The Riddle House

[Karina Aleksandrova]

No: HPFGUIDX 169955

Pat wrote:

> "The wealthy man who owned the Riddle House these days neither lived 
> there nor put it to any use..."
> 
> I'm wondering who this "wealthy man" is.  Who would have a reason to 
> keep the house all these years?  Perhaps Dumbledore?  Maybe Lucius 
> Malfoy?  Will the house come into play?  Is there a horcrux hidden 
> there? 

Karina:

I used to think it was Voldemort's, but then why did he kill Frank
Bryce, the man he was paying to take care of the place a bit... So
that doesn't make sense.

Lucius Malfoy is certainly wealthy, but somehow I doubt it was him.
Wouldn't Voldemort contact Lucius to let him know that he's alive and
living in Lucius' house?.. But Lucius was surprised by Voldemort's
resurrection as anyone. Also somehow I don't think Voldemort would
publicize his Muggle relatives, and why would Lucius buy this Riddle
House located in a Muggle village, unless he knew its significance to
Voldemort...

I think Dumbledore is a possibility. I've always thought it was fishy
how Dumbledore found out about Frank Bryce's disappearance/death. If
he was the owner of Riddle House, and was paying Frank to take care of
gardening and such, he'd know when something happened to him.
Dumbledore implied that he read about it in a Muggle newspaper, though... 

If Dumbledore was the owner, then I doubt there's a Horcrux there.
He'd be able to locate it. After all, he found the Horcrux in the
Gaunt's house, and we've seen how skilled he is with detecting magic. 

In conclusion, none of these (Voldemort, Malfoy, Dumbledore) seem
satisfying, although all of them are possibilities.

Karina