Harry Potter: The Bizarre Reason Why The Diary Horcrux Was So Powerful

Summary:

• The Diary was very different from all Lord Voldemort’s other Horcruxes.
• Unlike the others, it could communicate with people and even possess them.
• The Diary held the largest piece of Voldemort’s soul, making it more independent and dangerous than other Horcruxes.

Out of all Lord Voldemort’s Horcruxes, two were actual living beings — Harry Potter and Nagini — and five were inanimate physical objects. The boy and the snake aside, one of the five Horcruxes was blatantly distinct from the others: Tom Riddle’s Diary was much more powerful and independent than its counterparts. But why?

The Diary Horcrux Was Unique

Hufflepuff’s Cup and Ravenclaw’s Diadem didn’t put up much of a fight before their destruction. Slytherin’s Locket tried to seduce Ron Weasley with promises of power and then humiliated it with fake visions. Gaunt’s Ring was persuasive enough that it tricked Albus Dumbledore himself to wear it and get afflicted by a terrible curse.

But only Tom Riddle’s Diary could act on its own and possess living people.

The piece of Voldemort’s soul sitting in the Diary was independent and intelligent, capable of planning and executing its plans. Its magical abilities included holding and showing memories, charming and possessing people, and even draining their life essences to make itself stronger to the point where it could become a human itself.

The Diary Had The Biggest Soul Piece

While there is some timeline confusion about the order, the Diary and the Ring were Voldemort’s first Horcruxes, and judging by their respective powers (and by the books), it’s safe to assume that Tom Riddle’s Diary came earlier. The fact that it was the only inanimate object that wasn’t a famous Hogwarts-related artifact supports it.

As you know, the creation of each consequent Horcrux splits the wizard’s soul into two equal parts. If the Diary was Voldemort’s first Horcrux then it contained exactly a half of Tom Riddle’s original soul which is a lot more than the following ones had (we counted how much of his original soul Voldemort had in the end and it’s terrifying).

While the other Horcruxes had mere fractions of a human soul, the Diary was half-human, so to speak — and, due to its nature, it had access to young Tom Riddle’s very personality. This combination of raw magical power and character turned the Diary into the most independent and dangerous Horcrux that could communicate with people and even plan on joining their ranks with its schemes.

Admittedly, every Horcrux that has ever existed was just as powerful since no one but Lord Voldemort was psychotic enough to create more than one soul anchor. But only Voldemort’s Diary Horcrux could have changed history if its plan succeeded.