# Harry Potter question that I'm sure has been asked and answered. Spoilers. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 27, 2015, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-question-that-im-sure-has-been-asked-and-answered-spoilers/741481 "2015-12-27T18:53:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2015, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-question-that-im-sure-has-been-asked-and-answered-spoilers/741481/1 "2015-12-27T18:53:02Z")
I’ve been watching the movies in the two day marathon that ABC Family (or Freeform as they keep telling me it’s being called now). It’s been a few years since I’ve read the books and now I’m wondering some things. Voldemort accidentally made Harry a horcrux when killing his parents. What was he trying to put his piece of soul into at the time? Did he think he’s made something else a horcrux. I’m thinking he didn’t know Harry was a horcrux because it would have been stupid of him to try to kill Harry as destroying the thing kills that piece of soul (as demonstrated by the diary.) Seeing as how making one requires a murder, a potion and a thing, you’d think The Dark Lord would have noticed making one, no? ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2015, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-question-that-im-sure-has-been-asked-and-answered-spoilers/741481/2 "2015-12-27T18:54:48Z")
Dumbledore said because he had already torn his soul into so many pieces, his soul was so tattered he could accidentally make a horcrux ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2015, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-question-that-im-sure-has-been-asked-and-answered-spoilers/741481/3 "2015-12-27T20:36:42Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Voldemort accidentally made Harry a horcrux when killing his parents. What was he trying to put his piece of soul into at the time? Did he think he’s made something else a horcrux. I’m thinking he didn’t know Harry was a horcrux because it would have been stupid of him to try to kill Harry as destroying the thing kills that piece of soul (as demonstrated by the diary.) Voldemort was not intending to make a horcrux and did not realize that a fragment of his soul had attached itself to Harry. His soul was unstable due to the creation of several previous horcruxes. Voldemort is the only wizard in the Harry Potter universe known to have even attempted more than one horcrux, so he had no way of knowing what the side effects would be. It is mentioned elsewhere in the series that Voldemort’s soul was so fragmented that he would not even notice his horcruxes being destroyed, and he presumably didn’t notice the piece that broke off when he tried to kill Harry either. His body being destroyed at the same time also presumably would have served as a bit of a distraction. > [@](#): > > Seeing as how making one requires a murder, a potion and a thing, you’d think The Dark Lord would have noticed making one, no? The Harry Potter [wiki article on horcruxes](http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Horcrux) goes into this in greater detail than I remember, but according to that it was a simplification on Dumbledore’s part to call Harry a horcrux. The article lists him as a “pseudo-Horcrux” and emphasizes that the horcrux-making spell was not used in this case, the fragment of Voledmort’s soul just latched onto the only living thing in the room. FWIW I consider the whole horcrux thing one of the weaker aspects of the series; the “rules” aren’t that clear and IMHO the concept was introduced way too late for something that would be crucial to the ending. So I’d recommend against spending too much time thinking about it. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2015, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-question-that-im-sure-has-been-asked-and-answered-spoilers/741481/4 "2015-12-27T22:39:01Z")
That article also says Quirell was a pseudo-Horcrux. I always that that he was a more of a host. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2015, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-question-that-im-sure-has-been-asked-and-answered-spoilers/741481/5 "2015-12-27T22:42:35Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > That article also says Quirell was a pseudo-Horcrux. I always that that he was a more of a host. Yeah, I personally wouldn’t consider him any type of horcrux, and I’m not sure Rowling had even come up with the idea at that point in the series. I guess he was horcrux-like in the sense that a part of Voldemort’s soul was inhabiting his body, but he was also hosting Voldemort’s consciousness (and his _face_) in a way that neither Harry nor the proper horcruxes were. ETA: Killing Quirrell also didn’t seem to harm Voldemort, although Voldemort wasn’t obviously harmed by the destruction of his horcruxes and I guess we have no way of knowing whether Voldemort could have been killed in the end if Quirrell were still alive at that point. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-question-that-im-sure-has-been-asked-and-answered-spoilers/741481/6 "2015-12-28T00:06:51Z")
