Horcruxes

You have clicked on Hufflepuff's Cup which represents Tom Riddle's creation of Horcruxes and the history behind his transformation into Lord Voldemort.


Unlike most of the expectations that floated around the wizarding world, Riddle did not leave Hogwarts for the Ministry of Magic. After he graduated, he went on to work at Borgin & Burkes, the same store in which his poor young mother sold her priceless locket for an ungenerous amount of galleons. Riddle’s real desire was to stay at Hogwarts to be the Defense against the Dark Arts teacher. However he was far too young, and was told to reapply in the years to come. This way he would have access to ancient magic and would be able to have great power and influence over the young students. Teachers after all, can be very influential role models. Riddle was never given the job, mainly because Dumbledore became the Headmaster. His refusal is why no other instructor has ever been able to keep the position for more than a year.

“Firstly, and very importantly, Voldemort was, I believe, more attached to this school than he has ever been to a person. Hogwarts was where he had been happiest; the first and only place he had felt at home.”
–Albus Dumbledore

At Borgin & Burkes, Riddle was a polite and dashing young man who would travel around searching for rare items and artifacts for the Shoppe. Naturally, he was very gifted at influencing people to hand over their treasures. One woman in particular, named Hepzibah Smith virtually swooned over his company. Mrs. Smith was an older lady who lived alone with her house elf, Hokey. Her house was practically a museum, or a goldmine for places like Borgin & Burkes. It was completely filled with gold-embossed books, orbs, celestial globes and lacquered boxes. During a potential sale, Riddle charmed Hepzibah so much that she decided to bring out some of her rarest items just for him to see.

“I’ve got something to show you that I’ve never shown Mr. Burke! Can you keep a secret, Tom? Will you promise you won’t tell Mr. Burke I’ve got it? He’d never let me rest if he knew I’d shown it to you, Tom, and I’m not selling, not to Burke, not to anyone! But you, Tom, you’ll appreciate it for its history, not how many Galleons you can get for it.”
-Hepzibah Smith

The first item for show was a small golden cup with two finely wrought handles. This happened to also belong to Helga Hufflepuff, one of the original founders of Hogwarts. When Tom saw this item, a red gleam appeared in his dark eyes. The second item interested him even more, as it was the large gold locket with a serpentine S that belonged to his ancestor, Salazar Slytherin. Two days later, Hepzibah was found dead. Riddle disappeared with both items and it was the last that was seen or heard of him for a very long time. This murder differed as it was not for revenge, but for gain; he wanted those trophies just like he wanted them from those helpless children in the orphanage.

Rowling described a Horcrux as a "receptacle in which a Dark wizard has hidden a part of his soul for the purposes of attaining immortality." With one created, the maker becomes immortal so long as the Horcrux remains intact. Even if the wizard's body is destroyed, a portion of his soul will remain preserved within the Horcrux created. However, the destruction of the creator's body leaves the wizard or witch in a state of half-life, without corporeal form. This is what later happens to Voldemort after he fails to kill Harry Potter as a baby. The dark magic involved in the creation of a Horcrux is considered despicable and is therefore rarely published in books. Destroying a Horcrux will destroy the fragment of soul contained within it, ending its protection and returning the creator to a state of mortality. If a wizard has created more than one Horcrux, he will remain immortal until all are destroyed. Once destroyed, the wizard will die normally.

Dumbledore is the only wizard who suspected that Riddle created Horcruxes. When the Avada Kedavra curse Voldemort used against Harry backfired and diminished him for a time being, Dumbledore suspected that Voldemort returned because he had found some way to keep part of himself alive. Then Tom Riddle's diary came along in Chamber of Secrets and Dumbledore's suspicions began to make sense. Voldemort told his followers at the end of Goblet of Fire about having gone further than any other wizard, and how he was "ripped" from his body, "less than spirit". Regardless of some minor evidence, it wasn't until Harry took that bit of memory from Slughorn that we got any confirmation at all of Dumbledore's Horcrux theory. Slughorn's memory explains how a Horcrux is created:

“Killing rips the soul apart. The wizard intent upon creating a Horcrux would use the damage to his advantage: He would encase the torn portion.”
- Horace Slughorn

Creating these Horcruxes slowly made Riddle less and less human. By constantly ripping his soul apart, fragmenting it, he also tore apart any of the humanity that remained inside of him. His appearance changed, he became paler, his hair fell out, and his eyes became bloodshot. His voice became colder and less human-like, as well. All together, Riddle created six intentional Horcruxes:

Unknown to Voldemort, a seventh Horcrux, which he original intended to create inside himself, was instead created inside Harry Potter. When his attempted Killing curse rebounded on the protected infant, a part of Voldemort's soul flew into the nearest living thing, Harry. His little lightning bolt scar is a direct result of the attempted murder. It is also why Harry shared characteristics of Voldemort, and was able to see into his mind at times. It is also revealed by Rowling in an interview that Harry's frequent pain in his scar when Voldemort is either active, nearby or feeling strong emotions, is really the trapped bit of soul yearning to depart from Harry's body and rejoin its master soul.

“Lord Voldemort has seemed to grow less human with the passing years, and the transformation he has undergone seemed to me to be only explicable if his soul was mutilated beyond the realms of what we might call "usual evil'...”
- Albus Dumbledore

Why he chose this path to immortality can be explained for many reasons. Voldemort did not want to use something such as the Elixir of Life or the Sorcerer's Stone, because those items must be used regularly for all eternity; therefore, he would be entirely dependent on the drink. He would have found this to be intolerable for he never wanted to rely on anyone or anything other than himself. I will further discuss related issues, such as his fear of death, as well as the other Horcruxes in other related sections.

