Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter's Horcrux Hunt

"There are no more Horcruxes. It's just you and me. Neither can live while the other survives, and one of us is about to leave for good..."

- Harry Potter to Lord Voldemort

The Horcrux Hunt was a mission given to Harry Potter in June of 1997 to find all of Lord Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes and destroy them. Albus Dumbledore began this quest in August of 1996 after he destroyed Marvolo Gaunt's Ring at the Gaunt Shack. After his death at the hands of Severus Snape in the Battle of the Astronomy Tower, the mission fell to Harry Potter to complete. He was joined by Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley, and they set off in the aftermath of the Wedding of William Weasley and Fleur Delacour. Initially, they had to trace the location of Salazar Slytherin's Locket. They infiltrated the Ministry of Magic in September of 1997 to retrieve it. After they had recovered the Locket Horcrux, the trio set out to find the others. After months of searching during which time they destroyed the Locket, they located a second Horcrux in the Gringotts Wizarding Bank vault of the Lestrange family. Harry, Ron, and Hermione conceived a plan to rob the vault with the aid of a goblin named Griphook. On May 1, 1998 they robbed the vault of the Horcrux which turned out to be Helga Hufflepuff's Cup. Harry soon had a vision of the location of a third Horcrux at Hogwarts. The trio managed to get into the heavily guarded school where they destroyed the Cup and located and destroyed the Lost Diadem of Ravenclaw. While they were searching for the Diadem, Lord Voldemort launched his army at Hogwarts. During the ensuing melee , both Harry Potter the Horcrux and Nagini were destroyed. The hunt ended with the death of Lord Voldemort at the hands of Harry Potter at the end of the Battle of Hogwarts.

Background Information
In an effort to ensure his immortality Lord Voldemort created a series of Horcruxes. A Horcrux is a vessel into which one places a piece of one's soul to protect one from mortal death. Tom Riddle created his first Horcrux around the age of 16. This became known as Tom Riddle's Diary. He used the death of a Muggle-born student named Myrtle to create it. A little while later, Tom asked Horace Slughorn about Horcruxes and learned that it was indeed possible to create more than one. Over the ensuing years using the murders of Muggles and Wizards alike he created four more Horcruxes. These were Marvolo Gaunt's Ring, Salazar Slytherin's Locket, Helga Hufflepuff's Cup, and Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem. He believed seven to be a magically powerful number and wanted to create a seven part soul, but he seemed to save the creation of Horcruxes for significant murders. As of Halloween of 1981, he had a six part soul with five finished Horcruxes. Lord Voldemort went to destroy Harry Potter who he believed to be the subject of a prophecy concerning the one with the power to finish him. When Voldemort's unstable soul was struck with his rebounding curse, a part of it shattered off attaching itself to Harry Potter. Sometime after his resurrection, Voldemort created a sixth intentional Horcrux by turning his snake familiar, Nagini into a Horcrux.

Tom Riddle's Diary and Dumbledore's Suspicions
"Funny the damage a silly, little book can do. Especially in the hands of a silly, little girl."

- Lord Voldemort

In 1993, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was under siege from an unseen terror. The Chamber of Secrets had been opened once more, and the terror within unleashed upon the school's population. After several students had been petrified, Harry Potter and his friends Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger managed to solve the mystery. They realised that the monster that had been petrifying the students was a Basilisk and that the entrance to the Chamber was located in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. When Ginny Weasley was taken into the Chamber by the monster, Harry and Ron went to find her. They attempted to give their information to Gilderoy Lockhart who had been tasked with finding Ginny only to find out that he was fraud and that he was about to flee the castle. At wand point, Harry and Ron took Lockhart to Myrtle's bathroom and discovered the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. After the three of them entered the Chamber, Lockhart attempted to erase the memories of Harry and Ron. The wand backfired causing Lockhart permanent mental damage and a cave in. While Ron created an exit through the rocks, Harry ventured deeper into the Chamber.

Harry discovered Ginny laying on the ground and was informed by Tom Riddle that she was almost dead. Tom then summoned the Basilisk from the depths of the Chamber. Harry was able to kill the Basilisk with the aid of Fawkes, Dumbledore's Magical familiar. However, Harry was badly injured by a Basilisk fang. Fawkes healed Harry's wound, but Riddle was still about to kill Harry with his own wand. At that moment Fawkes swept Tom Riddle's Diary into Harry's hands, and he stabs the diary with the fang. The Riddle disappears, and Ginny's vitality is restored. She explained to Harry that she was setting the Basilisk on the student population, because she was being possessed by Tom Riddle through the Diary. When Harry, Ron, Ginny, Lockhart, and Fawkes triumphantly returned to Minerva McGonagall's office, Harry explained everything that had happened including the Diary's possession of Ginny to Dumbledore.

