I figured out an exploit to make Horcrux users even more invincible.
A. If you make a Horcrux, you cannot be destroyed unless your Horcrux is destroyed.
B. People can be Horcruxes.
QED if one person turns another into a Horcrux and the other reciprocates then they have foolproof immortality.
This method also has three other benefits over the Dark Lord’s attempt, that I can think of. First, it requires only two murders, not seven. Second, it causes twice as many people to become immortal. Third, you’ll retain a much larger portion of your soul than you would otherwise, and avoid much of the consequent degeneration.
Quirrelmort is playing on the level below mine, clearly.
How about Animagus-ing into an immortal jellyfish? Certainly not an ideal life, but if it lets you keep old age at bay long enough the muggles will discover human immortality.
Hangonasec. Is this, like, real? Are there jellyfish that don’t die of age? Because your comment seems too random if it’s not a real thing. But I’m not going to look it up, because if I do I might see pictures of undying deep sea creatures, which I don’t think I can handle.
Actually, that was suggested a while ago. :) It was one of the wilder theories; I don’t think I bothered to record a prediction for it.
(IMO, I don’t think it works. Consider Voldemort: he was destroyed by an Avada Kedavra and became a wandering spirit anchored by his physical Horcruxes, yes? So what would happen if he and Harry were mutual Horcruxes? You Avada Voldemort; he becomes a wandering spirit anchored by the physical living Harry; then you Avada Harry so Harry becomes a wandering spirit—but wait, there is no physical Horcrux, it was already destroyed! And with Harry now gone, so is Voldemort.)
In canon, Dumbledore claims that Voldemort’s soul latched onto Harry’s soul, which means that this would work. Dumbledore is very smart and knows much more about magic than I do, so I think that it would probably work.
Souls might not exist in HPMOR. But I think they very well might. Otherwise:
Dumbledore is wrong. That doesn’t seem likely on the basis of his general intelligence alone. Since he’s really experienced and has access to tons of knowledge Dumbledore is even more likely to be right because he has evidence for souls that we don’t.
Magic becomes bizarre. Souls are really the only way to make sense of Human to Animal transfiguration, or the fact that Horcruxes require murder specifically to divide one’s identity, and they’re referenced a lot elsewhere in the magic system (for example, with the Dementor’s Kiss).
Voldemort wouldn’t have survived. But he did.
Since there’s no HPMOR world evidence against souls, and some evidence for souls, rational people inside HPMOR should believe in souls. This is sort of similar to how rational people from thousands of years ago probably would have been justified in believing in a deistic God.
We, however, have access to a counterargument, because we live outside HPMOR. The best reason to disbelieve in HPMOR souls is that Eliezer probably wouldn’t like them. That would overwhelm the above three problems, if Eliezer dislikes souls enough to either put a lot of extra work into the story in order to solve those problems, or enough to feel justified in leaving the problems as is.
I can’t evaluate that, because I don’t know Eliezer’s preferences.
In canon, Dumbledore claims that Voldemort’s soul latched onto Harry’s soul, which means that this would work. Dumbledore is very smart and knows much more about magic than I do, so I think that it would probably work.
Latching onto Harry’s soul doesn’t prove that mutual horcruxes would work since it doesn’t address my example of destroying horcruxes one at a time, and I’m pretty sure Dumbledore nowhere says that the mutual horcrux scheme would work.
In the sense that your mind and magic will hang around, yes. But your material form can still be destroyed, and material destruction of a Horcrux will destroy its ability to anchor the spirit.
So, if two people are mutual Horcruxen, you can still kill person 1, at which point s/he will become a disembodied spirit dependent on person 2, but will cease to be an effective horcrux for person 2. You can then kill person 2, which will permanently kill both of them.
All you really achieve with mutual Horcruxen is to make your Horcrux portable and fragile (subject to illness, aging, accident, etc).
I figured out an exploit to make Horcrux users even more invincible.
A. If you make a Horcrux, you cannot be destroyed unless your Horcrux is destroyed.
B. People can be Horcruxes.
QED if one person turns another into a Horcrux and the other reciprocates then they have foolproof immortality.
This method also has three other benefits over the Dark Lord’s attempt, that I can think of. First, it requires only two murders, not seven. Second, it causes twice as many people to become immortal. Third, you’ll retain a much larger portion of your soul than you would otherwise, and avoid much of the consequent degeneration.
Quirrelmort is playing on the level below mine, clearly.
How about Animagus-ing into an immortal jellyfish? Certainly not an ideal life, but if it lets you keep old age at bay long enough the muggles will discover human immortality.
Hangonasec. Is this, like, real? Are there jellyfish that don’t die of age? Because your comment seems too random if it’s not a real thing. But I’m not going to look it up, because if I do I might see pictures of undying deep sea creatures, which I don’t think I can handle.
EDIT: Looked it up, and sure enough. Turritopsis nutricula. No pictures. And maybe lobsters, too. Crazy.
I like it
Actually, that was suggested a while ago. :) It was one of the wilder theories; I don’t think I bothered to record a prediction for it.
(IMO, I don’t think it works. Consider Voldemort: he was destroyed by an Avada Kedavra and became a wandering spirit anchored by his physical Horcruxes, yes? So what would happen if he and Harry were mutual Horcruxes? You Avada Voldemort; he becomes a wandering spirit anchored by the physical living Harry; then you Avada Harry so Harry becomes a wandering spirit—but wait, there is no physical Horcrux, it was already destroyed! And with Harry now gone, so is Voldemort.)
In canon, Dumbledore claims that Voldemort’s soul latched onto Harry’s soul, which means that this would work. Dumbledore is very smart and knows much more about magic than I do, so I think that it would probably work.
Souls might not exist in HPMOR. But I think they very well might. Otherwise:
Dumbledore is wrong. That doesn’t seem likely on the basis of his general intelligence alone. Since he’s really experienced and has access to tons of knowledge Dumbledore is even more likely to be right because he has evidence for souls that we don’t.
Magic becomes bizarre. Souls are really the only way to make sense of Human to Animal transfiguration, or the fact that Horcruxes require murder specifically to divide one’s identity, and they’re referenced a lot elsewhere in the magic system (for example, with the Dementor’s Kiss).
Voldemort wouldn’t have survived. But he did.
Since there’s no HPMOR world evidence against souls, and some evidence for souls, rational people inside HPMOR should believe in souls. This is sort of similar to how rational people from thousands of years ago probably would have been justified in believing in a deistic God.
We, however, have access to a counterargument, because we live outside HPMOR. The best reason to disbelieve in HPMOR souls is that Eliezer probably wouldn’t like them. That would overwhelm the above three problems, if Eliezer dislikes souls enough to either put a lot of extra work into the story in order to solve those problems, or enough to feel justified in leaving the problems as is.
I can’t evaluate that, because I don’t know Eliezer’s preferences.
Latching onto Harry’s soul doesn’t prove that mutual horcruxes would work since it doesn’t address my example of destroying horcruxes one at a time, and I’m pretty sure Dumbledore nowhere says that the mutual horcrux scheme would work.
In the sense that your mind and magic will hang around, yes. But your material form can still be destroyed, and material destruction of a Horcrux will destroy its ability to anchor the spirit.
So, if two people are mutual Horcruxen, you can still kill person 1, at which point s/he will become a disembodied spirit dependent on person 2, but will cease to be an effective horcrux for person 2. You can then kill person 2, which will permanently kill both of them.
All you really achieve with mutual Horcruxen is to make your Horcrux portable and fragile (subject to illness, aging, accident, etc).
you can only horcrux matter, not “minds”.