So as far as I recall basilisk venom and other magically strong things destroy horcruxes, right?

Harry is a horcrux, even in the second book.

Why the fuck did he need to be hit with the Avada at the end to kill it, when the soul fragment should already be dead because he was injected with basilisk venom?

Is this a plot hole, or is it something stupid like his body not being a horcrux but his soul technically being one? If that were the case, then why did the soul fragment in Nagini die after she was killed, shouldn't it have remained in the corpse? Or have reverted to the wraith form like Voldemort Prime did when he was hit with the reflected Avada?

 

I assume the Basilisk Venom can destroy a horcrux by...destroying the horcrux. Harry wasn't quite destroyed, was he? I suppose if he'd died at the end of book 2 instead of Fawkes showing up to the tune of deus ex machina, the horcrux would have been destroyed though.

 

I still point to Nagini again. As well as the fact that Harry didn't have to die, and in fact was literally incapable of dying by Voldemort, when he got hit with the Avada, which killed the Horcrux for some god awful reason that probably resolves out to, "I'm sick and fucking tired of these books. Whatever, problem resolved." on the part of JK. Maybe Harry wasn't a full Horcrux, because the spell and ritual used to create them wasn't actually used on him.

These books are littered with things that don't really make sense in the long run. For example, the Basilisk is 200 feet long, large enough to clumsily bite Harry with one fang(Which is fucking rare for a snake,) and still small enough to fit through the pipes? That is a very specific kind of size, that only really makes sense in children's fantasy novels.

 

Nagini had to die for the horcrux to be destroyed. Harry was hit by Voldemort's killing curse. There's no mention of a spell or ritual being important for making a horcrux. The basilisk is only fifty feet long. And magic.

All things you clearly missed while reading the books.

 

Basilisk venom does not destroy a Horcrux. Destruction beyond magical repair destroys a Horcrux. Since Harry is not destroyed beyond magical repair (i.e. he’s still alive), it makes perfect sense that the horcrux survives.

 

You do remember that Nagini got cut in half by the sword, right?

 

What Glimmervoid said. Also important to note is that Horcruxs by their very nature seem to be invincible to most forms of damage, so you end up needing something like Basilisk venom or Fiendfyre for the ones that aren't housed in living containers.

 

...Also, Harry wasn't stabbed in the head with the Basilisk's fang.(well, forehead, but either way he would likely have been dead long before Fawkes got to him)

It's theoretically possible that, given enough time the venom would have gone through his bloodstream, reached his forehead and expelled the Horcrux. Of course, it's far more likely his vital organs would have shut down first, and the Horcrux would simply have remained in his corpse.

 

The title of this thread annoys me in its length.

 

I'm always pleased when people feel compelled or entitled to start a whole new thread for what they consider a ground-breakingly, earth-shatteringly insightful and fresh almost-question, when it's really just an asinine thought-vomit that could've been answered by searching the forums and reading one of any number of existing threads in which this question has already been asked and answered through discussion. How is /that/ for a Magellanic way of saying this is a waste of a thread?

Or in the off chance the OP isn't satisfied with the previous answers, this sort-of question is the very reason there's a "Questions That Don't Deserve Their Own Threads" thread.


And as to the point about basilisk poison traveling through Harry's bloodstream to the scar, does anyone think that Voldemort's pseudo-Horcrux was somehow locked into just one little part of Harry's body? The Horcrux was attached to Harry the person, Harry the metaphysical being, or more simply to Harry's soul, not the scar. The scar was/is merely the physical evidence of that night and as such, is how Harry experiences pain from being in Voldemort's presence etc. There's no "just drop basilisk venom on the scar and Phoenix tears in your mouth and it'll kill the Horcrux" - that is parsing bullshit and neglects the fact this is MAGIC we're talking about, and SOUL magic in particular.


Anyway, rant over. The Horcrux wasn't destroyed because (1) plot device, (2) Harry didn't actually die, and (3) magic.


One more thing: It's the goddamn Killing Curse, not the AK, not the Avada Kedavra, and for fuck's sake, it's not "the Avada." I thought that "the Avada Kedavra Curse" was the one I hated the most but this - "the Avada" - has just jumped straight to the top of my "WTF did that shithead say?" list.

 

If you couldn't understand what Glimmervoid said, after all you seem to have trouble understanding everything written in the book.

In simple :

Consider Basilisk venom an acid which is highly corrosive. But before it could corrode the Horcrux it was neutralized by Phoenix tears(let us assume it's a base). Thus, the Horcrux was not destroyed.

Also, Harry's sweat was the product of this neutralization reaction.

 

"AK-ing" somebody. Kill it with fire.

 

I think the problem is mostly which forum this thread is in. It needs to be moved to the appropriate one.



The Hall of Shame.

