The murder of Tom Riddle Sr..

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 125333


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "eggplant9998" 
<eggplant9998 at y...> wrote:
> 
> chnc1024 at A... wrote:
> 
> > How is it that Voldemort was able
> > to murder his father using an AK,
> > without the MoM becoming involved??
> 
> Because, as has been shown time after time, the MoM is 
extraordinarily
> incompetent. 
> 
> > why aren't Ministry officials 
> > dispatched whenever anyone
> > uses an unforgivable curse?

Eggplant:
> Probably because almost nobody at the MoM is willing to do so. The 
MoM
> is perfectly willing to harass nice little boys like Harry Potter 
but
> it would take real courage to confront a dark wizard who was 
powerful
> enough to use a unforgivable curse and was crazy enough to actually 
do
> so; unfortunately courage is a virtue in very short supply in the 
MoM.
>  I'm not saying everybody at the Mom is a coward, Arthur Tonks and
> Shacklebolt certainly are not cowards, but they are the exception.
> Most MoM employees have a disability, they lack a spine.  

Geoff:
I wonder whether Tom Riddle would have been marked as a dark wizard 
at this point in time? This must have been a cople of years after the 
Chamber of Secrets incident and even Dumbledore may not have been 
totally aware of what was going on; in COS, Tom admits to Harry that 
Dumbledore had kept a very close eye on him but he may only have had 
suspicions.

In the case of Harry, I get the impression that a close - but long 
distance - watch had been kept on Harry presumably for his own 
safety, hence unusual spell activity would have been detected. Does 
the Ministry detect every spell which is used? It seems that Fred and 
George got up to tricks when they were underage and Hermione uses 
some magic in the first year- Alohamora and Petrificus Totalis come 
to mind.