Horcruxes or Hallows? Hallows or Horcruxes? Harry’s standing in Shell Cottage, and it’s time to make the decision – for me it would be a far easier one than it was for the Chosen One.
Obviously Horcruxes are the way to go. I mean, not only did Dumbledore explicitly tell the trio to, you know, hunt down the Horcruxes (although by that point in Hallows I think I’d be so furious with Dumbledore that I might ignore his instructions just to spite him), but there’s also that whole thing where destroying the Horcruxes is the only way to ever kill Voldemort. Even if Harry was hording the cloak, Elder Wand, and Resurrection Stone, he still wouldn’t be able to truly get rid of Voldemort if the Horcruxes were hanging around. Also, on another note, I just don’t feel comfortable with the whole concept of the Deathly Hallows, and therefore the thought of Harry seeking to own them all is unappealing to me: the idea of “conquering” death through the use of the three Hallows makes me unnerved. I mean, think of the methods that were used in the Tale of the Three Brothers to become master of death – collectively they sought to drag others back from beyond the grave (which would do much more harm than good, I fear, despite how desperate this desire can be sometimes), to gain revenge against enemies (not a successful way to live one’s life), and to hide from Death (which just annoys me for some reason: I know the cloak is supposed to be the “reasonable” choice, but all I can think of is how much I would not want to spend my life hiding and constantly looking over my shoulder in fear of Death finally discovering my location) – together, these elements sound more like a recipe for disaster than a fulfilling life of longevity.
Last point of interest: “Vol de mort” can mean “flight from death” in French, which I think is a very important distinction to make about Voldemort’s character – his real intention was never to “conquer” death, despite pursuing the Elder Wand. Rather, he constantly fled death because he could not come to terms with the fact that “conquering” death would mean accepting its inevitability and finding peace with that fact; thus, the result was Horcruxes. Just a passing thought. Oh, JK, you are truly the cleverest of them all.
