Will the Harry Potter TV series solve the 20-year-old Voldemort Horcrux mystery? Here’s what we know

Beyond the screens and pages that we have been used to for decades, the wizarding world of Harry Potter keeps growing. Fans have long been eagerly waiting for the HBO remake of the popular franchise, wondering if the new series would finally answer the questions that the films did not. One of the most befuddling of these is Voldemort's Horcrux-creation process—namely, what was "the final step" that finalized the ritual following every killing?

It's a plot point the original novels proposed but never explored, and one that the films sidestepped for the most part. It's a question that has loomed over the fandom for over two decades. "The final step," as described in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, has been absent from the story even as all else of the lore has been broken down, analyzed, and speculated upon by scholars and enthusiasts alike.

With the HBO series allegedly being closer to the books and designed to run longer, for several seasons, the hope is that this overlooked component can finally be given the attention it warrants. But is there any evidence to bear it out?

What is the Voldemort Horcrux mystery in Harry Potter?

The Horcrux is the darkest product of the Harry Potter series. In the series, a Horcrux is made by the act of murder to tear the soul, and then caging part of the soul in an object by a spell or an act. But J.K. Rowling did not spell out the very method employed in completing the ritual. According to Dumbledore in Half-Blood Prince, the whole details are "too horrible to share."

This mysterious vanishing was used as a call to speculation by fans. The actual process that occurs after the act of murder is what forms the "final step"—technically still a secret. Was it mere incantation? A corporal sacrifice? Worse than the previous dark magic ritual? The absence of canonical clarification makes it subject to reinterpretation in retellings.

Why the mystery still matters in Harry Potter

This is a personal anecdote that is not a footnote in Voldemort's past. It is significant to know how far down into darkness he fell. Voldemort did not make one Horcrux—he made six, and an unwitting seventh by mistake. Without knowing what the process itself was like, audiences and readers can only imagine that the psychological and physical cost of making a Horcrux was massive but unspecified.

The mystery of the plot would also affect the perception of Voldemort's narrative. Details regarding how all of his Horcruxes had been made could provide additional insight into his head, his phobias, and what distinguished him even from other dark wizards. As the reboot would last longer, it would be a waste not to touch on this crucial aspect.

Would an HBO reboot be able to make use of this?

There has been no word yet from HBO or Warner Bros. about whether this specific mystery will be solved in the remake. And considering the potential for the show to incorporate book-level details omitted or condensed in the movies, chances are high that it will be brought up. The redo is to be formatted to cover each book within a season, with room for exploring minor subplots and loose ends.

If the series is to deal with the Horcrux ritual more explicitly, it must do it through the backstory of Tom Riddle or through Dumbledore's research. It can be achieved through flashbacks, through diary entries, or through exploring more depth of Voldemort's Hogwarts and post-Hogwarts life. The largest obstacle remains maintaining the tone of the original series while the universe grows responsibly.

What can fans expect?

At this point, it's all conjecture. The structure of the reboot over a number of hours offers the possibility to shed light on the less developed elements of the Harry Potter universe. But whether the Horcrux mystery is resolved or not resolved will perhaps be up to the artistic intent of the showrunners in consultation with Rowling.

Until more information comes to hand, the precise nature of "the final step" will continue to be, as it always has been, a dark corner of wizarding history—concealed in mystery.

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Also read: The HBO Harry Potter series needs to avoid mistakes with this particular Gryffindor character

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