Can the most infamous spell in the Harry Potter universe — Avada Kedavra — actually destroy a Horcrux? That’s the question sparking debate on Reddit, where fans are dissecting whether the Killing Curse could have been a shortcut to ending Voldemort’s reign of terror.
The original post asked: “Voldemort killed the Horcrux of himself in Harry with it, didn’t he? So it should be possible.” From there, the conversation exploded.
Some users argued that the curse should, at least in theory, work on Horcruxes tied to living beings. One fan wrote, “I presume it would also work on Nagini, but I’m not as sure when it comes to the objects.” Another added, “If the Horcrux was in a living being? Sure. Needs to be beyond magical repair. But an inanimate object? The curse does nothing.”
Others countered that the mechanics of the spell make it far less straightforward. One commenter noted that Avada Kedavra targets the soul, not the body, which could make it uniquely suited to disrupt Horcruxes — but only if the caster’s intention is strong enough. Another user chimed in, “The container the Horcrux is in needs to be destroyed beyond repair. Avada Kedavra doesn’t destroy the body — Harry came back, after all.”
The thread also pointed out a contradiction: if the curse kills by severing the soul, then logically it should destroy the soul fragment inside a Horcrux. Yet the books emphasize that Horcruxes require extreme magical destruction, like basilisk venom or Fiendfyre, to be truly obliterated.
Perhaps the most compelling take came from one fan who suggested, “It makes Avada Kedavra the perfect Horcrux-destroying spell, as it has the ability to destroy the soul within a Horcrux directly, rather than destroying the container.”
Still, many remain unconvinced. After all, if it were that easy, wouldn’t Dumbledore, Harry, and Hermione have tried it? As one commenter pointed out: “Hermione read the books on how to destroy them. Rowling never gave us all that info, but I would guess not — unless it’s attached to a living thing, like Harry and Nagini.”
So, can you Avada Kedavra a Horcrux? The jury’s still out. For now, fans will keep debating whether the most feared curse in the wizarding world could have been Voldemort’s undoing all along.
