Horcrux

"Of the Horcrux, wickedest of magical inventions, we shall not speak nor give direction -"

- the introduction of Magick Moste Evile

A Horcrux is an object of extremely Dark magic. It is defined as any item in which a Dark wizard or witch has hidden a fragment of his or her soul for the purpose of attaining immortality. Herpo the Foul is credited with creating the first Horcrux.

Creation


"This is the one that gives explicit instructions on how to make a Horcrux. Secrets of the Darkest Art – it’s a horrible book, really awful, full of evil magic… And the more I’ve read about them, the more horrible they seem, and the less I can believe that he actually made six. It warns in this book how unstable you make the rest of your soul by ripping it, and that’s just by making one Horcrux!"

- Hermione Granger on researching how Voldemort made Horcruxes

The book Secrets of the Darkest Art, once held in the Hogwarts Library, gives explicit instructions on creating Horcruxes. The creation of the Horcrux is known to involve a spell, and a horrible act. To split one's soul, one must also commit the most supreme act of evil - murder - and then encase a portion of their fractured soul into a chosen object. The chosen object is usually one of great significance or importance. The process makes the part of the soul remaining in the witch or wizard unstable.

The process stands in violation both of profound natural laws, and common human decency: that mankind must not practices such acts upon one another, and that one's soul must remain whole and intact. For these reasons, the Horcrux is the most unnatural and darkest of magical objects. What's more, the subject of Horcruxes is banned at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Destruction
The creation of a Horcrux can be reversed by its creator through acts of remorse that are physically very painful, apparently to the point of being fatal.

Horcruxes can also be destroyed by others, seeing as the piece of the soul depends upon its container to survive; the opposite of a human being. Destruction of a Horcrux is difficult, but not impossible, and requires that the object be damaged beyond magical repair. One of the most foolproof methods of destruction is Basilisk venom. Very few other methods work, such as through a magical smelting procedure, such as with Fiendfyre. Alternatively, the Killing Curse is capable of destroying horcruxes.

Albus Dumbledore, Ron Weasley and Neville Longbottom used Godric Gryffindor's Sword to destroy the Gaunt's Ring, Salazar Slytherin's Locket and Nagini respectively. This was only achievable as the sword was made by Goblins; Goblin-made artifacts can be imbued with certain qualities, so when it was impregnated with Basilisk venom when Harry Potter stabbed the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets, it became capable of destroying all the Horcruxes.

Harry Potter and Hermione Granger used Basilisk fangs to destroy Tom Riddle's Diary and Helga Hufflepuff's Cup, respectively.

Powers


The fragments of a person's soul within a Horcrux have certain magical abilities, including the ability to influence those in their vicinity. When Harry, Ron and Hermione were carrying Salazar Slytherin's Locket around their necks, they each became moodier and more prone to fighting, especially Ron. They were also unable to summon their Patronuses while wearing the locket. A person with an affinity for the Dark Arts, on the other hand, would be strengthened by the influence of a Horcrux, as Dolores Umbridge was when wearing Salazar Slytherin's Locket. If a person is more emotionally vulnerable, it is possible for the soul inside the Horcrux to possess him or her, as Tom Riddle's Diary did to Ginny Weasley.

Horcruxes can also be enchanted to provide some line of defence against destruction. For instance, a spell that makes the object appear too beautiful to destroy, instilling the attacker with great fear and despair, or even direct violence against the attacker.

Horcruxes of Lord Voldemort
Lord Voldemort, obsessed with immortality, went further than any wizard known to history to create six (although he actually had an eight-part soul, as he accidentally created a seventh Horcrux when he failed to kill Harry Potter). As a student named Tom Marvolo Riddle, he learned of Horcruxes from some source (most likely the library books of Hogwarts) during his tutelage at Hogwarts, and sought out Potions Master Horace Slughorn for further information. At some point after that, Slughorn informed Dumbledore of their discussion, and gave him a partial stored memory of it. After that, all books regarding Horcruxes in the Hogwarts School Library were confiscated and stored in the Headmaster's Office, until Hermione Granger absentmindedly summoned them to her dormitory at the end of the 1996 school year.

During the 1996-1997 school year, Dumbledore and Harry embarked on a quest to locate and destroy, in secret, what they believed to be as many as six Voldemort's Horcruxes. After Dumbledore's death, Harry took up the quest with his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley.

Although Voldemort had seven Horcruxes, no more than six existed at one time because Tom Riddle's Diary was destroyed before Nagini was made into a Horcrux. Concerning Nagini, it is not known if she had to have been killed by Godric Gryffindor's Sword or if any other means, such as a regular sword killing her, would have destroyed the Horcrux. However, as Albus Dumbledore stated, using a living being as a Horcrux is a risky business, as the creature could die or be killed and the Horcrux lose its integrity. Thus it is likely that any method that would kill Nagini would destroy the horcrux, as death cannot be undone by magic.

Parallels in the Muggle World
The concept of a "soul container" is not original to the world of Harry Potter. For example, the legendary undead Lich could maintain immortality by concealing regeneration power in a phylactery. The Russian myth of Koschei the Deathless is another. In Native American folk tales, sorcerers could evade death by sealing their spirit inside parrots, becoming invulnerable until the parrot was destroyed. In J.R.R. Tolkein's The Lord of the Rings series, the Dark Lord Sauron stored the better part of his power in the One Ring.

Behind the scenes

 * J.K. Rowling knows exactly what the process for the creation of a Horcrux is, but is not telling - yet. The information will be included in the Harry Potter Encyclopedia.  She has told her editor what the process is, and revealed that the editor felt like vomiting afterwards.  All she will say is that a spell is involved, and a horrific act is performed.

Notes and references
Horkrux Horkruks Крестраж