The Big Picture

• Horcruxes are pieces of a wizard's soul that allow them to live on even after their physical body is destroyed, making them effectively immortal.
• Creating a Horcrux requires committing an act so heinous that it tears apart the creator's soul, usually through cold-blooded murder.
• Harry Potter himself unintentionally became a Horcrux for Voldemort when the Dark Lord's killing curse backfired, which ultimately led to Voldemort's defeat.

Although Voldemort does not appear in every Harry Potter film, he is the main antagonist of the series — an omnipotent presence that keeps returning after every so-called defeat. For the first five films, we never truly understand how Voldemort was able to survive after a baby Harry seemingly destroyed him. But in The Half-Blood Prince, Dumbledore introduces Harry to the complicated piece of magic known as Horcruxes.

Listing out all the Horcruxes is like doing a cartwheel. Any Harry Potter fan will know, you need to do it every so often to reassure yourself that you still can do it. For some, maybe less ardent fans, there is always one that escapes you. So, if you ever need a refresher on them, here is your complete guide to all things Horcrux.

What Are Horcruxes?

Simply put, a Horcrux is a piece of one’s soul. If a witch or wizard creates a Horcrux, then they can never truly die until said Horcrux is destroyed as well. A person’s physical body can be destroyed, but their soul can live on. So, when Voldemort’s killing curse backfired after attempting to murder young Harry, his physical body was destroyed. However, since Voldemort had numerous other Horcruxes, he was not truly dead.

How Does One Create a Horcrux?

In order to create a Horcrux, the witch or wizard must distort their soul to such an extent that it is torn apart. Dumbledore suggests that one of the only ways to do so is cold-blooded murder. However, there could be an argument that numerous other acts can create a Horcrux as well, assuming that they are so gruesome that your soul literally cannot handle it.

How Do Harry and Voldemort Find Out What Horcruxes Are?

Creating a Horcrux is a dark and incredibly difficult piece of magic. Knowledge of how to create one is forbidden and rarely talked about. In the sixth book, Dumbledore asks Harry to convince Professor Slughorn to reveal a particularly sensitive but important memory. Once he succeeded, Harry and Dumbledore discovered that it was Professor Slughorn who revealed to a 16-year-old Voldemort at Hogwarts how to create a Horcrux.

How Can Horcruxes Be Destroyed?

Since Harry’s destiny as “the Chosen One” is to defeat Voldemort, he embarks on his mission to destroy all of the Horcruxes along with the help of Harry and Hermione. Horcruxes can only be destroyed in specific circumstances that allow its complete and utter destruction. In the movies, the Horcruxes are destroyed in these ways:

• The killing curse — “Avada Kedavra.”
• Fiendfyre — a curse that creates powerful and magical flames.
• Godric Gryffindor’s sword — one that was pulled from the Sorting Hat.
• Basilisk’s venom — acquired from a tooth of the giant Basilisk snake in the bowels of Hogwarts.

What Are Voldemort’s Horcruxes?

Although it is incredibly difficult to create even one Horcrux, Voldemort purposely created six Horcruxes within his lifetime, in order to stave off his chances of truly dying. Since they are of utmost importance to him, Voldemort decided to turn important pieces of Hogwarts and magical history into Horcruxes. As an orphan who never truly felt at home until he discovered he was a wizard and went to Hogwarts, like Harry, Voldemort is deeply attached to his school. Additionally, Voldemort is a descendant of Salazar Slytherin, one of the founding members of Hogwarts and Slytherin house. Voldemort decided to turn objects that solidified his magical heritage and importance into Horcruxes. This was the ultimate confirmation of his magical status, a promise to his angry, forgotten younger self. Here is a breakdown of each of his Horcruxes:

Tom Riddle's Diary

In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Tom Riddle’s diary from his days at Hogwarts finds itself among the possessions of Ginny Weasley. Since it holds a part of Voldemort’s soul, the diary can talk and influence Ginny, convincing her to open the Chamber of Secrets and unleash the Basilisk upon Muggle-borns at school. During the climax of the film, Harry manages to destroy the Horcrux with venom from the fang of a Basilisk. We later learn that this was the first Horcrux that was destroyed, which prompted Dumbledore to explore the idea that Voldemort might have created multiple ones.

Marvolo Gaunt's Ring

The second Horcrux that was destroyed was Marvolo Gaunt’s ring. As we learn more about Voldemort’s life during the sixth movie, we discover his family history with the Gaunts. Marvolo Gaunt was Voldemort’s grandfather, who possessed the ring as a family heirloom. When Voldemort returned to his hometown to murder his father and paternal grandparents, he took the ring and turned it into a Horcrux. Dumbledore eventually retrieved the ring and destroyed it with the sword of Godric Gryffindor.

