[HPforGrownups] Grandpa Voldemort

[rvotaw at i-55.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 40457

Ronale7 writes:

>I believe Voldemort is Harry's paternal grandfather.  While I can 
>offer no proof of this, neither can anyone disprove it.  Only Rowling 
>can do these things.  But I can point to the clues and suggestions 
>she gives that support this theory.

I still disagree (respectfully, of course).  I am still convinced, probably by 
my own stubborness, that Voldemort/Riddle is Harry's maternal grandfather.  
I'll elaborate a little on various comments:

>In SS, chapter 8, we learn Harry was born on July 31.  This is the 
>date on which the Celts celebrated the festival of their chief god, 
>Lugh.  Lugh killed his grandfather, a war god.
>
>Rowling often uses old myths in her tale.  It's unlikely she 
>accidentally picked this birthday for Harry.  Instead it further 
>suggests Harry is Voldemort's grandson.  Like Lugh, he may be 
>destined to destroy an evil person.

True.  But how does it point at James and not Lily being the child of 
Riddle/Voldemort?

>We now have a further suggestion about prophecy and an allusion to a 
>war god.  Both strengthen our theory.  Additionally, chapter 17 has 
>Voldemort saying Lily died needlessly.  This suggests that the 
>prophecy was about Harry or a son of James, while Lily presented no 
>threat. 

Right, I agree there, especially the part about the prophecy.  But what about 
all the other people Voldemort killed?  Where there deaths all needless to?  
Probably.  Did Voldemort ever hesitate to kill them?  Probably not.  There's no 
evidence as such.  We have only evidence that he hesitated to kill Lily, giving 
her ample opportunity to save herself.  Why waste time with her?  Just kill and 
go.  Lily is the only person I can find evidence of Voldemort hesitating to 
kill and almost regretting it ("Your mother needen't have died", etc.)  Why 
hestiate unless that was his daughter?  Perhaps the prophecy we speak of did 
not relate to her at all, just James and his son(s).  

>In CS, chapter 17, Riddle mentions that both he and Harry look 
>somewhat alike and are parselmouths.  A genetic inheritance would 
>explain this.  Additionally, since we've been told that Harry looks 
>very much like his father, the genetic traits would most likely have 
>been passed along through James.

Could it not be passed down through Lily?  Sure, we have no evidence of her 
being parseltongue, but neither do we of James.  Maybe it skips a generation.

>In PA, chapter 9, we learn that Voldemort, intent on killing Harry, 
>told Lily to step aside.  This suggests that Voldemort doesn't care 
>whether Lily lived or died.  He is specifically after Harry and/or 
>any son of James.

Yes, he's after Harry.  But to me it suggests that Voldemort actually preferred 
that Lily live, rather than that  he didn't care.  His "Stand aside you silly 
girl, stand aside now" comment leads me to believe he rathered her to survive.  
We have affirmed that he didn't think about a countercurse if she died saving 
Harry (on his own admission in GoF), so what other reason?  I can even stretch 
it to say "silly girl" could be a term of endearment.

>This strengthens our supposition that the prophecy Voldemort learned 
>either mentioned Harry or referred to James's son.  It may have been 
>necessary to kill James to prevent his having other sons.  It would 
>not have been necessary to kill Lily.

No.  But is it necessary to have killed others?  The McKinnons?  the Beres?  
the Prewetts?  Do you really think they were all standing between Voldemort and 
James and Harry?  Did Voldemort tell them to stand aside too?  I doubt it.

>Riddle is exactly the right age.  The Lexicon says Riddle was born in 
>1927, James about 1960, and Harry in 1980.  That makes Riddle about 
>thirty-three years older than James and fifty-three years older than 
>Harry.  These are  reasonable age differences for parents and 
>grandparents. 

Yep.  Right age for Lily too.

>Dumbledore doesn't know Riddle had a child.  Thus his statement is 
>true, so far as he knows, but mistaken.  For that matter, neither 
>Voldemort, nor James, nor anyone else may know Riddle became a 
>father.  Or, if they do know, they may not know who the child was.  

True.  Could be Lily.

Now, my only defending points that separate Lily from James as the child of 
Riddle/Voldemort:

There's something about the green eyes.  That much is certain.  Slythern=green, 
Riddle=Slytherin.  JKR has affirmed that something major will be revealed about 
Lily's past in Books 5-7, and that the fact that Harry had her green eyes will 
be VERY important.

I could be wrong, it wouldn't be the first time.  The second, I think. ;)
I'll shut up now, there's a thunderstorm and the lights keep blinking and I've 
typed too long to waste it!

Richelle




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