Voldemort and the Dursleys

[jodel at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 57345

cgbrennan asks:

<< Does anyone think it's possible that the Riddles and the Dursleys could be 
related?  That Harry is related to Voldemort on the MUGGLE side? >>

Well given that Rowling has set the Dursleys up as "Riddle Lite" in just 
about every way she can, it is far from impossible. Even to the point that 
there very possibly was already magic in the Riddle family tree before Ms. 
"Marvolo" ever met them. 

The older Tom Riddle's behavior in walking out on a pregnant 
sweetheart/wife/mistress/ whatever for no reason other than that he 
discovered that she was a witch is simply Not Normal behavior given the 
rationalist direction that Muggle thought has taken since the ww split off 
and went into Seclusion. It is a lot more like what one might expect of a 
family that *knew* that magic existed -- and that the proper response is to 
shun it. 

At a guess, I might expect Squibs in the background who had left the 
wizarding world, or that one or other of the elder Tom's parents had been 
raised with a Muggle-born witch or wizard. If the parallel is exact, this is 
more likely to have been the old Mrs Riddle. We do not know her maiden name. 
It is far from impossible that she might have been related to the Evanses. 
Who, being "thrilled" to have a witch in the family, may have already known 
of the existence of magic before Lily was born. 

I suggest that it is possible that Lily and Petunia may have had a magical 
great-aunt, uncle or distant cousin who was an aunt, uncle or sibling of old 
Mrs Riddle. If the connection was through the female line on both sides the 
names on both ends would have been different and kept anyone from making the 
connection.

HOWEVER, such a connection is not actually necessary to the storyline. 
Through Voldemort's own voluntary actions there have been sufficient 
exchanges of power, and now even blood between himself and Harry that, by the 
laws of similarity and contamination, he has already done what amounts to 
having "adopted" Harry into Slytherin's line of descent. The two of them are 
so entangled by this time that Harry is quite arguably *one* of Slytherin's 
"heirs" already. 

And so is Peter Pettigrew.  Particularly if he was also at Godric's Hollow, 
and just about all circumstantial evidence is pointing in that direction.

-JOdel