I've been wanting to do this for a long time now. As you all know (or maybe not) I read a lot of Horcrux-hunt stories. What I've noticed in these stories is that Horcruxes are often objects which are quite predictable: cups, daggers, wands, and similar. Their destruction is also often quite predictable. And since I like to keep lists, I thought I'd start a list of stories where the Horcrux is something more original, something which you'd never think of, and something which hasn't been used a lot of times. Basically stories where the authors do something original with the Horcrux. :D


~* A List of Fics with Original Horcruxes *~

Criteria for the stories on the list
* A Horcrux is "the receptacle in which a Dark wizard has hidden a fragment of his soul for the purposes of attaining immortality" (from JKR's Diary; found on HP Lexicon).
* The Horcrux or its destruction must be described at least in some detail. Stories where it just says "and then after he melted the Obi Wan Kenobi figurine Horcrux, Voldemort died" are not accepted.
* The Horcrux must be something original, unique, unpredictable or unexpected. Objects which aren't considered original are, for example: those already mentioned in HBP (diary, ring, locket, cup, Nagini), wand, Harry / his scar, dagger / sword, Ginny.
* Stories where the Horcrux is disposed of in an original way are also accepted, even if the Horcrux is, for example, Hufflepuff's cup. Methods which are not original are, for example: Avada Kedavra, stabbing, melting, burning, sex / love magic (in the case of Harry / his scar).
* Stories where the Horcrux (cup, dagger, etc.) is just transfigured into a unique object won't be put on the list.
* Basically as long as there is something original about the Horcrux, the story will be put on the list.

Do you know of any stories which fit these criteria?

If you've read the story and liked it, please tell me so I can add it to the list. :) And it would be really helpful if you would not only provide the link and the author, but also: rating, pairing, whether it's finished or a WIP, what the Horcrux is and how it was destroyed, and why you think it's original. If you can only vaguely remember the story, but don't have the link, tell me anyway. I'm good at finding stories. ;)

And now on to the stories.
Warning - Spoilers ahead!

Marks:
*NEW* - New; fics will be marked with this for a couple of weeks after I add them.
WIP - Work in Progress
REC - Recommended
NR - Not Read
Short - 0 - 12,500 words long fics
Medium - 12,500 - 50,000 words long fics
Long - 50,000 words or more long fics

NB - This is not my rec list - it's just a thematic list. Although I have marked the stories which I liked best. :D


Abide the Sleeper (NC-17; or here) by furiosity & imadra_blue REC
"Every hero, self-styled or otherwise, must undertake a quest, and Harry Potter's quest has already been set for him by those older and wiser than he. Where there is prophecy, there is also destiny, but there are forks in the dark path that Harry and his friends now walk. There are allies they know not, and enemies they'd know but for their smiles. There are lessons in the past that Harry would do well to learn, and guidance in the present from unexpected sources." Written for Big Bang II: Endgame (Post-HBP Harry/Draco Novella Challenge).
Notes: Harry/Draco, long.
Horcrux: Horcruxes are destroyed with a special spell that invokes the ancient magic of a vengeful deity.

All I Have Left (NC-17; or here) by furiosity REC
"The quality of a boy's mercy is also the quality of the man he grows to be. Harry's search for the missing Horcruxes continues, and its success or failure will be decided by his allies -- more so than by his enemies."
Notes: Harry/Draco, short.
Horcrux: The horcrux is destroyed by replacing the piece of Voldemort's soul with Draco's (creating a horcrux with Draco's soul in it in the process).

Cartographer's Craft (R; or here) by sam_storyteller REC
"In the summer after Harry's sixth year, Harry and Remus uncover a section of the Marauder's Map which has been hidden for the past twenty years, releasing a carbon copy of sixteen-year-old Sirius Black from its depths. As they prepare for the impending war, Sirius must find a place for himself in this new world, Harry must find a way to destroy Voldemort, and Remus must face his own past while trying to build a tenuous future with Tonks. PG through R rating, RL/NT, RW/HG, HP/SB. Post-HBP, contains extensive spoilers."
Notes: Harry/Sirius, Remus/Tonks, long.
Horcrux: Sirius has the ability to touch souls so he takes Voldemort's bit of the soul out of Harry; other Horcruxes are destroyed by being burnt by the fire of a phoenix on its burning day.

Containment (NC-17; or here) by florahart REC
"The request was: Happy ending -- I do not mind angst but leading to a happy conclusion would be preferable. I love characters as close to canon as possible, First-time, rimming, felching, kissing (lots), collars, lots of detailed hot plotty, smutty, smut, smut! I managed about two of these things (there not so much with the rimming, felching, or collars, anyway), but I think I did come up with some plot, so there's that."
Notes: Harry/Snape, medium.
Horcrux: Nuclear bomb; they blow it up.

