| | Harry Potter is Tom RiddleAuthor: Luke Venechuk This theory, though quite simple at its core, is a rather complicated one to explain. Rarely are theories pertaining to the seventh Harry Potter book simple, and almost non-existent are those that convince everyone. JK Rowling is a wonderfully talented and thoughtful writer, who has, luckily, given her readers enough clues about the future of her series for us to formulate believable theories. Thankfully, Mrs. Rowling has withheld evidence that would give her readers means to prove these theories, which would just so take all the fun out of it! I do not believe my theory to be simple, nor do I believe that it will convince everyone. In an effort to present this theory in as simple a form as I may, so that it may be fully understood, I’ll start with an overview of my theory, outlining the major points before moving onto the reasoning behind their existence, and the evidence that supports them. I realize that this is a very long essay and that some may find a specific point of discussion that they are so eager to discuss that they will begin discussion before finishing the entire essay. I understand completely! But please, before posting a question or counterpoint, read through the brief list of questions that I have received most often, and the answers that I have invariably given, found at the end of this essay under the title of “F.A.Q.” So, let’s begin! The Gist of Things: Lord Voldemort was performing experiments on his soul hoping to achieve immortality. Lord Voldemort realized that all humans die, and that death is a human condition. To become immortal he must rid himself of his humanity. Tom Riddle was human; however, the Voldemort that is present today is anything but human. Voldemort placed all that was human in Harry Potter intending to then kill him, and by these means destroy his own mortality. Harry’s soul now is made of everything that separated Tom Riddle from Voldemort. But when Voldemort tried to destroy Harry (who contained Voldemort’s mortality) Lily sacrificed herself to save Harry’s life. In doing so she provided him with the power of love, and the protection that caused the Avada Kedavra curse to rebound away from Harry and strike Voldemort. Neither Harry nor Voldemort were killed, though Harry Potter’s soul is now lost forever, and in its place are the human aspects of Tom Riddle’s soul, infused with the love that Lily provided her son. Now Voldemort is in constant effort to end Harry’s life, and by these means destroy his own humanity, which is tied up with his mortality. To kill Harry now would be to seal Voldemort’s immortality. However, Voldemort used Harry’s blood in his rebirth, unwittingly accepting his mortality once again, and is now vulnerable to death. So, already going for that reply button? I understand that the theory is hard to swallow, but please read my supporting evidence and the F.A.Q. before beginning discussion, thanks! All of this soul splitting/replacing business can get very confusing, so we’ll sort it all out right now. Here is a list of the specific names I will be using in the continuing essay and exactly what/who each of these names is referring to: -Tom Riddle is Riddle as he was born to his parents up until he left Hogwarts. -Lord Voldemort is Tom Riddle between the time that he left Hogwarts, and up until he attacked Harry. -Riddle (no first name) is the “human” half of Tom Riddle’s soul. -Voldemort (no “Lord”, just “Voldemort”) is the “inhuman” half of Tom Riddle’s soul. -Harry Potter is Harry as he was born to Lily and James. -Harry (no last name) is Harry Potter’s body, but his soul is that of Riddle’s infused with Lily’s love for Harry Potter. Please realize that I am not saying that this is what each of these names is referring to in anything else besides my own essay. These character definitions are for clarity’s sake only and do not apply to the books, any quotes used, any interviews given by Mrs. Rowling, or anything at all besides my own essay. So, now that that is cleared up, we move onto the story. It is essential to have a clear idea of the story behind the theory before the interesting bit of this essay can begin. I have put together a short outline of the background story, which emphasizes the points that are important in regards to my theory. The story as we know it: This is the story as we have heard it so far. All information in this section (excluding the noted exception) is reliable fact and is not theory or guesswork. Everything began with Lord Voldemort hearing an incomplete version of a prophecy. What he heard was this: “The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…. Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies….” [1] What this translated to in Lord Voldemort’s mind was this: “A child will be born at the end of July, the child’s parents are enemies of yours that have defied you three times, and this child has the potential to kill you.” As we know, Lord Voldemort didn’t hear the entire prophecy; here is the complete prophecy: “The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…. Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…. and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not…. and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives.... