Owner of Riddle House (was Re: I think I know what one of the horcruxes is.)

[zgirnius]

No: HPFGUIDX 148319


> Catherine:
>    
> But he has nothing really proving that he is indeed
> related to the Riddle's. It's not like he can just
> walk around the muggle world looking as he does 
> (or did, hadn't his features been very snake-like 
> before trying to AK Harry?) claiming relations with
> the Riddle's. He wouldn't have been in the Riddle's
> will, since they didn't know (or care) of his existance
> prior to their deaths. (BTW, that must have been quite 
> a scene when he went and killed them all. 16 y o Tom
> looking exactly like his father. He must have toyed
> with them a bit).

zgirnius:
His mother was legally married, in the usual Muggle manner, to Tom 
Riddle Sr. A record of this certainly exists in the Muggle legal 
system somewhere. I would guess that Tom Sr. may not have written a 
will at the time of his death, he was pretty young at the time. And 
he was probably named heir to his parents' property in their will. I 
think the Muggle legal system would consider his claim a very strong 
one. If Voldemort wanted the house, I do not think he would have had 
that much trouble getting it. He could have done so before his 
appearance became odd (and even that is probably not a problem for a 
wizard, it can probably be altered temporarily when necessary).