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  happen to the wizard detered to evade death that he would be prepared to urder any tis, rip his ul repeatedly, as to store it any, separately ncealed horcruxc no book would have given hi that ration as far as i know — as far, i a sure, as voldeort knew — no wizard had ever done ore than tear his ul o”
  dubledore paed for a ont, arshalg his thought, and then said, ”four years ago, i received what i nsidered certa proof that voldeort had split his ul”
  ”where?” asked harry ”how?”
  ”you handed it to , harry,” said dubledore ”the diary, riddles diary, the one givg structions on how to reopen the chaber of secrets”
  ”i don39t understand, sir,” said harry
  ”well, although i did not see the riddle who ca out of the di-ary, what you described to was a phenonon i had never wit-nessed a re ory startg to act and thk for itself? a re ory, sappg the life out of the girl to whose hands it had fallen? no, thg uch ore sister had lived side that book a fragnt of ul, i was alost sure of it the diary had been a horcrux but this raised as any estions as it answered what trigued and ard ost was that that diary had been tended as a weapon as uch as a safeguard”
  ”1 still don39t understand,” said harry
  ”well, it worked as a horcrux is supposed to work — other words, the fragnt of ul ncealed side it was kept safe and had undoubtedly pyed its part preventg the death of its owner but there uld be no doubt that riddle really wanted that diary read, wanted the piece of his ul to habit or possess -body else, that slyther39s onster would be unleashed aga”
  ”well, he didn39t want his hard work to be wasted,” said harry ”he wanted people to know he was slyther39s heir, becae he uldn39t take credit at the ti”
  ”ite rrect,” said dubledore, noddg ”but don39t you see, harry, that if he tended the diary to be passed to, or pnted on, future hogwarts student, he was beg rearkably bse about that precio fragnt of his ul ncealed with it the pot of a horcrux is, as profesr sghorn exped, to keep part of the self hidden and safe, not to flg it to body else39s path and run the risk that they ight destroy it — as deed happened: that particur fragnt of ul is no ore you saw to that
  the careless way which voldeort regarded this horcrux seed ost oo to it ested that he t have ade — or had been pnng to ake — ore horcruxes, that the loss of his first would not be detrintal i did not wish to be-lieve it, but nothg else seed to ake sense then you told , o years ter, that on the night that volde-ort returned to his body, he ade a ost ilatg and ar-g statent to his death eaters ‘i who have gone further than anybody along the path that leads to iortality’ that was what you told he said 39further than anybody!39 and i thought i knew what that ant, though the death eaters did not he was referrg to his horcruxes, horcruxes the pral, harry, which i don’t believe any other wizard has ever had yet it fitted: lord voldoort has seed to grow less huan with the passg years, and the transforation he had undergone seed to to be only expable if his ul was utited beyond the reals of what we ight call 39ual evil39  ”
  ” he39s ade hiself ipossible to kill by urderg other people?” said harry ”why uldn39t he ake a rcerer39s stone, or steal one, if he was terested iortality?”
  ”well, we know that he tried to do jt that, five years ago,” sn?l dubledore ”but there are several reans why, i thk, a rcerer39s stone would appeal less than horcruxes to lord voldeort,
  ”while the elixir of life does deed extend life, it t lie drunk regurly, for all eternity, if the drker is to ata the iortality therefore, voldeort would be entirely dependant on the elixir, and if it ran out, or was ntaated, or if the stone was stolen, he would die jt like any other an voldeort likes to operate alone, reber i believe that he would have found the thought of beg dependent, even on the elixir, tolerable of urse he was prepared to drk it if it would take hi out of the horrible part-life to which he was ndened after attackg you, but only to rega a body thereafter, i a nvced, he tended to ntue to rely on his horcruxes he would need nothg ore, if only he uld regai