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies....” [2] Lord Voldemort was doing all that he could to become immortal, so when he heard that a child would be born that would have the power to destroy him he wanted to kill this child. Lord Voldemort determined that Harry Potter was the child that the prophecy pertained to, so he went to the child’s home, killed his parents, and attempted to kill Harry with the unblockable, never fail, Avada Kedavra curse. But the spell did not kill Harry. It was reflected and struck Voldemort, but neither did it kill Voldemort; it reduced him to a bodiless, nearly powerless “shadow” of himself, whose only power was to possess other beings [3]. The reflected curse also destroyed the house that Harry and Voldemort were inside [4]. Harry was protected from the curse because his mother sacrificed herself to protect Harry; Lily’s sacrifice of love is what rebounded the Avada Kedavra curse back upon Voldemort [5]. Dumbledore later put additional protection in place for Harry [35]. This protection will be lifted when Harry comes of age on his seventeenth birthday, during the summer between his sixth and seventh years at Hogwarts [36] (There is some speculation starting here.) But we do not know why the curse failed to kill Voldemort; indeed, this is a question that Mrs. Rowling herself has stated is an important question to ask, and that the answer to which is significant. Though she thought it very unlikely that anyone would guess the answer [6]. We do know that Lord Voldemort had been splitting his soul up and putting the pieces into objects. An object that contains a bit of soul is called a horcrux. The idea is that if Lord Voldemort was killed, that he could sort of “restart” with a bit of his soul from a horcrux (this point is discussed in the F.A.Q.). But this is not why Voldemort survived. Voldemort did not start back up from a horcrux - he was never killed in the first place [3]. Voldemort was saved by something else; some other experiment provided the means of his survival. After being asked how he had survived Voldemort responded: “… it appeared that one or more of my experiments had worked…for I had not been killed,” [7] (The speculation ends here.) Voldemort made this statement after he had been reborn in a new body, created from a potion consisting of Voldemort’s fetus like form, Wormtail’s hand, Tom Riddle Senior’s bone, and Harry’s blood [8]. After Voldemort’s rebirth, nothing about him appeared human. His fingers were long, white, and cold to the touch, and his hands resembled large spiders. His eyes were red and had cat-like pupils. He had very pale skin, no lips or nose, with slits for nostrils, and his face was flat and snake-like [9]. Particular emphasis was put on his eyes. Voldemort was not recognizable as Tom Riddle; Tom Riddle was described as handsome, with jet-black hair and dark eyes [10]. This sums up most of the important points of the story that could be told both coherently and sequentially (I will be pulling out other quotes, plot points, clues, and facts from the books and interviews as they relate to specific points later). These are the big things to keep in mind while considering my theory. This is the story we have been told so far. Now then onto… Theorizing, Reasoning and Evidence: Keep in mind that from this point on, I will be theorizing, and unless cited as fact, all of the following is therefore theoretical. Ok, so I’m sure many of you have simply skipped the tedious story summary above, and understandably so! “We’ve already read the story, tell us something new” I hear you say. Well all right, I’ve been looking forward to this part too, so here we go. Firstly, I imagine you might be wondering why I think Harry could be Riddle. They’re completely different! There couldn’t be two more opposite people! Well, let me clarify just a bit; I believe that Harry is everything that divided Tom Riddle from Voldemort, plus the love that Lily provided. I believe that Lord Voldemort split his soul. On one side, all of his most human aspects and emotions: love, loyalty, righteousness, etc. On the other side he left all of his darkest, most inhuman characteristics: wrath, hate, greed, lust, and so on. Harry has in him the “good” and “human” half of Tom Riddle, while Voldemort now is left with the “evil” half of himself (point discussed in the F.A.Q.). When I say that Harry has Tom Riddle’s “good” half, and that Voldemort has Tom Riddle’s “evil” half, I am not suggesting that Harry is perfectly good, though Voldemort is at this point perfectly evil. The soul is not comprised of only black and white; there is a lot of gray area. Voldemort’s soul is made up of only black, and perhaps the darkest of gray - any characteristics other than these he would see as weaknesses (this idea is further explored in the paragraph after next). Harry is human, and humans are not perfect. Harry has all the other shades of Riddle’s soul, from white into the dark grays, but Harry cannot act out of pure evil, while Voldemort can act out of almost nothing else. But, admittedly, Tom Riddle never had much white to his soul in the first place; Tom Riddle had never shown or felt love [11]. This does not mean that he was incapable of love, after all, Tom Riddle was born human, and all humans have the potential to love. We all have the potential for good, however little we fulfill that potential, it is still present. But Tom Riddle, he never had much love in his soul, Harry is full of love, caring and concern for