Some questions on the series as a whole ...

[Carol]

No: HPFGUIDX 181878

Samadjar wrote:
> > 
> > 1. What happened to Voldemort's body in Godrics Hollow?  If his 
dead body was found in the ruins, then why did people think he 
disappeared? <snip>

Beatrice responded:
> This is a good question.  There doesn't seem to be a specific answer
in the texts.  I would however assume that LV's body was not found in
the ruins.  The body may have be obliterated by the force of the
rebounded spell.  I suspect that no body was found, which is why
Dumbledore, et al concluded that LV was still alive, but in a weakened
state.  I would also argue that there was not body because no one
indicates that a body was found - this for example would be a great
argument for Fudge to make in OotP.  He could use this fact as proof
that LV was dead. <snip>

Carol comments:
I agree that it's a good question that isn't satisfactorily resolved
in the books. However, LV himself says that he was "torn from his
body," which suggests that his lifeless body was left in Godric's
Hollow and that he could not return to it. I think that the body had
to be there for Fudge et al. to know who had killed the Potters and
for the WW at large to celebrate his seeming death. Even the DEs claim
that they thought he was dead, and probably not just on the basis of
their fading or faded Dark Marks. Only Bellatrix and her little gang
of three seem to have believed, without knowing about the Horcruxes,
that LV wasn't dead.

DD, in contrast, must have already suspected that Voldemort was making
Horcruxes. He knew about the murders that Tom Riddle had committed;
knew about his magpielike tendency to collect souvenirs of his
murders, knew that he had stolen the ring, the cup, and the locket;
and knew that his appearance had been drastically altered by some Dark
magic that he had performed on himself. He had (belatedly) confiscated
the books on Horcruxes and was, according to Slughorn, fiercely
opposed to teaching about Horcruxes at Hogwarts. Almost certainly, he
not only suspected but *knew* that Voldemort wasn't dead, as he told
young Snape, but he didn't tell anyone why he thought so. Just how he
could convince anyone, other than his desperate and distraught young
Potions teacher, that Voldemort would return is unclear, but
McGonagall and others seem to have accepted his judgment without
question. As Hagrid says early on, there wasn't enough human in him
left to die.

Samadjar wrote: 
> > 3. Voldemort is so focused on defeating Harry that he goes abroad
 on a long journey in search of the elder wand. And still he doesn't 
bother to use the old connection between Harry and himself to know 
Harry's whereabouts when he has already used it so successfully? But
suddenly Harry can use the same connection like Television without
even letting Voldemort know?
 
Beatrice responded:

> Well, no he doesn't use the connection, because he KNOWS that it
works both ways.  In order to use the connection, he has to open the
line of communication so to speak and that might allow Harry access to
his own plans.  Again, I think that LV foolishly underestimates Harry
and this demonstrates his own lack of understanding about the
connection between them. <snip>

Carol comments:
I don't quite agree. I don't think that the connection works both ways
since LV doesn't have a scar that lets him into Harry's mind and, DD's
fears to the contrary, he can't really read Harry's mind. He can,
however, plant visions in it, but he has no need to do so at the
moment. It's not as if Harry can lead him to the Elder Wand. He may
know that Snape gave Harry Occlumency lessons, and, if so, he may
assume that Harry is using Occlumency against him as he used it
against Harry after the MoM fiasco. I don't think that he feels or
senses Harry's accidental intrusions into his mind or really
understands how the scar connection works, and, as you say, he
underestimates Harry. I'm sure he has no idea that Harry is aware of
his pursuit of the Elder Wand, for example, or the murders of
Gregorovitch and Grindelwald, and even if he did know, I'm not sure
that he would care since DD is dead and Harry is on the run and the
British WW is pretty much under the DEs' control. What can Harry and
his little friends do except hide under such circumstances? He has no
idea that they're hunting Horcruxes and have actually destroyed the
locket. And he can't just read Harry's mind at will. As Snape tells
Harry back in OoP, Legilimency usually requires eye contact, and LV
has never actually read Harry's mind through the scar connection. Even
when Harry seems to feel himself turning into a snake and wanting to
bite Dumbledore, I think it's the soul bit rather than Voldemort
himself that DD sees in Harry's eyes.

I also think that, for some reason (perhaps the destruction of three
of his Horcruxes), Voldemort is weaker in DH than he's been in
previous books (though, of course, he doesn't lose his ability to kill
and torture until Harry's self-sacrifice). When the Battle of Hogwarts
resumes after Harry's "death," only one Horcrux, Nagini, remains. Then
Neville kills her and LV is not only mortal but has only one-seventh
(or rather one-eighth) of a soul. He's still a formidable Wizard,
whether he's using the Elder Wand of which he's not the master or his
own (which wouldn't work against Harry but is powerful otherwise), but
somehow, he seems diminished. If he'd stayed in Britain, investigated
Hogwarts and found that Snape was subtly working against him, and
concentrated on securing his power base before expanding to Europe and
beyond, he might have been successful even after the Horcruxes were
destroyed, as long as he had Nagini and Harry was alive. Ironically,
seeking the wand that he thought would cement his power (and destroy
the Chosen One) helped to bring about his doom.

Carol, following her own thoughts and undoubtedly straying from the
question at hand