though it is now 
true that the Sorting Hat has taken on a personality of its own due 
to whatever it was the founders did to it, it is clearly implied that 
the Hat had been Godric's due to his having whipped it off his head.

Having said this now that JKR has confirmed on her website that the 
Hat is not a Horcrux there is probably no gr\eat further illumination 
to be had in speculating on it, but I do contend that the hat will 
play a significant, if not necessarily large, role in the resolution 
of the story.

> Ceridwen:

> In your (Q18) paragraph, you say, "The tools Harry possesses to 
fight with Lord Voldemort have been partially bestowed on him by Lord
Voldemort himself." I hadn't thought of Lily's blood protection
sacrifice as something LV had bestowed on Harry before, but it just
leaped out of the paragraph when I read it.

Goddlefrood:

Quite honestly I had not noticed this myself, but now you have 
pointed it out perhaps it will be one small contribution to further 
discussion regarding Harry's powers and how he will ultimately deal 
with LV.

> 8. What compelled Horace to continue answering Tom's questions when 
he was clearly described as being uneasy about the subject, was it 
more than just a natural conversation in other words?
 
> Snow:
 
> You think it may have been that same Legilimency power that 
Dumbledore used on Draco on the Tower? Both Draco and Slughorn appear 
to be speaking almost against their will at times. 

Goddlefrood:

Indeed, or at least something along that line, and I'm glad you 
picked this up. It seemed to me, particularly after Slughorn got more 
and more nervous, that he was continuing the conversation against his 
will and in some way Tom was forcing things along.

I had been thinking more of Veratiserum rather than Legilimency. This 
sort of tied back to the earlier version in which Uncle Horace's 
fingers were sugar-coated, although as I earlier, and Potioncat have 
said this probably goes to the fact that the first fogged version of 
the conversation was the sugar-coated one.

Then again, perhaps not, and Slughorn only answered due to his 
favouritism of Tom.

> Snow:
> Harry is not a Horcrux in the conventional sense but he did receive 
powers that made him equal to Voldemort, in other words he received 
the portion of soul that would have normally been encased to make a 
Horcrux; Harry is a living non-Horcrux but with all the necessary 
components, which makes him unique since he is not a Horcrux but 
obviously (to me) received the properties of one. 

Goddlefrood:

This is very interesting, and as far as I recall, original thinking. 
What it would actually add for Harry to be a living non-Horcrux may 
be best left to others to speculate on.

> Snow:
> If Dumbledore suspected Harry to be directly connected with 
Voldemort in a Horcrux-like capacity, would he have told Harry? 
remember this is the man who kept the prophecy from Harry for five 
years. 

Goddlefrood:

This point, although well made, is not something I can agree with. At 
the point reached in the story in HBP Dumbeldore was beyond hiding 
information from Harry and if he suspected Harry or his scar could be 
a Horcrux he would certainly have mentioned this and not only made a 
vague allusion to it by showing that a living being could be a 
Horcrux.

On this point, like Dumbledore, I am particularly fierce, neither 
Harry nor his scar is a Horcrux. Book 7 will reveal the truth of 
course but I have had a reasonable success rate with predictions I 
made before book 6 came out.

Just some observations to push it along.

Goddlefrood