his friends and family; this love came from Lily’s sacrifice, she provided the love that Riddle did not (this is discussed further in the F.A.Q.). But this is why Harry and Voldemort are such opposites; they are two sides of the same coin. Voldemort puts his most loyal allies in the most danger and uses them without remorse [12], while Harry has repeatedly risked his life to save his friends, and even to save the lives of strangers [13]. Voldemort fears nothing more than his own death [14], while Harry risks death on several occasions, including all of his close calls with Voldemort. Additionally, when Harry sees the veil in the Death Chamber within the department of mysteries, he is mesmerized by it, transfixed, and even drawn to it, approaching it unconsciously [15]. Voldemort’s greatest fear is death, while Harry is completely undaunted by it. I’m not going to go through all of the ways that Harry and Voldemort are opposites, as there are far too many examples to cover, but I’m sure this is not a point that needs to be stressed. Mrs. Rowling clearly stated her views on the inner workings of a bully (Lord Voldemort) in an interview saying that, “I think it is often the case that the biggest bullies take what they know to be their own defects, as they see it, and they put them right on someone else and then they try and destroy the other and that's what Voldemort does.” [16] This is the central idea of my theory, but according to my theory, Lord Voldemort takes this idea to the furthest extreme, his attempt to rid himself of his humanity, his mortality, is an attempt to rid himself of all weakness, to become invulnerable, immortal. Voldemort’s transformation of his soul is visible in his new appearance after his rebirth. When Voldemort is reborn, he has changed. He is not recognizable as Tom Riddle anymore. Mrs. Rowling makes sure we are aware of Voldemort’s very non-human appearance, reminding us of Voldemort’s red, catlike eyes over and over again. Voldemort now has red eyes, and he is very pale. His nose is flat with slits for nostrils, and he has no lips. His hands are spider-like with long white fingers that are cold to the touch, and his face is snake-like [9]. Some characters hint at Voldemort’s non-humanity and the possibility that he is no longer a living person. Hagrid even suggests that Voldemort hadn’t died because he wasn’t human enough! A few quotes: Fudge asks: “Is a man really alive if he can’t be killed? I don’t really understand it, and Dumbledore won’t explain it properly.” [17] Hagrid said to Harry: "Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die." [18] Here are a few quotes made by Dumbledore hint at Harry’s condition: Dumbledore tells Harry: “Harry, suffering like this proves you’re still a man, this pain is part of being human!” [19] Another by Dumbledore to Harry: “Five years ago you arrived at Hogwarts, Harry, safe and whole, as I had planned and intended. Well – not quite whole.” [20] While we’re listing quotes, here’s one more. In this next quote Dumbledore clearly indicates that death is a human condition. This quote is referring to Tom Riddle’s mother: “she had succumbed to the shameful human weakness of death.” [32] Throughout the series, this idea that the content and qualities of a person’s soul are directly tied in with their humanity and mortality is hinted at again and again. This idea doesn’t slap you in the face, but it can almost be felt as an underlying message that has been carried throughout the entire series. So then, on to the next topic, or at least, a variance of a previous topic, this is a small point, but it is noticeable. Harry has green eyes; Voldemort’s eyes are now red. Red and green are complimentary colors - they are opposites, and this is representative of their souls. We’ve all heard the saying that “Eyes are a window into the soul.” This saying can be taken quite literally in this case, Harry and Voldemort’s eyes are opposite, just as their souls are. It is also worth noting that we have never been told anything more specific about Tom Riddle’s original eye color than that his eyes were dark [21], and that his Grandfather Marvolo’s eyes were brown [33]. In the range of normal eye colors for caucasians, and in light of his grandfather’s eyes, this description would mean that Tom Riddle’s eyes were probably dark brown. This is not something that we know for sure, but it is very likely. If the colors red and green are mixed, they will become brown. Tom Riddle’s dark brown eyes symbolize the unity of Harry and Voldemort, or more accurately, Harry and Voldemort’s opposite eyes are representative of the splitting of Tom Riddle’s soul. This is where it gets interesting. Here is insight into Lord Voldemort’s thought process, reasoning, and plan of events. Lord Voldemort believed that if he could rid himself of his humanity, as the portion of his soul in which it was contained, he would become immortal, and that his soul (or what would be left of it) would survive even if his body were destroyed. Lord Voldemort must have been preparing to do this, or learning how one might do this, when one of his servants informed him of the prophecy that he had overheard Trelawney making. Lord Voldemort’s servant had only heard the first half of the prophecy before he was discovered and thrown out of the Hog’s Head, so Lord Voldemort heard this: “The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…. Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies….” [1] So Lord Voldemort deduces which child the prophecy is referring to, and resolves to kill the child as a baby, while it is completely defenseless. Lord Voldemort sees this as an opportunity, not only to defeat the “one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord,” but also as an opportunity to rid himself of his own humanity. He will kill one of the child’s parents, providing the means to rip his soul (in this case the part that holds his humanity) from himself and then place it inside this child. He will then kill the child, simultaneously destroying his humanity, his prophesized enemy, and his mortality. But as we know, Lord Voldemort had not heard the entire prophecy; the entire prophecy stated this: “The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…. Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…. and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not…. and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives.... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies....” [2] He did not hear, “and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power that the Dark Lord knows not… and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives….” But it didn’t matter whether or not Lord Voldemort had heard the entire prophecy, because the prophecy would be fulfilled either way, and indeed Lord Voldemort did fulfill the prophecy. Lord Voldemort put half of his soul into Harry Potter; they are essentially two sides of the same person, which is perfectly equal. A man is surely equal to himself, isn’t he? And if Lord Voldemort had heard the entire prophecy, whom would Lord Voldemort mark as his own equal? Only himself, Lord Voldemort saw himself as being in a category all his own, the only person he would mark as his equal would be himself. The next part of the prophecy is no mystery, “but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not….” Whether you take this to mean that Lord Voldemort has never known or understood love, or that he didn’t realize that Harry had been given protection from his mother’s love, Harry did indeed have powers that the Dark Lord knew not. The final prediction that the prophecy made was also fulfilled on the night that Lord Voldemort attacked the Potters, “either must die at the hand of the other” Harry Potter is dead, his body is still alive, but there is no more Harry Potter. His soul is gone, replaced with Riddle’s humanity and Lily’s love. “neither can live while the other survives….” Voldemort cannot live while his humanity survives without the rest of his soul, if his Riddle half were to rejoin his Voldemort half, then he would be alive, but while the either his “good” or “evil” side survives apart from the other, then he cannot live and neither can he die (the inhuman (Voldemort) half cannot die, though the human (Riddle) half could). So the prophecy has been fulfilled, fully, and it didn’t matter whether or not Lord Voldemort had heard the entire thing. Once it had been spoken there was no avoiding the prophecy’s fulfillment. All right, so all that gets a bit confusing, but I hope you could follow it. It really does make surprisingly good sense once you straighten it all out, and I’m sure Mrs. Rowling could explain it quite a bit more clearly than I can. So, the sequence of events on the night Voldemort attacked Harry, according to my theory: Lord Voldemort arrived at the Potters’, where James denied him entrance; this of course would have been expected and anticipated, because Lord Voldemort would need to commit murder in order to split his soul. Lord Voldemort killed James; he could now replace Harry Potter’s soul with his own. At this point he was thinking of nothing but putting his humanity into Harry Potter, he didn’t even think to bother with killing the mother. Lord Voldemort burst into the room to find Lily next to Harry Potter in his crib. Lily stood up to stop Lord Voldemort, Lord Voldemort just pushed her aside, hardly realizing she was there, he transferred that part of his soul that contained his mortality into Harry Potter. Lily realized that she wouldn’t be able to distract Voldemort from Harry, she flung herself upon the crib. Voldemort told her she didn’t have to die, just get out of the way. But Lily would not move, she sacrificed herself in an attempt to save her son, Voldemort killed her to get to Harry, and now there was no one standing in his way. There was no one to stop him from destroying the boy with “the power to vanquish the Dark Lord” Voldemort summoned every bit of power from within himself, preparing to seal his immortality, preparing to finally realize his dearest ambition. He fired his curse but it reflected directly backwards into him! His body was destroyed, the house around him was destroyed, but his soul has not perished, and the child had not even one broken bone! According to this chain of events, Lily died to protect what was already Riddle’s soul in Harry Potter’s body; she poured her love into him. Just as a soul can be split by the supreme act of evil, so can a bit of soul be provided by the supreme act of love. Harry is now everything but the purest evil of Lord Voldemort, infused with Lily’s love for Harry Potter, Lily’s love provided the protection that saved Harry [5]. Now, an interesting point that is worth examination, I