Exhuming Tom Riddle the Elder (was: hehehe Fidelius Charm)

[Strix]

No: HPFGUIDX 47751

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., Barb <psychic_serpent at y...> wrote:

(on the subject of whether Voldemort's rebirth ritual worked)

 I don't know where the idea comes from that the spell would still 
have worked, but be flawed.  That's the theory that has no basis 
in canon, IMO.  The spell worked because Voldemort and 
Wormtail had all of the ingredients.  When we've seen flawed 
spells or potions (like Hermione using a cat hair for the 
Polyjuice) the failure is evident right away.  There's absolutely no 
reason to assume that the basic goal of the ritual wasn't 
realized.  

In defense of the idea that the ritual was flawed (I think it worked, 
but I'm playing devil's advocate):  I believe Voldemort made a 
reference to how this ritual was supposed to give him his "old 
body" back.  And the ghastly snakelike man who emerged 
looked nothing like V's human form as Tom Riddle.  Personally, I 
think that was a result of the experiments with immortality that he 
performed during his earlier lifetime--remember how 
Dumbledore said he was basically unrecognizable by the time 
he emerged as Lord Voldemort?   But it's possible to theorize 
that his strange appearance is a result of something having 
gone wrong in the ritual.  *shrug*
 
> Dramatically, it also makes sense that the only complication to 
the spell will be Harry's blood.  And even then, it didn't 
compromise the spell so much as give Dumbledore a reason to 
get that thing in his eye. <g>  Again, this was a necessary 
ingredient (blood of the foe) but it seems that Dumbledore 
suspects that Voldemort having some of Harry's blood will have 
a result that he wasn't anticipating.  (A complication haveing 
NOTHING to do with the efficacy of the spell.)  

*nods*   I have a wild theory about that...I have little or no canon 
evidence to stand on, though.  So it'll just remain a wild theory 
until at least the next book...

Strix