Giants and Voldemort (WAS: What's your favorite *now*?)

[Mike]

No: HPFGUIDX 183101

> Pippin:
> It wasn't until my latest reading of DH that I realized why these
> two bits of the story had to be there. This time I  paid close
> attention to Voldemort in DH. Voldemort Mark II is  a very
> different person from Voldemort Mark I, thanks to Lily's blood,
> but we  wouldn't know that without the pensieve scenes. 
> 
> <snip>
>  hardly more capable of establishing a viable empire than the
> new Gurg of the Giants. And that might make Voldemort seem less
> dangerous.
> 
> But the giants show us otherwise. Voldie couldn't have won. But he
> could very easily have destroyed the WW in the process of losing.

Mike:
Sorry for taking so long to get back to you on this one.

I follow your reasoning on Voldemort Mark II vs Mark I, and how 
Lily's blood could be the mitigating factor in his newfound "human-
ness". Was JKR intentionally trying to set him up as capable, if 
extremely unlikely, of finding "remorse" - I can't say. I did find 
Voldemort less scary than I found him in GoF, but I don't know that I 
was supposed to. Besides, GoF!Voldemort had just received Lily-blood. 
But I do agree with you, he seemed more like a common thug in DH than 
an all-powerful wizard.

It's your second part (below the <snip>) where I'm not following. Why 
did we have to be put through 'Hagrid's Tale' in OotP? Were we 
supposed to see the parallel between the new Gurg and Voldemort's 
second coming? Or was the giant's story a cautionary tale 
forshadowing Voldemort's entire story and what would happen to him?

Help me out here, Pippin. ;-)

Mike, who probably still won't like the story of the giants even if 
he does get to understand what Pippin is saying