4 Voldemort Phases (was re: Pureblood DE and Knights of Walpurgis)

[slgazit]

No: HPFGUIDX 78934

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Tamee Livingston" 
<tamliv at w...> wrote:
> But why did he come out of stealth mode just when he did?  That's 
what bugs
> me.  You're right about what Voldemort's been doing; he hasn't been 
entirely
> inactive.   However, it seems to me that his chief focus is Harry 
and his
> secondary focus is the resumption of power, and if the secondary 
goal gets
> in the way of the first then he just lets it fall to pieces.

Not really. Remember that we are seeing this from Harry's perspective
so of course what he experiences is Voldemort's moods and reactions
to himself. The only "viewings" he ever sees of what Voldemort
is doing are things that directly or indirectly relate to himself.
This does not mean of course that he is not doing other stuff
of which Harry is not aware because it is not related to him.

Voldemort's focus on Harry makes a lot of sense if one believes
the prophecy, and it seems that he at least does. While he does not
know the full content, what he does know is that Harry is prophecied
to be the only one who can vanquish him for good. He is also keenly
aware that with every passing year Harry grows older and more
powerfull. So from his perspective, putting a lot of effort at
killing Harry while he is young and vulnerable will ensure his
victory as nothing else will. This is the logical part of him. Then
there is the emotional part. The idea that he, the most powerfull
wizard in the world, can't destroy that kid is not only humiliating
but also frightening to him - and probably undermines his status
in the eyes of both enemies and followers. Killing Harry
accomplishes both goals - removing the most dangerous opponent and
cementing his position as the top dog...


>The thing that
> drives me nuts is that for most of OOTP Voldemort seems to be 
working a good
> plan of lying low, quietly recruiting giants and dementors, ... 
> then it is all blown out of the water when he makes a
> personal appearance at the ministry of magic.

He was furious at the destruction of the prophecy but also wanted
to strike at Harry when he was completely undefended. He did not
know that Dumbledore was there. The plan would have succeeded
otherwise. If Dumbledore did not intervene in the last minute not
only would he have killed Harry but there would have been noone
to alert the aurors to his presence.

> What I don't understand is the point of the Dept of Mysteries 
trap.  I mean
> if a bunch of death eaters can creep in there and I guess skulk 
around for a
> few hours waiting for Harry to show up and grab the prophecy, then 
why
> couldn't they have used the same circumstances for Voldemort to 
slip in, get
> the prophecy, and get out with no one being the wiser.

That's something I did not entirely understood either. My best
guess is that the MOM must have hidden security measures that
would have been triggered had Voldemort tried to enter. Note that
he never actually entered the ministry proper - he was only at the
atrium. These measures must have been set against Voldemort but
as the identity of the DE's was at the time unknown, and later
they were arrested (or "cleared") there was no cause to set them
against the DE's so they could enter freely.

I find more odd though the fact that there was no OoP member
on guard there. JKR had better explain that...


>espite what Lucius
> says Voldemort does take the trouble to go there in the end, while 
there's a
> running battle which I assume is what attracted the aurors and 
exposed
> Voldemort.

I think that the statues alerted the aurors because of Voldemort's
apearance there. They must have been part of the network I mentioned
earlier. Voldemort could not get into the MoM and not be detected.
But he figured he an opportunity for a quick kill and run...
He was right had it not been for Dumbledore.

> I think my problem is that Voldemort seems to be very clever on one 
side and
> mindnumbingly stupid on the other.  The only thing that I can 
determine is
> that his desire to destroy Harry is allowed to override all other
> considerations even when it sets back other plans significantly.

The point is that he considers Harry the greatest threat to him
due to the prophecy and that the danger will only grow if he lets
him live. Remember that Harry is protected all the time, inside and
outside Hogwarts. In the MoM atrium he was not until Dumbledore
showed up. It was too good an opportunity for Voldemort to pass up.

>He's powerful,
> he's dangerous, but still he's one dimensional and annoying, and I 
wish I
> could respect him as a villain.

I don't think we saw enough of him, but considering all that he
has accomplished in one year while laying low with a small band of
supporters, I think he has done quite well for himself.

Salit