The Final Horcrux by shadowsamurai
"Harry's found the last Horcrux, but can he do what's necessary to defeat Voldemort, especially when Dumbledore tells him who the Horcrux is..."
Notes: Harry/Draco, short.
Horcrux: Aunt Petunia; killed with Avada Kedavra.

Finer Than Spring (R; or here) by lashajayne REC
"Wherein Harry takes a prisoner, enemies are more valuable than friends, and seduction is the weapon that could win the war."
Notes: Harry/Draco, long.
Horcrux: The first edition of Hogwarts: A History; Horcruxes are thrown through the Veil.

Harry Potter and the Ace of Cups (NC-17) by C Dumbledore
"This is my version of events following The Half Blood Prince. The primary pairing will be Draco/Harry, though there will be others. New spells, war, sex, love and surprises."
Notes: Harry/Draco, long.
Horcrux: The Sorting Hat; they burn it.

In Medias Res (NC-17) by reddwarfer REC
"Harry learns that to reconstruct he must deconstruct. He could have never predicted that the process would include Jean Paul Sartre, Snape naked, and Hell on Earth."
Notes: Harry/Snape, short.
Horcrux: A golden mask hidden in a world which only exists to those that believe in it; destroyed with Avada Kedavra.

Just Love (R) by zeltkaiserin NR
"When Harry Potter defeated Voldemort, Severus Snape disappeared, as well, and only Remus Lupin seems to care."
Notes: Snape/Lupin, short.
Horcrux: Time-turner.

*NEW* The Last Horcrux (PG; or here) by bethbethbeth
"The Challenge: Dobby is a Horcrux."
Notes: Gen, short, horror.
Horcrux: Dobby.

The Maddest House (NC-17; or here) by busaikko REC
"In the aftermath of Halloween 1981, Sirius Black finds himself in a safe house with baby Harry"
Notes: Remus/Sirius, medium, AU.
Horcrux: Harry; Tom inside of Harry decides to die, instead of letting Voldemort in.

Nettle Wine (PG) by lycoris
"Harry, Ron and Hermione deal with one of Voldemort's Horcruxes. Very silly humour."
Notes: Gen, drabble.
Horcrux: Godric Gryffindor's home made nettle wine; they drink it.

Perspective (NC-17; or here) by the_con_cept
"Snape and Harry switch bodies."
Notes: Harry/Snape, short.
Horcrux: A "Vote for Nixon" collector's plate; Harry throws it at the wall.

The Quiet War (NC-17) by The Ruby Moth
"After the end of HBP, Harry huntsHorcruxes, Voldemort, and an end to the War. But not all wars are noisyor obvious; the world is not black or white, and not all snakes areevil. When things go wrong in Diagon Alley, Harry finds the motivationhe needs to face Voldemort. His desperation leads him to Spinner's End,but the Ministry is hypocritically blaming Dumbledore and Harry for theWar, and with the Ministry and perhaps even the Order of the Phoenixsabotaged from within, it is ironically only Snape and Draco who canhelp him defeat Voldemort at last, and Draco may represent the onlything Harry has left that's worth living or fighting for."
Notes: Harry/Draco, long.
Horcrux: Godric Gryffindor's skull; Harry cleaves it in half with Gryffindor's sword.

Seven Days (NC-17; f-locked) by freetheelves2
"When Harry becomes temporarily stuck with a 21-year-old Riddlecrux, he decides to give him to Hermione."
Notes: Tom/Hermione, short.
Horcrux: 21-year-old Tom who is not completely alive. He's similar to the Tom from the diary (CoS), except that he came from a quill. When they destroy the quill, Tom does not disappear, as the connection to the quill was broken, but becomes completely alive and is not a Horcrux anymore.

The Seventh Horcrux (PG-13, or here) by melindaleo NR
"The hunt for the Horcruxes begins. Harry has to decide who to trust as he moves closer to fulfilling his destiny. Will he be able to find and destroy all the Horcruxes? And at what price? Will he be able to find the strength within himself - the Power the Dark Lord Knows Not - in order to succeed in vanquishing Voldemort? And...can he do it and still get the girl? Join Harry and his faithful friends on their quest to finally defeat a Dark Lord."
Notes: Harry/Ginny, long.
Horcrux: Harry; During the final battle at the Department of Mysteries, Harry kills Voldemort and creates a new Horcrux with that soul fragment from a specially prepared snitch which then flies into the veil.