believe this question has come up before in some online forums: Why exactly was the house destroyed? Bellatrix explains to Harry that in order for an unforgivable curse to work, you have to mean it, you have to really want the results, and it can’t be righteous anger [22]. When Moody states that the entire class could cast Avada Kedavra at him and he would probably not even get a nosebleed, he also effectively told us that the Avada Kedavra curse can have varying power [23]. The destructive force of Avada Kedavra has been seen in a few instances: when Snape hits Dumbledore with it, Dumbledore is thrown high into the air [24], when Voldemort shot an Avada Kedavra curse that hit a desk, the desk burst into flames [25], and when Voldemort’s Avada Kedavra hit a statue, the statue burst into a hundred pieces [37]. So, why did the house explode? The house exploded after the Avada Kedavra curse backfired. Voldemort is a very powerful wizard, and because he had just removed his humanity from himself he could now cast the unforgivable curses with more force than ever before. Also, he surely would be putting everything he had into this curse; not only did this murder mean he would finally have immortality, but he was essentially casting it at himself, and we all know how highly Voldemort thinks of himself. Surely it would have been the most powerful spell he had ever cast, and it backfired! Right into his face and at the walls and ceiling, destroying his body and the house around him. But he didn’t die! His “experiment” worked! Voldemort had been hit by the curse after he had rid his own body of his humanity. So why, when he was reborn, did Voldemort not boast of his immortality? Because his humanity is still alive in Harry. It had not been destroyed, it still exists, he was not finished. This is why Voldemort has been trying to kill Harry at every chance he gets. From the point when he failed to kill Harry on, he has diverted his energies away from gaining immortality, but instead now is focusing solely on killing Harry. Why? Because the two goals (destroying the “one with the power to destroy the Dark Lord” and realizing his own immortality) can both be achieved by the same means: the death of Harry and Lord Voldemort/Tom Riddle’s humanity therein. Here I will throw in a final bit of evidence that just didn’t fit in anywhere else. Mrs. Rowling has stated that Voldemort is the last heir to Slytherin [26], and the Chamber of Secrets can only be opened by the heir of Slytherin [27]. But Harry opened the Chamber of Secrets [28]! Yes, the Chamber had been opened recently, but it was closed when Harry arrived at it, and he opened it up. So, if Harry is just Harry Potter, then he is not the heir of Slytherin, so he couldn’t have opened the chamber. But he did, so how then? My theory provides an answer for this, Harry Potter was not the heir of Slytherin, however, Riddle’s soul is in Harry’s body, and Riddle is the last heir of Slytherin. So Riddle opened the Chamber, not Harry. The Ending: These are a few endings that would be possible if my theory turned out to be true. Note that these are very rough scenarios intended only to demonstrate some of the excellent twists that could result from my version of events. I am not saying that it would have to end in one of these ways if my theory were true, and these endings serve as neither supporting nor countering evidence to my theory. They are completely inconsequential in regards to the rest of this essay. So please don’t argue points against these endings, they really don’t matter, but if you’d like to add your own possible ending be my guest! Voldemort and Harry are facing each other, the atmosphere is so thick with tension and dread that you can hardly persuade the air around you to fill your lungs; the final battle is about to begin. The protection that Dumbledore provided Harry lifted on his seventeenth birthday, but that didn’t stop him from tracking down Voldemort’s horcruxes and destroying each and every one of them. Harry and Voldemort are now both truly vulnerable for the first time in the series; there is a cold, heavy finality to the scene. They fight, Harry gets in a few good hits, but Voldemort hits him with the cruciatus curse. This is pain like Harry has never felt before in his life, but he knows he must fight it. Voldemort taunts him about his parents, asks him where his friends are now, Harry cannot believe the agony; he has got to fight it. He gets to his hands and knees, then he’s kneeling upright, Voldemort is taunting him about being such a brave boy, then, suddenly, a flash of green light hits him in the chest. Harry dies. Ron and Hermione burst in, they can’t believe what they’re seeing, Hermione screams, Ron charges, Voldemort paralyzes them both and begins to explain about their dear Harry Potter. Harry Potter was dead before they had ever met him. It had been his other half all along, his mortal half, and now that he had destroyed his humanity Voldemort had finally become immortal. Nothing can stop him, all hope is lost, complete devastation, and now they’re going to die as well. With a crash someone bursts through the door (Neville, Snape, Draco, take your pick), sees Voldemort and attacks. Voldemort doesn’t bother to put up much of a fight, he’s finally immortal, there’s not much point. But what he had not realized is that when he used Harry’s blood in his rebirth