Harry and Voldemort: a correction?

[exbentley]

Last time I did this, it was to argue that Remus was evil, and that was Moony’s fault as well.

The following contains references to all five books, and under the cut is an extract from JKR’s website and an analysis of the American cover of HBP that may be construed, for the very paranoid, as spoilers. You have been warned.

This sacrifice turned out to be vitally important, for it was the ancient magic of this act that protected the child. When Voldemort's Avada Kedavra curse hit Harry, the protection of Lily's sacrifice made the curse rebound onto Voldemort, who was all but killed. The curse left a curse scar in the shape of a lightning bolt on Harry's forehead.
- from the Harry Potter Lexicon.

Recently, I asked my friends list why they thought Voldemort was "killed" that night in Godric's Hollow. (Or at least, injured enough to need to possess animals and disappear for about ten years.) The answer was basically the same as what the Lexicon has to say. However I believe that this is another example of fanon, fandom and the movies digging into the perception of canon.

Dumbledore says: “Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn’t realise that a love so powerful as your mother’s for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, not a visible sign… to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever. It is in your very skin. Quirrell, full of hatred, greed and ambition could not touch you for this reason. It was agony to touch a person marked by something so good.” [PS/SS.]

However I do not believe that this “marking” is why the curse injured Voldemort – nor indeed that is the true reason the curse rebounded and set the prophecy in motion in the first place.

So what was the real reason? Dumbledore says “We can only guess… we may never know.” [PS/SS.] JKR says “for some mysterious reason, the curse didn't work on Harry.” Dumbledore is unsure about it for so long in the books – surely the solution of Lily dying for Harry would have been obvious from the very first? Voldemort, too, is confused as to why the curse rebounded and killed him.

It is Harry who makes the assumption that fandom believes as fact. “No-one knows why you lost your powers when you attacked me,” said Harry abruptly. “I don’t know myself. But I know why you couldn’t kill me. Because my mother died to save me.” [CoS.]

Riddle muses on this, believing that it was just pure luck. However numerous interviews from JKR state that this is not the case at all; that Harry is an exceptionally powerful wizard who is growing into his powers, and that Voldemort's non-death is important to the future plot.


The first question that I have never been asked—it has probably been asked in a chatroom but no one has ever asked me—is, “Why didn’t Voldemort die?” Not, “Why did Harry live?” but, “Why didn’t Voldemort die?” The killing curse rebounded, so he should have died. Why didn’t he? At the end of Goblet of Fire he says that one or more of the steps that he took enabled him to survive. You should be wondering what he did to make sure that he did not die—I will put it that way. I don’t think that it is guessable. It may be—someone could guess it—but you should be asking yourself that question, particularly now that you know about the prophesy.

So I’m not going to guess. Suffice to say, whatever it is didn’t show up in the Priori Incantatum in GoF. However I believe we are going to find out in Book Six.

You see, the cover shows Dumbledore and Harry peering into a Pensieve that is lighting up the room with green. We found out quite a lot about Pensieves in OotP, not the least that when entering someone’s memories, the person in the Pensieve can hear and see things which may not have been seen or heard by the person whose memory it is. The best example of this is Harry listening to MWPP joking around in Snape’s Worst Memory, despite the fact that Snape does not seem to be aware that they’re there, or watching what they’re doing.

JKR states on her website that Harry never saw Voldemort kill his mother or father because he was in his cot. So my theory is that in HBP Harry will use Dumbledore’s Pensieve to examine his one-year-old memories for a clue to exactly what happened between he and Voldemort on that night.

I believe they will begin to find out why Voldmort was able to survive the rebounded Killing Curse – perhaps by putting some of himself into Harry through his scar or eyes? Whatever the case, the entire house was destroyed but the two wizards, one the (second?) strongest in the Wizarding World and the other a baby, survived – and not because of Lily’s counter-curse.

Comments

[vodka-at-sea.livejournal.com]

That's a pretty damn good theory. I'd never really thought that much about how information existed in the pensieve. I don't feel this point was really explored or brought to attention, even though it was always evident. In the past, that's been a sign that such seemingly ignored objects or powers were going to be explored later in greater detail.

[i-like-soap.livejournal.com]

That is as good a theory as any I've heard. It's a lot better than my fairly simplistic "Dumbly dies" theory/hope. Unfortunately, it means Harry and Dumble talk.

But seriously, I very much like the theory, I was unaware they were looking in a pensieve.

[tassinar.livejournal.com]

Dananananananana nananananananana FORCE FIELD!

[fluffyllama.livejournal.com]

Ooh yes, that would really explain the green glow around the pensieve! If that's what it is, of course (and I think it is).

[innerbrat]

I think it's interesting that the US covers to contain so much information onf the content of the book. I just lookes at them on Amazon, and there's a giant rutting snake on the cover of CoS! *headdesks*

So yes, your theory is good. I like it.

Kinda interested in seeing what you think of the book on the UK Adults edition.

[exbentley]

Thankyou! :D The covers are kind of injokes; you don't really "get" them until you've read the book. But they're fun to speculate about!

Oh, I have a theory for that, too! UK/Australia editions are always the covers that give away the least, the adult covers seem to have the most important, even the title icons on them (PS/SS has the stone, PoA has Azkaban, GoF has the Goblet... etc.)

You see, McGonagall tells Harry in his careers advice session that both she and Professor Snape only accept E or O level students into their Advanced classes (I think those are the correct letters, anyway. Weird HP grading system...) Students who have done really well, anyway.

Harry does very poorly throughout the year in Potions, and when exams come around he thinks that without Professor Snape around he just managed to make a pass - but no more than a pass, and he's being optimistic. So, we would assume he doesn't do well enough to make Snape's Potions class.

This means three things can happen: Dumbledore decides to make Snape accept Harry into his Advanced potions class, or Harry decides not to take the class, both of which don't make the book particularly important.

However it could be that THIS is the year that Snape finally gets the DADA positon (since Dumbledore really couldn't find anyone last year, and Snape has obviously begun to prove his trustworthiness.) In which case, I like the idea that the new Potions teacher is the Half Blood Prince, be it someone we know very well in canon or only a name briefly mentioned. Of course, whoever they are, they have lower standards and so Harry (and also possibly Neville and Ron?) all get to do Advanced Potions.

Alternatively, Snape's the Half Blood Prince (I recently read an interview from 2000 where she was asked what his heritage was and she answered "not a Muggleborn, since they can't join Lord Voldemort" which seems a bit cagey to me.) But I'm placing my bets on Dumbledore. At least it isn't a death forecast, since she's mentioned Snape as being in Book 7.

[starrysummer.livejournal.com]

I'm always rather annoyed by the idea of Lily's love being what saves Harry. Because, dude, Voldemort killed lots of families and I'm sure similar things had happened. Just, you know, without a prophecy...

[tigra-666.livejournal.com]

Yes it's all my fault. It usually is.

But you express everything in a clear, precise and logical way thatI could never achieve. And actually bother to do actual research and stuff. And put effort into it.

So yay!