LV Inmortality

[kim reynolds]

No: HPFGUIDX 115853


Charme wrote:
 
<snip> ... to wonder if in fact LV wasn't "dead" in a sense prior to the incident at GH, hence why he couldn't "die" then. I concur with the thought above about DD suspecting or knowing only Harry can "kill" LV because of LV using Harry's blood, but I have the sneaking suspicion it's much more complicated than that. I wonder as well about the "half life" Firenze referred to in PS/SS and how that plays into this mix:  how do you "kill" something which may be less than alive but may not truly be able to experience death? I suspect (only a suspicion) LV used many methods to try to achieve immortality: snake venom, potions (Snape), unicorn blood (that's after GH, but may count toward LV's current state), and perhaps dragon blood (check his appearance description in GoF as he's lowered into the cauldron.) <snip>
 
Kim chimes in:
 
Interesting ideas! I tossed out a similar theory a few weeks ago that was either new or a rehash of previous theories, but it didn't generate any responses (none that I recall reading anyway).  It had occurred to me that LV didn't die because he was already the "undead", i.e. that he might have consorted with the undead (vampires) when he'd gone east years ago, even before he'd ever heard the prophesy, and had learned some tricks of the trade, so to speak.  He was clearly obsessed with immortality long before he ever knew that one such as Harry Potter would be coming along to challenge his power.  Besides, his physical description after he comes back to "life" in GoF reminded me an awful lot of the creepy vampire in the old movie Nosferatu, barring LV's snake-like face (which could be accounted for by his dependence on snake venom to survive), which I don't think would apply to the Nosferatu vampire.  And Bram Stoker's Count Dracula was definitely "immortal" as long as he never saw
 sunshine or chanced to get a stake through the heart...  Not that I'm saying LV is a vampire, just that he may have learned things from them.
 
I think you're also on to something as to Snape helping LV survive with potions in the past.  What was Snape's relationship to LV when he was still a Death Eater?  Wasn't there a "stopper in death" thread for a while that discussed that aspect too?  Maybe it's time to "revive" that thread... ;-)
 
Cheers,
Kim