Voldemort in Albania WAS: Re: Horcrux Issue

[lolita_ns]

No: HPFGUIDX 139849

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Juli <jlnbtr at y...> wrote:
> 
> hmm good question. What is *So* important about Albania that Voldie 
chose to hide there, why couldn't it be any other country? what's so 
special about Albania? Maybe Jo just likes the way it sounds <g>

Lolita:

Albania is the least developed country in Europe. It's sparsely 
populated, thus a great hideout for Vapormort. It's also a country 
where criminal flourishes - 90% of drugs put in circulation in Europe 
enter Europe through Albania, and there are also terrorist 
organizations there. So, I would say that LV would feel at home there.

 + No one would look for him there - I mean the MoM, not DEs. (none 
of the DEs rushed to find him in the first place - with the exemption 
of deranged followers - Bellatrix & co, who were too busy trying to 
pry the information out of the Longbottoms to actually put their 
minds to work and try to figure out where LV might have escaped to by 
themselves)


Juli:
  
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Albania known for its vampires? 
Doesn't Transylvania (where Dracula comes from) is in Albania? Maybe 
there're quite a few Dark Wizards there so he would feel *at home* 
ther? I dunno. Just thinking of possible explanations.


Lolita:
 
Yes, you're wrong. Transylvania is in Romania, whereas Albania is in 
the Balkans, and shares borders with Serbia&Montenegro and Greece. 

My guess is that both JKR and LV chose Albania as the least likely 
place where any government officials would bother to find LV. (I 
mean, the Scandinavian countries are sparsely populated, but they're 
also highly developed, so my guess is that their MoMs would take 
drastic precausions in order to captivate LV - or what was left of 
him - , whereas Albanian MoM probably wouldn't. Just think of 
terrorists on Interpol lists who generally hide in undeveloped 
countries because they believe that the police there are not equiped 
or good enough to find them, and the governments are corrupt enough 
to shield them). 

Or JKR *did* just like the sound of it. It wouldn't be a first (I 
mean, why on earth would dragons be bred in Romania, when dragons are 
usually associated with Celtic cultures, and Romania with vampires?)

Cheers,
Lolita.