Voldemort's Greatness, and claims thereto

[Eric Oppen]

No: HPFGUIDX 41910

The way I tend to interpret Mr. Ollivander's remarks to Harry in the wand
shop is that although Voldemort did many horrible things, he also really,
really pushed the envelope on magic, so to speak...and very possibly, in his
quest for immortality, did things that no wizard or witch had ever done
before, either because it was thought to be impossible or because it was
thought to be Certain Destruction.  (As in "Yeah, you can do this, but
you'll short-circuit your entire brain, which will then melt and run
dribbling out of your ears to make two gray puddles on your shoulders.
Still want to try it?")

All those "magical transformations" he went through were probably things
that most wizards would run from screaming.  Like him or not (and I do not)
the big V-man _did_ probably grasp nettle after nettle in his quest. Seeking
out the kind of people that D'dore says he sought out had to take courage
and tenacity---I "hae me doots" that such people make themselves easy to
find.  Not to mention getting their help---what did he have to do to get
_that?_   Kind of like Gollum in _The Lord of the Rings_...it's often
forgotten, but Gollum showed incredible courage and tenacity in his quest
for his "Precious," including tracking Frodo and Sam clear across Mordor, on
(probably) less food and water than they had, and without the comfort of a
companion.  (And that last, my friends, is on the authority of Kindly Old
Professor Tolkien his ownself, in his letters.)

Part of the story of "Harry Potter" could be called "The Tragedy of Thomas
Marvolo Riddle."  The guy had unbelievable talent and skill and drive, and
perverted every gift he had in the service of what I honestly think is an
unattainable dream in the Potterverse...even the Philosopher's Stone is not
a guarantee of immortality.  All it does is hold death at bay for as long as
you have it, and if it's gone---bye-bye!  If he had taken a different path,
he could have easily been Dumbledore's trusted successor, but he went haring
off after something that D'dore said (in PS/SS) isn't really good for
people.  (Me, I'd say that if somebody offered me a Philosopher's Stone, I'd
selflessly volunteer to find out whether eternal youth and boundless wealth
are bad things...nobly sacrificing myself in the interests of science and
knowledge.  Purely for scientific purposes, of course...)

I do wonder, though, if he's really as into this "purebloods rule, Mudbloods
drool" thing as he lets on to his followers.  He's probably got a Cunning
Plan (hey, he even has a "Baldrick" in the form of Wormtail---"Wormtail,
this plan of yours reminds me of your cunning plan to discredit Dumbledore
by slipping him a beard-destroying potion in his toffees, so that his beard
would fall out and everybody would laugh at his weak chin!") to _use_ his
Death Eaters---and hey, if they want to go tormenting Mudbloods and Muggles,
he's not going to stop them, since it doesn't affect _his_ plans and makes
them malleable instruments in his hands.  The dude's _Slytherin,_
people---and Slytherins are described as being very good at manipulation to
attain their ends.  Lucius Malfoy and his merry men may think they're going
for a goal of their own, but it wouldn't surprise me to see Voldemort cooly
send them on a "suicide mission of marginal importance" to further his own
goal of immortality, and if they don't come back..._what_ did P.T. Barnum
say was "born every minute?"