Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In today’s video we’re going to
be discussing Voldemort, Bellatrix Lestrange, Death Eaters, and Horcruxes. Let’s kick
things off with a brief intro on Horcruxes:
“A Horcrux is created when a wizard takes an object and binds a piece of their soul
to it. The purpose is immortality, with the logic going that as long as a piece of your
soul survives within the object, then you can never truly die. It’s magic so Dark,
so heinous, that it was kept a secret from most of the wizarding world. Yet despite many
trying, there are only two known wizards to have discovered how to perform it: an Ancient
Greek Dark wizard called Herpo the Foul, who created one Horcrux; and Voldemort, who mastered
the spell and created seven. “
But, what I’ve always wondered is, why didn’t the death eaters follow in Voldemort’s footsteps
and create horcruxes themselves? Surely Voldemort would have entrusted someone like Bellatrix
with the knowledge of how to create one, wouldn’t he?
Dumbledore once described Tom Riddles school gang as “a mixture of the weak seeking protection,
the ambitious seeking glory, and the thuggish seeking a leader who could show them more
refined cruelty”. It was these same students that are considered to be the forerunners
to what-would-become the Deatheaters that we see later on in the books and films. Deatheaters
are pure-blood radical supremacists that cast unforgivable curses without remorse, and torture
muggles, half-bloods, and blood-traitors alike. Death eaters murder people willy nilly, so
it’s not unreasonable to expect that they would be willing to MURDER to achieve immortality.
Furthermore, the death eaters were hellbent on maintaining pure magical bloodlines in
the wizarding community, and one very effective way of doing that would be to remain immortal
AS a pure-blood. So, is it just that the Death Eaters were left in the dark by voldemort-unaware
of what it was that he had achieved- or was it that the creation of a horcrux was just
too imposing. After all, horcrux creation was even too dark to be properly mentioned
in a book ABOUT the dark arts.
The following quote from Voldemort suggests that at least some of the death eaters knew
SOMETHING about what he had done:
"And then I ask myself, but how could they have believed I would not rise again? They,
who knew the steps I took, long ago, to guard myself against mortal death?"
He says it right there: ‘who knew the steps I took’ - surely this suggests that he had
educated them on Horcruxes, right? Now, the book never explicitly states WHICH Death Eaters
knew- but I’m sure he didn’t mention it to ALL of them, and there’s one in particular
that comes to mind when I think of who he might have told: Bellatrix Lestrange. And
who better to create one than Bellatrix? With the know-how and the bloodthirsty capability,
why wouldn’t she make one?
Bellatrix Lestrange was one of the most feared witches in the wizarding world. Her fear-inspiring
name and bloodthirsty reputation were well-deserved, and she was known to have murdered and tortured
many many witches and wizards. Her magical capabilities were more than impressive, and
she was widely considered to be one the most powerful and dangerous witches of her time.
She was a frightening pure-blood that came from the Black family, a long line of powerful
witches and wizards with a twisted agenda.
More importantly, however, Bellatrix Lestrange was Lord Voldemort’s most loyal follower.
But, to add to that, she certainly wasn’t JUST a follower, we have to address the elephant
in the room here because I think it helps to answer this question: Bellatrix was OBSESSED
with Voldemort.
Though she served him unquestionably, she always wanted MORE, she wanted to be his queen,
and she wanted to rule over the magical and muggle worlds alongside him. So, what better
way to ensure that they could rule together forever than by making HERSELF immortal as
well?
In an interview, JK Rowling discusses the intensity of Bellatrix’s infatuation with
her master.
“And Bellatrix, was, as I think is clear– you know, I doubt that people will be particularly
shocked to hear, ’cause I’m sure they’ve deduced, that Bellatrix is madly, romantically
in love with Voldemort. This is– you know, that’s the obsession of her life.”
And Whether you want to accept it as Canon or not, we know from the cursed child that
Voldemort and Bellatrix eventually conceive a child- Delphini. Delphini’s conception
occurred sometime in the mid to late 1990s, in secret, at the Malfoy Manor. This meant
that her birth coincided with the events of the original books - we just never had any
indication of it. Her birth was kept a secret by her parents because they feared that their
infamous reputations would place her in danger, especially in the event of their deaths.
How and Why Bellatrix and Voldemort would go on to conceive a child is unknown, though
I suspect that it was more of a ‘functional’ conception - a way of Voldemort carrying on
the bloodline of his ancestor, Salazar Slytherin. This fact only strengthened the tie between
Voldemort and Bellatrix further, which makes the question even more potent: Why didn’t
Bellatrix create a Horcrux?
Here’s what I think: I think that Voldemort told some of his KEY followers about Horcruxes-
but I don’t think that he ever delved too much in to the specifics. And I think that
the reason that he never delved in to the specifics wasn’t to hide the process from
them, but because he didn’t believe that they were strong enough to go through with
it. Creating a horcrux is purportedly one of the most difficult, extreme and unknown
magical processes known in the wizarding world. If it was hard-going EVEN for someone like
VOLDEMORT, one of the most innately powerful wizards of all time, then how can we reasonably
expect that death eaters would be successful. I just don’t think that he had the faith
in them to go through with it all. Why would he encourage and risk-losing his followers
to a process that he knew that they wouldn’t be able to handle?
JK Rowling described the process of creating horcruxes as ‘dangerous’ and ‘highly
inadvisable’:
“Yeah, but I would imagine that other people, you know, other people are going to have tried.
I think it would be naive not to think that people have been trying for a long time, and
thought they succeeded and hadn't, or else, or else you know maim themselves or kill themselves
in the attempt. It's such a dangerous thing to do.”
To add to this, Voldemort, though incapable of love, did care for Bellatrix. Why would
he risk her life? His genuine concern for her life is depicted in the following passage,
which describes Bellatrix’s death.
“Bellatrix’s gloating smile froze, her eyes seemed to bulge: For the tiniest space
of time she knew what had happened, and then she toppled, and the watching crowd roared,
and Voldemort screamed. Harry felt as though he turned in slow motion; he saw McGonagall,
Kingsley, and Slughorn blasted backward, flailing and writhing through the air, as Voldemort’s
fury at the fall of his last, best lieutenant exploded with the force of a bomb. Voldemort
raised his wand and directed it at Molly Weasley.”
And no, he wasn’t just angry because he lost another one of his soldiers, he was genuinely
upset that Bellatrix was gone. In fact, I think that Voldemort may have even avoided
the topic of Horcruxes specifically around Bellatrix so that she wouldn’t get any funny
ideas to create one. Voldemort likely knew of Bellatrix’s obsession with him, and he
also knew that if he planted the idea of HER immortality in her head, she would have done
anything in order to achieve it.
Had Voldemort and the Death Eaters won the wizarding war, and had Bellatrix survived,
I think that MAYBE, just MAYBE further down the line, Voldemort would have introduced
the idea of her creating one in a controlled environment. In this way, they would be able
to take their time and be extra careful as to minimize any kind of risk.
Anyway, I think that about sums it up. Did you guys ever wonder this? Does my logic make
sense here? If you enjoy the content please like the video, subscribe to the channel,
and leave a comment down below.
Until next time
Remember
It is our choices... that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.