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In Severus's memory, he and Dumbledore have a talk about Harry Potter.

Professor Albus Dumbledore: There will come a time when Harry Potter must be told something. But you must wait until Voldemort is at his most vulnerable.

Professor Severus Snape: Must be told what?

Professor Albus Dumbledore: On the night Lord Voldemort went to Godric's Hollow to kill Harry, and Lily Potter cast herself between them, the curse rebounded. When that happened, a part of Voldemort's soul lached itself onto the only living thing it could find. Harry himself. There's a reason Harry can speak with snakes. There's a reason he can look into Lord Voldemort's mind. A part of Voldemort lives inside him.

This quote was found on IMDB, and I do believe it is the movie edition. I also believe that this happened in the books as well. (If not, and edit would be much appreciated)

In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (book), Dumbledore has already told Harry that a part of Voldemort was in Harry.

Dumbledore: Unless I'm much mistaken, he transferred some of his own powers to you the night he gave you that scar. Not something he intended to do, I'm sure...

Harry: Voldemort put a bit of himself in me?

Dumbledore: It certainly seems so.

Harry was already told that some of Voldemort was in himself. Why did Dumbledore ask Severus to tell him again? Was is because he added that Harry must die?

Why must Harry Potter be told that a part of Voldemort's soul latched itself onto the only living thing it could find, again?

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Jake
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    To remind the reader – ratchet freak Jan 29 '15 at 08:52
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    note that in the first quote, 1. harry didn't know about the horcruxes and 2. Dumbledore said "part of his power"; in the second quote, he specifically calls out part of his soul, which by then Harry would recognize. – KutuluMike Jan 29 '15 at 12:56

2 Answers2

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Because Harry needed to realize that he was specifically a last "Horcrux" (as Dumbledore called it), and realize that (1) he needed to be killed by Voldemort - (2) AND by his own choice - to destroy that last soul piece AND protect others from Voldemort.

"a bit of himself in me?" doesn't carry such implications or imperatives - it merely connects Harry to Voldemort, and he successfully learned to block that connection after Dobby's death.

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DVK-on-Ahch-To
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    It's also been, what, five years since CoS? It's not a bad idea to deliberately prod him with crucial information more than once, especially when the time for action is near. Harry can be a bit of an idiot sometimes. – Geobits Jan 28 '15 at 19:25
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Harry needed to understand why it was imperative that he himself had to die in order to fully destroy Voldemort and ensure Voldemort's death in turn. That little piece of soul had to not live as it had been (I hesitate to say "die" here because it was the last piece of Voldemort's soul that became the mangled, baby-like creature at King's Cross -- it was neither alive, nor dead, but in limbo.).

Why he had to be told specifically that Voldemort's soul latched itself onto the only living thing in the room, unfortunately canon doesn't answer this question. Perhaps J.K. Rowling has, though. If I can find a quote I will edit it in.

ETA: It's important to remember that Harry is NOT a Horcrux, despite what Dumbledore says.

JKR addresses whether or not Harry is a proper Horcrux:

"Here is the thing: for convenience, I had Dumbledore say to Harry, "You were the Horcrux he never meant to make," but I think, by definition, a Horcrux has to be made intentionally. So because Voldemort never went through the grotesque process that I imagine creates a Horcrux with Harry, (SU: Mm-hm.) it was just that he had destabilized his soul so much that it split when he was hit by the backfiring curse. And so this part of it flies off, and attaches to the only living thing in the room. A part of it flees in the very-close-to-death limbo state that Voldemort then goes on and exists in. I suppose it's very close to being a Horcrux, but Harry did not become an evil object. He didn't have curses upon him that the other Horcruxes had. He himself was not contaminated by carrying this bit of parasitic soul."

[SNIP]

"I do think that the strict definition of "Horcrux," once I write the [Harry Potter Encyclopedia], will have to be given, and that the definition will be that a receptacle is prepared by Dark Magic to become the receptacle of a fragmented piece of soul, and that that piece of soul was deliberately detached from the master soul to act as a future safeguard, or anchor, to life, and a safeguard against death." JK Rowling - Pottercast 12.23.07 - The Leaky Cauldron

So, yes, the hat detected the portion of Voldemort's soul within Harry. But, no, Harry was not an official Horcrux.