After Riddle killed Hepzibah Smith, he disappeared for ten years. It is believed that during this time he did nothing but practice the Dark Arts until he could create a growing legion of desperate followers to do his bidding. Some joined out of respect and amazement while others joined out of fear. Still, his followers (Death Eaters) were pawns to him, there only to do his dirty work; he didn't personally care for any of them. When he returned from his exile, he was officially known as "Lord Voldemort". Many were too afraid to even speak his name, so he also became known as "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named" or "You-know-who".

The Death Eaters often wore black hoods with snake-like eye slits to cover their faces. Every Death Eater had a Dark Mark burned into his or her left forearm. When Voldemort touched one of them, every Death Eater felt it, allowing them to apparate to their leader's side. The start of all this most likely occurred in the 1970s; fellow Slytherins and recruited creatures joined with the goal of overthrowing the Ministry of Magic. Death Eater activity during the First Wizarding War consisted of attacks on wizards, witches, a large numbers of Muggles, and prominent families. As a result, fear gripped the wizard community, and the Order of the Phoenix was founded by Albus Dumbledore to oppose Voldemort’s army.

A young Severus Snape joined in the fight and reported to Lord Voldemort a part of the prophecy he had heard while listening in on a conversation between Dumbledore and Sybill Trelawney. This was the famous Harry Potter prophecy which can be read in the section pertaining to it. Voldemort attacked the Potters personally, something he only does when he feels he is in great danger. Despite being under the protection of the Fidelius Charm, Voldemort was able to get into their home because James entrusted his old friend Peter Pettigrew as Secret-Keeper; However, Peter was already one of Voldemort’s Death Eaters, and betrayed them for his new master. Snape only heard part of the prophecy, so going after James and Lily Potter could have been prevented. However, Voldemort killed James and, despite Snape's pleas to spare Lily, Voldemort used the Killing Curse, and we all know what happened next!

“The Dark Lord will rise again, Crouch! Throw us into Azkaban; we will wait! He will rise again and will come for us, he will reward us beyond any of his other supporters! We alone were faithful! We alone tried to find him!”
—Bellatrix Lestrange

With the disappearance of Voldemort, the Death Eaters slowly broke apart. Many were caught and imprisoned without trial, as part of the hard line taken by Ministry official Barty Crouch Sr. Sirius Black, who been framed for Pettigrew's crimes, was among those imprisoned in Azkaban without a trial. Soon afterward, Bellatrix, Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange, as well as Barty Crouch Jr., tortured the Longbottoms into insanity while trying to procure information about Voldemort's whereabouts. They were captured and sentenced to Azkaban, but Bellatrix proudly proclaimed that the Dark Lord would rise again…


Godric's Hollow

In the 4th Novel, Goblet of Fire; Voldemort returns after a number of failed attempts to once again become corporeal. Therefore, he is still not fully human; instead he is actually more like a grotesque baby. He is unable to do much except speak, but his voice alone still fully commands his Death Eaters, especially the desperate and frightened Wormtail. In a long story short, Barty Crouch Jr. disguises himself as Mad-Eye Moody, the famous Auror, and manages to tamper with the TriWizard Tournament at Hogwarts. As a result, Harry is sent through a bewitched Trophy portkey to Godric's Hollow along with his fellow classmate, Cedric Diggory. Before they are able to even comprehend what has happened, Wormtail appears and fires the Killing Curse at Cedric, who quickly falls dead on the ground beside Harry. Harry is completely shocked and Wormtail is then able to grab hold of him into a trap. As this is all happening, Voldemort commands Wormtail to complete a ritual that'll bring him back into his full form. With the bones of Riddle's father, unwillingly given, the flesh of Wormtail willingly sacrificed, and the blood of Harry forcibly taken, Voldemort is dropped into a cauldron and transformed. Voldemort at this point summons back all his remaining Death Eaters to join him in a twisted celebration.

“Welcome my friends. Thirteen years it's been, and yet you stand before me as though it were only yesterday. I confess myself disappointed, not one of you tried to find me.”
- Voldemort

He reprehends them all as Harry struggles to free himself. However, Voldemort quickly notices this and forces him to a duel. Voldemort also reveals to Harry what exactly happened to him that night, thirteen years ago. Lily Potter gave her life for Harry and in this, she provided the ultimate protection. Voldemort could not touch him. Voldemort wants at this moment only to kill Harry once and for all. He wants to destroy him so that no one will ever question his powers.

“Don't you turn your back on me Harry Potter; I want you to look at me when I kill you, I want to see the lights leave your eyes!”
- Voldemort

When the two duel, an incredible phenomenon happens: Priori Incantatem. Priori Incantatem rarely ever happens when two opponents forcibly use their wands in battle. The reason it happened during the duel between Harry and Lord Voldemort is due to the cores their wands shared (feathers from Fawkes); since the wands recognized each other as "brothers", they refused to destroy each other. Eventually, one forced the other to regurgitate its spells. This caused Voldemort's victims to come out in reverse order. distracting him so that Harry could escape. Harry returned to Hogwarts with Cedric's body. At this point, Voldemort's return was only believed by a few people. Being so clever, he kept to himself, especially because the Ministry of Magic refused to accept that he was back. This way he could carry on with his dark plans without anyone interfering.

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