A Horcrux is an object used to store part of a person's soul, protecting him or her from death. It is used for the purpose of attaining immortality. If the body of the Horcrux's creator is destroyed, the person is still able to survive. When the body of a Horcrux owner is killed, that portion of the soul that had remained in the body does not pass on to the next world, but will rather exist in a non-corporeal form capable of being resurrected by another wizard. If all of someone's Horcruxes are destroyed, then the soul's only anchor in the material world would be the body, the destruction of which would then cause final death.

Horcruxes can be both inanimate objects and living organisms, though the latter are considered riskier to use, since a living being can move and think for itself. There is no limit to the number of Horcruxes a witch or wizard can create. However, as the creator's soul is divided into progressively smaller portions, he or she loses more of his or her natural humanity and the soul becomes increasingly unstable. Creating a horcrux may be dangerous and risky. You deal with the darkest magic and for sure it has pros and cons.