Welcome to Harry Potter Theory. Today we're discussing Voldemort and how Horcruxes are made.

For any witch or wizard, making a Horcrux is considered to be the worst kind of magic. In fact, it is a brand of dark arts that is thought to be so evil and revolting that it is intentionally never discussed and information on how to create one is very limited. For this reason, many witches and wizards don't even know what creating a Horcrux involves. And as it turns out, neither do we! But here's what we do know...

The very first known Horcrux was made in Ancient Greece by a wizard named Herpo the Foul, and thousands of years later, Voldemort became only the second known creator of a Horcrux. Made from magic that is so terrible in nature that even dark wizards are horrified by what it entails, Horcruxes are creations that are unimaginable to the vast majority of the Wizarding World. So, when Voldemort made seven, it was a demonstration of just how incredibly evil he was.

To make a Horcrux, a damaged piece of one's soul must be removed from the creator's body and put into an inanimate object or living host, making the creator immortal. In order to do this, the witch or wizard who wishes to split their soul needs to commit the ultimate act of violence and evil: murder. And not just any murder, they have to deliberately kill someone without regret or remorse. Acting in self-defence or retaliating in protection of someone else will not result in the ability to create a Horcrux. It must be done with the utmost evil intent, resulting in a metaphysical damaging of the murderer's soul. It's important to note that this fragmentation of the soul would occur after a murder of this sort, regardless of whether or not the witch or wizard intended to create a Horcrux. It's just that one who wishes to make a Horcrux then uses the damaging of their soul to their advantage. In any case, after they have killed their victim, the witch or wizard uses a powerful incantation to remove this damaged part of their soul from their body, placing it in a vessel outside of themselves, and then performing an UNKNOWN ritual to bound the fragmented soul to its new container.

So, what exactly happens during this disturbing ceremony?

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