**By Kim I.**Alchemy: "A medieval chemical philosophy having as its asserted aims the transmutation of base metals into gold, the discovery of the panacea, and the preparation of the elixir of longevity" (source:
http://www.dictionary.com/)
We were first introduced to alchemy in the first book in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's (Philosopher's) Stone. Nicholas Flamel was our tie to the ancient art, and we learned that he (with the help of Professor Dumbledore) created the Sorcerer's (Philosopher's) Stone which does exactly what alchemy hopes to achieve; it turns base metals into gold and produces the elixir of life.
At a glance, it seems like the idea of alchemy was introduced simply as a plot point for the first book in the series. I propose, however, that alchemy, gold and immortality relate very closely to the Horcruxes we have learned about in HBP. When we learned about the Stone, we learned that it turns metals into gold, and makes the keeper immortal. We also know that the point of making Horcruxes is to help ensure the maker's immortality. Looking at the close tie between gold and immortality emphasized by the Stone and alchemy in general, I believe that all of Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes are made of gold, or at least have gold accents on them.
First of all, I would like to propose what I believe the six Horcruxes are. I believe that Voldemort's Horcruxes are Marvolo's ring, the diary, the Slytherin locket, the Hufflepuff cup, Ravenclaw's tiara, and finally, Harry Potter. Let's first look to the Horcruxes that were given to us explicitly in HBP. We clearly know that Marvolo's ring was made of gold, with a large black stone and the Perevell coat of arms on it. Next, the diary; it was not explicitly described as being gold in the book, but in the CoS movie, the diary is shown with gold accents on the edges of the book. The Slytherin locket was also clearly made of gold, seeing as it was described as "a heavy gold locket." (Which, I also believe is the very locket that was found in 12 Grimmauld Place in OotP, but that editorials is for another time. J) The Hufflepuff cup is the final Horcrux that I agree with Dumbledore about, it was described as a small golden cup, as well.
Now, examining the common thread between all of the known Horcruxes, we see that all of them have been gold, supporting my idea that immortality is closely tied to gold, in Lord Voldemort's perspective, or even in the wizarding world. Now, let's look to my proposed Horcruxes, Ravenclaw's tiara, and Harry Potter. First, Ravenclaw's tiara seems to be a possible Horcrux, because, like some of the others, it was mentioned in HBP, but very stealthily. I was first pointed in the "tiara" direction when it was mentioned when Harry was hiding his potions book from Professor Snape. He hid the book in the Room of Requirement in a chest, marked by the wizard statue with a wig and a tiara placed on it. Later in the novel, I believe we actually see a reference to the Ravenclaw heirloom, however. I believe that the first reference to the tiara was just to pique our attention (or perhaps another red herring? JKR's specialty, as we know by now.) Mrs. Weasley mentions the real tiara in question when she finally realizes that Fleur is devoted to Bill. She tells Fleur "Our Great-Auntie Muriel…has a very beautiful tiara-goblin-made-which I am sure I could persuade her to lend you for the wedding... and it would look lovely with your hair" (HBP 623, US edition). We know that Fleur has blonde hair, so the tiara is also most likely gold. Now, we know that the Wealeys have generally all been in Gryffindor house, but that does not mean that Auntie Muriel could not be on Molly's side of the family, and be a descendant of Ravenclaw.
Finally, the last Horcrux, in my point of view, is Harry Potter. I know there are a lot of editorials already about the arguments for/against this theory, so I will just add one more fact to the ever-growing list of why he is the last Horcrux. Harry can also have this "golden rule," if you will, applied to him. Dumbledore has always emphasized that Harry's most important quality in his fight against Voldemort is the fact that he is able to love and acts solely upon this love. Dumbledore argues that it is this purity of heart that will make Harry able to defeat Voldemort in the end. Hence, I believe that you could say Harry's golden quality is his gold-hearted approach towards life.
In conclusion, even if my tiara and Harry Horcrux theory is wrong, I think that looking at other important items in the series that are gold could help point us in the right direction to finding the Horcruxes. Maybe I'm too idealistic, but I seriously think that JKR thinks that it's only fair for us to have all the clues we need to identify, and find, the remaining Horcruxes, now that our omnipotent advisor has left us and Harry.