Harry's description of the events and the Diary's part in said events piqued Dumbledore's interest in the Diary. He had been suspicious of Lord Voldemort's experiments with dark magic for years. After years of careful consideration, Dumbledore had come to the conclusion that Voldemort had created Horcruxes to ensure his immortality, but he had no proof. When Harry brought Tom Riddle's Diary to Dumbledore, he thought he finally had the evidence to confirm his theory. What troubled Dumbledore most of all was the lax nature of the Diary's security. As it contained a part of Voldemort's soul, Dumbledore thought that it should have been hidden and not recklessly thrown into danger risking its destruction. He came to the conclusion that Lord Voldemort must have created more than one Horcrux, but once again he had no proof.

Marvolo Gaunt's Ring
"I was tempted"

- Albus Dumbledore on why he put on Gaunt's ring

Having researched the past of Lord Voldemort, Albus Dumbledore noted a ring worn by Lord Voldemort's grandfather, Marvolo Gaunt. Through the many memories he had collected concerning Voldemort, he discovered that the ring passed to Morfin Gaunt. When he sought out Morfin Gaunt, he retrieved a memory showing Tom Riddle's discovery of his Gaunt and Muggle heritage. Dumbledore noted that the ring was missing after Morfin's encounter with his nephew. Knowing that Tom Riddle liked to collect trophies, Dumbledore surmised that he had likely stolen it. As an object of particular meaning to Riddle, Dumbledore thought that Voldemort had likely turned it into a Horcrux.

In the summer of 1996, Albus Dumbledore searched for the ring. He discovered it concealed in the Gaunt Shack. In the ring was set a stone that Marvolo Gaunt stated bore the "Preverell Coat of Arms." The stone set in the ring was the Resurrection Stone of Deathly Hallows fame. Upon seeing the stone, Dumbledore put on the ring in hopes of once again seeing his dead family. However, the ring carried a curse, because it was a Horcrux. When Dumbledore put the ring on, he was affected by this curse. He barely survived with the help of Severus Snape, but had only a year to live. He managed to stab the ring with the basilisk-venom-impregnated sword of Godric Gryffindor.

Salazar Slytherin's Locket
"You'll go wrong, boy, mark my words"

- Horace Slughorn to Tom Riddle in his falsified memory

During the 1996–1997 school year, Dumbledore began to share his findings regarding Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes with Harry Potter. Using the Pensieve, he showed Harry a series of memories about the boy who was Tom Riddle and the man who was Voldemort. During these lessons, Dumbledore taught Harry about the behaviours and psychology of Voldemort hoping to impart a thorough understanding of the man upon Harry. In January of 1997 Dumbledore showed Harry a memory of Tom Riddle with the new Potions master Horace Slughorn. The memory became cloudy, and Slughorn's voice boomed out of nowhere. When they returned from the Pensieve, Dumbledore told Harry that the memory had been falsified and gave Harry the mission of obtaining the true memory. Months later when Harry did obtain the real memory, he and Dumbledore had an impromptu lesson well after midnight. They discovered that Riddle asked Slughorn if it were possible to split one's soul into seven pieces. Following this shocking revelation, Harry and Dumbledore discussed some of the objects that may be Horcruxes. From the memories they had watched, they deduced that in addition to the two Horcruxes already destroyed there were four more. They also thought that they possibly were Salazar Slytherin's Locket, Helga Hufflepuff's Cup, an object that belonged to either Ravenclaw or Gryffindor, and Nagini.

In June, Dumbledore and Harry ventured to a cave on the coast searching for a Horcrux. Dumbledore thought that this cave was a likely place to hide a Horcrux, since it was remote, hard to reach, and a scene where Tom Riddle had committed some atrocity. Once inside the defenses set by Lord Voldemort began to act against them. First, a payment of blood was expected to gain entrance to the cave. Upon entering, they noted that the cave had a vast, black lake and that there was an eerie green light shining from the other side. Then Dumbledore raised a boat out of the water, and he and Harry set out across the lake. When they reached the island in the center, Harry saw that the green glow was emanating from a potion in a basin. After trying countless magical methods of removing the potion, Dumbeldore decided that the only way to get rid of the potion was to drink it. He began drinking, but he could not finish it as he was crying out in pain. Harry forced the rest of the potion down his Headmaster's throat. Dumbledore asked for water, and Harry attempted to conjure some, but he was unable to get it to Dumbledore as it kept disappearing. Realsing that the only way to get water would be from the lake Harry run down to the edge and filled the goblet with water. He returned to Dumbledore and splashed it all over his face and mouth, but noted that that he felt a cold grip on his arm. Disturbing the water rose an army of Inferi. They pulled Harry under, but he was saved by a weakened Dumbledore. They took the Locket from the basin and proceeded out of the cave.

R.A.B.
"It was I that discovered your secret."