 

http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Horcrux , just going by the wiki here, where they explain Horcruxes can be killed by Basilisk Venom. Also how is putting a hole in something bringing it beyond magical repair, in the case of the journal? Power of plot I guess.

It looks like length isn't specified for the Basilisk in the books, however the length of the average adult is 50 ft. This thing was likely a fair bit longer considering it's supposed to be ungodly old and snakes keep growing as they age. Looking at the film version, it looks to be about 100-150 feet in length there, with a head the size of a small shed.


Also, in my buzzedness last night I forgot about that "Questions that don't deserve their own thread" thread, and I do most sincerely apologize. If this could be merged there, it would be much appreciated. My mistake and I again apologize.

Finally, the killing curse is really long to type out with letters spread over the keyboard, so I tend to use Avada because the keys are clustered right near each other. It's shorthand, if it's acceptable for one of my professors with a doctorate in English to use shorthand in class materials, it's damn acceptable to use on an internet forum. Especially one with such in depth knowledge of the subject matter that they can instantly get it. It was also explained early on in the Half Blood Prince that it's known by both names, the Avada Kedavra Curse, and the Killing Curse.

 

Wow, in one post you cite both the wiki and the movies as evidence. I struggle to think of two less reliable sources.

On topic, as everyone has said you destroy the horcruxes by destroying their container, as Harry was most clearly not destroyed the horcrux survived.

Although even if you were right; shockhorror, a plothole in Harry Potter, never seen one of those before.

 

Dear fucking god. It's "Avada Kedavra", not some bullshit mix between that and Abra Kadabra. If you're going to name spells, spell them correctly, ffs.

 

Wow, a source endorsed by both the publisher, and by JK is an unreliable source? Keep in mind, when the average person thinks of Harry Potter, they don't think of Harry Potter, the kid with green eyes and hair that naturally doesn't lay flat. They think of Daniel Radcliffe at 12 with a bowl cut. Something else to keep in mind, the first and second movie were the closest ones to the books, often to the detriment of the film itself. It was only at the third that you saw broad diversions from canon as played out in the books.

I can accept that, but then again, Harry didn't have to die, for the horcrux to be unmade... Moreover, it seems more logical that the piece of the soul in Nagini would do the same thing the one in Voldemort would of. IE reverted to a wraith and started plotting on his great resurrection.

Bah, it just struck my buzzed mind as weird, basilisk venom and fang kills one but not the other. Also the book was apparently intact enough that you could reasonably hide a sock in it, that's not what I'd call beyond physical or magical repair. That might be because that one was the first one he made so it was more fragile or something like that.

---------- Post automerged at 12:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:16 PM ----------

Dear Gandhi, it's called a spelling mistake, I have dyslexia, it's diagnosed, don't throw a fucking tantrum. If you're going to argue at least bring up something interesting, not something so infinitesimally little that it's practically a non issue.

 

Deep breaths, typo nazi. It's the internet.

OT: Why are we making such a big fuss over this? It's not like DLP isn't used to stupid questions / threads posted in the wrong place / unoriginal debates.

Edit:

OP... Try to exercise moderation of your argumentative asshattery instead of lashing out, douche-guns blazing.

 

So what if that's what the average person thinks? You are talking about this here, no one reading this is the "average" person that you describe, this is DLP, the average person doesn't come here. Saying the first and second books were the closest to canon is like saying they're the transvestites that look the most like women. They still ain't women, and the movies still aren't a reliable source of canon information.

According to canon basilisk venom does put it beyond magical repair. It's not the hole that puts it beyond repair, it's the venom. Harry was just lucky that he had access to the only thing that could stop the venom from destroying him.

 

It's not "practically a non-issue". After all, the simple switch from a v to an s can mean the difference between levitating a feather and creating a giant-ass buffalo that ends up crushing you. But, since this is not about spell pronunciation, here's something that just about everyone here has missed.

Horcruxes contain part of the wizard's soul.

Basilisk venom is not an acid that can magically burn through anything, it is a highly toxic venom that ends in death (barring, of course, a deus ex machina). If you dropped some raw basilisk venom on a book, the book wouldn't be affected at all.

The reason that basilisk venom has any effect on horcruxes is because they are alive. The diary was self aware, and the locket actively resisted being destroyed. Granted, many of the effects of the horcruxes could be simply protective enchantments, but the aforementioned two traits are not abilities of inanimate objects. So, the basilisk venom kills the soul in the objects, not the objects themselves.

Now, Nagini, on the other hand, had to be killed. This is because she was alive before becoming a horcrux, rather than becoming alive due to being a horcrux. The same applies to Harry. As he didn't die to the basilisk venom, the horcrux wasn't destroyed. End of story.

So there's my two cents, and I'm done with this shit. See ya, bitchez.