All things cracked

While on my current reread of the series something caught my attention. With all the focus on where the Horcruxes might be and what they would be, we may have some good tips from the text on how to recognise them. This theory is by no means complete but I look for insightful input to get it there.

Lets start with what most believe to be the Horcruxes that Harry has seen and will be looking for.

1. The Diary
2. The Ring
3. The Locket
4. The Cup
5. The Ravenclaw/Griffindor relic
6. The Scar or Snake

So what is the crack?
Simple. Identifying a horcrux maybe a lot easier than we have thus thought. Knowing JKR, she is unlikely to send the trio off on a new wild goose chase, in the words of Dumbledore, "You already have everything you need to conquer Lord Voldemort."
Therefore, through JKR's writing style we can safely assume that all (but one?) Horcruxes are something that we have seen over the course of six books.

Lets look at each identified Horcrux in turn.

The Diary
The murder that was committed to create the Diary Horcrux is still the subject of debate. The contenders being Myrtle, Tom Riddle Snr, or his parents. We can look at it one of two ways. Either Lord Voldemort was testing out how to make a horcrux and just used Myrtle as an experiment, or that he had decided that only significant deaths would do. If we look at it in the first sense, a Basilisk not Tom Riddle killed Myrtle. I personally do not think that concurs a soul-splitting event. However, a murder in the first with motive (remember you actually have to mean Avada Kedavra for it to work), would imply a significant death. Could Tom Riddle Snr, Lord Voldemort's only link to all things muggle, be significant enough for young Tom. I think so. Lord Voldemort has then cut himself away from his only link to the muggle world; he now could be defined only as Slytherin's heir. And we have the Diary. What does the Diary look like once it has been destroyed? It has a gaping crack in it once Harry tears into it with the basilisk fang. A lightning shaped crack maybe?

The Ring
The ring that Tom wears in the pensieve memory in Slughorn’s office. Obviously he has been to the Gaunt shack and to Little Hangleton already - committed three murders and framed his uncle Morfin. He then learns about Horcruxes from Slughorn - so really if a horcrux is created at the time of murder (which I very much suspect has to be the case as a soul fragment can’t hang around forever) then quite clearly Tom's first three murders cannot have been used to make any of his Horcruxes thusfar. And what does the ring look like once Dumbledore disarms it? Cracked? Lightning shaped maybe?

The locket
For the purposes of this essay, for the sake of not entering the RAB debate - I will assume that RAB is Regulus for the simple reasons that JKR has mentioned too much about him for him not to be relevant. The locket in Grimmauld place is in one of three places.
-Kreacher has it at Grimmauld Place.
-Mundungus has it and has stashed it before entering Azkaban (great if the trio have to take us there to locate it).
-Mundungus has sold it to Aberforth (their exchange in Hogsmeade).

In all occasions through the memories Dumbledore shows Harry, it is described as "heavy gold" and we learn that it has a serpentine "S" - Slytherin's mark. The locket in Grimmauld Place is described as "heavy." Marked with a snake.

The Cup
It is pretty standard now that JKR would not have dedicated so much page space to Hepzibah Smith had her link to Hufflepuff not been so important to the plot. So we can assume that the cup is a Horcrux and has yet to be found.

The Ravenclaw/Griffindor item
Trophy collecting Tom would want a complete set. Who knows how much and how far he travelled to find a Ravenclaw relic. Do we know he definitely found one? No. Do we think that this man would stop at anything? No he wouldn't. I would hope that we can trust Dumbledore when he tells us that the sword and hat are the only Griffindor relics and in his possession. Assuming that Lord Voldemort does have an item of Ravenclaw's, I would think it is something related to intellect. Slytherin's is related to ambition and money, Hufflepuff related to sharing and giving. So something to do with the head.

“Seizing the chipped bust of an ugly old warlock from on top of a nearby crate, he stood it on top of the cupboard where the book was now hidden, perched a dusty old wig and a tarnished tiara on the statues head to make it more distinctive…” HBP

Harry has marked the spot he hid the potions book in the RoR with something to do with the head. The question is, if this is a Ravenclaw horcrux, who could have put it there? Tom Riddle certainly was allowed no license at Hogwarts after he was turned down for the DADA position. Could Regulus have been asked? But then why make a big song and dance about linking him to the locket? As much as I would like to believe that this Horcrux is at Hogwarts I cannot seal enough evidence to believe that is so. The other item the Ravenclaw relic may be is the wand in Ollivander's window. We know that Neville bought one of the last wands Ollivander ever sold, but we have to ask the following. Would Ollivander really knowingly such sell a relic? Not knowingly. And what’s to say that that wand suited Neville? We see that the wand chooses the wizard - out of all the wands in his shop, it was Ravenclaw’s that chose Neville? It just seems like too much of a long shot.

