New 'Harry Potter' fan theory may explain why one house elf was so awful

Fans of the Harry Potter series will remember Kreacher, Sirius Black's detestable house elf. 

But despite his penchant for treating anyone but pure-blood wizards with disgust and contempt, one Reddit user managed to find a potentially legitimate excuse for Kreacher's terrible behavior. Naturally, this fan theory's all about Salazar Slytherin's locket, one of seven horcruxes.

Reddit user kaptinkracker writes:

I think that he is a prick in general since his first appearance because he was in possession of the amulet horcrux for a long time which is revealed in The Deathly Hollows Part 1. It is shown that the horcrux makes Ron very jealous and angry when he later has possession of the horcrux for only a short time. Therefore, when Regulus Black gave Kreacher the horcrux to hold onto, it turned Kreacher bad. 

In conclusion, the theory argues that if the horcrux brings out the worst in Ron Weasley, it would likely encourage the worst behavior in Kreacher as well.

"The horcrux amplified the negative emotions that Ron had and similarly it makes Kreacher hate mudbloods even more and disrespect Hermoine way more than he would have if he didn't have the horcrux," kaptinkracker concludes.

It's a plausible theory, though one not everyone agrees with. Some in the Reddit thread attribute Kreacher's attitude to a cruel master. As Albus Dumbledore tells Harry in the Order of the Phoenix, "And whatever Kreacher's faults, it must be admitted that Sirius did nothing to make Kreacher's lot easier."

[H/T: Hello Giggles]

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