Did Voldemort make use of a Horcrux already?

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 165575

Celia wrote:
> I just happened to be thinking about this particular issue 
> recently, so I looked up the description of the spell that 
> VM/Wormtail performs to become Fetal!Mort.  Here is the canon:
> 
> "...Wormtail was able to follow the instructions I gave him, which
would return me to a rudimentary, weak body of my own, a body I would
be able to inhabit while awaiting the essential ingredients for true
rebirth...a spell or two of my own invention...a little help from my 
dear Nagini," Voldemort's red eyes fell upon the continually circling
snake, "a potion concocted from unicorn blood, and the snake venom
Nagini provided..." (GoF, pg. 656, Am. PB Ed.) 
> 
> If Nagini is in fact a horcrux (Which I am very undecided about) 
perhaps her venom has some "soul-essence" that allowed for the 
creation of the fetal body? Possibly these "spells of my own 
invention" are some of the other "experiments" that you are talking 
about, Annemehr. I agree that it is unlikely we will find out that VM
did much more to become immortal, because it is just too much for one
little book, but I do think this is some indication that he has other
spells and tricks to help in quest. 
> 
> I also find the combination of a deadly toxin (snake venom) and a
life-force (unicorn blood) to be an interesting comment on 
Voldemort's state- a sort of limbo between life and death. 

Carol responds:
I like that last observation. And I've noted that, Horcrux or not,
Nagini is a grotesque parody of the mother-love theme that pervades
the books: her venom helps to create the fetal form that houses
Voldemort's fragmented soul until he can actually be "reborn," and her
"milk" (venom) nourishes him. (Evidently, Wormtail feeds it to him in
a bottle, much as a father might feed a bottle-fed baby.)

But I wonder if Voldemort's experiments included a search for *bodily*
immortality. The Horcruxes protect his soul and keep it earthbound,
but what good is an immortal soul in a frail and aging body? Even
wizards get old, unless, like Nicholas Flamel, they have a
Philosopher's Stone and can keep taking the Elixir of Life. I keep
thinking of the myth of Tithonus, a mortal who was granted eternal
life but not eternal youth. He ended up so feeble that he begged for
death but, no longer being mortal, was turned to a grasshopper
instead. (Would that work, Harry? Turn LV into a grasshopper and let
someone who hates him, say, Wormtail, step on him?)

At any rate, if Voldie wants to "live" as opposed to surviving, he's
going to need an immortal body to go with his immortal soul. I wonder
whether he took small doses of Nagini's venom to make himself immune
to poison. He would also need to protect himself against disease and
especially old age. Possibly, that's where young Severus Snape came
in. Was he "putting a stopper in death" for Voldemort, not by helping
him with the Horcruxes, of course, but by brewing potions that would
help to sustain Voldie's body long beyond its natural life?

And, to return to Nagini, there's the whole question of why Voldie
becomes more snakelike. The Horcruxes blur his features, making him
appear less human as he loses what shreds of humanity he ever had, but
do they also make him more snakelike? The Voldemort who applies for
the DADA position is much less snakelike than the one who pops out of
Quirrell's head in SS/PS or the restored Voldemort who appears in the
graveyard, looking exactly as he did when he killed the Potters, as
far as I can tell. (The Death Eaters are surprised that he's
resurrected, but not by his snakelike appearance.)

Yes, Voldemort has always had an affinity for snakes and can talk to
them in Parseltongue, but why Nagini? Where did she come from, and why
is she his "dear" Nagini when he cares for no other living creature?

Carol, who thinks that Harry will slay Nagini with the Sword of
Gryffindor whether or not she's a Horcrux