A thought about the prophecy

[caesian]

No: HPFGUIDX 97924

 "dobbyisdumbledore wrote:
> > > In as such it may very well be Harry and Tom that must defeat Salizar 
> > > Slytherin (via defeating Voldemort).
> 
> > what would make
> > Tom Riddle, who was apparently very willing to be Slytherin's vessel,
> > change his mind and join forces with Harry?
> 
AJ replied:
> I have to point out that this reminds me of the alchemy ending posed 
> on thinkpotter.com-- that the seventh step is combinining/merging, 
> and that JKR made her the 'heart of it all' comment right after 
> someone asked about unlikely pairings, so that the gist is that the 
> end product is some kind of meld of Harry/Tom.  (You can look this up 
> on the thinkpotter.com site, and for more on alchemy, see John 
> Granger's _Hidden Key to HP_- a good r/h point about sulfur/mercury!)
> 

Caesian replies: 
I do think the alchemical lore is a great influence on these books.  Just to give the most 
recent example - the burning or blackening of Harry (and us) by OotP, and the death of 
Sirius (the name also means to scorch).

In response to the dual nature of Voldemort/Tom Riddle - which may have been passed to 
Harry by Voldemort's marking of him as a child - I would offer this piece of canon:

Harry couldn't explain, even to himself, why he didn't just throw Riddle's diary away.  The 
fact was that even though he *knew* the diary was blank, he kept absent-mindedly 
picking it up and turning he pages, as though it was a story he wanted to finish.  And 
while Harry was sure he had never heard the name T. M. Riddle before, it still seemed to 
mean something to him, almost as though Riddle was a friend he'd had when he was very 
small, and half-forgotten.  But this was absurd.  He'd never had friends before Hogwarts, 
Dudley had made sure of that. (CoS The Very Secret Diary UK HB 174)

This passage has always struck me as odd - and there are many ways it might be 
understood.  One is that Harry - because of the mark, the transfer of powers or the 
connection - is experiencing some residual of the feelings Voldemort had about Tom 
Riddle.  It would make some sense for Voldemort to regard Tom Riddle as a friend he'd 
had when very small, and half-forgotten.

I also think Harry's response to Tom Riddle is surprisingly empathetic:
Harry's brain seemed to have jammed.  He stared numbly at Riddle, the orphaned boy who 
had grown up to murder Harry's own parents, and so many others ... (CoS The Heir of 
Slytherin UK HB 231)

I guess I'd have to agree that the potential for a redeemed Tom Riddle seems decent.  

Caesian - who wonders about the spell that DD cast that was meant not to kill but to 
destroy