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Slytherincess
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    You could say that the last piece of his soul needed to be freed. In essence the whole point of the Hocruxes was to keep a piece of your own soul hidden in a physical object in the living world so that it couldn't pass on unto the next. This makes the sorcerer or sorceress "immortal" because they can't truly die and pass onto the next world. – DoctorWho22 Jan 28 '15 at 16:03
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    Well, yes, I know what a Horcrux is and how it works, but that was not the question. Freed ... not exist as it had been ... I think this is just a matter of semantics. I think we agree on the general principle, yes? :) – Slytherincess Jan 28 '15 at 16:09
  • Wait, I thought the consensus was that baby like thing was the actual Voldemort's soul piece (the one in him), NOT the one in Harry? – DVK-on-Ahch-To Jan 28 '15 at 16:25
  • I always thought the condition of the soul suggested it was the part tied to Harry; he saw it because it went with him to the 'not-quite-afterlife' area. Unlike him, it couldn't return; once Harry 'died' the bond was broken that held it to him, and to Earth. Why that part? The Diary version of Tom was nearly normal in appearance; Tom at that age. He had only committed one murder at that point, and his 1/2 soul was almost normal. By the time it reached Harry, tho, there were MANY murders in his past, and only a tiny remaining portion of the soul (thus the size and corrupted appearance.) – K-H-W Jan 28 '15 at 16:36
  • @DVK -- Actually, I'm not sure offhand at this moment. Do you have a quote about that? – Slytherincess Jan 28 '15 at 17:09
  • @Slytherincess - Yes. First, the King's Cross quote here (about "it's gone"). Second, Dumbledore's "Something that's beyond our help" - which means Voldemort's "real" soul. It's not 100% conclusive but fairly certain. – DVK-on-Ahch-To Jan 28 '15 at 17:14
  • @DVK -- See the quote above from JKR. The way she's speaking it sounds like the accidental piece of Voldemort's soul that broke away when he killed Lily itself broke into two pieces. One piece resided in Harry. The other piece goes into a limbo-like existence that is Voldemort in books 1-3, until he is resurrected in GoF. My question is, how do these two soul pieces again come together to create a singular piece of soul, which goes on to become the grotesque creature at Kings Cross? – Slytherincess Jan 28 '15 at 17:46
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    @Slytherincess - they don't. The piece that was in Harry was destroyed and did NOT go to limbo. The piece that became Voldemort's main "soul" was what Harry saw in limbo. – DVK-on-Ahch-To Jan 28 '15 at 19:20
  • It seems specifically unimportant that Harry is not a "proper" Horcrux. He needs to be "destroyed" (killed) to blow away that bit of soul, just like the proper Horcruxes. The fact that it didn't really taint him is sort of besides the point, and self-evident. – Matthew Read Jan 29 '15 at 05:17
  • @MatthewRead -- It was just a clarification, as (not just in this question/answer) users state Harry was a Horcrux. He was not. It's clearly not self-evident to everyone, even though it might be to us. * sigh * :) – Slytherincess Jan 29 '15 at 06:17
  • @DVK -- Just another example of JKR muddying her own waters. – Slytherincess Jan 29 '15 at 06:18
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    King's Cross is a manifestation of Harry's mind. What would Voldemort's main soul be doing inside King's Cross? Voldemort's main soul would be thinking of a different manifestation unique only to Voldemort. As Dumbledore said to Harry “My dear boy, I have no idea. This is, as they say, your party.” So Voldemort's main soul would have it's own party. – tls Jan 29 '15 at 06:22
  • @Slytherincess - Can't argue with that :) And now you're muddying your own muddied waters! – DVK-on-Ahch-To Jan 29 '15 at 06:44
  • @tls - au contrair. " “Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean it is not real?” " – DVK-on-Ahch-To Jan 29 '15 at 06:47
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    @DVK enigmatic - But still leaves a lot for interpretation. I could just as easily interpret that the creature is not the main piece of Voldemort's soul. – tls Jan 29 '15 at 06:57
  • @tls -- I get what you're saying (and I'm not saying you're wrong, because it is a bit nebulous), but what I was trying to do was point out that JKR says the piece of soul that latches onto Harry itself broke into two pieces -- one piece latched onto Harry; the other piece became the incarnation of Voldemort that was "was less than spirit, less than the meanest ghost" (GoF). I thought this represented Voldemort's soul, the part that goes on to become the creature at King's Cross. My interpretation could be totally wrong, though. I'm open to alternate explanations. :) – Slytherincess Jan 29 '15 at 17:16
  • @Slytherincess Nebulous is true. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree :) JK Rowling's visual representation in the movie and the book tells me that it is the soulpiece now detached from Harry (otherwise it would be visually represented as still clinging to Harry). The reason the soulpiece could not "go back" is because it does not contain any of Voldemort's memories (which is also why it does not mess with Harry's mind like the real Horcruxes) the soulpiece is not capable of rational thought. – tls Jan 30 '15 at 04:35
  • The soulpiece cannot choose to "move on" or "go back", unless it is clinging to another soul (which is why it is visually represented in Wizard Limbo as lying detached and helpless on the floor - not capable of movement - not capable of basic reasoning - not capable of speech). As opposed to Voldemort's main soul which should be capable of speech. – tls Jan 30 '15 at 04:36
  • Also in the movie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KL0CH-YC3lo (which I assume JKR consulted on) Dumbledore describes the creature as: "A part of Voldemort sent here to die" – tls Jan 30 '15 at 05:26