Grindelwald

[Wanda Sherratt]

No: HPFGUIDX 76067

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "scooting2win" 
<scooting2win at y...> wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "John, C" <c.john at i...> 
wrote:
> > Just a thought, but you don't suppose Voldemort's grandfather 
> could be -
> > Marvolo Grindelwald!
> > 
> > Might explain a few things;
> > 1. Riddle's fear of Dumbledore
> > 2. Where Riddle got all his information from
> 
> My reply: I must say that is a good question, and to think we all 
> have to wait until book 7, and even then that question may not be 
> answered I know it will be, but it still makes you wonder. I 
> wouldn't doubt this one being true for anything, except one thing, 
> if he is, Tom (Voldemort) would have no way of knowing a true 
> account of his Grandfather's downfall given the fact that he was 
> raised in an orphanage. and his mother died, Lori

I've been thinking that there must be some Voldemort-Grindelwald 
connection too, though I hadn't thought of a family link.  It's a 
good idea.  The date of Grindelwald's downfall is one of the very 
few dates given in the books - 1945. When something unusual like 
that comes up, I have the feeling that we're meant to notice it.  I 
think that would have been right after Tom Riddle left Hogwarts, so 
I was thinking it was possible that he left school and immediately 
sought out Grindelwald.  There would have been time for them to meet 
before Dumbledore destroyed G. AFter that, I'm not sure.  Maybe 
Riddle became a disciple of Grindelwald, and learned from him, so 
that he was able to carry on after Grindelwald fell.  Or maybe 
Grindelwald's fall left a power vacuum on the Dark side, which 
Voldemort was able to exploit and take over.  I just don't think it 
can be accidental that Tom Riddle headed for eastern Europe at about 
the time a very evil German wizard was around, and the two didn't 
intersect somehow.

Wanda