COS - Riddle's Orphanage; Legimency

[gelite67]

No: HPFGUIDX 121396


I'm re-reading and I have two questions.

1) Is anyone curious as to why Riddle was in a Muggle orphanage 
instead of being adopted by a wizarding family?  Maybe it was only an 
option in his later years, but it looks like the wizarding world 
would have encouraged that, rather than have a wizard raised by 
Muggles. (This of course, is in sharp contrast to the fact DD said 
many wizarding families would have taken Harry in.)


2)  Why didn't DD know that Riddle was the culprit in the "old 
days?"  DD said in OOP (I think) that he was a "sufficient Legimens" 
or something like that.

The way I understand it, Legimency does not necessarily allow one to 
read someone's mind at random, but does allow one to know if someone 
is tell the truth at a particular time.  

In COS, when the younger DD meets Riddle after Riddle has met with 
Dippet, the following occurs:
 Dumbledore:  What are you doing wandering around this late, Riddle?
 Riddle:  I sent to see the headmaster, sir.
 Dumbledore:  Well, hurry off to bed, said, Dumbledore, giving Riddle 
the kind of penetrating stare that Harry knew so well.

Riddle was telling the truth at that point because he had just come 
from Dippet's office.  However, it is also evident that he was 
planning to go see Hagrid and to get Aragog, but could DD see that?

I note that nowhere does JKR show DD asking Riddle whether he knew 
anything about the Chamber of Secrets.  It would be very limiting, 
wouldn't it, if the skill of Legimens was limited to only those 
situations in which the Legimens-er asked the Legimens-ee precisely 
the right question?

Angie