My Harry Potter book club leader, Becca, proposed an interpretation that Harry, the unintended seventh horcrux, was also the unintended Gryffindor horcrux! I haven’t heard that before and i doubt that JKR intended it that way per se so I think it’s doubly brilliant! This Ravenclaw’s mind is blown! This theory especially appeals to my OCD since it completes the Hogwarts House Horcrux cycle.
This original contribution shall be known henceforth as the Becca Eller Theorem and I should say that it qualifies her beyond doubt to be the next Hogwarts History of Magic professor . . . you know, after the current one dies!
On the subject of horcruxes, in book 7 Voldy realizes at some point that Harry is hunting them and has been successful in destroying some of them. Why wouldn’t Voldy create some new horcruxes quickly and send them off to hide in random places?? He was killing plenty of people so would have had plenty of opportunity to create new horcruxes.
It would have been the smart thing to do – but the fact that he doesn’t do it doesn’t ruin the plot for me. What Voldy does do is pretty consistent with his character.
Thought exercise: is each fragment of Voldy’s soul the same “size?” I mean, when he has split his soul into seven fragments, are they each equal? Or does only whatever remains of his soul in his body split each time a horcrux is made? If the latter, then his first horcrux would would hold 1/2 of his soul, his second would hold 1/4 of his soul, etc. After having made six horcruxes, all that would be left in Voldy’s body would be 1/64 of his original soul!
It’s very interesting that Harry is so skeptical of Dumbledore’s assertion of the special power of love as magic. Once again, his similarities to Voldy shine through!