The Horcruxes in the Harry Potter series are objects that contain fragments of Voldemort’s soul, created through murder to achieve a kind of immortality. There are seven Horcruxes, plus Harry himself (unintentionally made a Horcrux by Voldemort’s actions), which means Voldemort’s soul could not be fully destroyed until all Horcruxes were dealt with. Core list of Voldemort’s Horcruxes
- Tom Riddle’s Diary
- Marvolo Gaunt’s Ring
- Salazar Slytherin’s Locket
- Helga Hufflepuff’s Cup
- Rowena Ravenclaw’s Diadem
- Nagini the snake
- Harry Potter (unintentional Horcrux)
How they were destroyed
- Tom Riddle’s Diary: destroyed by Harry Potter with a Basilisk fang in the Chamber of Secrets.
- Marvolo Gaunt’s Ring: destroyed by Albus Dumbledore with the Sword of Gryffindor (though the ring’s curse harmed Dumbledore).
- Slytherin’s Locket: destroyed by Hermione Granger and Harry Potter using the Sword of Gryffindor (after being retrieved from the cave and later the battle).
- Hufflepuff’s Cup: destroyed by Hermione Granger using a Basilisk fang.
- Ravenclaw’s Diadem: destroyed by Vincent Crabbe’s fiendfyre in the Room of Requirement (in the films) or by ultimately being vanquished in battle (the books attribute its destruction to fires and active interference during the final confrontations).
- Nagini: killed by Neville Longbottom with the Sword of Gryffindor during the Battle of Hogwarts.
- Harry Potter: ultimately the Horcrux within Harry was destroyed when Voldemort struck him with the Killing Curse in the Forbidden Forest, combined with the alliance of others that led to Voldemort’s downfall.
Important concept
- A Horcrux is created by committing murder and then performing a dark ritual to place a fragment of the soul into an object. Destroying a Horcrux requires powerful magic and specific methods tied to the object itself (e.g., basilisk venom for certain Horcruxes, or the Sword of Gryffindor which is imbued with goblin-wrought steel that is capable of destroying Horcruxes).
If you’d like, I can tailor this into a concise study guide with quick- reference beats for each Horcrux, including where it was kept and how it was destroyed, or provide exact book/film references.
