Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In today’s video, we’re going
to be discussing Lord Voldemort and his horcruxes. More specifically- we’re going to be discussing
his CHOICE of Horcruxes- actually, one in particular- Nagini.
A horcrux is an object in which a dark witch or wizard has imbued part of their soul, and
the ultimate goal when creating horcruxes is to achieve immortality. It’s certainly
not well known magic, and that’s because it’s excessively evil. Perhaps the most
sinister aspect of creating a horcrux is that in order to produce one, you must MURDER someone.
Other than Herpo the Foul, Voldemort is the only known wizard to have produced a horcrux.
The only difference there is that Herpo only made one, and Voldemort made NUMEROUS.
A diary, a ring, a locket, a cup, a diadem, a boy (albeit unintentional), and a snake-
these were Voldemort’s horcruxes. The one that I want to focus on in today’s video,
however, is Nagini.
From as far back as we can remember, Nagini is glued to Voldemort’s side- a trustworthy
and loyal companion through seemingly any kind of adversity. They first met in the forests
of Albania sometime in the 1980s- When Voldemort was weak and just a shadow of the powerful
wizard he once was. He was lost, and unsure of his next move, but it just so happened
that SO was Nagini- a maledictus that had permanently assumed her animal form. They
were a couple of lost souls, a recently defeated and disembodied dark wizard, and a lonely
snake suffering from a crippling blood curse. Provided that Voldemort could actually communicate
with her via parseltongue, and that Voldemort’s bloodline had a connection with snakes, it’s
not surprising that the pair would couple up. However, Voldemort’s next move was,
in my eyes, questionable.
The move in question was of course turning Nagini in to his final horcrux. In 1994, ministry
employee Bertha Jorkins made the unfortunate decision to take a trip to Albania. I say
unfortunate, because at this same point in time Voldemort, Peter Pettigrew and Nagini
were all there as well.
Pettigrew, who previously knew Jorkins, convinced her to take a stroll with him in to the woods-
leading her to Voldemort. At this point, Voldemort tortured and eventually murdered Bertha. As
we know, in order to create a Horcrux, murder is necessary, so in killing Bertha, Voldemort
effectively turned Nagini in to his final horcrux.
Ok- so Nagini was made to be a horcrux-but why, you might be wondering now, was this
such a bad decision? Here’s the thing: horcruxes are objects in which a wizard has IMBUED part
of their soul. The main issue with turning Nagini in to one is that she is a living,
sentient being with a lifespan of her own. If Voldemort’s goal was to be immortal,
and the goal of creating horcruxes is to EXTEND your lifespan, then what’s the point of
having a horcrux with a time limit on it? Even if a maledictus lives for a long time,
they are still going to die EVENTUALLY- so Voldemort’s decision to turn Nagini in to
one was fundamentally flawed.
Dumbledore actually discusses the risks of using a living thing as a horcrux in the book:
“I don't think so," said Dumbledore. "I think I know what the sixth Horcrux is. I
wonder what you will say when I confess that I have been curious for a while about the
behavior of the snake, Nagini?" "The snake?" said Harry, startled. "You can
use animals as Horcruxes?" "Well, it is inadvisable to do so," said Dumbledore,
"because to confide a part of your soul to something that can think and move for itself
is obviously a very risky business. However, if my calculations are correct, 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 seems 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.
"As we know, he failed. After an interval of some years, however, he used Nagini to
kill an old Muggle man, and it might then have occurred to him to turn her into his
last Horcrux. She underlines the Slytherin connection, which enhances Lord Voldemort's
mystique; I think he is perhaps as fond of her as he can be of anything; he certainly
likes to keep her close, and he seems to have an unusual amount of control over her, even
for a Parselmouth."
Even Dumbledore recognized the dangers of making a living thing a Horcrux- so I’m
sure Voldemort knew what he was getting himself in to. This is why I think that turning Nagini
in to a Horcrux was an emotionally driven decision- not a logical one.
Nagini became instrumental in Lord Voldemort’s survival before he could be restored to his
real body. Her venom kept him alive and it was even used in Voldemort’s rudimentary
body potion that gave him a corporeal form, however- all of this could have been achieved
without actually making her a horcrux. So, why?
Here’s the thing- Voldemort truly, deeply cared for Nagini. Dumbledore said it best:
“I think he is perhaps as fond of her as he can be of anything”
But wait, isn’t Voldemort incapable of love? Yes, that’s supposedly true, but I think
I’ve found a loophole. First, however, let’s look at the main canon explanation for Voldemort’s
supposed inability to feel love.
Voldemort’s mother, Merope, was a pure-blood witch and the daughter of Marvolo Gaunt. She
grew up in Little Hangleton,and it was there that she developed an obsession with a muggle
that lived nearby, Tom Riddle sr, - Voldemort’s father. One day, Merope decided that she would
concoct a love potion to give to Riddle-forcing him to fall in love with her.
When he drank the potion, he became infatuated with her, and it wasn’t long before Merope
was pregnant with Tom’s child. After a while however, Merope, hoping that Tom would genuinely
love her without the potion, stopped giving it to him. Unsurprisingly, when Tom came out
of the trance he simply fled back to little Hangleton- abandoning her.
After he fled, Merope fell in to a deep depression, and stopped using magic entirely. On new years
eve in 1926, she went to an orphanage and gave birth to her son, Tom Marvolo Riddle
- Lord Voldemort. Tragically, Merope died shortly after Riddle was born, the result
of a broken heart. Merope’s death meant that she was never there for Tom, and he grew
up without any concept or notion of love. Not only that, but it has been expressed that
Voldemort may have been fundamentally ‘incapable’ of feeling love- a lasting effect of the love
potion that Merope had used on his father. An inability to love was ultimately Voldemort’s
downfall, and it was also what set him off on his path of villainy. Thanks to his mother
and father, Voldemort was, in a way, destined for evil.
Okay- so, if he COULDN’T feel love how could he have loved Nagini? Well, in an interview
JK Rowling actually somewhat opens up the possibility that Voldemort COULD feel love-
it just seems like it would be very difficult for him.
INT: How much does the fact that Voldemort was conceived under a love potion have to
do with his inability to understand love? is it more symbolic?
J.K. Rowling: It was a symbolic way of showing that he came from a loveless union - but of
course, everything would have changed if Merope had survived and raised him herself and loved
him.
In just a few sentences here, JK Rowling opens up the possibility of Voldemort LOVING something,
someone. She said it herself, if Merope was there to raise him, then he COULD have loved.
That means that he was never emotionally incapable as other canon suggests. So did Voldemort
ever grow to love anyone? Certainly- Nagini.
The pair met each other when they had nothing. Without Voldemort Nagini would have had no
purpose in the world- no one to talk to. Without Nagini Voldemort would have had a harder time
coming back in to power, but it would have happened eventually- so he didn’t really
NEED HER, he just wanted her around. The bottom line is, he never HAD to make her a horcrux-
as I mentioned earlier, it was an emotionally driven choice, a decision that I believe was
made out of love.
The pair shared such a special connection that he wanted to make it permanent. In this
context, I think that Voldemort making Nagini his horcrux was almost akin to marriage.
Of course this is just a theory, and I’m eager to hear what you guys have to say on
this topic. Do you guys like this theory? Hate it? Let me know in the comment section
below.
Until next time
Alas, earwax.