he had gained his mortality back! Whoever you decided had burst in kills Voldemort, and the day is saved! It’s a bittersweet ending to the series - sure you’re sad, but at least you’ve got closure. Pretty crazy twist huh? But maybe you don’t think that anyone but Harry will be able to kill Voldemort because of what the prophecy said right? Well, the prophecy said that Harry would be the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord, not that he would be the one to do it. Because Harry had Lord Voldemort’s humanity he did have the power to vanquish the Dark Lord, and he used that power to enable someone else to do the actual vanquishing. Still don’t like it? Okay fine, here’s a different possible ending: Voldemort paralyzes Harry with Petrificus Totalus, explains the whole thing, says that once he kills Harry that he, Voldemort, will become immortal. Before Voldemort does the deed, someone bursts in, disarms Voldemort, maybe breaks his wand, Harry is then released from the spell and is able to kill Voldemort. Maybe Harry doesn’t even have to die? In this version, the Dark Lord is definitely still vanquished. Although I do think that Harry will die in the end. I mean, my initials are LV aren’t they? Coincidence? Not a chance! … but yes, it is. Conclusion: This is basically a quick recap of the major points. If becoming nonhuman would mean avoiding death, then Lord Voldemort could have transferred what was human about himself into Harry Potter, and then tried to kill him with a mighty spell, thereby destroying his humanity and his chances of dying. But because Lily died to protect Harry, the spell backfired, blew up the house and almost killed Voldemort. However Voldemort had become nonhuman, and could not be killed. Harry is Tom Riddle, minus Voldemort, plus Lily’s love. And Voldemort is Tom Riddle’s inhuman soul (he’s not Riddle at all anymore, he is transformed). Voldemort has been trying to finish the job for years and seal his immortality but could not because of the protection that Dumbledore created. Now in the seventh book Harry’s protection will be lifted and it is possible for Voldemort to finally kill him. But because Harry’s blood was used to remake Voldemort, Voldemort is now human again and able to be killed. All right, well, that’s my theory, let’s discuss! What do you guys think of it? Do you think it makes no sense? Do you think I just ruined the last book? Tell me your thoughts and don’t be shy to criticize, if I didn’t want my theory picked over and scrutinized then I wouldn’t have posted it! You can discuss on the board, or if you want you can contact me: LucasJV@Gmail.com Thanks for reading! F.A.Q. Hey thanks for checking out the F.A.Q. section, hopefully I’ve already answered your question here, save us both some time huh? I’ve posted a rough version of this thing all over, so I’ve gotten a lot of questions thrown at me, there have been many questions I’ve gotten multiple times and I’m tired of answering the same thing, you know what I mean? So I’ve put together some of the most common questions / counterpoints / comments people have sent my way and my responses to them. - Q - Harry could not be Riddle because Harry can love and Riddle never could.
A – It is true that Tom Riddle never did love [11], but that doesn’t mean he never could love, Tom Riddle was born human, and all humans are born with the capacity for love, whether or not we actually do is a different story. And my theory also states that Harry’s soul has been filled with love from Lily when she sacrificed herself to save Harry. Harry and Tom Riddle are very different people, not only because Lily provided love to Harry, but Harry has lead a completely different life, his experiences have had a big impact on himself as a person. A huge factor in a child’s development is the love that they receive. No one every loved Tom Riddle [29], though obviously Harry has experienced huge amounts of love. And besides, we don’t really know what Tom Riddle would be like if you took the Voldemort out of him do we? Harry and Tom Riddle are very different people (I mean, they are kind of the same, but you know what I mean.). - Q – Horcruxes act as anchors for the piece of soul that remains in the original body. That’s what saved Voldemort from the Avada Kedavra curse.
A - Almost everyone that I have heard from is convinced on the idea that horcruxes act as anchors for the portion of soul that is still contained in the original body, I disagree. I see it as a possibility, but not as a reliable fact. Here's how I believe horcruxes work and why: When Slughorn is explaining how horcruxes work, he says, "Then, even if one's body is attacked or destroyed, one cannot die, for part of the soul remains earthbound and undamaged." [30] Notice that he says part of the soul remains earthbound and undamaged, not that if you've got a horcrux then the part of your soul that is in your body will be remain earthbound and undamaged. Slughorn’s explanation clearly suggests that even if a person has a horcrux and they are destroyed, that some part of their soul would be destroyed. It seems to me that even if someone has a horcrux, if you kill that person, whatever portion of soul that they had with them would be destroyed and they would just sort of restart at their horcrux with that piece of soul and no body. But because this is not what happened to Voldemort (because he