Is this scene from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince a late-discovered Voldemort Easter egg?

A Harry Potter fan on Reddit discovered a possible Easter egg from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Does the flashback scene foreshadow Voldemort’s future?

The Harry Potter fandom is debating over a possible Voldemort-related Easter egg discovered in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

The scene that has HP fans buzzing is a flashback, pointed out by Redditor PumpActionBronson, where Dumbledore allows Harry to see a memory of him meeting a young Tom Riddle at the orphanage. Here, Dumbledore and Tom discuss the young boy’s differences compared to the other wizards, and he reveals that he can speak Parseltongue

But for some of us who haven’t been paying close enough attention to the movie that came out almost a decade ago, there’s one scene that might foreshadow Tom’s future as Voldemort. Quick shots around the room lead to one moment where we see seven stones nicely lined up in his window.

Could that be an eery hint at Voldemort’s plan to split his soul seven times using his Horcruxes?

Some fans found the scene to be quite possibly a brilliant little Easter egg. Others thought that there might be a hole in the theory.

Basically, the fandom was torn between the number of Horcruxes Voldemort intended on having versus how many times his soul was actually split. Luckily, Redditor palcatraz was able to lay down a direct quote from the book to help us out.

"‘But now, Harry, armed with this information, the crucial memory you have succeeded in procuring for us, we are closer to the secret of finishing Lord Voldemort than anyone has ever been before. You heard him, Harry: Wouldn’t it be better, make you stronger, to have your soul in more pieces … isn’t seven the most powerfully magical number … Isn’t seven the most powerfully magical number. Yes, I think the idea of a seven-part soul would greatly appeal to Lord Voldemort.’‘He made seven Horcruxes?’ said Harry, horror-struck, while several of the portraits on the walls made similar noises of shock and outrage. ‘But they could be anywhere in the world — hidden — buried or invisible —’‘I am glad to see you appreciate the magnitude of the problem,’ said Dumbledore calmly. ‘But firstly, no, Harry, not seven Horcruxes: six. The seventh part of his soul, however maimed, resides inside his regenerated body.’"

There you have it, thanks to a sharp-eyed fan and Professor Dumbledore. Ultimately, Voldemort wanted six Horcruxes (the diary, ring, locket, cup, diadem and snake) but ended up with a bonus: Harry Potter himself!

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So, was this shot intentional as an Easter egg foreshadowing Tom’s muddled future, or did he really just like collecting rocks as a kid?

Who knows. Sometimes when you’re bored you just pick up weird hobbies.

[H/T: DigitalSpy]