[HPforGrownups] The Locket Horcrux - When Was It Swapped?

[Magpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 165734



> Mike:
> Yay, Pippin <Mike applauds> I've been of a like mind as you on this
> for a long time. And although I'd agreed, I couldn't put my finger on
> the tipping point. But you did :) Why replace the locket in the basin
> indeed. As you said; 1) there's no point, it's not going to fool LV
> and I can't see Reggie being that bent as to have a driving need to
> taunt Voldemort. and 2) there *is* a need to substitute a fake one if
> he swapped it out on cousin Bella before she made her deposit. Yep,
> this cinches it for me too.
>
> Reggie is a wet behind the ears DE. I don't imagine he's much farther
> along the path to magical wisdom than Harry is right now. Could Harry
> have retreived that locket from the basin on his own, or even with
> help from a loyal Kreacher? I seriously doubt Reggie was capable of
> it either. And how did Reggie know it was a locket that was at the
> bottom of the basin? In fact, what makes anyone believe someone of
> Reggie's caliber could have found out about LV's Horcruxes, where the
> cave is, where the blood door is and how to open it, how to find LV's
> boat, and how to defeat the green liquid?

Magpie:
I could totally believe, if Bellatrix was the one to hide this Horcrux, that 
Regulus swapped the lockets beforehand. That's definitely within his 
capabilities and a nice use of the unexpected kid surprising everyone 
because Voldemort isn't paying attention.

I don't know that I buy anything about him still being alive and Dumbledore 
tramping out there and poisoning himself to give Harry a clue. (I can just 
picture the conversation if he tried to run that by Snape: "Um, Dumbledore, 
you do know that Potter isn't exactly Sherlock Holmes, don't you?")

It's not like keeping the secret of his trust in Snape, imo. We know about 
that secret--it wasn't a lie, it was him refusing to tell him. This is a bit 
too much like lying and seemingly for the sole reason of giving JKR her big 
cave scene. I guess I'm reluctant to lose just how much of a surprise 
Regulus is. It seems to take away from him if oh really, Dumbledore knew 
about the switch--I feel the same way about various theories about lots of 
surprises that have either Snape or Dumbledore knowing stuff that they're 
pretending not to know in canon. Maybe I'm just too fond of Wild 
Card!Regulus who's been dismissed for so many years turning out to surprise 
everybody.

-m