Heir of Slytherin ... or NOT???

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 58007

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Grey Wolf" <greywolf1 at j...> wrote:
> Steve wrote:
> > What are the odds that Tom Riddle/Voldemort is not the true 
> > Heir of Slytherin but the self-proclaimed Heir of Slytherin.

> Grey Wold returns:
> 
> The chances of Tom Riddle being a descendant of Salazar are high. 
> Very high, in fact. So are the chances of all others in the WW, not 
> only of being descendant of Salazar but of all the founders at the 
> same time. 
>
> ...mega edit...
> 
> Hope that helps,
> 
> Grey Wolf

bboy_mn:

Very true. When I said 'Heir' I meant it more metaphorically than
literally. In Tom's mind he is the heir, but in reality, I think it
highly unlikely that he has ever documented that. But, while there are
thousands in whom the blood of Salazar Slytherin flows, Riddle seems
to have concluded that his isn't A decendant of Slytherin but that he
is THE decendant of Slytherin. That somehow he is special, far more
important, powerful, and very very special than all those other
thousands and thousands of people who can find a point at which their
family tree intersects with the Slytherin family tree. 

I really do think that Riddle is self-proclaimed. In his desperate
need to be somebody special and important, he has justified himself
with a delusional belief that he has some special and siginficant
connection to someone great (Slytherin), and that special connection
is his believed birthright by which he justifies all things. 

There is the 'Divine Right of Kings', which says that all kings and
queen are king and queens by the demand and decree of God himself, and
since they are chosen by and acting in the name of God, they can do no
wrong; regardless of how insanely wrong their actions obviously are.
Riddle does the same thing, by Divine Right of Slytherin, everything
he says is the word of 'god'.

I'm also inclind to believe that the LEGEND of Salazar Slytherin is
far more menacing that Mr. Slytherin himself. All he ever said was
that he didn't trust Muggle-borns, all this other stuff about killing
them all, blah-blah-blah... has been tacked on as the 'legend' grew. 

As far as the Basilisk and the legend of the chamber, I think we are
on the same page. Slytherin didn't leave it there, that is, leave it
there with calculated intent, he just left it there. Left it there for
convinience; if it lived, fine, if it died, fine. 

Just a few more thoughts.

bboy_mn