I believe that extra pressure is exerted when, in murdering his victim, Voldemort, having judged his victim guilty of a grievous sin ’ like one of the Seven Deadly Sins ’ then outdoes the victim in committing that sin, whether or not Voldemort is aware of what he is doing. Thus the significance of each of the seven victims he kills to make a Horcrux is a relationship with one of the Seven Deadly Sins.

The Seven Deadly Sins of lust, anger, greed, sloth, envy, pride and gluttony were first listed by Pope Gregory the Great.4 They are opposed by such virtues as chastity, patience, liberality, diligence, kindness, humility and abstinence. By examining the circumstances of the people killed for each Horcrux, what the artefacts represent, and where they are concealed, case-by-case, I will demonstrate why each significant death matches a deadly sin. Then I will show how the various people who successfully destroy each Horcrux fit into the pattern by overcoming that particular sin or because of their opposing virtues.