Voldemort's predecessor

[absinthe at mad.scientist.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 10822

Marvin Long wrote:
> Ok, who wants to theorize on the events surrounding the founding of 
> Hogwarts and the subsequent displacement of Mr. Slytherin himself?  
> It seems fairly clear that pater Slytherin went over to the dark 
side 
> and, somehow, was defeated by the combined effots of Gryffindor, 
> Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw.
> 
> It seems to me that those events must be closely related to the 
> status of dear Harry (uberHarry or just regular Harry).  I think we 
> have reason to believe that even if Godric Gryffindor took a lead 
> role in defeating the Slytherin of yore, he didn't do it alone.  So 
> even if Harry is the heir of Gryffindor, that's no reason to believe 
> that he's fated somehow to single-handedly defeat Voldemort.  Based 
> on the structure of the houses at Hogwarts, it seems plausible to me 
> that Voldemort will be defeated by the combined application of the 
> three virtues exemplified by the houses--courage, wisdom, and 
loyalty-
> -as was Slytherin, I'm guessing.
> 
> So here's my theory for now...Voldemort will not be defeated LOtR 
> style; there's no one act that will bring him down.  Rather, 
> defeating him will involve isolating him in some way.  I'm thinking 
> of the idea that a cancerous tumor can be killed by cutting off its 
> blood supply, starving it instead of trying to kill it directly with 
> chemo or radiation.  Without his death eaters as allies, there's not 
> much he can accomplish, so the first goal in fighting him should be 
> to prevent him from gaining allies.  Dumbledore has already taken 
> this step by sending emissaries to the giants.

I agree with you: Gryffindor probably had the support of Hufflepuff 
and Ravenclaw during the Slytherin Split. Perhaps Draco Malfoy's 
prejudice against the Hufflepuffs is rooted in a Slytherin house urban 
legend? 

I do think Harry is fated to defeat Voldemort, but not single-handed. 
I think Dumbledore's look of triumph in GoF might be a clue to that 
destiny: the Harry-Voldemort psycho-physicial bond is broken. I also 
speculate that in the next two books we'll find out who are the Heirs 
of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw.

:-)Milz