Do the DEs know that Voldemort is Tom Riddle? (Was: Snape as a Spy. . .)

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 86537

Yolanda wrote:
> So some of the higher-up, older Deatheaters should 
> know that Voldemort was Tom Riddle.  I also think 
> that at least some of them knew he was a half-blood.  
> Tom was in Slytherin surrounded by pure-bloods and 
> half-bloods who'd grown up in the WW, however Tom 
> had grown up around muggles.  Even if Tom knew he 
> was a wizard before receiving his Hogwarts letter, 
> he would not know details about the WW. Tom's 
> ignorance of the WW would have stood out, so at 
> least some of his classmates, and thus some of his 
> first DEs, would have known his half-blood status.  


Carol:
Unfortunately for us, Voldemort is so much older than the other
characters except for Hagrid, McGonagall, Dumbledore and possibly the
older Weasleys, none of whom became Death Eaters, that we really have
no way of testing this theory. None of the current batch of Death
Eaters, as far as we know, is of Tom's own generation (in their
sixties or thereabouts). The oldest we know of is Avery, who was 49 in
GoF IIRC. Maybe those who knew of his background refused to join him,
but we're told that most people didn't know who he was. (Canon
reference, anyone?)

Also, I very much doubt that Young Tom let his lack of knowledge stand
out. Unlike Harry, he would not have asked questions, and he would
have kept his eyes and ears open, especially once he realized the
contempt in which most Slytherins held muggle-borns. He later became a
Prefect, which suggests that he was something of a leader of the
Slytherins he knew.

What we need to test this theory are some Slytherins in their sixties.
Lucius Malfoy would do nicely; so, probably, would Snape's. But we
don't know what became of either of them. Sirius Black's parents let
their younger son join the Death Eaters, a move I'm sure they would
have discouraged if they suspected him of being a half-blood.

So for now, I'm assuming that Tom got away with his unspoken lie as he
later got away with murder.

Carol