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- Although it's been fifteen years since the last book was released, the Harry Potter series has recently seen renewed sales (via The Times), showing the story's continual popularity. A huge part of Harry's story, of course, is Voldemort's villainy, and the Dark Lord is made a more terrifying villain because of the dreadful Horcruxes that granted him near-immortality.
Harry Potter's greatest enemy, Voldemort, is known by a plethora of names aside from his chosen one, including He Who Must Not Be Named and The Dark Lord, and these monikers reinforce his non-human appearance, including a serpentine face and (in the books) red eyes. The non-human part of Voldemort arose after he split his soul into pieces and encased parts of it in hidden objects to secure his immortality; these objects are called Horcruxes.
Voldemort's vanity eventually led to his downfall, as each of the seven Horcruxes was special to him in some way, and therefore easier to track down. Though scattered far and wide, collecting and destroying the Horcruxes became the only way to ensure Voldemort's permanent defeat.
Updated on November 10th, 2022 by Stacie Rook:
Although it's been fifteen years since the last book was released, the Harry Potter series has recently seen renewed sales (via The Times), showing the story's continual popularity. A huge part of Harry's story, of course, is Voldemort's villainy, and the Dark Lord is made a more terrifying villain because of the dreadful Horcruxes that granted him near-immortality.
The Diary of Tom Riddle
The first Horcrux that Harry encounters—Tom Riddle's diary—came into existence when the villain was only a sixteen-year-old Hogwarts student. Before he was defeated for the first time, Voldemort ed the diary on to a man whom he considered to be a faithful follower, Lucius Malfoy.
The diary then found its way into the hands of Ginny Weasley, who nearly died because of the whole ordeal, and Tom Riddle began to seep through its pages in an attempt to come back while the real Voldemort was off hiding. Harry managed to destroy it by impulsively stabbing it with a Basilisk fang, with Basilisk venom coincidentally being one of the very few substances that is corrosive to a Horcrux, in a lucky break for Harry.
The Ring Of Marvolo Gaunt
Marvolo Gaunt's ring was a Gaunt family heirloom. Merope Gaunt was Tom Riddle's mother, and although the Gaunt family were ostracized, they were pure-blood wizards descended from Salazar Slytherin himself. As Merope had Voldemort with a Muggle, he was not pure-blood, but others in his family were, and he valued the idea enough to consider the ring worthy of being one of the seven Horcruxes.
Tom wore the ring while at Hogwarts, but it was not actually made to hold a piece of his soul until later. The ring was destroyed close to the end of the book series by Albus Dumbledore, who used Godric Gryffindor's sword to do it. Thanks to Harry, the sword was imbued with Basilisk venom, giving it the power to destroy the artifact.
The Locket Of Salazar Slytherin
As a child, Voldemort was very lonely. Born as a product of the love potion Amortentia and left to grow up in an orphanage, he had a terrible childhood. Voldemort is similar to Harry in that Hogwarts was the first place he could really call home. With the castle being so important to him, Voldemort decided each of his Horcruxes should be something from Hogwarts' four founders.
Tom Riddle cruelly murdered a wealthy woman to get Salazar Slytherin's locket, and forced her House-elf to confess for the crime. It was then hidden in a seaside cave with links to Tom's childhood. Regulus Black later retrieved the locket after he defected from the Death Eaters. This was no doubt one of Voldemort's most valued Horcruxes, as it once belonged to his ancestor and the founder of his Hogwarts house.
The Cup Of Helga Hufflepuff
Though the plot point was cut from the movies, a woman named Hepzibah Smith proved instrumental in Voldemort creating not one but two of his seven Horcruxes. She claimed to be a descendent of Helga Hufflepuff, and had a cup once owned by her. Helga Hufflepuff was not a founder whom Voldemort particularly related to, but she was a founder nonetheless, so he also took the cup and transformed it into a Horcrux.
The cup was later hidden in the vault of the Lestrange family, where it was difficult to pick out among their enormous horde of wealth. Hermione ultimately destroyed it during the Battle of Hogwarts, using the trusty Basilisk fang.
The Diadem Of Rowena Ravenclaw
Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem was said to make the wearer wiser. Jealous of her mother's power, Rowena's daughter Helena stole it and eventually hid it in the forests of Albania. The ghost of Helena was charmed by Tom Riddle, and she told him where to find the diadem, allowing him to travel to Albania to retrieve it.
The diadem became the last of the Horcruxes to come from the Hogwarts founders, as Voldemort never acquired anything that belonged to Godric Gryffindor. After being found in the Room of Requirement, the diadem was destroyed by Fiendfyre (another substance capable of getting rid of Horcruxes) when the Room caught fire at the Battle of Hogwarts — an accidentally heroic act from Draco Malfoy's ally Crabbe of all people.
The Snake, Nagini
For the whole of the book series, fans did not know very much about Nagini. She was a snake that seemed deeply bonded with Voldemort that Voldemort could communicate with thanks to his Parselmouth abilities. Eventually, it was revealed that Nagini was a Horcrux, and Neville Longbottom killed her with Godric Gryffindor's sword.
In a controversial move, more was revealed about Nagini in the Fantastic Beasts movies, giving her a human backstory that was criticized heavily for being insensitive. Nonetheless, in the main Harry Potter series, Nagini proved to be one of Voldemort's most well-protected Horcruxes, as she was almost always by the Dark Lord's side.
The Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter
Harry Potter was the accidental Horcrux that Voldemort never intended to make. When Voldemort's attempt to murder Harry failed, a part of his already broken soul took refuge inside of Harry, causing a connection between them that Harry desperately didn't want. When Harry found out about the part of Voldemort's soul living inside him, he was very willing to die to get rid of it; leaving Voldemort mortal and hoping someone else might finish the job. Fortunately, Harry was able to do this himself with help from the Deathly Hallows.
The road to getting rid of the Horcruxes was a long one. Still, not every detail is known about the creation of Voldemort's seven Horcruxes. All that fans know for sure is that they require murder, a spell, and unspeakable acts that the Dark Lord never hesitated in performing.
