Possession

[arrowsmithbt]

No: HPFGUIDX 89961

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "thetruthisoutthere_13" 
<free_lunch_club at h...> wrote:
> 
> The one flaw I see in your argument is that Tom Riddle took the time 
> to create his diary while still at Hogwarts and presumably before he 
> first entered the chamber of secrets. Plus he was already calling 
> himself "Lord Voldemort" amongst his friends at school. Creating the 
> diary to preserve his sixteen year old self shows quite a bit of 
> foresight, actually, that shows more foresight from Voldemort than 
> we saw in OotP.
> 
> I guess the next proof you need for your theory is 1) whether Tom 
> started calling himself Voldemort before or after he entered the 
> chamber, and 2) if he created the diary before or after entering the 
> chamber. 
> 

Firstly I must apologise for intimating that the members were failing
to uphold the standards of the site by not telling me that I'm spouting
a load of rubbish. It seems that they were just pausing for breath
before giving their judicial, critical assessments of my maunderings.

Back to the matter under discussion. 
You've raised valid points that are difficult to resolve with the scant
information we have to hand. In fact there are other questions related
to the first of your points in particular.

For a chief baddy in a series noted for it's detail there are some blank
spots that I would be happy to see filled in. 
How and when did Tom find out that his mother was descended from
old Slytherin?
Even if this is fact and not a conceit, what on earth made him think he
was the Heir?
Why would he even consider this when he himself is one of the
'differently ancestored' that Slytherin wanted banned from Hogwarts?
But, being of a nasty disposition myself, I'd consider it an ironic joke
for Salazar to use one of the hated mudbloods as his tool for their 
ultimate destruction. Nicely vicious.

We badly need a timeline.
Tom tells us in canon that he spent five years before cracking the 
secret of entering the Chamber, but as highlighted above we have 
no idea *when* he started calling himself Lord Voldemort or if the
diary was written in real time or in retrospect. I go for the latter,
mostly because when Harry first communicates with it, it tells him
that it "holds memories" not that it is a record. Thin maybe, but
an arguable interpretation. 

The "Lord Voldemort is my past, present and future." quote is a
worry. Is it Diary!Tom emphasising that he is only an episode from
Voldy's lifeline or is it an indication that Voldy was there before Tom
became aware of him and Tom is dependent on Voldy for his future
existence? Obviously I like the latter interpretation, it adds a little
more weight to my suppositions. And no, it doesn't absolve Tom
from being a rotten little shit in his own right, but could mean
that Tom has not been the true and only begetter of all the
nastiness of the past 30 years.

A dark entity, able to possess mortals in it's aim of propagating
an old evil is not a particularly uncommon device  in the annals of
horror and fantasy. Geoff mentions the old Quatermass series, 
though to be fair that was a physical entity (but fun none the less
and it was destroyed by appealing to the remnants of its human
host); Voldy, whether or not he is other than Tom, seems to be
able to survive for unknown periods of time even without a 
physical form. (Why do I get visions of Shirley Maclaine claiming
to channel the spirit of Nefertiti? True horror, right there.) 

Disappointment has been voiced that I may be failing in my role as a
FEATHERBOA flag-waver in postulating possible wimpish and blood-
free resolution that absolves Tom from blame. Never! Tom no longer
exists except as maybe fragments of a lost personality. The Voldy
entity must still be smashed as violently as possible, hopefully with
gore and bodies strewn hither and yon. 

Admittedly, crunching Voldy's custom-made corporeal container may
not destroy the evil within, it could transfer to a new victim.
Now who might that be?

Makes one wonder at DD's dictum "There are worse things than death"

Kneasy