Summary
Lord Voldemort’s Horcruxes, where fragments of his soul were hidden, were perhaps the most important plot point of the last twoHarry Potterbooks, as Harry was tasked with hunting them down and destroying them in order to defeat Voldemort once and for all.
However, Harry himself only destroyed one Horcrux personally, with each ofthe seven Horcruxes being destroyedby a different character. This is only fitting given the numerous individuals who risked their lives to bring down the Dark Lord.
7Harry Potter
Tom Riddle’s Diary
Tom Riddle’s Diary is easily one of themost interesting Horcruxes, as it played a major role long before Harry or the audience even knew about Horcruxes. In the second book, the diary was used to lure Ginny Weasley into opening the Chamber of Secrets, and would eventually have led to her death if Harry didn’t save her.
When Harry stabbed Tom Riddle’s Diary with a basilisk fang, he was doing so to prevent the powerful memory of Tom Riddle from returning, allowing himself and Ginny to be saved. Years later, Dumbledore revealed to Harry that he had in fact destroyed a Horcrux.
6Albus Dumbledore
Marvolo Gaunt’s Ring
Together with Harry, Albus Dumbledore was the greatest component in bringing Lord Voldemort down, and he nearly identified every single Horcrux and found a few of them himself. He also destroyed one Horcrux, but this would cost him his life.
Dumbledore found Marvolo Gaunt’s ring in the summer between the 5th and 6th books, but upon realizing the ring contained the Resurrection Stone, he decided to put it on in hopes of bringing his sister back from the dead. This foolish act enacted a curse that turned Dumbledore’s hand black and withered. WhileSnape was able to delay the curse, he told Dumbledore that he only had a year to live. Upon returning to Hogwarts with the Horcrux, Dumbledore used the Sword of Gryffindor to destroy it.
5Ron Weasley
Slytherin’s Locket
Salazar Slytherin’s Locket turned out to be the hardest Horcrux to obtain and destroy, with the latter problem being that Harry, Ron, and Hermione simply had no idea how to destroy one. When they figured out that the Sword of Gryffindor, imbued with Basilisk venom could do the job, it didn’t matter as the sword was missing.
Planted for Harry by Severus Snape, the sword would instead be claimed byRon Weasleywhile saving Harry from drowning. As the two friends had fallen out with Ron leaving, this perfect reunion was capped off by Ron destroying Slytherin’s Locket.
4Hermione Granger
Hufflepuff’s Cup
As the brains and planner behind much of the Horcrux hunting in the last book, Hermione Granger played a huge role in the downfall of the Dark Lord. After Ron’s suggestion that they could use basilisk fangs inthe Chamber of Secretsto destroy Hufflepuff’s cup, she finally got her chance to take a Horcrux down herself.
With the Battle of Hogwarts looming ever closer, the destruction of this Horcrux, which they had recently procured from the Lestrange’s Gringotts vault, would truly set Voldemort on edge, and he knew just how much danger he was in.
3Vincent Crabbe
Ravenclaw’s Diadem
Ravenclaw’s Diadem is the only Horcrux whose killer differs between the books and movies, although the method stays the same. In the books, it is Vincent Crabbe who produced the fiendfyre intended to kill Harry, Ron, and Hermione, but due to the actor’s unavailability, the role was instead given toDraco Malfoy’sother crony, Gregory Goyle.
Fiendfyre, incredibly dangerous and unpredictable, turned out to be one of the few things capable of destroying a Horcrux. Ultimately, it’s ironic that the Dark Arts destroyed a fragment of Voldemort’s soul, and Crabbe only knew how to use the spell thanks to Death Eater teachers whom Voldemort had appointed.
2Lord Voldemort
Harry Potter
Harry Potter was the seventh Horcrux created, and an unintentional one at that.Voldemort himselfwas entirely unaware of this and only Albus Dumbledore knew that Harry must one day die if the Dark Lord was to be defeated.
Upon learning of his tragic fate, Harry willingly made his way into the Forbidden Forrest to face death. Lord Voldemort was only too happy to slay his sworn enemy once and for all, unknowingly dooming himself in the process. With the Horcrux inside Harry destroyed, only Nagini was left.
1Neville Longbottom
Nagini
Neville Longbottom is one of manyHarry Potterbook characters who did not get enough screen timein the movies. In both versions, however, his huge triumphal moment, and the completion of his arc came when he killed Nagini, the last Horcrux, with the Sword of Gryffindor.
It’s perfect that Neville dealt the blow which left Voldemort vulnerable for Harry to finish off, as in another lifeNeville could have been the chosen one. The Prophecy explored in theOrder of the Phoenixapplied to both Neville and Harry, but ultimately Voldemort chose Harry.
