Forgiveness

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 188727


> 
> Shelley: if it weren't so benign. Hagrid did 
> have an illegal creature or potentially harmful creature, so he wasn't 
> exactly 100% blameless, so that's not a foolproof case of bullying an 
> innocent person, KWIM? Anyone could have turned Hagrid in, for such as 
> simple reason of being scared of the creature and fearing of what it might 
> do to the students, rather than Riddle's second motive of hiding his tracks. 

Pippin:
Benign?
 Tom knew about Aragog for some time before he turned Hagrid in. He also knew perfectly well that Aragog was not responsible for any of the attacks, and most certainly not for killing Myrtle. Hagrid wasn't innocent of breaking school rules, but he was not guilty of deliberate attacks on other students either. Tom did not take responsibility for Myrtle's death or the attacks on other students. 

Shelley
The very fact that he  earned accolates and awards are proof that he could control himself, and for  long periods at a time.

Pippin:
Agreed. Not all psychopaths have poor impulse control. Some theorize that they can avoid actions that will have adverse consequences, but the consequences have to be to them, not other people. As we see, Riddle was capable of stopping the attacks when he realized the school would be closed, he would not be able to stay at Hogwarts over the summer,  and he would be sent back to the orphanage if Dippet believed the attacks might continue. 

Dumbledore did believe that Riddle and other students under his direction were responsible for "a number of nasty incidents to which they were never satisfactorily linked." He says Riddle's  group had a "kind of dark glamour within the castle" during Riddle's "seven years at Hogwarts" -- HBP ch 17


> Shelley:
> I fail to see how Slughorn would have compromised himself by immediately 
> reporting to the headmaster that a student was inquiring seriously about 
> Horcruxes.

Pippin:
The subject was banned. Slughorn should have refused to give Tom any information and reported his request at once. As the teacher, he's the responsible party even though Tom was also breaking the rule. If it was found out, probably at worst Tom might have his memory modified. But Slughorn would be disgraced permanently. 

"But all the same, Tom...keep it quiet, what I've told--that's to say, what we've discussed. People wouldn't like to think we've been chatting about Horcruxes. It's a banned subject at Hogwarts, you know...Dumbledore's particularly fierce about it." -HBP ch 23


> Shelley:
> I don't see that as hope for Voldemort himself, but rather for hope in the 
> defeat of Voldemort. The "sacrifice", "that enchantment" is Harry's link to 
> Voldemort by being his horcrux. With the destruction of that horcrux comes 
> the ability for Voldemort to be killed, once and for all. Voldemort's death 
> was DD's real hope for the WW.

Pippin:
Read it again. The passage is too long to quote, (pages 710 and 711 of DH) but the topic is clearly Lily's blood in Voldemort's body, not the effect of the soul bit in Harry.

Pippin