Previous Next
“By attempting to kill you, Voldemort himself singled out the remarkable person who sits here in front of me, and gave him the tools for the job.”

When Harry is finally able to see Slughorn’s uncorrected memory at the end of Chapter 23 and realizes that he needs to destroy all seven Horcruxes to rid the Wizarding world of Voldemort, Dumbledore once again reminds him of the one great power he possesses that Voldemort does not: Harry has the ability to love. Dumbledore points out that this is the only protection that can possibly be used against powers as strong as Voldemort’s, and it is the reason why Harry has never been lured to the Dark side. Because Voldemort destroyed his own soul, tearing it into seven pieces by way of seven deaths, he no longer understands the incomparable power of a soul that is whole and untarnished. Dumbledore insists that it is Harry’s love—for his parents, for his friends, for his godfather—that propels him to face Voldemort, and not the prophecy, which Dumbledore believes to be essentially meaningless. Dumbledore eventually gets Harry to admit that, even if he had not heard the contents of the prophecy, he would still want to destroy Voldemort, for all of the pain and suffering he has caused Harry’s loved one. By Voldemort choosing Harry and marking him as his equal, he proved the prophecy—because as long as Voldemort continues to hunt Harry, hurting his friends and killing his family, Harry is guaranteed to fight back.

Previous section Important Quotes Explained Page 2 Next section Important Quotes Explained Page 4

Popular pages: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Take a Study Break