Did Dumbledore make a horcrux?

Question

There are some popular theories flying around the internet about the possibility that Dumbledore may have accidentally made a horcrux and that the object containing the fragment was either Fawkes the Phoenix, The Elder Wand, or something else. Could Dumbledore have made a horcrux?

Anyone who has any idea how Horcruxes work can't take this theory seriously. If Dumbledore had a Horcurx then why did he not survive his death? — The Dark Lord, Jun 13 '16 at 01:30
See also http://scifi.stackexchange.com/q/156565/4918 "Why didn't Harry Potter and Dumbledore create Horcruxes to battle Lord Voldemort?" — b_jonas, Apr 05 '17 at 13:49
@TheDarkLord How do you know he didn't? His main body died, but his soul is Earth-bound and he can return in future books/ movies. — user931, Nov 20 '18 at 06:46
@NewtScamander You could say that about any character, though. If the only criteria for having a Horcruz is that your soul can't be proved to have 'moved on' then everyone can be suspected of having one. Did Dobby have a Horcrux? I mean, we never see him in the afterlife. Even if that was your criteria then you can rule Dumbledore out on the grounds that a) Horcruxes are very Dark magic and b) we actually do see Dumbledore's soul having 'moved on' in the King's Cross chapter. — The Dark Lord, Nov 21 '18 at 00:20
@TheDarkLord Not all wizards are capable of advanced magic. Dumbledore was capable and he was also on dark path once. Talking about Harry seeing Dumbledore on King's Cross, it can be interpreted as a proof that Dumbledore's soul is Earth-bound because Harry wasn't dead at that time. — user931, Nov 21 '18 at 16:20
@Ragnarok Harry was dead at the time though, he died and came back, that's the whole point of it as far as I can see. — Syed M. Sannan, Oct 27 '23 at 11:06
@SyedM.Sannan No, Harry was never dead. Voldemort’s part soul took full hit of Avada Kedavra. That was the whole point of it. — user931, Oct 28 '23 at 01:52
@Ragnarok That is a very popular yet incorrect fan theory to my knowledge. I wouldn't explain this well in the limited comments section but you can have a look at these videos to learn the canon explanation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwVRtRX-GWU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jy0ZpMaqB5k — Syed M. Sannan, Oct 28 '23 at 07:52
@SyedM.Sannan Yeah, I remember now. Thanks. But, I maintain the position that he didn’t die. — user931, Oct 29 '23 at 04:00

score 23 · Accepted Answer · edited Jun 16 '20 at 09:31

23

According to JK Rowling, probably not.

It turns out this theory reached the author herself and she responded on twitter.

ROWLING: The idea that anyone believes this is strangely upsetting to me.

_{— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 4, 2016}

Since the idea of her fans entertaining such thoughts is upsetting to her, we can take that to mean that at no point did Dumbledore make any sort of horcrux.

edited Jun 16 '20 at 09:31

Community

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answered Jun 12 '16 at 03:31

RedCaio

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Also JK has mentioned previously that there is along process involved in making horcruxes, and (I have heard) that her editor is the only person who heard it, and they threw up. So I would say Dumbledore would not go through such a process, whatever it may be. – Becca Jun 15 '16 at 21:40
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You may want to add her following two tweets: https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/728630869590683649 https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/728650618785681408 – ibid Mar 05 '17 at 22:33
J. K. Rowling is daughter of Dumbledore. I believe that's why she didn't like the rumor. – user931 Mar 06 '17 at 09:13
How J. K. Rowling is daughter of Dumbledore ? Can you please elaborate ? @NewtScamander – Aditya Shah Nov 20 '18 at 06:37

score 6 · Answer 2 · edited Jun 16 '20 at 09:31

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You have to commit murder to create a Horcrux. And while Dumbledore may have killed, there's no evidence that he's murdered anyone.

‘By an act of evil –the supreme act of evil. By committing murder. Killing rips the soul apart. The wizard intent upon creating a Horcrux would use the damage to his advantage: he would encase the torn portion –’

^{Half-Blood Prince | Horcruxes}

edited Jun 16 '20 at 09:31

Community

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answered Mar 05 '17 at 21:43

Doctor Two

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score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 08 '21 at 01:00

No - he appears in the afterlife to Harry as whole.

When Harry lets Voldemort kill him to destroy the piece of Voldemort’s soul inside him, both Harry and Voldemort go into a sort of limbo where Harry’s soul that has not been split appears exactly as Harry does, and Voldemort’s soul that had been split several times appears as a flayed child. Dumbledore appears there to greet and advise Harry, and he is whole. He also confirmed to Harry that he is indeed dead.

“Stunned, Harry followed as Dumbledore strode away from where the flayed child lay whimpering, leading him to two seats that Harry had not previously noticed, set some distance away under that high, sparkling ceiling. Dumbledore sat down in one of them, and Harry fell into the other, staring at his old Headmaster’s face. Dumbledore’s long, silver hair and beard, the piercingly blue eyes behind half-moon spectacles, the crooked nose: everything was as he had remembered it. And yet …

‘But you’re dead,’ said Harry.

‘Oh, yes,’ said Dumbledore matter-of-factly.”
_{^{- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 35 (King’s Cross)}}

Since the state of his soul in the afterlife is seen as being whole, this is clear confirmation that he did not make a Horcrux.

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Jun 08 '21 at 11:12

You can't accidentally make a Horcrux, as covered in this question.
Therefore, Dumbledore couldn't have made a Horcrux unwillingly or unknowingly.

About Dumbledore making a Horcrux intentionally, I think the other answers cover that perfectly. No, he didn't.

Did Dumbledore make a horcrux?

4 Answers4

According to JK Rowling, probably not.

No - he appears in the afterlife to Harry as whole.

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