Salazar Slytherin's Locket

Voldemort turned another family heirloom into a Horcrux — his mother’s locket that originally belonged to Salazar Slytherin. One of the main plot points in the sixth movie revolves around Dumbledore and Harry recovering the locket to destroy it. After managing to escape Voldemort’s magical defenses and taking the locket, Harry discovers that the locket they recovered was fake, first stolen by Regulus Black, Sirius Black’s brother and a reformed Death Eater. Harry, Ron and Hermione finally re-discover the locket in the final book, in the possession of their former Headmaster, Dolores Umbridge. In another dangerous and extended plot, the golden trio goes undercover at the Ministry of Magic to steal the locket. Afterward, Ron destroys the Horcrux with the sword of Godric Gryffindor.

Helga Hufflepuff's Cup

Shortly after he graduated from Hogwarts, Tom Riddle found himself in the company of Hepzibah Smith, a wealthy and frivolous woman who collected precious and expensive antiques. She had in her possession the cup of Helga Hufflepuff, one of the founding members of Hogwarts and Hufflepuff house. Coveting the cup, Voldemort stole it and killed Smith, creating yet another Horcrux. In Deathly Hallows - Part 2, Harry, Ron and Hermione deduce that the cup is being stored in the Gringotts vault of the Lestranges, a family deeply dedicated to Voldemort. After breaking into the vault and stealing the cup, Hermione destroys this Horcrux in the Chamber of Secrets with a Basilisk fang.

Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem

How Voldemort retrieved Rowena Ravenclaw’s diadem is not quite clear, but he most likely recovered the long-lost artifact in Albania. Rowena Ravenclaw was the final founding member of Hogwarts and the Ravenclaw house. Harry realizes the diadem is a Horcrux by talking to Rowena’s daughter Helena, who remains as a ghost at Hogwarts. Helena reveals that she stole her mother’s diadem out of jealousy, and reveals that Voldemort later turned it into a Horcrux.

Helena surreptitiously hints that the diadem is still in Hogwarts, in a place where lost things can never be found. Harry correctly guesses that Tom hid the diadem in the Room of Requirement, a secret room in Hogwarts that can turn into any location needed by the user. Harry finds the diadem in the version of the room that hides lost items. While Harry, Ron and Hermione are searching for the diadem in the room, they are discovered by Draco Malfoy and his cronies, Crabbe and Goyle. Emboldened by learning more Dark Arts, Crabbe uses the Fiendfyre curse, a fire curse that creates powerful and uncontrollable flames, ones strong enough to destroy the diadem accidentally.

Nagini

Destroying the final Horcrux is less dramatic than the others, although the road to get there was long. Just before Harry heads into the forest to sacrifice himself, he runs into Neville. Harry quickly tells Neville that he must destroy Nagini, Voldemort’s snake. Nagini is the last Horcrux that Voldemort created and the last one to be destroyed. During the final battle of Hogwarts, Neville pulls the sword of Godric Gryffindor from the Sorting Hat and beheads Nagini, destroying the last Horcrux. This allows Harry to finally kill Voldemort after the latter’s killing curse poetically backfires when Harry uses a disarming spell on him.

The Secret Horcrux — Harry

Voldemort only ever intended to make six Horcruxes, with the possibility that maybe he could create more in the future. However, when Voldemort attempted to kill baby Harry that fateful night, his killing curse backfired instead. Voldemort’s soul splintered then, killing his physical body and splitting his soul into a new Horcrux. Since he had just murdered Harry’s parents in cold blood and attempted to kill a defenseless infant, there was enough justification for the creation of a Horcrux. At that moment, Voldemort’s soul latched onto the only living thing in the building — Harry himself.

For almost his entire life, Harry was a Horcrux. This explains Harry’s ability to speak Parseltongue — the magical ability to understand and talk to snakes — an ability Voldemort has as a descendant of Salazar Slytherin. Additionally, Voldemort and Harry have been mentally connected, able to see and sense things only the other could know. Therefore, when Voldemort used the killing curse against Harry in Deathly Hallows - Part 1, he was actually killing part of his own soul, and Harry was able to survive. And after Neville killed Nagini, all Horcruxes were destroyed. Harry finally put an end to Voldemort and was able to live in peace for the rest of his life (assuming you don’t consider The Cursed Child as canon).

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