The Scar or the Snake?
I for one have been tormented by the thought that Harry himself could be an accidental Horcrux. But after much thought about the possible implications, I have come to the conclusion that JKR cannot kill Harry. Harry will not have to kill himself to kill Voldemort - he cant - this began as a children's story ! JKR has a responsibility to do as great writers have done for generations when writing for children - to prove that good shall always triumph over evil. It is a lesson that all children are brought up with to instill some degree of what is right from what is wrong - then - usually when adulthood prevails, are we subject to the true nasties in life! This may not be the most concrete evidence for my beliefs, but it’s the mantra I use to sleep peacefully at night! So progressing further, I believe that there is an unnatural link between Lord Voldemort and Harry. It’s more than just a failed curse. That’s just not enough to explain it. Even in the wizarding world, Harry is the first to be the recipient of a failed Avada Kedavra so there is no written literature on it.

Firstly, it could be the scar. The lightning shaped mark etched into Harry's forehead, the place where Lord Voldemort aimed. After the curse failed, the open wound of open unrequited magic would the most magically charged thing in the room that night for a fractured soul to be attracted to. My assumptions of events are based on Lord Voldemort having to be in possession of the relic/object required for housing the soul at the time of the murder. I do not believe that you can murder and soul split on a Tuesday and house the fractured soul on the Thursday. So accidental Horcrux Harry has the lightning shaped crack on his forehead.

Secondly, it could be Nagini. We do not know when Lord Voldemort acquired Nagini or from where. Dumbledore tells us that it is inadvisable to house a soul in something that can think for itself. Mr. Weasley has been known to advise "never trust something if you can't see where it keeps its brain." Quite the opposite is true when selecting where to house part of your soul. Is this something that Lord Voldemort may have overlooked like he often does in rash moments? Was he that desperate to replace his destroyed horcrux that he used Frank Bryce, a muggle stranger -no magical ability, no importance, no "worthiness"- to create one? I somehow find this unbelievable. While in his fetal form he moans about being too weak and dependent to Wormtail. To murder and then to house a soul? Bit exhaustive if you ask me. Nagini's name is derived from the Hindi word for female snake and in Indian culture cobras are considered magical and/or holy. I believe Nagini is a cobra, which fits the description of her triangular head. Cobras usually have a diamond-lightning pattern through their bodies. More lightning crack shapes observed.

Crack theory
So where am I going with these references to all things emblemed with lightning patterns? I love researching the extent of myths, folklore and history used in the magic of the series. It occurred to me that we are seeing cracks, lightning shapes and snakes a little too often in the series. While researching, I found interesting comparisons, which I will submit, for your entertainment.

Navajo mythology often depicts the snake as a link between the worlds of Earth and Sky. And northern Australian Aborigines believed that the creator of life was a giant snake, the Rainbow Serpent, which caused lightning and storm.

When a person is struck by lightning, most of the energy is theorized to flow outside the body of the victim, in part, protecting the victim. Harry was protected by his mother’s charm. In lightning strike there is often a serpiginous pattern (snake or serpent-like) of skin discoloration along the extremities, that disappears within 24 hours (not for Harry!). This is called the "Lichtenberg figure", said to be pathognomonic of lightning.
In Zuni ceremonialism a Snake is likened to lightning which is symbolic of the ability to transmute. Something that is seen when Lord Voldemort possesses Nagini.

In the text of COS, "The serpents parted as the wall cracked open" another reference to snakes, crack, lightning.

I just wonder how far do we have to look. JKR mentioned in an interview that a reread of the books would yield the identity of some of the horcruxes. And I believe that imagery and the description surrounding them will have some kind of pattern to it. Anything cracked or serpentine could just be attributed to Lord Voldemort and his Slytherin connections. But I believe that we should look at all things cracked in the text with more reverence. Out of the six horcruxes we have destroyed/identified/ear marked –

1.The Diary - cracked/torn
2.The Ring - cracked
3.The Locket - serpentine crack
4.The Cup
5.The Ravenclaw/Griffindor relic
6.The Scar or Snake - lightning crack or snake lightning crack

four/five have the distinctive shape. The diary and the ring appear cracked after being disabled. But the first time Harry sees (and we see) the ring on Dumbledore’s finger, it is cracked. The scar and snake speak for themselves. I only wonder what the cup and the unidentified relics may contribute to this imagery.

As stated, the idea has some holes in it so is yet incomplete, its just been something that has bugged me for some time. There are a few other things I could write but I am hoping they will come up in the comments where other viewpoints may give them more worth.