never died, no part of his soul was destroyed) then we must credit something other than his horcruxes for his survival. Dumbledore seems to feel differently on the way that a horcrux works, but I am inclined to pay more attention to the information that we get from Slughorn because what he tells us about the horcruxes comes from learned fact, whereas Dumbledore seems to be inferring his information. I have never felt that Dumbledore definitely believes that horcruxes work as anchors to the original soul. And besides, it really wouldn't make sense to say that you could destroy a soul if it is outside it's original body, but you can't destroy someone's soul if it's still inside them, we're still just talking about pieces of soul, why should one have a protection that the others do not? Additionally, in the graveyard scene Voldemort says that apparently “one or more of [his] experiments worked” [7], this leads me to believe that he did not stop at the horcruxes. I would group all of the horcruxes together, as Voldemort seems to see them, as one experiment. That would mean he must have been crediting something else for his survival. My final bit of evidence that leads me to believe that the horcruxes do not work as anchors for the soul, or that they are what saved Voldemort from death, is that Voldemort did not know what he had become after he had been hit by the curse [3]. Voldemort obviously now knows more about horcruxes than we do. He must because there is a spell that is essential to the process that we never hear. If Voldemort learned exactly how to create a horcrux, he probably also learned what happens if you are saved by your horcrux, but Voldemort did not know what he had become after he was struck by the curse [3]. If he had been saved by a horcrux it is likely that he would have known what had become of himself, but he did not. None of this is solid proof, but neither is their solid contrary proof. And all of this evidence together convinces me of my opinion on the effects of horcruxes; that they do not act as anchors for the soul, but rather as “back-ups”. - Q – Wouldn’t Harry be really weak if he only had a fraction of a soul?
A - I think that it may be that no matter how many times you split a soul, each piece still produces the original characteristics just as strongly as the original soul had. Consider Voldemort; in his current state, he has the same portion of soul that Harry has, and he is definitely not one seventh as evil as he used to be, he's still just as evil as ever. - Q – If Harry were the human part of Voldemort’s soul, wouldn’t Voldemort be able to control him? Voldemort seems to have a fair amount of control over Nagini.
A – Definitely not, we know that the diary was a horcrux and Voldemort didn’t realize that it had been destroyed until years later when someone told him what had happened [31]. There doesn’t seem to have to be any connection at all between a person and their horcruxes. Voldemort certainly wouldn’t want to have a strong connection with a part of his soul that he was intending to destroy would he? Additionally, we don’t actually know if a person even has the option to control their horcruxes because we don’t know for sure whether or not Nagini is indeed a horcrux. - Q – Voldemort’s appearance had already changed before he attacked the Potters.
A – His appearance was beginning to change, but it was far from the total transformation that we see in him after he attacked the Potters. The last time we saw Voldemort before his attack on the Potters, Harry describes Lord Voldemort: “[His] features were not those Harry had seen emerge from the great stone cauldron” [34]. We see evidence only that his appearance was changing; we do not see a complete transformation like the one between the boy Tom Riddle and the man Voldemort. But it’s not crucial to my theory to specify exactly when the change occurred, just that it did occur, which I think we can all that it did. Sources (and further explanation): Note: All of the Harry Potter book references are as found in the American hardcover editions. Unless contained within quotations, anything within the following has been paraphrased. [1] Dumbledore tells Harry what parts of the prophecy reached Lord Voldemort. Found on page 843 in the Order of the Phoenix. [2] Quoted text found on page 841 in the Order if the Phoenix. [3] The full text can be found on page 653 in the Goblet of Fire. [4] The full text can be found on page 55 in the Sorcerer’s Stone. [5] The full text can be found on page 652 and 653 in the Goblet of Fire. [6] In reply to a question asking why the Avada Kedavra curse killed neither Harry nor Voldemort, Mrs. Rowling answered: “That is the crucial and central question and if I answered it there would be hardly any point writing books six and seven... so I won't!” Found in JK Rowling's World Book Day Chat, March 4, 2004. [7] The quoted text can be found on page 653 of the Goblet of Fire. [8] Voldemort’s rebirthing process is described throughout chapter 32 (Flesh, Blood, and Bone) of the Goblet of Fire. [9] Voldemort’s appearance is described throughout chapters 32 and 33 of the Goblet of Fire, specifically in page 643, 644, 646, and 653. [10] Harry describes Tom Riddle’s hair as “jet-black” found on page 243 in the Chamber of Secrets. Tom Riddle is described as being handsome on page 269, 432 and 434 of the Half Blood Prince. Tom Riddle’s