A Horcrux is a magical artifact that can protect someone from death by safeguarding their personality. The object acts like a physical anchor for its maker's spirit and allows them to possess someone. A Horcrux requires a death to make and is considered part of the Dark Arts.
There are two kinds of Horcruxes which work very differently. The original kind is invented by Herpo the Foul, the second by Tom Riddle.
Original Horcrux spell[]
The original Horcrux spell uses the process by which ghosts (canon) are made: a sudden death can be accompanied by a burst of magic that makes an imprint of the dying person's personnality on a physical thing, thus creating a ghost. The Horcrux spell channels the magic burst to make an imprint of the maker's personality instead of the victim's and allows the imprint to possess someone who comes in contact with the Horcrux. As such, the original Horcrux spell is not a sacrificial ritual.
An original Horcrux only records the maker's memories at the time of it's making; any further memories and changes in their personality are lost. Also, as an Horcrux is not truly alive, it is subject to the Interdict of Merlin which prevents it from recording powerful spells. The maker's personnality can also mix with that of the victim.
Tom Riddle's Horcrux spell[]
Tom Riddle's Horcrux spell is a sacrificial ritual which maintains life and magic in the Horcrux by sacrificing those of the victim. It doesn't take a snapshot of the maker's personality but is connected to them and anchors their personnality in case their current body dies.
According to Riddle, his Horcrux spell is based on a principle "untested by all known magic" and he calls it Horcrux "only from sentiment". He calls it "the greatest of all his creations".
Known uses[]
Herpo the Foul and Tom Riddle are the only known wizards to have made Horcruxes but it is plausible that others made some.
Tom Riddle makes more than 100 Horcruxes for himself,[1] both of the original kind (starting in 1943 with the murder of Abigail Myrtle) and of the kind he invented (one notable example being Pioneer 11W's golden plaqueW).
On October 31, 1981, Riddle uses a Horcrux spell or a variation thereof to imprint infant Harry Potter with his personnality.
In 1992, he makes a Horcrux for Hermione Granger out of Roger Bacon's diary by killing Quirinus Quirrell.
References[]
- ↑ He stops counting somewhere around 107.