Salazar Slytherin's Locket

• Type: Horcrux, Heirloom
• Owners: Salazar Slytherin, The Gaunt family, Merope Gaunt, Hepzibah Smith, Lord Voldemort, Mundungus Fletcher, Dolores Umbridge, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley
• Maker: Salazar Slytherin

Salazar Slytherin's locket is described as a heavy, oval locket made of yellowish gold. Its front is inlaid with a serpentine 'S' mark, crafted from sparkling green stones. When closed, it cannot be opened by conventional means or simple unlocking spells. When worn, the locket feels cold against the skin and emits a faint, regular pulsing or ticking sound, much like a heartbeat. As a Horcrux, it contains a fragment of Lord Voldemort's soul, and its presence is a source of powerful Dark Magic.

• Horcrux Nature: The locket's primary and most powerful property is that it is a Horcrux, containing a piece of Lord Voldemort's soul. This anchors him to the mortal world, preventing him from being truly killed as long as the locket remains intact.
• Corrupting Influence: The piece of soul within the locket exerts a profoundly negative influence on anyone who wears or remains in close proximity to it for extended periods. It amplifies the wearer's negative emotions, such as anger, suspicion, and jealousy. It drained the wearer's strength and happiness, as experienced by Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger during their hunt for Horcruxes.
• Defensive Enchantments: The locket is protected by powerful enchantments. It is impervious to most forms of magical damage and cannot be opened by force or simple spells. The only known methods capable of destroying it are Fiendfyre and Basilisk venom.
• Illusory Projections: When commanded to open in Parseltongue, the locket can defend itself by projecting horrific, soul-like figures and visions. These visions prey on the deepest fears of the person attempting to destroy it, as seen when it tormented Ron Weasley with images of Harry Potter and Hermione Granger in a romantic embrace.
• Parseltongue Communication: The locket can communicate through whispers, often in Parseltongue, influencing the thoughts and emotions of those nearby.

The locket was an heirloom created by Salazar Slytherin and passed down through his descendants, the Gaunt family. By the 20th century, it was in the possession of Marvolo Gaunt, who treasured it as a symbol of his pure-blood lineage. His daughter, Merope Gaunt, stole the locket after being abandoned by her husband, Tom Riddle Sr.. Desperate for money, she sold it to Caractacus Burke at Borgin and Burkes for a mere ten Galleons. The locket was later purchased by a wealthy, elderly witch named Hepzibah Smith. Tom Marvolo Riddle, then working at Borgin and Burkes, learned of her ownership of the locket and Helga Hufflepuff's Cup. He murdered her, magically altered her House-Elf Hokey's memory to take the blame, and stole both artifacts. Lord Voldemort transformed the locket into his third Horcrux, using the murder of a Muggle tramp to split his soul. He then hid it in a secret seaside cave from his childhood, protecting it with a series of powerful enchantments: a blood-toll entrance, an enchanted boat, an Emerald Potion that had to be drunk to reveal the locket, and an army of Inferi in the surrounding lake. Years later, Death Eater Regulus Black discovered Voldemort's secret. Accompanied by his House-Elf Kreacher, he journeyed to the cave. Regulus drank the potion himself and ordered Kreacher to swap the real locket with a replica and to destroy the original. Regulus was killed by the Inferi, and Kreacher returned to Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place with the real locket, though he was unable to destroy it. The locket remained at Grimmauld Place for years. During a cleaning effort by the Order of the Phoenix, it was found but discarded. It was later stolen from the house by Mundungus Fletcher. When Fletcher was caught peddling unlicensed magical goods, Dolores Umbridge confiscated the locket from him as a bribe. Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger learned of the locket's location and infiltrated the Ministry of Magic to retrieve it from Umbridge. After a chaotic chase, they escaped with the Horcrux. The trio took turns wearing it, but its dark influence severely strained their friendship, leading to Ron's temporary departure. Months later, Ron returned and saved Harry's life, retrieving both Harry and the Sword of Godric Gryffindor from a frozen pond in the Forest of Dean. Harry used Parseltongue to open the locket, and Ron, resisting the terrifying visions it produced, stabbed it with the Basilisk venom-infused Sword of Godric Gryffindor, destroying the Horcrux for good.

Salazar Slytherin's Locket is a central plot device in the latter half of the series, particularly in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Its journey from Voldemort's hiding place to its eventual destruction forms a major arc of the story. The locket serves as a powerful symbol of Slytherin's dark legacy and the corrupting nature of Voldemort's ambition. Its negative influence acts as a primary antagonist during the trio's Horcrux hunt, testing their courage, loyalty, and friendship to their absolute limits. Furthermore, the story of the locket is crucial to the redemption of Kreacher and reveals the bravery and sacrifice of Regulus Black.

The note left by Regulus Black inside the replica locket is a pivotal moment in the series, revealing that Voldemort was not invincible and that others had been working against him from within his own ranks. The note read: To the Dark Lord. I know I will be dead long before you read this but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret. I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can. I face death in the hope that when you meet your match, you will be mortal once more. R.A.B. In the film adaptations, the locket's destruction is depicted with dramatic visual effects, showing dark, spectral forms of Harry Potter and Hermione Granger emerging from it to torment Ron Weasley (film). This visualizes the psychological torture described in the novel.