Harry Potter: How Long They Really Spent Hunting Voldemort's Horcruxes

In order to defeat Lord Voldemort once and for all, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger embarked on a special mission to hunt down the Dark wizard's Horcruxes and destroy them. Horcruxes in the Harry Potter universe were objects in which a Dark wizard or witch would use to hide a piece of their soul, thus obtaining immortality. In total, Voldemort created seven Horcruxes and it later fell to Harry and his friends to seek and destroy the ones that remained.

The Horcrux hunt was first started by Albus Dumbledore in July 1996. By this point, the first Horcrux, Tom Riddle's diary, had already been destroyed by Harry when he stabbed it with one of the Basilisk's fangs. Voldemort used highly coveted artifacts as most of his Horcruxes, but he made so many so that if one was destroyed, it wouldn't be a detriment to his immortality. Dumbledore realized this, which was why he vowed to destroy them all. After researching them, the Hogwarts headmaster discovered that Marvolo Gaunt's ring was a Horcrux. He found it in the Gaunt Shack and later destroyed it with Godric Gryffindor's sword. Dumbledore shared his findings with Harry, and following the wizard's tragic death, the Boy Who Lived took over the key mission.

Related: Harry Potter: Everyone Voldemort Killed To Make Horcruxes (& Why)

Ron and Hermione decided to forgo their final year at Hogwarts to accompany Harry on the Horcrux hunt. The trio was forced to embark on the mission quicker than expected after the fall of the Ministry of Magic the night of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour's wedding on August 1, 1997. Hermione got the group to safety and far away from the Burrow, but Death Eaters weren't far behind. Hermione had a ton of survival supplies, but they needed to hide somewhere not known by the rest of the wizarding world, so they headed to 12 Grimmauld Place. Unfortunately, it would take nearly nine months to complete the mission.

The start of the Horcrux hunt began in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1. While seeking refuge at 12 Grimmauld Place, Harry, Ron, and Hermione found out that Dolores Umbridge had Salazar Slytherin's locket, one of Voldemort's Horcruxes. After infiltrating the Ministry of Magic and acquiring the locket, the trio failed in destroying it. The object had an ill effect on the group, causing Ron to abandon his friends. After that, Harry and Hermione traveled to Godric's Hollow in search of the Sword of Gryffindor to destroy the locket once and for all. After a series of dangerous encounters, Ron saved Harry and helped destroy the Horcrux.

Upon destroying the Horcrux, the three of them learned about the Deathly Hallows before getting taken to Malfoy Manor. They later escaped and their search took them to Gringotts, specifically the Lestrange family vault which launched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2. They recovered Helga Hufflepuff's cup but had no way to destroy the Horcrux. The search then led them back to school mere hours before the Battle of Hogwarts started. During the climactic battle against Voldemort, the cup, Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem, and Nagini were obliterated. Harry also served as a Horcrux and was killed for a brief time. With no chance at immortality without Horcruxes, Harry managed to defeat Voldemort, ending the battle and the Second Wizarding War. With the date being May 2, 1998, the trio spent nine months and one day hunting Voldemort's Horcruxes. When taking into account Dumbledore's time on the hunt, the overall mission within the Harry Potter series lasted 22 total months.

Next: Harry Potter: Dumbledore's Horcrux Theory (& Why Rowling Hates It)

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