How did Harry become a Horcrux in the Harry Potter movies? The finale of the Harry Potter franchise hinges on a handful of big revelations, and one of those is the surprising discovery that Harry himself was a Horcrux, meaning that he carried a portion of Voldemort’s soul within him.
This revelation about Harry Potter certainly helped make sense of a few things in the best fantasy movies, including Harry’s strange mental connection with Voldemort, their shared wand cores, and the fact Harry could converse with snakes by speaking Parseltongue. Harry was always on a crash course with one of the best Harry Potter villains, whatever he did.
So let’s take a look at everything we know about Horcruxes to answer the big question: how did Harry Potter become a Horcrux? It’s a pivotal issue at the heart of the best movies in this series, so let’s take a walk into the Restricted Section of the library and learn about some seriously dark magic.
How did Harry become a Horcrux in the Harry Potter movies?
Voldemort accidentally turned Harry Potter into a Horcrux when he splintered his soul using the Killing Curse on Lily Potter, and the fragment latched on to Harry as the only living thing in the room.
Look, the Harry Potter books and movies are a bit hazy on how exactly Horcruxes are created. It’s nasty stuff, and we don’t blame them for not wanting to dwell on how a witch or wizard can implant a fragment of their corrupted soul into an object or living being.
So, the story goes that Voldemort inadvertently created a Horcrux during his murder of Lily Potter, perhaps as a result of how fragmented and corrupted his soul already was after making six other Horcruxes. Not a nice dude.
As we know, the old magic of Lily’s parental love protected Harry from the Killing Curse, which rebounded on Voldemort. In that moment, the unmoored Horcrux connected itself to the only living thing it could find in that room: Harry. Nobody knew about this Horcrux, including Voldemort and Harry himself.
When Voldemort tried to kill Harry at the end of Deathly Hallows Part 2 – with unmatched theatricality thanks to Ralph Fiennes – he simply killed the portion of his soul within his enemy. This is how Harry was able to stay alive for their final face-off, with an assist from Neville Longbottom in killing the Dark Lord’s snake Nagini – the final Horcrux.
So that’s how Harry Potter became a Horcrux, without anybody knowing. For more Potter, learn about everyone who’s owned the Elder Wand and what happened to the Deathly Hallows. You can also watch all the Harry Potter movies in order, to relive the magic all over again.
Elsewhere, find out about Daniel Radcliffe’s one hope for the Harry Potter TV series and learn more about it with our guide to the Harry Potter TV series release date. We’ve also explained how Voldemort changed the design of a Marvel villain and why Hermione overshadows Harry Potter in the movies.