Help with canon

[wook77]

Ok, so this is what goes through my head as I'm trying to sleep... (yes, Yoda is talking to me)


Wook's canon question(s) of the moment -


Voldemort split his soul into a proposed 7 Horcruxes. Then he was "killed" by Harry.

When he was "killed", does that mean he used one of the Horcruxes so that there were only 6 for Harry and Dumbledore to destroy?

If he didn't, then how did he survive? Shouldn't his soul have been so weakened from being split up like that that he couldn't have survived without using one of his Horcruxes?

If he did, which one did he use?

Am I just being a moron because there's an obvious answer somewhere in the books that I didn't see? Has this been debated a gadzillion times and I just didn't pay attention?

Thoughts? Feelings? Suggestions? Links to previous discussions?

Comments

[eviljade.livejournal.com]

Hi there. Interesting question.

I don't recall anything in canon that definitively said what became of Voldemort after the encounter at Godric's Hallow. I guess I had always just assumed, in my mind, that the fact that parts of Voldemort's soul that were stored in the horcruxes acted as anchors.

Here's how it works in my mind: Voldemort's soul is in 7 parts. One of those remains in his body, the other 6 are stored in the various horcruxes. The parts in the horcruxes are not parts to be reclaimed later or used as "lives" like a cat, rather they are anchors which tie him to the living (corporeal) world.

When Voldemort's spell rebounded on him at Godric's Hallow his body was killed but the piece of soul the was residing within that body, though released from it's fleshy container, could not move on. It is tied to 6 other pieces of soul which are bound to this earth. Therefore, when his body died, that bit Voldemort's soul was just release into the ether until he could find someone of weak enough mind (Quirell) to possess or inhabit them.

We really weren't given any indication of how long Voldemort and Quirell had been living in the state they were in when we met them. I got the impression that it had been a while. When Quirell's body was destroyed that bit of soul was released out into the ether again eventually finding/being found by Wormtail who apparently helped him become somewhat corporeal again.

*shrugs* I don't know if I'm really conveying my meaning very well but those are the basic mechanics of how it works in my head. :)

[wook77.livejournal.com]

Thanks... I come up with random things in the middle of the night when attempting to sleep.

So the Horcruxes are ties to the corporeal world and so Voldie cashes them in when he's using one or no?

[eviljade.livejournal.com]

No, they tie the one "living" non-horcrux piece of his soul to the earth. As long as any of those other horcruxes remain whole the one piece that he's actually using does not move on to an afterlife. The others aren't there to be "used" they are strictly there to anchor him to this plane of existence.

The horcruxes can be destroyed (ie the diary and the ring which we know have already been destroyed) and as each one is destroyed the part of the soul it contains is released. I've heard it debated that the released parts of the soul join back up with the original remaining part but it's also possible that they are release into the ether.

In theory, when all of the horcruxes are destroyed only the piece inside Voldemort's current corporeal body will remain. Then, if that body is killed, there will be nothing left to anchor him to this plane and he will be well and truly killed for good.

I think. ;)

[wook77.livejournal.com]

So you're saying they're anchors and not really "soul"s?

I'm thinking the lightbulb is going on...

[eviljade.livejournal.com]

Something like that. They were all parts of the original soul and now act as anchors to this world. The only one he actually uses is the original piece that he kept.

[midnitemaraud-r.livejournal.com]

*hee* We are totally sharing a brain!