Crying wolf?

[entropymail]

No: HPFGUIDX 81922

 "...on the other hand, big, blundering Hagrid, in trouble every other
 week, trying to raise werewolf cubs under his bed..."  -- Tom Riddle.

Pippin: ... we have JKR's word that this is slander, backed up by
Fantastic Beasts which also states that the only way for someone to
become a werewolf is by being bitten. <much snipping>

and David: ...and what a strange slander it is. If Riddle meant it
seriously, he expects us to believe that Hagrid, at age 13, kept
children under his bed. 5% of the time, they would be cute puppies,
but, for the rest, they would be babies... <snippage once again>



now me, Entropy:  

Tom Riddle may very well have been slandering Hagrid when he said that
Hagrid was raising werewolf cubs, but there's probably more to it than
that (isn't there *always*?). 

Riddle is, after all, still a student at Hogwarts.  He has yet to
become the evil, bitter, and  powerful wizard we have come to know and
love.  He's still a teenager, after all.  JKR may be showing us, with
this brief glimpse into the mind of teenage!Voldemort, that Voldemort
was not born with the knowledge of the Dark which he came to embrace
later in his life.  He was not evil, nor powerful, nor
bitter...although those traits were certainly beginning to raise their
ugly heads. He was just a fallible boy who had a big chip on his
shoulder, and who still had lots to learn about the WW. Fits in nicely
with the questions raised lately about  destiny vs. free will.

and Kneasy:
... JKR said in interview that this is a slander. So be it; her word
is law. But it would have been useful if it had been denied in the
text. How many other statements or comments are similarly untrue
without any textual hint that they are false? Something else to worry
about. <snipped for your convenience>

and finally, me, Entropy, again:

In a way, Riddle's statement *is* denied in the text; it just happens
a bit later, when we meet Remus Lupin and learn a bit about his
"condition".


:: Entropy ::