[HPforGrownups] Voldemort and Pettigrew / Karkaroff/Krum/Hermione

[Edblanning at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 37928

Melody:

Tex wrote:
> >...Not to mention having to nursemaid baby Voldemort over all
> >that time, plus milk Nagini at regular intervals.  But it keeps
> >him alive, one day at a time.
> 
> Sudden thought: Does this mean that Voldemort is in debt to Pettigrew?
> 
> Pettigrew is the one who has been keeping Voldemort alive, with the help of 
> Nagini. Voldemort also would not have been able to create his new body 
> without P. -- Sure, he could have used someone else's hand, but then he'd 
> be 
> in debt to that other person.
> 
> Any ideas on this?
> 

I'm not sure that technically he's keeping him *alive*, is he, more just 
keeping him in some kind of corporeal form. Ditto the rebirthing. It's 
believed by Hagrid and Sirius that he cannot die, as he's not fully alive.
If it *does* constitute a life debt, then I should imagine that the usual 
rules (whatever they are) apply. Would this mean he was only in debt to the 
willing donor (Pettigrew) or to the unwilling one (Harry) too?  I suspect, 
however, that Voldemort would consider himself above the rules, whether 
natural or wizard-made.

Ruth:
> This goes back a couple of days, but.... I was thinking about Eloise's 
> question (hope I have the attribution right) as I was listening to GoF 
> on tape last evening during a walk.  On the train to Hogwarts, 
> Hermione and the guys heard Malfoy say something that might also be 
> relevant to Karkaroff's dislike of Hermione that I haven't seen anyone 
> else mention (although I may have missed it of course): 
>         
> Chapter 11  "Father actually considered sending me to Durmstrang 
> rather than Hogwarts, you know.  He knows the Headmaster, you see.  
> Well, you know his opinion of Dumbledore -- the man is such a        
> Mudblood lover -- and Durmstrang doesn't admit that kind of 
> riff-raff." 
>                 
> Aside from all the other reasons folks have mentioned, he might not 
> have liked his star fraternizing with "riff-raff." 

>Eloise wrote: But how else do you explain that the way Karkaroff looks at 
Victor >when he enters the Yule Ball with Hermione is equated with 
>the way Ron looks at Hermione?


Yes, it was I!
Thanks to you and all the others who have reassured me of the other possible 
interpretations of this passage. 

I'm not sure what to believe, actually. There's a part of me that thinks that 
implications of homosexual lust between teacher and student just aren't 
appropriate in what is ostensibly a children's book. Then I get worried about 
whether I'm being homophobic. Then I think, well the books are written on 
several levels and it's not the sort of thing a child would notice, so it 
could be. 

I don't know. All I can say is, that having been corrupted <g> by earlier 
discussions on this subject, the last time I heard that passage on tape, it 
simply leaped out at me.

I think it's a shame that we don't ever really get to see  any of the other 
Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students. We don't know who might have been deemed 
a suitable partner for Krum.

Eloise


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