By committing terrible murders, dark wizards can create objects called Horcruxes, in which they store a piece of their very own soul in order to become immortal. No matter how badly injured they become, they cannot die because a piece of their soul is hidden away. Lord Voldemort survived his attempted attack on Harry Potter by creating not only one, but six horcruxes. Finding and destroying these horcruxes is the only hope Harry has of defeating his nemesis. Here is a description of all the known horcruxes, plus a few speculations on possible ones.

1.) Tom Riddle's Diary - This former school supply of Lord Voldemort was given to little Ginny Weasley by Lucius Malfoy before her first year at Hogwarts. Voldemort used this book to bewitch Ginny and force her to open the Chamber of Secrets and set the basilisk on Muggle-borns. Luckily, Harry Potter was able to figure out the mystery of the chamber and destroy this horcrux.

2.) Marvolo Gaunt's Ring - Tom Riddle stole this ring off the hand of his uncle, Morfin Gaunt. It was apparently a family heirloom. Dumbledore found and destroyed this horcrux. After destroying it, Dumbledore's hand became severely injured.

3.) Helga Hufflepuff's Cup - This artifact that belonged to Helga Hufflepuff was once kept by a woman named Hepzibah Smith. She made the mistake of showing it to young Tom Riddle. A few days later, Hepzibah turned up dead and her house elf was blamed, buy mysteriously, the cup was gone too. It is believed by Dumbledore that Tom murdered Hepzibah and stole the cup. It is unknown where the cup is now, but Dumbledore speculates that it is a horcrux.

4.) Salazar Slytherin's Locket - This locket was a Gaunt family heirloom, and belonged to Salazar Slytherin himself. Merope Gaunt inherited the necklace, but sold it when she was pregnant with her son, Tom Riddle (Lord Voldemort). It eventually ended up in the hands of Hepzibah Smith. Hepzibah was found dead and the locket was nowhere to be found. It is believed that Tom Riddle stole it. Harry and Dumbledore believed that they had found the horcrux and were intent on destroying it, but when Harry examined it closer her found a note from someone named R.A.B. who said that they had located the real locket and intended to destroy it. The one Harry had found was indeed a fake. It is unknown where the locket is now, or if this person really destroyed it. There is a mention of a large locket at the Black family house, #12 Grimmauld Place. It is possible that R.A.B. is referring to Regulus Black.

5.) Artifact from Rowena Ravenclaw or Godric Gryffindor - Dumbledore believes that Riddle likes to make his horcruxes out of valuable and historical objects. Since the only known artifact of Gryffindor is a sword that is in the possession of Hogwarts, it is more likely that the 5th horcrux is an object belonging to Rowena Ravenclaw.

6.) Nagini the Snake - Dumbledore also speculates that this strange snake may be a horcrux.