CoS: Another thought about the Singing Valentine

[catherine at cator-manor.demon.co.uk]

No: HPFGUIDX 15923

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Indigo" <indigo at i...> wrote:
> I'm not sure if anyone mentioned it. I haven't seen it in the month 
> and change I've been lurking and perusing; kindly forgive the last  
> vestiges of lingering newbiecluelessness if this has been discussed 
> already. 
> 
> There's a school of thought that Gilderoy *spit* Lockhart sent the 
> singing Valentine to Harry.
> 
> There's a school of thought that Ginny did it. 
> 
> My thought, though is that Riddle did it during one of the periods 
> while he was "driving" Ginny and she had no recollection of what 
she 
> was doing.  After all, dear sweet Tom Riddle knew that Ginny was 
mad 
> for Harry. And it's Voldemort's cruelty even at sixteen to mortify 
> and humiliate the girl to amuse himself because he's had to endure 
> her boring 11 year old girlprattle in order to further his own 
> ambitions. 
> 
> That also explains why the dwarf was so insistent on Harry 
*getting* 
> said Valentine.  Riddle might've threatened, persuaded, or bribed 
the 
> dwarf in question to make sure Harry's Valentine was read to him, 
> especially in front of Ginny and/or a crowd for maximum 
> embarrassment.  To my recollection, though other Valentines 
> circulated  Hogwarts, none were delivered by *quite* so persistent 
a 
> dwarf as the one that told Harry his eyes are as green as a fresh-
> pickled toad.
> 
> 
> Indigo
> [who finished CoS for the second time during a bout of insomnia 
last 
> night]

I think that what you are saying is possible - I just have a query 
over the persistent dwarf.
You say that Riddle may have threatened the dwarf - How?  Riddle is 
controlling Ginny's actions, and forcing her to kill cockerells, 
paint warnings on walls etc. but he doesn't actually take on solid 
form until the end of the book, when he is able to do so by sapping 
all of Ginny's energy, and in the process killing her.

If he was threatening him though Ginny, and miserable old dwarf is 
hardly going to take notice of a small girl (ferocious as she can be 
at times).
Secondly, (just a minor point) it's the dratted Harry POV again. We 
don't actually hear anything much specific about how the other 
valentines are delivered, but I seem to remember that the teachers 
were annoyed because the dwarfs were delivering in lessons.  I think 
this is probably just as embarrassing, as the dwarf would have the 
undivided attention of the whole class!

Catherine