- Regulus Black on Voldemort's Horcruxes After the Battle of the Astronomy Tower and Dumbledore's death, Harry discovered the locket was a fake. The real Horcrux had been taken by a mysterious person who called himself R.A.B. He was distraught at this news believing that Dumbledore had weakened himself for nothing and that he had died in vain. He had been taught about the Horcruxes for a reason, and Harry resolved to continue Dumbledore's work. When he told Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, with whom he had shared everything Dumbledore had taught him, that he was going to drop out of Hogwarts, Ron and Hermione volunteered to join him on his mission. They spent time during the summer of 1997 researching R.A.B., but they could find no leads. After the Ministry had fallen, Harry, Ron, and Hermione escaped to 12 Grimmauld Place. On their first morning there, Harry discovered the identity of R.A.B.

He had been Regulus Black, Sirius Black's younger brother. He had joined the Death Eaters, but backed out and was killed. After searching the house, Hermione realised that the locket had been amongst the items they trashed two summers previous. Harry remembered that Kreacher had been stealing family heirlooms to protect them. He summoned Kreacher and asked about the locket. Kreacher told them the tale of Regulus' break from the Death Eaters. He told them that he had tried to destroy the locket, but could not and that it had been stolen from the house by Mundungus Fletcher. Harry dispatched Kreacher to find Mundungus. Three days later, Kreacher returned with Fletcher in tow. Fletcher told them that the locket had been taken from him by "some Ministry hag." After he described her, Harry, Ron, and Hermione knew that Dolores Umbridge had Salazar Slytherin's Locket.

Infilitration of the Ministry of Magic
After coming to this chilling realisation, Harry, Ron, and Hermione set to planning. They had to break into the Ministry and retrieve the locket from Umbridge. After a month of planning and observation underneath the Invisibility cloak, they decided the time was right. On September 2, Harry (disguised as Albert Runcorn), Ron (disguised as Reginald Cattermole), and Hermione (disguised as Mafalda Hopkirk) infiltrated the Ministry of Magic. They soon became separated as Cattermole was needed to stop the rain in Yaxley's office and Mafalda was dispatched to the Muggle-Born Registration Commission as the stenographer. Harry, now on his own, ventured to Umbridge's office to search it. He did not find the Horcrux, but he did find Alastor Moody's magical eye on her door. He stole the eye and set off to find Umbridge and Hermione.

Helga Hufflepuff's Cup
After being captured and taken to Malfoy Manor, Harry discovered, from clues by Bellatrix Lestrange, that the cup of Helga Hufflepuff was at Gringotts Wizarding Bank. Harry negotiated with the goblin Griphook to break into the Lestrange Vault. Griphook agreed, but only if Harry would give him Gryffindor's sword. Harry, reluctantly, agreed. Harry (invisible), Ron (disguised), Hermione (disguised as Bellatrix), and Griphook (invisible) left to Diagon Alley. They managed to escape Travers and get inside the Lestrange Vault, after having their cover blown. Unfortunately, they had to escape on a dragon, when Griphook took the sword and abandoned them.

It wasn't until the Battle of Hogwarts that the cup was destroyed. Fortunately, Ron was able to imitate Parseltongue to get into the Chamber of Secrets. They took some basilisk fangs and Hermione destroyed the Horcrux.

Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem
"Like it hot, scum?"

- Vincent Crabbe, just before destroying the diadem

While Ron and Hermione were destroying the cup, Harry found out that Helena Ravenclaw stole the diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw and Voldemort found it and hid his new Horcrux in the Room of Requirement. He, Ron, and Hermione went there, but were ambushed by Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle. Fortunately, Crabbe's Fiendfyre destroyed the diadem, killing him in the process. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco, and Goyle managed to escape.

Harry Potter
Later, after the battle had ceased, Harry discovered that he was an unintended Horcrux. In order to desroy Voldemort, he had to allow the Dark Lord to kill him. Fortunately, the blood from Harry in Voldemort allowed Harry to survive, while the piece of Voldemort's soul inside him was destroyed.

Nagini
Believing Harry to be dead, Neville Longbottom lunged at Voldemort and swore that he'd only join him when "hell freezes over". In response, Voldemort placed the Sorting Hat on Neville's head and set it ablaze. However, Neville drew Godric Gryffindor's Sword from the hat and decapitated Nagini, Voldemort's last Horcrux.

The Death of Tom Marvolo Riddle
"Avada Kedavra!"

- Voldemort's final words

A few minutes later, Harry revealed himself and faced Voldemort. He explained everything - Snape's true loyalty, Dumbledore's plan, and the Elder Wand's true master (first Draco, now Harry himself). Finally, Voldemort tried to kill Harry, but Harry's mastery of the Elder Wand and the destruction of all of the Horcruxes resulted in Voldemort's demise by his own rebounded Killing Curse.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Parts I and II