Voldemort didn’t go and kill Harry to create a new horocrux. He did so because of the [prophecy](http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Sybill_Trelawney%27s_first_prophecy) that Trelawney had made, about how Harry\* would have the power to destroy him. However, because Voldemort had not heard the entire prophecy, it didn’t end up working out the way he planned it. Also, despite the fragile state of Voldemort’s soul, he was able to create another horocrux later on: [Nagini](http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Nagini). He did so shortly before the World Cup, after Wormtail kidnapped a Ministry employee, [Bertha Jorkins](http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Bertha_Jorkins). Voldemort forcibly interrogated her and that’s how they found out about the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Then after that he killed her and used her death to create a horocrux. \*The prophecy could ALSO have applied to Neville Longbottom. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-question-that-im-sure-has-been-asked-and-answered-spoilers/741481/7 "2015-12-28T00:35:49Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Voldemort didn’t go and kill Harry to create a new horocrux. Of course not. He was trying to kill Harry because he perceived him as a threat. But if he had realized Harry was a Horcurx, he should have been trying to keep him alive for as long as possible. > [@](#): > > He did so because of the [prophecy](http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Sybill_Trelawney%27s_first_prophecy) that Trelawney had made, about how Harry\* would have the power to destroy him. However, because Voldemort had not heard the entire prophecy, it didn’t end up working out the way he planned it. It is not clear to me who had complete knowledge of this prophecy. And it doesn’t matter how much he knew. He knew one of them would have to kill the other, so knowing the exact wording doesn’t make much of a difference, does it? ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-question-that-im-sure-has-been-asked-and-answered-spoilers/741481/8 "2015-12-28T00:36:50Z")
Another question: Does Hermoine ever restore her parent’s memories of her? ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-question-that-im-sure-has-been-asked-and-answered-spoilers/741481/9 "2015-12-28T03:25:33Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > It is not clear to me who had complete knowledge of this prophecy. And it doesn’t matter how much he knew. He knew one of them would have to kill the other, so knowing the exact wording doesn’t make much of a difference, does it? Dumbledore was the only one who knew the entire prophecy, until he shared it with Harry. Well, Sybil Trelawney may have been aware of it on some level, but IIRC she had no conscious memory of her rare true prophecies. Voldemort only knew what Snape overheard and reported back to him. I’m not sure which specific part he _didn’t_ know about, but I’m guessing it’s the “he will have power the Dark Lord knows not” bit. I think you’re right that this probably wouldn’t have made any real difference to Voldemort, though. > [@Biggirl](#): > > Another question: Does Hermoine ever restore her parent’s memories of her? I don’t think this is ever mentioned in the books, but presumably she does. Once Voldemort has been defeated they’re not in any special danger. ---
**Author:** ![shantih](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@shantih](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shantih)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-question-that-im-sure-has-been-asked-and-answered-spoilers/741481/10 "2015-12-28T03:49:48Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Another question: Does Hermoine ever restore her parent’s memories of her? From [this](http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2007/7/30/j-k-rowling-web-chat-transcript) transcript of a chat between J.K. Rowling and fans: > [@](#): > > Maggie Keir: Was hermione able to find her parents and undo the memory damage > > J.K. Rowling: Yes, she brought them home straight away. So, there you go! ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-question-that-im-sure-has-been-asked-and-answered-spoilers/741481/11 "2015-12-28T04:00:50Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > The article lists him as a “pseudo-Horcrux” and emphasizes that the horcrux-making spell was not used in this case, the fragment of Voledmort’s soul just latched onto the only living thing in the room. From the quote I’ve seen [elsewhere](http://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/11530/how-did-harry-become-a-horcrux), the significance is that making a Horcrux requires cursing the receptacle to become an “evil object,” while Harry clearly was not. Here’s what Rowling said in a [fan interview](http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2007/12/23/transcript-of-part-1-of-pottercast-s-jk-rowling-interview/): > [@](#): > > Here is the thing: for convenience, I had Dumbledore say to Harry, “You were the Horcrux he never meant to make,” but I think, by definition, a Horcrux has to be made intentionally. So because Voldemort never went through the grotesque process that I imagine creates a Horcrux with Harry, it was just that he had destabilized his soul so much that it split when he was hit by the backfiring curse. And so this part of it flies off, and attaches to the only living thing in the room. A part of it flees in the very-close-to-death limbo state that Voldemort then goes on and exists in. I suppose it’s very close to being a Horcrux, but Harry did not become an evil object. He didn’t have curses upon him that the other Horcruxes had. He himself was not contaminated by carrying this bit of parasitic soul.[…] I do think that the strict definition of “Horcrux,” once I write the Scottish Book, will have to be given, and that the definition will be that a receptacle is prepared by Dark Magic to become the receptacle of a fragmented piece of soul, and that that piece of soul was deliberately detached from the master soul to act as a future safeguard, or anchor, to life, and a safeguard against death. A lot of what is known about Harry Potter has come from these sorts of interviews with the author. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-question-that-im-sure-has-been-asked-and-answered-spoilers/741481/12 "2015-12-28T05:53:17Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Voldemort didn’t go and kill Harry to create a new horocrux. He did so because of the [prophecy](http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Sybill_Trelawney%27s_first_prophecy) that Trelawney had made, about how Harry\* would have the power to destroy him. However, because Voldemort had not heard the entire prophecy, it didn’t end up working out the way he planned it. > > Also, despite the fragile state of Voldemort’s soul, he was able to create another horocrux later on: [Nagini](http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Nagini). He did so shortly before the World Cup, after Wormtail kidnapped a Ministry employee, [Bertha Jorkins](http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Bertha_Jorkins). Voldemort forcibly interrogated her and that’s how they found out about the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Then after that he killed her and used her death to create a horocrux. > > \ ***The prophecy could ALSO have applied to Neville Longbottom**. If I am remembering properly - the Prophecy did apply to Neville - wasn’t it he who killed Voldemort. Which now that I think about it - how then did Harry get to claim the prophecy the great hall? ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-question-that-im-sure-has-been-asked-and-answered-spoilers/741481/13 "2015-12-28T06:01:27Z")
bengangmo: > [@](#): > > If I am remembering properly - the Prophecy did apply to Neville - wasn’t it he who killed Voldemort. No, Neville killed Nagini, who was the final Horcrux - but Harry killed Voldemort. > [@](#): > > Which now that I think about it - how then did Harry get to claim the prophecy the great hall? The prophecy COULD HAVE applied to Neville as well before Voldemort decided which child to attempt to kill, but once he tried to kill Harry and marked him with the scar, it was definitely Harry that the prophecy referred to, and so Harry was able to take it from the hall. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2024, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-question-that-im-sure-has-been-asked-and-answered-spoilers/741481/14 "2024-07-01T20:42:55Z")
An interesting overview of Prof. Trelawney’s prophecies. > **[10 Sybill Trelawney Predictions That Came True in Harry Potter, Explained](https://www.cbr.com/harry-potter-sybill-trelawney-predictions/)** > > In Harry Potter, Trelawney's predictions often came under much scrutiny even though a large amount of her predictions came true. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2024, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-question-that-im-sure-has-been-asked-and-answered-spoilers/741481/15 "2024-07-01T21:22:17Z")
Technically Voldemort killed Voldemort. The avadakadvra he cast rebounded on him, killing him. Attempt 1. Voldemort attempts to kill very young Harry, who is protected by his mother’s sacrifice. The curse rebounds and due to Voldemort’s horcruxes, he can’t be killed, so a bit of his soul attaches to Harry (the cat must have run off) as the only living being. Attempt 2. Voldemort attempts to kill Harry in the forest. Harry decides to go back to his body in a near death experience and the icky bit of Voldemort under the bench is what Voldemort killed. Attempt 3. Voldemort tries to kill Harry in hogwarts. Voldemort and Harry simultaneously cast killing curse and disarming curse. The killing curse rebounds on Voldemort. In the books Harry never kills anyone.