Shadows of Our Forefathers (NC-17; or here) by hasaidreamer
"Severus Snape rejoins the Order of the Phoenix after five months at Voldemort’s side - only to discover that the Order is not quite as he left it, Harry Potter is no longer the naïve boy Snape knew, and the final battle will not be the one either man expects."
Notes: Harry/Snape, medium.
Horcrux: A fragment of a metal in the shape of the Sword of Slytherin implanted in Voldemort's upper right thigh and Cymroch's stave; the stave broke Voldemort’s power and confined him within a tiny universe.

Stay With Me 'Til Morning (R; or here) by lucilla_darkate
"In a once upon a time world, white magic would triumph over black,good would carry the day, evil would be vanquished, the valiant wouldstand and be true, and always, always, true love would end with a happily ever after." Written for hp_fairytales fairytale fest.
Notes: Harry/Draco, short.
Horcrux: Draco in an everlasting sleep.

Tempus Reversit (NC-17; or here) by mskatonic
"When a magical accident in the heat of battle sends Harry and Snape back to 1943, it's a golden opportunity for a fresh start. But destiny is not so easy to escape, especially when Tom Riddle starts taking an interest..."
Notes: Harry/Snape, Snape/Tom Riddle, medium.
Horcrux: Crystal Harp of Ravenclaw; the harp is hit with a De-Ageing Curse, Tempus Reversit, and a Confundus Charm, which transports Harry and Snape back into the past. Tempus Reversit acts to reverse the action with which it was created, so the person killed to create the Horcrux kills Tom before he started creating Horcruxes instead. Harry and Snape are the catalyst to the destruction of the Horcrux.

They Say Miracles Are Past... (NC-17; or here) by rakina
"Written for the Snarry Olympics 2006, for Team Romance. Answers the prompt 'A Test of Wills'. "Where there's a will, there's a way, Harry.""
Notes: Harry/Snape, medium.
Horcrux: Harry's scar; the Horcrux is destroyed when Harry turns into his Animagus form, a unicorn, for the first time.

Three Halves Make a Whole (R; or here) by wook77 REC
"Draco is half Jewish, half Veela and half Black, the family, of course. Harry is confused. Of course, they're destined to be together. (CRACK!FIC)"
Notes: Harry/Draco, short.
Horcrux: A coin and Lily Potter's knickers; Harry flips the coin so it lands Heads up which destroy it, and burns the knickers.

Through the Looking Glass (PG; or here) by strigoia
"What if a single rash decision made in your youth set the stage for years of conflict? And what if you were given a chance to see the way things might have been?"
Notes: Harry/Draco, short.
Horcrux: The Mirror of Neebe, which is the companion of the Mirror of Erised.

True Love's Kiss and All That (PG-13; or here) by jenadamson
"Ginny will do whatever it takes to ensure Harry's happiness."
Notes: Harry/Ginny, short.
Horcrux: Harry; Ginny performs a spell which takes away the Horcrux within Harry when she kisses him and transfers it into her.

Undeliverable (PG-13) by maegunnbatt
"Sometimes loss can be a great agent of change."
Notes: Harry/Ginny, short.
Horcrux: Hogwarts; they blow it up.

The Very Magnitude of Guilt (PG-13; or here) by eleveninches REC
"Harry doesn't kill Voldemort, doesn't get the girl, and doesn't get peace of mind. But somehow everything turns out okay."
Notes: Gen, short.
Horcrux: Receipt for Chinese food; Harry rips it up.

What Lies Beneath (NC-17; or here) by anthimaeria
"The final Horcrux is hidden in a very strange place indeed. Which is the excuse for this extremely silly crackfic."
Notes: Harry/Draco, short.
Horcrux: A small silver key hidden in Draco's prostate; Harry drops it on the floor and it breaks.

Whatever May Come (NC-17; or here) by charlotteschaos REC
"The trio discovers that Draco Malfoy is hidden away at Spinner's End. Peter Pettigrew is guarding him and forcing him to work as a maid: uniform and all."
Notes: Harry/Draco, long.
Horcrux: Harry; Harry kills Voldemort, which splits his soul. Then the part of his soul that is Voldemort's is removed from him and put into a stuffed toy unicorn (Lolly) which they then destroy.

The World As It Is (NC-17; or here) by dementordelta REC
"Ten years after the war and Harry Potter is doing just fine. Really."
Notes: Harry/Snape, medium.
Horcrux: The locket; they destroy it by dumping it into a volcano.


Last update: 19 October 2007