Some more OOTP Questions - Dept Mystery Details

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 126442


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, tyler maroney <tmar78 at y...> wrote:
> Richard Jones wrote:
> <snip> 

> 
> RJ:
> (2) How did LV know what was in the Department of
> Mysteries? <snip> 
> 
> Tyler:
> I also thought it was unusual that he knows EXACTLY
> how the place looks,  detail for detail.  That just
> doesn't seem possible,  regardless of how vivid a
> description he may have received from Rookwood. 
> Perhaps he's tried breaking into the DoM once before
> and was successful?
> 
> tyler maroney

bboyminn:

This does bring up a very interesting question. Certainly, Rookwood
can tell Voldemort about the various rooms through which Harry will
have to travel to get to the Prophecy, but the level of detail in the
images Voldemort is transmitting is VERY high; precise details. 

How could Voldemort project with such precision with out ever having
been there?

Well, one explanation is that in his many years of life and in the
wizard world, at some point he was in the Hall of Prophecies (on
completely unrelated business).

Another, and more likely, is that once Rookwood gave Voldemort the
verbal details, Voldemort rounded it out by applying Legilimency to
Rookwood to pull exact images of each room from Rookwood's mind.

While I think that is entirely possible, it's highly speculative since
we don't really have any direct knowledge of how Legilimency works.
Snape clearly says it's not like mind reading, and we know that
Voldemort and other skilled practitioners can use it to divine truth,
but that's about the extent of our knowledge. Again, I think it is
entirely possible, but I'm hesitant to rely on such gimmicks as the
Time Turner, Veritaserum, Occlumency, Legilimency, etc... to solve
every mystery that comes up. 

Just a thought.

Steve/bboyminn