eyes are described as “dark” on page 436 in the Half Blood Prince. [11] In reply to a question asking whether or not Tom Riddle or Voldemort has ever loved anyone, Mrs. Rowling answered, “No, never.” Found in the transcript to J K Rowling at the Edinburgh Book Festival, Sunday, August 15, 2004. [12] A good example to demonstrate this took place in the graveyard scene, Wormtail cuts his own hand off to be used in the potion of rebirth, not only does Voldemort never thank him, but he completely ignores his pain until he can demonstrate in front of all of his disloyal death eaters that “Lord Voldemort rewards his helpers...” The full text can be found in chapters 32 and 33 in the Goblet of Fire, the quoted text is found on page 649. [13] An excellent example of this was demonstrated during the second task of the Triwizard Tournament. Harry saves Fluer’s little sister from the mermaids/lake, even though she was not his responsibility, and this choice to save her meant that he finished last of all of the finishing champions. The full event and text can be found in chapter 26 in the Goblet of Fire. [14] In reply to a question asking what Voldemort’s boggart would appear as, Mrs. Rowling answered: “Voldemort's fear is death, ignominious death. I mean, he regards death itself as ignominious. He thinks that it's a shameful human weakness, as you know. His worst fear is death,” Found in "The Leaky Cauldron and MuggleNet interview Joanne Kathleen Rowling: Part Two," The Leaky Cauldron, 16 July 2005. [15] The full text describing Harry being transfixed by, and drawn to the veil in the department of mysteries is found on page 774 in the Order of the Phoenix. [16] In reply to a question asking if prejudice is a theme that Mrs. Rowling wants to explore in the coming books, Mrs. Rowling answered: “From the beginning of the Philosopher's Stone prejudice is a very strong theme… and I always knew - well obviously I knew I've been trying to do it for 10 years now - yes so that becomes stronger and stronger. Well I think it is often the case that the biggest bullies take what they know to be their own defects, as they see it, and they put them right on someone else and then they try and destroy the other and that's what Voldemort does. And that was very conscious - I wanted to create a villain, where you could understand the workings of that person's mind. And Harry, as you know, from book four, is starting to come to terms with what makes a person turn that way. Because they took wrong choices, and Voldemort took wrong choices from a very early age - he decided young what he wanted to be.” Found in "JK Rowling talks about Book Four," cBBC Newsround, July 2000. [17] The quoted text can be found on page 11 in the Half Blood Prince. [18] The quoted text can be found on page 57 in the Sorcerer’s Stone. [19] The quoted text can be found on page 824 in the Order of the Phoenix. [20] The quoted text can be found on page on page 835 in the Order of the Phoenix. [21] Riddle’s eyes are described as “dark” on page 436 in the Half Blood Prince. [22] Bellatrix’s explanation can be found in full on page 810 in the Order of the Phoenix. [23] This information can be found on page 217 in the Goblet of Fire. [24] This scene can be found on page 596 in the Half Blood Prince. [25] This example can be found on page 813 in the Order of the Phoenix. [26] In reply to a question asking whether or not Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort are related, Mrs. Rowling answered: “You lot have been watching much too much Star Wars. James is DEFINITELY Harry's father. Doesn't everybody Harry meets say 'you look just like your father'? And hasn't Dumbledore already told Harry that Voldemort is the last surviving descendent of Salazar Slytherin? Just to clarify - this means that Harry is NOT a descendent of Salazar Slytherin.” Found on Mrs. Rowling’s own site (jkrowling.com) [27] Professor Binns informs the students that only the heir of Slytherin would be able to unseal the chamber of secrets. This can be found on page 151 in the Chamber of Secrets. This is not the only authority to have stated that only the heir of Slytherin could open the chamber of secrets. [28] Harry opened a few passageways that lead to the chamber, the first was is Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom, the scene is found on page 300 in the Chamber of Secrets. The next passageway that Harry opened was the entrance to the actual chamber, the account is found on page 305 in the Chamber of Secrets. [29] In reply to a question asking whether or not Snape has every been loved by anyone, Mrs. Rowling answered, “Yes, he has, which in some ways makes him more culpable even than Voldemort, who never has.” Found in "The Leaky Cauldron and Mugglenet interview Joanne Kathleen Rowling: Part Three," The Leaky Cauldron, 16 July 2005. [30] The quoted text can be found on page 497 in the Half Blood Prince. [31] Dumbledore explains this on page 508 in the Half Blood Prince. [32] The quoted text can be found on page 363 in the Half Blood Prince. [33] This information can be found on page 202 in the Half Blood Prince. [34] This description can be found on page 441 in the Half Blood Prince. [35] Dumbledore stated this on page 55 in the Half Blood Prince. [36] Dumbledore stated this on page 56 in the Half Blood Prince. [37] The full text can be found on page 814 in the Order of the Phoenix. |
