I had completely ruled out one answer to an oldHarry Pottermystery, but I now realize all clues indicate I was wrong. The mystery I speak of was first introduced inHarry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and it is something that has now been haunting me for years. In an often-overlooked detail, Dumbledore revealed to Harry thatVoldemort had planned to use his murder at Godric’s Hallow to make his final Horcrux. Of course, the Dark Lord’s plan was foiled, and he accidentally turned Harry into a Horcrux instead. Still, I have often wondered what item Voldemort planned to use.
Dumbledoreexplained inHarry Potter and the Half-Blood Princethat Voldemort’s plan involved splitting his soul into seven pieces. Six fragments would be placed within vessels as Horcruxes, while the seventh would reside in the Dark Lord’s body. Since seven is the most magically significant number inHarry Potter, this would bring security and balance to Voldemort’s immortality, making him virtually indestructible. Dumbledore told Harry thatthe villain was close to his goal the night he came to Godric’s Hallow to kill the Potters, but everything fell apart:
“Voldemort was still at least one Horcrux short of his goal of six when he entered your parents' house with the intention of killing you. He seemed to have reserved the process of making Horcruxes for particularly significant deaths. You would certainly have been that. He believed that in killing you, he was destroying the danger the prophecy had outlined. He believed he was making himself invincible.I am sure that he was intending to make his final Horcrux with your death.”
It’s Never Revealed What Voldemort Planned To Use For His Final Horcrux
Dumbledore Confirmed Voldemort’s Plan But Never Guessed At The Details
While Dumbledore guessed thatVoldemort planned to make his sixth and final Horcruxwith Harry’s death, he never posed a guess regarding what it could have been. Therefore, this has remained a mystery sinceHalf-Blood Princehit bookshelves. While a definitive answer will likely never come, I have spent some time pondering what other significant wizarding world artifact Voldemort might have used. As the final Horcrux, and one made from the death of a wizard who was prophesied to be the Dark Lord’s downfall, it would have to have been a remarkable object.
Voldemort could have turned virtually any old item into a Horcrux, but he preferred using artifacts that were significant in magical history. The diary and Peverell ring both proved that he was descended from ancient magical families, but it was the Hogwarts founders' items that really made the Dark Lord feel special. He successfully got his hands on Slytherin’s locket, Hufflepuff’s cup, and Ravenclaw’s diadem. When he went to kill the Potters,it stands to reason that he would have had an item belonging to Godric Gryffindor to complete his collection. However, there was only one known artifact fitting this criteria.
I Thought Voldemort Couldn’t Have Tried To Use The Sword Of Gryffindor (But All Clues Hint He Did)
The Sword Of Gryffindor Would Have Completed Voldemort’s Collection - & The Location Would Have Been Perfect
When Dumbledore and Harry discussed what items Voldemort might have turned into a Horcrux, Harry naturally suggested something belonging to Godric Gryffindor. Dumbledore had already shown HarryPensieve memoriesthat indicated that Slytherin’s locket and Hufflepuff’s cup would have been used, so it was logical to consider a Gryffindor item. However, the headmaster turned this theory down. He explained that the only known artifact belonging to this particular founder was the Sword of Gryffindor, which was on display in his office.
So, when I considered what item Voldemort might have brought to Godric’s Hollow, I ruled out the Sword of Gryffindor. Surely, the Dark Lord wouldn’t have been happy with only having three Hogwarts founders' items, butit seems Dumbledore would have mentioned that the sword had been found among the rubble of the Potters' house. I decided that Voldemort must have settled for a different item to turn into a Horcrux and that it was destroyed when his Killing Curse backfired.
Killing his last enemy in the birthplace of Godric Gryffindor and stashing a piece of his soul inside the Hogwarts' founder’s famous sword would have been too poetic for Voldemort to pass up.
However, the more I think about it, the more I’m convinced that Voldemortmusthave brought theSword of Gryffindorto Godric’s Hallow that Halloween night. The Dark Lord would have seen this as a chance for Slytherin to symbolically triumph over Gryffindor all these centuries later. Killing his last enemy in the birthplace of Godric Gryffindor and stashing a piece of his soul inside the Hogwarts' founder’s famous sword would have been too poetic for Voldemort to pass up.The fact that the Sword of Gryffindor wasn’t found in the rubble could be explained by the artifact’s ability to appear and disappearall on its own.
