Harry as a Non-crux - Soul Pieces in Context

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 157907

---  "Ken Hutchinson" <klhutch at ...> wrote:
>
> >
> > Ken:
> > Slughorn and DD even disagree on what happens to the 
> > soul when a horcurx owner is "killed". Slughorn says 
> > *part* of the soul remains earthbound, DD says *all* 
> > of it remains earthbound.
> > 
> > doug:
> > Cool. Where does DD say such?
> > 
> 
> Ken:
> 
> ...Slughorn's comments ... page 497 ... Horcruxes 
> chapter. ... Slughorn's version .. on the night of ...
> GH the part of Voldemort's soul that was in his body
> was sent into the next life and something, his spirit
> (?), was anchoredto the Earth by his horcruxes. ...
> 
> ... (503 US HB) DD gives a different account. He says
> that the seventh piece of Voldemort's soul, the part ...
>  in his body..., was that part of him that lived on all 
> those years when he had no body and it now inhabits his
>  regenerated body. ...
> 
> ...
>
> So what does this mean? Danged if I know. ....
> 
> Ken
>


bboyminn:

While this view won't please a lot of people, I can't 
help but say 'I have a theory'. 

I think both Slughorn and Dumbledore are correct. Keep
in mind that conversations in books or in real life are
never absolute and definitive, they are all, to some
extent, generalizations and have context within the 
bounds of the specific conversation.

The context for Slughorn is specifically the individual
torn off and re-embodied Horcruxes. When the rest of 
the soul should be off to the afterlife, the Horcrux 
holds it to the earth; it is /all/, the entire soul, 
earthbound. That is how Voldemort was saved. 

Since some aspects of his soul were still embodied 
(stored in the Horcruxes) on earth, the core part of 
his soul could not cross over to the afterlife. So with 
regard to souls /dying/ or crossing over, it is /all or 
nothing/.

It was the core part of Voldemort's soul that was held 
to the earth by the existance of the Horcruxes. This 
part of his soul is the Self-soul, or what I generally 
refer to as the Core-Soul. It is the major part of the 
soul that contains the earthly identity, memories, and 
sense of Self. That is what lived on in Albania, and that 
is what now inhabits Voldemort's new body. It was that 
Self-Soul that Voldemort sought to save by creating 
Horcruxes.

Taking the general belief that Souls are eternal, and
combining that with what we know in the books, I 
speculate that souls take on three forms.

Core or Self Soul - as I've said, this is the bulk of 
the soul, and it contains the sense of Self, memories, 
identity, and attachment to the earthly body. These are 
the aspects that are lost when a pure complete soul 
crosses over.

Horcruxes - secondary soul pieces that are encased in 
secondary bodies (animate and inamimate) and are held
to the earth by the bodies they inhabit. In a sense, as
long as your soul, or some piece of it, has a working
body, it can never truly die. Since the 'working body'
of the soul piece is an inaminate object that generally
can't physically die, the soul pieces, the Soul and the 
Self are held to the earth for eternity.

Free Soul Pieces - When a Horcrux is destroyed, the soul
piece becomes disembodied. That is, it is the body that
is destroyed not the soul piece itself. Remember, I am
operating under the assumption that the soul is eternal
and can not be destroyed. 

The Free Soul Pieces are the most confusing since they
are bound to the earth but they are not /earthboud/. 
That is, they are held on earth by the fact that other
aspects of themselves /are/ earthbound, embodied and 
therefore tied to the earth and the earthly life. 

Since, the Free Soul Piece are not embodied, they do not 
act as anchors to hold Voldemort to the earth. They are
simply waiting around until it is possible for all aspect
of the soul to cross over. 

So, Harry's job is not to destroy the various soul 
pieces, but to free them from their earthly bodies. In 
other words, his job is to destroy the Horcruxes, not 
the soul pieces. Once all that remains embodied is the 
Self or Core-soul, Voldemort's body and his soulful-Self 
are as vulnerable to death as any other human being. 
When Voldemort final soul piece is freed, nothing will 
hold his soul in it's entirety to the earth, and when 
released it will all cross over into death.

While this theory may or may not be right, it does seem
to overcome any potential inconsistencies that seem to
appear in the books. So, based on this theory, I think
both Slughorn and Dumbledore are correct. They are each
speaking in a context and about certain aspect of the
overal effect. 

Since Dumbledore's statements are longer and more 
complete, they probably give the best overal picture, 
and I think, context considered, they do not conflict 
with Slughorn's statements.


Just one man's opinion.

Steve/bboyminn