Were HP and DD wrong? (spoilers, of course)

[Phyllis]

Ginger:

> If one has Horcruxes made, and is killed, does the part of the soul 
> in that person die? Or does one of the Horcruxes empty itself of a 
> soul? In other words, when LV was killed at GH, did a part of his 
> soul that was in him die or one that was in a Horcrux? In either 
> case aren't we down to 6, unless he has made another to replace the 
> one he used then? 

Well, I don't really know for sure, but I'll take a guess.  I would 
imagine LV would want to keep the magic number (7) of Horcruxes 
available at all times.  So, when the AK meant for Harry rebounded on 
LV, he did, in fact, lose the piece of his soul that he was still 
possessing in his body (LV admits so in the graveyard in GoF "I was 
nothing more than spirit" or something like that).  Which would mean 
that he would, in fact, need to use up one of his Horcruxes to 
replace the part-soul he lost then.  But I would imagine he'd replace 
that Horcrux to maintain the 7 he thinks are so important.  We 
haven't any idea how many pieces you can shred your soul into; all it 
takes (apparently) is the willingness to kill someone, and LV has 
certainly killed enough people to be able to make loads of Horcruxes.

~Phyllis
who wonders why Dumbledore neglected to note that the Sorting Hat is 
a Gryffindor relic and might, therefore, contain a Horcrux