How Voldemort Might Have Gotten The Sword Of Gryffindor
Could Voldemort Have Gotten His Hands On Gryffindor’s Sword?
In a literary sense, there are far too many hints that Voldemort found a Gryffindor item to ignore. The location of the Potters' murder is a town called Godric’s Hollow, and the fact that an item from Gryffindor was the only thing Voldemort was missing, combined with the reveal that the Dark Lord hadplannedto make his most important Horcrux that night, means this can’t just be a coincidence. Since we know the Sword of Gryffindor is indestructible and can disappear at will, this explains why it wasn’t found at the destroyed Potters' cottage. The big question is—how did Voldemort get it to begin with?
In truth,we have no idea where the Sword of Gryffindor was before it appeared to Harry inHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. It’s often assumed that it had been in Dumbledore’s office and materialized inside the Sorting Hat when Harry needed it, but there is no real indication of this inHarry Potter. It’s possible that, like Ravenclaw’s diadem, the Sword of Gryffindor was considered lost and that a young Tom Riddle managed to hunt it down. Or perhaps it really was at Hogwarts, and Voldemort stole it when heinterviewed for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position.
Voldemort hid Ravenclaw’s diadem in the Room of Requirement after his interview with Dumbledore. It’s possible that he used this opportunity to find the Sword of Gryffindor as well (maybe even in the Room of Lost Things).
Could The Sword Of Gryffindor Actually Have Become A Horcrux?
Voldemort’s Plan Might Have Been Doomed From The Beginning
Voldemort never got the chance to turn theSword of Gryffindor into a Horcruxsince his Killing Curse backfired and his body was destroyed instead. Later, after Petter Pettigrew found him and helped him regain a temporary body, the Dark Lord murdered Bertha Jorkins and turned Nagini into a Horcrux.Voldemort likely believed that the Sword of Gryffindor had been destroyed in Godric’s Hallow, leaving him to abandon his Hogwarts founders' plan and choose a different item to make into a Horcrux. However, I’m curious what would have happened if he had tried to house his soul in the sword.
The Sword of Gryffindor is indestructible and takes in “only that which makes it stronger.” I would argue that a soul would only make the sword vulnerable since Horcruxes are not indestructible and can be destroyed by Fiendfyre and Basilisk venom. EvenJ.K. Rowling’s wording here seems to hint that the sword would reject some types of magic, and why would that be necessary if Gryffindor’s artifact hadn’t come close to being tainted with dark magic? There is, again, some poetry here since there would have been yet another layer of magical protection keeping Voldemort from achieving his evil goals.
Harry was protected, and the sword of Gryffindor disappeared, ensuring that Harry would be able to wield it years later on in his journey to defeat the Dark Lord.
Ultimately, destiny was once again on Harry’s side. If my theory is correct, then Voldemort was planning to make himself indestructible by turning the Sword of Gryffindor into his sixth and final Horcrux. The power of seven would have made him an evil force that would continue ruling the wizarding world forever, but it never could have actually happened. Harry was protected, and the Sword of Gryffindor disappeared, ensuring that Harry would be able to wield it years later on in his journey to defeat the Dark Lord. So, while I initially counted this solution out,Gryffindor’s sword being the answer to theHarry Pottermystery is just too delicious to ignore.
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a multimedia franchise about an orphaned boy who enrolls at Hogwarts School of Wizardry, where he learns the truth about himself, his family, and the terrible evil that haunts the magical world. Adapted from the novels, Harry Potter is an eight-episode film saga that follows the journey of Harry Potter and his friends, Hermoine Granger and Ron Weasley, as they navigate the tricky world of growing up, school life, and magic. Starting from year one and moving to their seventh year, the films chronicle the students' time at Hogwarts while unfurling a sinister plot that centers around the unsuspecting Harry. With the return of the dark wizard, Voldemort, the students and professors at Hogwarts will fight to carry on as the world around them may change forever. Harry Potter has expanded beyond the world of its films and novels with several video games, a spin-off film series titled Fantastic Beasts, and even attractions at Universal Studios.
