Harrycrux Variations (was: A dastardly Voldy plan)

[nkafkafi]

> Kneasy:
> An innate perversity plus nuggets of canon still hold me in thrall
> to the 'no AK for Harry at GH' theory. Now is perhaps not the time
> to
> restate all the arguments, maybe later when for the third time
> we're 
> repeating threads deriving from HBP and wondering if anyone can 
> come up with something that provides a change of tempo.


Neri:
Well, when rounding up the evidence, be sure to include something
I've
just noticed in HBP Ch. 1:

*************************************************************
"The Muggle authorities were perplexed. As far as I am aware, they do
not know to this day how the Riddles died, for the Avada Kedavra curse
does not usually leave any sign of damage. . . . The exception sits
before me," Dumbledore added, with a nod to Harry's scar.
************************************************************* 

Sounds pretty anvilish to me, but of course Dumbledore might be wrong
or lying. If he is, however, we still need to explain why Voldy was
vaporized in GH. 

I personally didn't chuck Intentional Harrycrux yet, but I think
it
improves its chances considerably by incorporating the AK into it. For
example, how about this scenario: after AKing Lily out of the way,
Voldy performs the rite of turning baby Harry into a Hx, but it
doesn't work because Lily's ancient magic protects Harry from
the evil
intrusion. Voldy gets frustrated (he tends to do that, you know) and
AKs Harry. From here on this scenario proceeds as in Unintentional
Harrycrux: the AK rebounds and vaporizes Voldy, the two just-ripped
soul parts are released, and one of them finds its way into
Harry's
mind through the gash in his forehead. This version has the advantage
that the hypothetic Hx-making rite was fully performed with baby Harry
as the target. OTOH I still feel that, had Voldy ever suspected that
Harry is one of his Hxs, he would have treated him a bit more
sensibly, or what was his whole point of making Harry a Hx to begin
with?


> Kneasy:
> Harry is more than just Harry. 
> There're extras added to the basic model. These include 'powers'
> from
> Voldy and the ability to mind-link (unless deliberately blocked) as
> an 
> absolute minimum. Other possible additions include fragments of the
> Voldy personality and/or Voldy essence, his anima, life-force or
> what-
> ever you want to call it which may or may not be indistinguishable
> from
> his soul or any part thereof - which would effectively result in 
> Heircrux!Harry. 
> 
> IMO it's more than just powers - the Hat, the mind-link, the mutual
> recognition between Harry and Diary!Tom, the ability to access the
> Chamber, all are suggestive to the point of being clouted round the
> ear by a sand-filled sock. Gentle hints they ain't.  
> 


Neri:
I agree. They might still be red herrings, but they are intended. And
we already have the proof from the Diary Hx that each of the soul
parts might become a fully functional model, especially if given the
chance to leech on the soul of a host, and Harry has been a host for
much longer than Ginny was in CoS. I agree wholeheartedly that
JKR's
plots frequently aren't the most elegant (<cough> gum wrappers
<cough>) but inventing something so much like a Hx and yet has nothing
to do with a Hx would be a grave disappointment for me.  


> Kneasy: 
> Something else we can safely assume is that you don't split your
> soul 
> and deposit the off-cut into a Hurlucks accidentally. It's a
> deliberate
> act. It's the result of the Darkest of Dark Magic. And Voldy seems
> set
> on making seven of 'em. Thus if Harry is one of Voldy's
> safety-deposit
> boxes it was planned - and there couldn't have been an AK. 
> 


Neri:
As I mention above we can actually have Intentional Harrycrux *with*
the AK *and* a full Darkest of Dark Magic rite, and it works quite
well with the canon. However, I wouldn't let our longing for some
"realism" (heh!) in the plot discourage us from considering
the
possibility of Unintentional Harrycrux. We have JKR's word (in the
three-part interview) that what's happened at GH was a
one-of-a-kind
event that nobody could foresee. Under such conditions it's not so
"unrealistic" to imagine a just-ripped soul part somehow
finding its
way, through a just-opened magical wound, into the only body still
alive in the scene. Especially if the Author likes this to happen.    


> Kneasy:
> How likely is it that we have a Horsechucks!Harry on our hands?
> Well, the evidence is a bit thin.
> DD's musings tend to militate against the idea - at first anyway.


Neri:
Yes, the main problem with all versions of Harrycrux, IMO, is whether
Dumbledore knew or suspected. If he did, why didn't he warn
Harry? If
he didn't, then what was the Essence Divided thing about?


> Kneasy:
> He thinks that Egotrip!Voldy would go for ancient objects of magical
> significance; Slytherin's ring, locket; the Hufflepuff Cup;
> something
> from Ravenclaw (bet it's a wand - that Tarot link looks like another
> of those anvil-sized hints) and maybe something connected with 
> Gryffindor. 
> 

Neri:
Dumbledore suspected that Voldy would want a Gryffindor trinket, and
Dumbledore's suspicions are never far off the mark (again,
JKR's word
in the TLC/Mugglenet interview). But Dumbledore also said that the
sole remaining Gryffindor trinket is the sword, which Voldy hadn't
managed to put his hands on. So what if, instead of a Gryffindor
trinket, Voldy decided on a Gryffindor *student* to complete his set?
Head Girl Lily could fit the bill perfectly, and maybe this is why he
tried to spare her. This doesn't even contradict any version of
TEW
EWWW. Voldy's loyal servant would just be trusted with the honor
of
guarding the imperio'ed  Horcrux!Lily, same as (or sort of like)
Lucius was trusted with the honor of guarding the diary. 

Ewww. 


> Kneasy:
> But back to DD's ramblings. 
> He then sort of contradicts himself as to likely repositories by
> bringing
> up Nagini as a possibilty. Don't like this much; probably a red
> herring 
> stretched out and painted green. However, it does confirm that
> living 
> beings can be used as Haircuts, which still leaves Harry as the
> possible
> missing sixth. 
> 


Neri:
Yup, this is a main reason why I like Harrycrux. Nagini sounds like a
red herring to me, with the added value of demonstrating that a living
Hx is a possibility. And remember, Dumbledore only resorted to the
Nagini speculation because he couldn't think of any relic of
Gryffindor that Voldy might put his hands on. A Gryffindor student
instead of a Gryffindor relic would still make Dumbledore not far off
the mark. 

To cap, I didn't decide yet between Intentional Harrycrux and
Unintentional Harrycrux, but the second one with Lily originally
intended as the Hx sounds slightly more fitting to me.

Neri